ok, confession time: i have been battling lice for a very long time. as in, just before sasha started kindergarten long time. it's not so bad, if a little gross, lice doesn't really bother me all that much. i wash hair with lice killing shampoo, comb through hair and am in general, pretty much aware of what's going on with the kids' hair. this will be a never ending battle (and i don't really need advice, thanks) because no matter what, they will always bring more home from kindy. just waiting it out, really. poor sasha gets it the worst, with her long hair and (seemingly) tasty self (she's also very popular with the mosquito crowd) but we wash and we comb and we use tea tree oil (the tea tree oil conditioners are great!) but then sasha feels unwell at school and they have her lay down in the office on the futons and BAM! here come the lice again. the boys don't get it so bad, though when tommy does get lice, he hates the lice ridding procedure(s) and it can get really rough in there until i pin him down and get the job done.

thankfully i have to do these things, though, because last night tommy had a tick on his head!! ARGH!! (ok, imagine me screaming in horror.) i hate ticks. gross gross gross. thankfully it was still small and also that i could get it off without breaking or squishing it. i have no idea where it came from. yesterday morning, when i took the dog for a walk, it looked like he had a blister on his ear. i wondered where it came from but when i looked at it closely, it was a tick! a bloated, shiny tick! *shivers* i tried to get it off but it wasn't going to come easily. after i came home, the kids were up and sasha found it first. she kinda freaked out about it, poor girl. then yoshi came downstairs and i told him there was a tick on his dog's ear. at first he looked *inside* the ear and didn't see anything. i turned the dog's ear and showed him the tick. OMGSHOCK! yoshi had never seen a tick before, can you believe it? i tried to carefully take it off but failed--the head detached. now we are on ear watching duty for the dog, and head watching duty for tommy. totally squicked out over here. and i never ever ever want to take a hike in the woods again! or even go into the back garden (it has really overgrown this rainy season. time to put on jeans, thick socks, long sleeved shirts, bandanas and hats and tackle the garden--with thick gloves, too, of course!

well, sasha came down with HFM disease on friday, and hiro started getting spots in his mouth yesterday. *sigh* neither one had a fever yesterday or today so i sent them off to school. hiro had to miss out on the pool, though. poor guy, he was so disappointed! so far it's been pretty mild, as far as diseases go. most of tommy's spots were on his bottom, so one could hardly tell he was sick. sasha is rather spotty on her hands and feet, and so far hiro has spots in his mouth and on his knee. it's not even summer yet and we're dealing with illness and misery! lol

soon the kids will be out of school. sasha and tommy start half days on thursday. bummer. i'm kinda used to having the house to myself for a few hours every day! hiro has lunch until next tuesday and then i guess they're free! gotta think of things to do this summer (already have uminonakamichi on the list.)

not going anywhere again this summer. kinda disappointed about that, but then i still don't have a full-time job so it's hardly a surprise. maybe next summer!

today is tanabata, a 'holiday' here in japan. i'm not sure why it's celebrated, it seems kind of sad to me (only see your lover once a year for a few hours...) at japanese class yesterday, we got a little cultural information about it. first we read the story (in japanese, but there was english translation on the hand out they gave us), then we made origami stars, then we cut origami paper into triangles and glued them together, then we got a puff ball thingy (ha! whatever, mine was a pineapple) and then we wrote our wishes on some paper (in japanese). after that, we hung all our decorations on a bamboo branch that the director brought for us. we got to take our tanabata trees home, so maybe i'll let the kids add on to mine.

yesterday when tommy got off the bus, the teacher told me he had butsu-butsu. i have NO IDEA what that means, but i think it's raised bumps, or a rash. she asked me to please take him to the doctor. since it was raining i had to go to the elementary school to get hiro. this is a PITA because sasha and tommy are SOOOOO HUUUUUNGRYYYYYYY but eventually i get them in and we go to the school. the teacher kind of told me off, telling me that school ended at 3:15 (it was nearly 3:40) which i understand, but i just told her i have two very hungry preschoolers who get off the bus at three and who are not very cooperative. anyway.

off to the clinic and only just got there on time (remember, they close early on wednesday, if they're open on wednesday afternoon at all) and got put in a quarantine room because of the butsu-butsu. turns out tommy has hand foot and mouth disease. oh joy. no school for him. OH JOY. sasha has lots of bug bites and a weird patch of skin on her scalp but doesn't have HFM disease at this time. well. i wonder if she should go to school, though. she could be coming down with it and contagious. but let's think, where did tommy get this? oh yeah, the school.

