Unexpected Mini Vacation Coming Up

Since moving to Florida, I have discovered that the rules are very different here when it comes to medication and Tramadol is one of those medications that a doctor just will not prescribe.  

Even pharmacies are hyper sensitive when it comes to filling that kind of medication.  I found this out a couple months ago when I went to pick it up.  The pharmacist made some comment about the length of time I had been taking the Tramadol and I'm sure he was only referring to the year or so that I have been filling it at Publix so when I said 3.5 years, he got super quiet and began typing stuff on his computer keyboard.  I soon found out he was communicating with the DEA.  Seriously?   Tramadol is such a weak medication when compared to other narcotics.  So I let him know that I spent a year taking very strong narcotic medication that did not work at controlling my pain.  If I was just interested in drugs, I would still be taking it and claiming that it worked!  He immediately changed his attitude and handed over the pills. 

I am so tired of being looked at as a drug addict.  They have no idea what I went through to get to this point of being pain free.  They have no idea the amount of pain I was in!  

Anyway, I tried to find a doctor in this state willing to prescribe the Tramadol did not have any success.  The last physical I had with my doctor in Wisconsin was March 1 so he could no longer prescribe it for me unless I went to him for another physical...which is exactly what I am doing.  

Zack and I will be flying to Wisconsin on Thursday morning.  I have an appointment with the doctor Thursday afternoon.  We will spend Friday and Saturday visiting friends, and then fly home Sunday.    

Whirlwind trip but necessary. 

Mardi Gras Again

I went to Mardi Gras tonight for the second time this year and for the second time in a row, I started taking pictures during the parade only to have my camera remind me that I did not put my SD card in it!  Grrr...

My ex-husband was there taking pictures so I am just going to steal his.

Always a fun time!  

It's All Good

Remember this post?

Well I am beyond thrilled to say that the child in question is doing EXTREMELY well.

We are now at a point I thought we'd never be able achieve.  When he came into my classroom he was angry, bitter, sad, and acting out with bullying behaviors and poor choices.

He is now happy, kind to others, and making good choices on a consistent basis.  He's gotten compliments for his behavior from all the specials teachers and the administration.  

I hope he continues on this path.

Hooray for an Unexpected Day Off

I was somewhat stressing over how I would make it through this week.  

My second job combined with parent teacher conferences was equaling a verrry long week for me. 

It looked something like this:
Monday: School 7:30-3:30
               Tutoring 5:00-7:00

Tuesday: School 7:30-3:30 
                The only night off...C.J. came over and we watched   Breaking Bad and he treated us to pizza.

Wednesday: School 7:30-3:30
                     Tutoring 6:00-8:00

Thursday: School 7:30-conferences
                  Conferences 3:00-6:00 (sporadic)

Friday: School 7:30 - conferences
             Conferences 3:00-6:00 (sporadic)

So yeah...busy.  

Today, as I drove to school, I noticed the busy road in front of the school was closed.  I could not turn left on the street so I had to turn around and drive through a couple parking lots to actually get to school.  Once I parked, I noticed that the building was completely dark and everyone was standing outside.  Across the street, a utility truck was parked and people were working on a downed utility pole.  

There was uncertainty for the first 15 minutes or so about what they day would look like but we soon learned power was not expected to be restored until at least 1:00 which meant we were not able to have school.  

Thankfully at the time there were only a handful of students there that had been dropped off. We had to wait around for them to be picked up but, once they were gone, we got to leave and enjoy an unexpected day off.  

I just wish the day off would have been able to include sleeping in...

Game 6 - This is the Magic We're Talking About

Last night was game 6 of our 6 game package and I am very sad. Even though the Magic are sooooo bad...I enjoy the time with my boys and I go into the games with low expectations so I am not at all disappointed when they lose.  

Oddly enough, this game was almost identical to last year's game against the 76er's.  Once again we were fortunate enough to get club seats.  

