My MRSA

A few weeks ago I wrote about not being able to bathe while I was in the hospital.  Now, I want to share with you why I was in there and what I learned from the experience, as you can see from the pic, I had a pretty nasty staph infection just above my ankle. The thing is I don't have any idea how I acquired it. My experience was a small pimple formed on my leg on a Friday, by Sunday I had gone to the urgent care medical center due to the pain and increasing size of the pimple.  The doc prescribed antibiotics and sent me on my way.  Well, by Tuesday the spot had not only not improved it was spreading and looking kind of scary, so I went back to doctor thinking I needed a different medication. This is where the Dr. frightened me to near panic levels, he walked in looked at my leg and said , "you need to be in the hospital". He left the room and came back with a fast pass admission (anywhere else that would be a good thing, Six Flags,movies, DMV). I could have used a little more sensitivity,  where's Dr. Welby when you need him? Turns out I had MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Very scary indeed, especially with the cases of flesh eating bacteria that had been featuring prominently in the news this past summer now playing in my mind's eye.

Dr. Haibach , at Spalding, was wonderful. She explained to me that this super-bug is now pretty much everywhere.  We determined due to the location of mine there is a strong likelihood that I got it from shaving my legs. 

After four days of IV antibiotics I was released .  The doctors did say I am now colonized so more lesions are probably in my future. 

So here are tips on preventing your own MRSA infection.  Change razors frequently.  Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Bleach is your friend. (weekly bleach baths, in the laundry and on any surface that it won't ruin)Clean your wounds, use hydrogen peroxide and a Neosporin type ointment, then keep them covered. Don't share towels with anyone and wash your pajamas and clothing and towels after each use.  Recognize that any pimple like lesion with a white head is staph but not necessarily the really bad kind..Don't pop them, do seek medical attention if there is any spreading of the redness, pain, or opening/draining of the wound. It's nothing to mess around with folks.  When I went back for my follow up visit, the doctor said I was lucky not to have lost my leg, it's that serious an infection. Take care of you!! 

Filled to the Max

In my Christian walk, God at times feels nearer to me than others.  There have been times when I have not only felt His presence but actually known that He is speaking to my spirit.  In those moments I have cried out to Him to reveal even more of Himself to me because I want to know all of Him.  The same sort of feeling I have when I taste something so delicious that portion control is out of the question.

 I feel that He has answered my plea time and again. At times His Holy Spirit has overtaken me and the joy I felt has been so overwhelming that I then recant my plea and say "Please stop. No more, I can't take anymore".  

I eagerly  await  the day when I shall talk to my God not from far away and not in this mortal body but in His kingdom and there I will be able to experience a completeness of  knowledge that this flesh won't allow.

David says it well in Psalm 63:5 when he says of God, "You satisfy me more than the richest feast." and I might add even more than a second helping of  chocolate cake.

My Week of Horse Baths

Horse what? You may be asking, well let me tell you.  When I was a little girl growing up in rural Alabama  and there was an ice storm, the power would go out. It would go out and stay out for days at a time. Even when there's no power (i.e. no hot water) a body must be washed. My mother would fill one of those old multi-purpose metal dishpans with water, (if you grew up in the south like me you probably shelled some peas or broke some beans in one too).  I vaguely recall she would heat it on top of the wood burning heater we had for a time.

I remember she would set out the pan with it's water and a wash rag, that's country speak for washcloth,  and tell us to wash off.  She called it a "horse bath", that's what it sounded like to my young ears. I could never figure out why a horse would be washed like that. Seems like not enough water for such a large animal.  Okay, so maybe she said "whore's bath" and either I misunderstood because my sweet mama would never say anything vulgar or because I was sheltered and really just had never heard that word before.  Anyway, you didn't submerse any body parts. You start high, then go low, then a quick swipe where the two meet, a "horse bath".  I'm ashamed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what she really said but I was mom myself by that time and a horse bath sounds much nicer. Weirder, but nicer.

Memories come at the oddest of places this particular one came tumbling out this week after a brief and unexpected hospital stay.  The nurses came and went the iv remained attached and there was no time to take a shower without a little help. Because of this I spent four days taking my special baths.  I know I never got to stinking, I  had my Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom, shower gel, lotion and spray and everyone who came in the room commented on how nice it smelled there.  Come to think of it they said the room smelled good, not me. We'll pretend I smelled as fresh as a daisy too.

After four long days and three sleepless nights (sounds like an anti-vacation promo), I was discharged and the very first thing I did was not hug my husband or kids, it was to take a long lovely hot shower.  I have a feeling they are thankful I did first things first.