HFM disease isn't dangerous, just uncomfortable, so we should be ok. i'll keep tommy home for the next couple of days. i might have to miss japanese class tomorrow, though. oh joy.

i was feeling pretty good on the drive home on saturday. after we arrived, i greeted the dog and then put a few things away. then i escaped to my room and tried to relax. i nearly fell asleep! then i started feeling uncomfortable again, maybe at around 3:30. i had taken the pain medication at about 10:30 so that meant it only worked for about five hours. so, i went to take another one and that's when i realized they only gave me five pills, not five days worth! yikes! i figured it out and thought i only had enough to cover me until 2 pm sunday. not good. i took a pill, though, and read that they made one sleepy. hm. good to know, don't want to drive a car after taking one!

i went upstairs and waited for the hour to pass and the pain (which was awful, and also included a migraine) to go away. eventually it did and i dozed again. then i went downstairs for a bowl of cereal and to ask yoshi to cover dinner for the kids. then i went back upstairs to wait for the pain to come back.

but it didn't! the headache did, but it was almost manageable. so, i didn't take another pill until i was ready to do to sleep (about 9:30) and though i've had periods of yucky-ness, i've been doing really well since saturday night.

on sunday morning i did a load of laundry (mainly for tommy and sasha's uniforms, hiro's sports clothes and his school apron) and then took it to the coin laundry to dry. while out, i also paid the cars' taxes, so that was one more thing done. i got home just after 8 am and was pretty wiped out, so i told yoshi that i was going up to my room to rest. yoshi? cleaned up and tried to get the kids to help, because his parents were coming over. only a little bit annoyed by that because a) i couldn't help even if i wanted to and b) they usually bring lunch and enough that we don't have to really worry about dinner so that was good. didn't feel guilty about yoshi cleaning, either.

last night. hm. well, you'll never guess what two kindergarten children came down with last night. go on, go ahead and try. ok, ok, i'll tell you. sasha had a barking cough and complained all night that she was coughing. tommy on the other hand came down with a burning fever and whimpered most of the night. not restful! i got up to get the thermometer for tommy. 38.4 . then tested sasha. 37.2 . hm. went downstairs to get cold medicine for tommy. half an hour later, because of a whiney-crying sasha, got more cold medicine. up and down the stairs, all night long. this morning tommy was 38.6, sasha was 37.4 and both were barking. *sigh* so i called the school and told them they wouldn't be on the bus. got hiro off to school and then took the other two to the clinic. probably just a cold but no school today. too bad, there goes sasha's perfect attendance record! the pity of it was, she so wanted to go to school today. poor sasha.

they are both doing better tonight and if there are no fevers in the morning, they will probably go to school. or sasha will. i hope. because i am EXHAUSTED this evening and need more rest!

and, on top of everything else, our cat arrived this morning. she is so beautiful, and so friendly!! even yoshi was impressed, and he thinks of himself as a dog person!

one last thing, before i sign off. before tommy fell ill with his fever, yoshi told me that the older brother of the boy hiro went home from school with on friday (confused??) just came down with the mumps. got it from school. also, tommy totally sneezed in my face last night so now i have a cold to look forward to. *sigh* at least i only work outside the house one hour a week!

PS. looking over my previous post it sounds like i got dressed in my OR kimono at ten and then, right after, went downstairs for an x-ray at noon. um, probably not that slow a dresser. either i got dressed at eleven, or there was a little break there that i relaxed on my bed before being told i needed to go downstairs for my x-ray. yeah, that's it!

EDIT: oh, one more thing! on sunday i found a scrape in my mouth. ouch! must have been from the intubation during the general anesthesia. oops. it's nearly healed now, though, so that's a relief!

hey there.

i didn't really write about my surgery last december, just dropped a couple of hints. i think that i wanted to stay discrete because it's really easy to descend into the nitty gritty of health related issues, which can be pretty gory. but i want to remember what it was like, what happened and of course, how it was in a country where my native language is different from that of the nurses, doctors, staff and other patients! so, be warned now, you may be squicked out, or learn more about me than you ever wished to know. read at your own risk!