A short video walking through the club section

Once again the Magic built a big lead (21-6) as the 76er's looked awful to begin the game.  And once again the Magic blew that 15 point lead in no time at all! Even before the 1st quarter ended.  

From then on it was back and forth.  Philadelphia would build a lead and then lose it...the Magic would build a lead and then lose it. And so it went...

So...one would think a 6 point lead with two minutes left on your home court would be a win.

Foolish foolish...we're talking about the Magic here...

Yep!!!  7 in a row unanswered.  Then this happened.

I wish that this was where the game ended.  Not only because the 76er's made a basket with 3 sec. left that ended up being the game winner, but because the final 26 seconds took 20 minutes!!!! No Joke!!!

3 or 4 time outs called and 2 reviewed plays (neither of which went Orlando's way) and the time just inched along.  

On a final note, the game ended with Fournier dribbling down court with 2 seconds left, being cut off by a defender, and ending up on his butt!  I really think they could have called a foul on that play!

The Anatomy of Pain That Gets Everyone's Attention

All day on Monday I just did not feel right.  I had this dull pain in my lower right abdomen.  It wasn't bad but I would explain it as annoying.  

After school was over, I had to go to Huntington for my first day of training from 4-6.  By the time it ended, I was feeling a little worse and the pain had advanced to uncomfortable.  Then, as I was driving home, I suddenly felt nauseated and had to pull over to throw up.  

When I got home, I googled my symptoms and 'appendicitis' came up.  Great.  Another symptom was low grade fever so I took my temp and ---99.8.   After a bit, nothing was getting better so I called my principal and told her I would probably need to see a doctor the next day.  Of course, she did not see the logic in waiting and tried to convince me to go immediately and I told her I would think about it. 

She contacted our curriculum coordinator whose son had an appendicitis a couple months ago and soon I had a text from her begging me to go to ER also. She had me so scared of a burst appendix that  I told her I would. And I was all set go but three things made me change my mind.

1). I had taken Tylenol and no longer had a fever 
2). I was no longer nauseated
3). As long as I lied still, I was not in pain so I knew I could make it through the night sleeping w/o pain.  

Every time I got up in the middle of the night, I hoped the pain would be gone but then I would move and my body would tell me it was still there! 

So first thing this morning, I headed for an urgent care by my house but it was closed.  I went to another and there was not a seat available to even sit down so headed in to the Emergency Room at Dr. Phillips hospital.  I had never been there for myself but had had good experiences bringing Zack there a couple times.  

As soon as I was in a room, an IV was started, I had blood taken and then they gave me a bag of fluids.  Hilariously, they thought my tiny veins were due to dehydration.  I laughed and said, "no, that is normal for me." But I got the entire bag anyway (and then had to use the bathroom every hour after that). 

The doctor came in and pushed on my stomach until he found "the tender spot" and I nearly jumped off the bed.  A CT scan was ordered...yippee.  I gotta say, I really felt stupid being wheeled to the CT scan room on the bed.  I could have walked just fine.  

An hour later, I had an answer.  Not an appendicitis but diverticulitis.  I had heard of this before but, to me, it always sounded like something old people get.  Needless to say I felt very old. 

The doctor explained that normally they admit people with this diagnosis overnight to administer IV antibiotics and monitor them but because I was local and all my other blood work looked good, he was willing to let me go home if I promised to come back for a second round of treatment tomorrow and if I was okay with all this. Oh gosh...heck yes!   I did  not want to spend the night in the hospital.  

I had to wait around for another hour to get a bag of IV antibiotics and then, armed with a prescription for two different antibiotics and a pain medicine, I was finally released...5.5 hours after walking in. 

I hope to be back to school on Thursday.       

That Which Could Make You Rethink Everything You've Ever Thought

This post is a little uncomfortable to write as it focuses on some difficulties I've had for the past few months. But, the truth is, it's my real and everyday life and I don't write this blog to hide behind a facade and pretend to be someone I'm not.  If anything, I pray that these past few months can stand as a testimony of God's grace and mercy even though it highlights my shortcoming in trusting His plan for my life.  