Unequally Caffeinated

So, I was thinking about coffee today. Well, not coffee so much as how much I like coffee. Piping hot in the morning and iced in the afternoon. Although I can drink it black, I prefer mine a lovely shade of taupe and with a bit of sweetener.  Yum!

Sparta never understood my love/obsession with coffee and through the years as I went through one Mr Coffee maker after another, he would suggest that I simply quit. Simply quit.....as if there were nothing special, nothing different about the contents of the caffeine laden mug I held so tightly each morning.

Fast forward fifteen years to a career where coffee meetings had became a bi-weekly norm, and Sparta's reticence to continually draw attention to himself by declining means that we now have a shared appreciation of  Juan Valdez's Colombian brew. These days if he gets up before me that means, he's taken care of starting the pot and I get to enjoy the fruits and aromas of his labor.

When he was a non-drinker, I used to fantasize about long leisurely conversations the two of us could have out on the porch as we sipped our morning coffee,  all the while birds would be singing and a deer or two might frolic through the yard.  Silly yes?  Before becoming a convert, Sparta had absolutely no understanding of the physical and mental benefits of coffee. He could hear me sigh with pleasure upon my first sip. He could take note of my panic when the coffee maker's on light wasn't lighting. He thought he understood my need but he didn't, not really, until my need also became his own.

Lately, I've been seeing many comments disparaging Christianity; some questioning it's validity and  the sanity of those who profess it. Others have made remarks degrading believers as neanderthals with no intelligence and demonizing those who would dare to take a stand for biblical principles. I say to those posting,  as non-believers, you just don't get it and you can't.

 The apostle Paul knew this and he forewarned us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 where he says,

14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. 15 Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.(God's Word Translation)

Just like Sparta didn't understand the deliciousness of coffee, the lost have no concept of the reality of God, there's nothing in them to recognize the truth of His word. I hope to remember that when my blood pressure starts rising in response to their words.  Oh, by the way  two cups of coffee daily has been shown to help combat high blood pressure. Good to know, huh?

Officer, I Can Explain

Last week I dished out close to 300 plates of spaghetti, actually it was probably a few more because several people came back for seconds.  It was the 2nd annual People First of Henry County spaghetti dinner and it was such a blessing to be able to play a small part in the event.  This year participation was better than last and in addition to the food, there was a silent auction and several raffles so even more money was raised for the group to provide activities and events for special needs families in the area.

My mother-in-law organized the dinner. She has worked tirelessly for several months garnering donations and gathering people willing to make a crockpot of spaghetti sauce.  There was a brief fear that the 30 crockpots would not be enough, but in the end there were two pots left over and I got to take one home with me, well almost home.  The crockpot made it but we lost about half the sauce when a deer leaped in front of us on the way home.  You know the old junk in the trunk saying, yeah well, now it's spaghetti sauce coated junk.

Lulu, our dog, knew she was in for a treat as soon as the trunk lid popped open.  Her tail  and tongue both started wagging and I hoped the clean-up would not be the problem I had anticipated.  She was a great help but didn't quite get the job done.   I, in my one of my ever so brilliant ideas, decided to hose the thing out to finish it. Well, I thought it was a brilliant idea until the next day when the delicious aroma of spaghetti sauce had been replaced by an odor like no other I've ever known. ICK! There were quite a few adjectives bandied about in the describing of it: rotten, gross, disgusting, rancid, putrid, nasty, etc., (FYI...trunks have no drainage system). I hope we never get pulled over  and searched while driving the car, the tomato sauce staining might cause some serious problems.  It looks like a scene straight out of CSI in there.

On the plus side it did effectively deter the 16 year old driver from borrowing my car for several days. After a can of Lysol, some special odor neutralizer, carpet refresher, and bathroom cleaner with bleach, the smell is not so bad although there is still some kind of indescribably weird, funky odor that hits you smack in the face when the door is opened.  Okay, so maybe it is still a little bad, hopefully, time will cure that too.

A Ministry Pool

It's been said, "you've got to know your audience".  My husband is a godly man who given the opportunity will do and give anything to evangelize. After many years of pleading for a swimming pool with a laundry list of reasons why we should have one, I finally hit my husband with the one that persuaded him to come to the wet side.  It will be a MINISTRY TOOL!! I told him.  Think of the youth and children's gatherings we could host, I said, and he agreed. That was five years ago. The first three years we held several with the youth group but only a couple with the children's. The last one being a children's group party. One of the guests apparently did not want to leave when it was time and to show his dissatisfaction with the idea proceeded to use one of our bathrooms to display this. Number 2 was his tool and the damage was, while not permanent, disgusting. I have been leery of pool parties since that time two years ago.  Especially ones where there's an element of unknown about the attendees.