this time around wasn't quite as 'bad' as last december. at least i didn't have to have a totally clean digestive system (i'll let you figure that out on your own...) my surgery was scheduled for a friday so of course, i was admitted on thursday. yoshi took me in. it was raining like hell and the front entrance was rather crowded (old person's home medi-van, regular car, two taxis) but as i had several bags, we pulled up, too. instead of just waiting, i just hopped out and got all my stuff and went into the hospital. i checked in, but needed some documents that yoshi had (guarantee of payment i guess) and since the parking lot was full, it took him some time to get to the hospital! eventually he showed up, though, and all was done. then we waited for the nurse from upstairs to come get us.

we went up to the room, again a shared room. there were already two women there. luckily no roommates from hell (in fact, i was probably "that roommate" this time around, even though my kids didn't show up!) though the woman in the bed next to mine had an alarm that went off at 5 am. not pleased about that! so thursday was fine. yoshi stayed for a while, but then he had to get back for the dog and then wait for the kids to get home from school. we also found out that i would be the second hinyouki (i think that's right. i suck at romaji. anyway, that basically means kidney medical stuff) surgery of the day and if the first went ok, i'd be in the OR by 2 pm. so, yoshi made arrangements for the kids (after school care for sasha and tommy, go to a friend's house for hiro). they also estimated that i'd be in the OR for about 2 hours. cool.

i had lunch there and the rest of the afternoon was taken up by me crocheting, knitting and watching harry potter videos on my portable dvd player (why yes, i did bring three bags with me!) i also took a bath, that was quite nice. i don't remember what dinner was, but i have very few complaints about the food at the hospital! at some point in the afternoon, the anethesiologist came by to tell me about the procedure for the next day. that's when i found out i would be getting a shot in the back, which would make me numb from the waist down and would last about 6 hours. um, what? then he would put me to sleep, but not totally asleep (i think it's called twilight) so i could still move my arms and hear. ugh. he could speak english and kept saying, "OK?" at the end of each sentence. um, yeah? like i have a choice at this point. shortly after, a surgery nurse came by to tell me a bit about the procedure, too, except she kinda freaked out when she saw my white face and got all weirded out about how much japanese i could (or could not) understand. very irritating, to say the least! i tried to get the courage up to tell her that i can't have needles in my back (i'm a big wuss), but i couldn't. later on a couple of nurses (my admitting nurse and the night nurse) came by to give me an allergy test (i am allergic to penicillin so they wanted to make sure i wasn't allergic to whatever they were going to use during surgery) and i tried to explain to them that i didn't want to have a shot in the back. they were very sympathetic, and said i could cry and scream and shout (if i needed to) during the procedure....but they also offered to talk to the doctor, too. a bit after that, the anethesiologist came by and said they would use general anesthesia on me. hm. not my favorite method, but better than a shot in the back. i worried about it a lot (which would i rather have?) and that evening i was given a sleeping pill so i could get enough rest, which of course i took. i did sleep better than i usually do, though i did get up to go to the toilet a couple of times (i do this normally.)

the next morning i was up by 5:30. i just stayed in my pj's though. i had a cup of tea before i had to be off liquids (8 am) and watched more videos. at around 10 it was time for me to get my iv, so i changed into my OR kimono (but kept my undies on), and then i had to go downstairs for x-rays! by myself! practically nekkid and pushing an iv! luckily there weren't many people around--it was just at lunch and most hospitals/clinics kinda shut down around that time. after x-rays i went upstairs to wait for yoshi. after he arrived we waited for my surgery time.

at about 2 we went downstairs. said goodbye to yoshi and then went to the OR. gave my glasses to the nurse and then was led (blindly) into the OR. they had destiny's child survivor playing, which i thought was rather funny. so they put me to sleep and i dreamt about something, but i can't remember what now. i was actually annoyed when they woke me, because i wanted to finish the dream (i was annoyed last december, too, though i can't remember that dream, either, though i do remember i was frantically looking for something and just couldn't find it). i felt woozy, my mouth was dry and i felt vaguely uncomfortable. i don't really remember all the details, so forgive me, but i do know i was moved to another bed and then wheeled back to my room. yoshi stayed for a short while but had to leave by 4:30 to get the kids.