Moving across country is not easy and it is certainly not cheap so when I decided to make the move from Wisconsin back to Florida to be near my family, it took a lot of consideration and deliberate financial planning.  When it came time to move, I had enough money put away to pay the actual moving expenses, to pay my rent for a year, and to sustain us (groceries, monthly expenses, etc,) for a year.  My part time job at Universal provided us with a little extra spending money to enjoy things such as weekday passes to Disney, Orlando Magic games, Lightning games, and an occasional dinner out.

I began looking for a teaching job sometime around April or May.  I concentrated on Charter Schools and Christian Schools thinking (now I know inaccurately) that it would be easier for me to get a job there without a Florida teaching license. I was very excited when I was hired by Kids Community College in the middle of July.  I immediately gave Universal my two week's notice that I would be converting to a seasonal employee and put in my last day there on July 28th in an anticipation of an August 1st starting date for teaching.  

But I did not start on August 1...nor on August 2nd...not the 3rd, or 4th, or 5th. Surely by the 8th I thought I would be able to start but...no...not the 9th either, or the 10th, or the 11th!  By this time, I had been sitting at home for two weeks without earning any money.  On the 11th we learned that it would be at least 30 business days before they would even consider issuing me a license - and school was beginning on the 15th.   We had to think outside the box and I was hired as a long term sub which meant I would be making much less money than my contract pay would be and that I would also not be eligible for any benefits such as paid days off.  

And that's where I started...as a long term sub...on August 15th.  Since we get paid on the 1st and the 15th, and since I had not put in any hours prior to the 15th, I had to wait until September 1st before I got paid.  By that point I had spent about 5 weeks without earning any money!  It killed me!  

September was a very tense month for me as I struggled to catch up on bills and then had the added stress of the unpaid Labor Day holiday and an afternoon that I had to go home after randomly losing my entire voice!!! There was one particular day when I was felling so upset that it resulted in my son starting a GoFundMe page so we could survive the month.  While this was particularly embarrassing for me, it led to realize that God puts friends in our life so that you have them to lean on in times like this.  Several of my son's friends gave money as well as mine and, to this day, I still thank God everyday for their generous gifts when I needed it most.  
Unfortunately, God did not have plans to ease my struggles.  At the end of September, when I was expecting to receive my teaching license, I instead received a denial.  It turns out that, while I applied for an elementary teaching license (K-8), my transcripts (my original degree) was for Early Childhood Education (PreK -3).  I was faced with two choices...apply for an Early Childhood license, or send my updated transcripts that proved I qualified for an Elementary license.  Either option required another $75.00 application fee and ANOTHER 30 business day waiting period.  As you can imagine, I was DEVASTATED!!!  

I chose to apply for the Early Childhood license and began the waiting game all over again.  Meanwhile, we had a hurricane which canceled schools for 2 days and while my co-workers were giddy with excitement, I was cursing the fact that this would be another 2 days without pay!!  And, sure enough, on the last Friday in October, I was scrounging my house for change and borrowing my son's available $4.00 so I could put gas in my car.  It was on this day that I screamed at God, "why are you continuing to punch me in the gut?"  And I heard the response, "because I want you on your knees."  

So that is where I went.  To my knees.  Two days later, I was issued my teaching license.  I wish I could say that that was where my struggles ended.  We still live paycheck to paycheck with nothing left over for anything extra.  I have lost 15 pounds since August and now weigh less than I've weighed in almost 20 years. I feed my son...I feed my dog...I sometimes starve.  For the first time in my life I know what it feels like to go hungry because I am just not eating enough food.  

BUT

I am hopeful things are looking up.  I just got a second job tutoring which will provide us with hopefully an additional $400.00+ a month.  Also, next month we will be moving to a one bedroom apt (same complex) which will save an additional $300.00 a month on rent.  

One thing I have learned is that God has not let me fall.  And He never will as long as I trust in Him.  

...more to come.