With 20 years of parenting under my belt I have also just become tired of dealing with kids en masse, especially poorly behaved whiny ones.  Not a very Christ like attitude, believe me I'm aware and convicted of it. We haven't offered to host anything since "the incident" and up until now haven't been asked....Friday night the kids are supposed to come.  When Sparta told me we'd been asked, I hemmed and hawed and caved to the request (albeit begrudgingly). I know, I know it's a very petty not pretty picture.

So, y'all say a prayer for me to have a positive attitude, for the safety of these kids as they come to swim, and that I can fully forgive the one who redecorated the bathroom last time. The Good Lord knows I've smeared enough poop in my own life and been forgiven.

Why Vote for Mitt Romney

When Barack Obama was elected president, it wasn't with a a vote from me.  It's not the first time my choice didn't win and I'm sure it won't be the last. Did I wish for him to be the dismal failure he has been? No.  I was as filled with hope as the next person. Transparency and a spirit of cooperation were promised and not delivered. The economy stinks and he OWNS it now.   Mitt wasn't my choice in the primary but like mold on cheese, he's growing on me.  Here's what I know about him....not from his own fictional account of life but public record.  Yes, I watch Fox sometimes and I read the New York Times too.
Oh, and I really like his wife Ann.

About Mitt:


His full Name is: Willard Mitt Romney   He was Born: March 12, 1947 and is 65 years old. 
His Father: George W. Romney, former Governor of the State of Michigan 
He was raised in Bloomfield Hills , Michigan 
He is Married to Ann Romney since 1969; they five children. 
Education: B.A. from Brigham Young University , 
J.D. and M.B.A. from Harvard University 
Religion: Mormon - The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints 
Working Background: 
After high school, he spent 30 months in France as a Mormon missionary. 
After going to both Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School simultaneously, he passed the Michigan bar exam, but never worked as an attorney. 
In 1984, he co-founded Bain Capital a private equity investment firm, one of the largest such firms in the United States . 
In 1994, he ran for Senator of Massachusetts and lost to Ted Kennedy. 
He was President and CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. 
In 2002, he was elected Governor of the State of Massachusetts where he eliminated a 1.5 billion  deficit. 
Some Interesting Facts about Romney: 
Bain Capital, starting with one small office supply store in Massachusetts , turned it into Staples; now over 2,000 stores employing 90,000 people. 
Bain Capital also worked to perform the same kinds of business miracles again and again, with companies like Domino's, Sealy, Brookstone, Weather Channel, Burger King, Warner Music Group, Dollarama, Home Depot Supply, and many others. 
He was an unpaid volunteer campaign worker for his dad's gubernatorial campaign 1 year. 
He was an unpaid intern in his dad's governor's office for eight  years. 
He was an unpaid bishop and state president of his church for ten years. 
He was an unpaid President of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee for three years. 
He took no salary and was the unpaid Governor of Massachusetts for four years. 
He gave his entire inheritance from his father to charity. 
Mitt Romney is one of the wealthiest self-made men in our country but has given more back to its citizens in terms of money, service and time than most men. 
And in 2011 Mitt Romney gave over $4 million to charity, almost 19% of his income.... Just for comparison purposes, Obama gave 1% and Joe Biden gave $300 or .0013%. 
Mitt Romney is Trustworthy: 
He will show us his birth certificate 
He will show us his high school and college transcripts. 
He will show us his social security card. 
He will show us his law degree. 
He will show us his draft notice. 
He will show us his  medical records. 
He will show us his income tax records. 
He will show us he has nothing to hide. 
Mitt Romney's background, experience and trustworthiness show him to be a great leader and an excellent citizen for President of the United States . 
You may think that Romney may not be the best representative the Republicans could have selected. At least I know what religion he is, and that he won't desecrate the flag, bow down to foreign powers, or practice fiscal irresponsibility. I know he has the ability to turn this financial debacle that the current regime has gotten us into. We won't like all the things necessary to recover from this debt, but someone with Romney's background can do it. But, on the minus side, He never was a "Community Organizer", never took drugs or smoked pot, never got drunk, did not associate with communists or terrorists, nor did he attend a church whose pastor called for God to damn the  US.



*****The healthcare thing in Massachusetts doesn't really bother me anymore because it's what the people of the state wanted.  As their governor he listened to the will of the people. It was a state's right issue and I say more power to them.*******  ( an afterthought)