here's where it may get a bit graphic. i had a catheter and ostomy bag for collecting urine. when i was more awake, the nurse told me i could lie on either side and even sit up, but i wasn't allowed to stand. whenever i laid on my side, however, i got a very strong urge to pee, and i've never been one to 'hold it'. so, i spent most of my time on my back, which isn't really comfortable for me. i also told the nurse at some point that i had pain, but i was told i wasn't getting any pain medication (and really, it wasn't very painful, just really uncomfortable. and i couldn't sit. ouch.) i had a very long night on friday. at one point i was awake and checked the time. 3:10. i tried lying on my side, but had that urge to pee, so turned onto my back. checked the time: 3:20. i thought i dozed off and kinda jerked awake. checked the time: 3:30. things were not looking good at that point! i rested and woke for the rest of the night, and i think i finally managed to get to sleep when the stupid alarm next to my bed went off at five. NOT PLEASED. but basically i was awake at 5:30. i couldn't really do anything, though, since i couldn't sit up and couldn't reach my dvd player. i tried to not think about how uncomfortable i was.

oh! i've just remembered something. after getting back to my room, the nurse put inflating boots on my legs (to help with circulation and/or prevent blood clots) which was hella annoying. and noisy. i also had to have an oxygen mask, hated it. she also came by every few minutes to check my temperature and blood pressure (so had the blood pressure cuff on for hours). the boots would automatically turn off so she would turn them on again. the night nurse (my admitting nurse) for friday finally got it through my head that if i didn't move my legs myself, i'd keep getting the boots, and i may not be allowed to leave on saturday. so, i assured her i could move my legs so eventually lost the boots. i also had a slight fever, and was sweating like mad. the boots were hot, the operating kimono was hot and the aircon was turned low. i was glad to get the boots off, though, and didn't have to try to sleep with them on.

at 6 the night nurse came around for blood pressure and temp check. she finally took the blood pressure cuff off. she also mentioned the blood in the ostomy bag (news to me!) but it looked like it was tapering off. hm. i finally maneuvered myself to look over the side of the bed and surprise! piss and blood in a bag. fun times. she took a sample for testing (lucky her) and went on her merry way. i tried to get more rest.

at eight breakfast came around and i was glad to have something to eat again. i ate most of it, just skipping on the fishy furikake. ick. someone came to take the tray away, which was nice seeing as i couldn't walk. a short time later a nurse came by to empty the bag (lucky her) and then shortly after that, my nurse and the doctor came in. the doctor commented on the nearly empty bag and i just knew they wanted another sample! the nurse got one, though, which i could feel coming out of my bladder. interesting sensation, let me tell you! then she took out the catheter and was told i needed to go downstairs to get more x-rays. oh joy. i asked if i could take off my 'diaper'. yes. so i took some undies and a maxi pad to the toilet and changed into that. i still had to have my kimono, though, because i still had an iv. yep, nearly naked walking through a huge hospital on a saturday morning. oh joy. i could walk, though, and things were looking good that i would go home that day.

after x-rays i went upstairs to have my iv removed. such a relief! then i put my clothes on and proceeded to feel worse and worse. must have been some pain medication in that bag because i really started to feel pain. mostly in my lower right abdomen (where the stone was) but also down below. *sigh* i finally called the nurse and told her i was in a lot of pain. she went to consult with the doctor and brought me back a pill. just as she arrived i rushed into the toilet to puke. that's how bad the pain was! i took the medicine, but it took nearly an hour to take affect. i lay on the bed and nearly fell asleep. then lunch came around and i felt so much better! no pain at all! awesome. i ate lunch, and saved the fruit for my kids, but someone came around for the tray, so i just let them take it.

soon my family showed up and i was finally allowed to go home. i think this post is long enough, so i'll have a follow-up later on!

yesterday didn't start well. the kindy bus stop this year is in front of our house, but from april (the new school year) it will be around the corner (our neighbor behind us will also be going to 'our' kindergarten from april and as the live on the 'main' street in our neighborhood, it only makes sense for the bus to stop there. and it isn't that far, just around the corner!) so hiro and sasha have been keen on 'practicing'. you see, we're often not ready for the bus and having the bus come right to our door has been awesome! when hiro was a first and second year student, the stop was around the corner and up the street and during the winter it was very hard to get there on time. (of course, we were 'hindered' by two small children who weren't in school yet, but still...) ANYWAY, yesterday morning i was still trying to coax hiro into his uniform right as the bus was due to come. we made it outside but no bus--and we didn't hear the bus, so we hustled around the corner to wait for the bus. and we waited. and waited. there's another bus stop up the street--basically one block down--and sasha really really wanted to go there, too. after waiting for about ten minutes or so, we walked up the street. there one of the mothers had a cell phone and was talking to the school. apparently the bus was having engine trouble and would be late! well! we went back to the house because i thought we'd only be a minute or two and had left tommy at home watching a video. hiro and sasha were not impressed but i really had no choice and we went back to the house. tommy was fine, though he did comment that mommy was so long gone from the house!

