Another month.....

And of course it's been busy!  I recently came to the conclusion that although we talk about various times of the year as being "so busy" that, in reality, EVERY time of the year has its own share of busy-ness.  Gets so bad for me that when I do have a couple/few hours of quiet and someone makes another request that I react badly.  Sigh.

In any event, the weekend after Easter we enjoyed a short visit from Tom's mom and her husband.  They live about a 9-10 hour drive away and there's not an easy way to fly from there to here, so we're so thankful they made the effort to come down and participate in some of our busy-ness!

The following weekend my parents came down (11 hour drive this time -- again how we appreciate it!) to enjoy Abby's grandparent's day and participate again in the busy-ness of our life.  Maggie went to Baton Rouge (with Tom and my dad) early Saturday morning to take the Geometry test for the State Rally.  Mom, Abby and I left a bit later to meet with them at an outlet mall in Gonzales.  Enjoyed some Starbucks while waiting, then the boys headed back home and the girls went birthday shopping (a bit delayed, especially for Abby!).

So we were able to see all sets of grandparents 3 weekends in a row -- gotta be a record since the girls were quite little and we were living in Houston!

Meanwhile, Tom has started a new role at Shell and is settling in well.  Back to external technology research for the purpose of making recommendations for the company to take up.  He's traveling more but we're pleased that we don't have to make a move while one is in high school and the other is rapidly approaching it.  There's no ideal time to move, and while New Orleans hasn't been my favorite location, I'd rather get them both in college before heading out!

As for me, I FINALLY have gotten some treatment and (praise God!) relief from my hip pain.  I was going back and forth with the orthopedist and pain management doctors trying to find out the status and kept hearing that it hadn't been approved yet.  It finally became my check-in with the orthopedist.  And while we ended up there THREE HOURS, it finally got resolved -- one of those cases where a code got entered incorrectly, a key person (insurance company liaison) was on vacation, and no one kept the ball in the air.  The PA at the orthopedists got the injectionist's office on one phone and the insurance company on the other and got it resolved.  3 days later Tom took me to the hospital for the injection.  They're using Synvisc, which is derived from rooster combs, to effectively lubricate the space between the bones that in normal joints has cartilage.  They'd told me I'd be unable to drive until the next day, so I was anticipating something to relax me.  No dice.  They drove me on the gurney to the OR and had me move myself onto the table.  Covered me in a sheet and had me pull down my pants.  Cleaned and got ready for two shots (first to numb, second to treat) directly into the hip joint directed by xray/fluoroscope.  Back to the gurney and back to the room where Tom was, a drink and snack and wheeled to the car.  When my friend dropped Abby from school that afternoon, she'd warned Abby that mom might be loopy -- nope.  Stone cold sober and without any discomfort until that evening.  Improvement wasn't immediate, but now it's been 16 days and I'm quite pleased -- I can get into and out of the car more easily (Tom's sedan is a bit more tricky when I'm driving as it's the left hip).  I can walk without pain.  I can go up the stairs without putting weight on the railing (or even hanging on to it!).  Still discomfort when pivoting on the joint or sometimes rolling over at night.  And it gets stiff when I stay in one position too long.  But I'm pleased and hope it continues to help delay the eventuality of a total joint replacement.

Enjoy the beginning of summer!