so, we got comfy in front of the video and watched for a while. then i got a call from one of the teachers wondering where we were! they had come to the house and rang the bell, but someone (i have no idea who, but it wasn't me!!) had turned off the ringer to the doorbell. well hell! hiro and sasha had to rush into their coats and find all their stuff and rush out the door! oops! oh well.

then tommy and i got ready for a trip to costco. tommy was actually dressed, but that's only because i made him take a nap the day before and he didn't get up for anything! he 'slept' from 4 pm to 7 am. i guess he needed the sleep! so, we get out the door and head to costco, but i had forgotten to take my phone. it was charging up and i usually have it in my purse. oops! costco was fine, tommy was fine, and we even made a stop at the GAP outlet store to get a few things for hiro (the poor boy has almost no clothes. i am worried about what he's going to wear at school!) then we headed home and nearly as soon as we got in the house, our home phone started ringing. we never use this phone but i had to go to the bathroom so i asked tommy to answer it. apparently he answers the phone with, 'what?' good thing it was yoshi!

so, yoshi was calling because the school called him. hiro had a fever and they had tried to call me but i wasn't answering my phone (because i forgot it). oops! anyway, i checked the phone and they had only just called so phew! at least poor hiro hadn't been waiting for hours for me to come pick him up. i changed tommy's diaper, put the cold stuff in the refrigerator and then hustled him back into the car ('why are we going again??') and drove to the school. poor hiro was so cold and sick. i also got sasha and drove to the pediatrician's clinic. well. it was tuesday and in the afternoons the do vaccination shots only until 3 pm. UGH!!! i have to admit, i was less than impressed. i DO appreciate that they have time blocked off for this, but they do it EVERY week on tuesday AND thursday. it makes sense, I GET IT, and yet...i dunno. last wednesday i took them to the clinic (in the afternoon) and they were closed (i don't know if they closed early or if they were just closed wednesday afternoon. most cattle-call type things are on wednesday afternoons and at least one of the doctors from this clinic seem to participate in them. usually the clinic is open until six.) so even though my kids were feeling poorly then, we couldn't see the doctor. and then yesterday afternoon! there really aren't any other clinics closer to where we live, and even this it's a bit of a drive. and tommy was in melt-down mode and really needed a nap. i told the reception that i had taken my kids out of kindy early and that's why we were there at that time, and i suspect hiro could have fifth disease and....they said we could wait in the car until three. uh, yeah, no. tommy was having a fit (he wanted to push the button for the automatic door, but sasha had got there first) and there was no way i was waiting forty minutes! SO! very annoyed, i drove to the cosmos (drug store) next door, got some kids' cold medicine and went home. sasha fell asleep JUST as we go to our street so i made her get out of the car and go to bed. hiro and tommy got doses of medicine (tommy has a cough and a runny nose) and then sent them off to bed. hiro was pissed off, but he did eventually take a nap. tommy went to sleep pretty easily (but then, he still needs naps!) and sasha? no way, man, there was no way she was gonna sleep! UGH! and of course, she was ms. meltydown cranky pants by six. *sigh*

anyway, that was our day. fingers crossed hiro feels better today and will go to school. only six days left!

so i have no idea what the state of my kidney stone is. i am almost afraid to go to the hospital. we didn't really have a back up plan for daycare, but then, i didn't expect to have the flu! (as an aside, i feel like such an asshole for going to the hospital with the flu. not that i did it on purpose but geez!) so, yoshi took time off from work and it's a bit too soon to do so again, we are not going to ask his mom and my mom just came over in december so...yeah. even though it looks like two or three days in the hospital, getting tommy looked after is a bit of a problem. also, we're nearly to march and then it's spring break. and then it's april when hiro will be starting elementary school and tommy will be starting yochien (kindergarten/preschool). i guess i just need to go to the hospital and find out what needs to be done. if we can wait a few more weeks, the end of april would really work for us...

on the 11th, the kindergarten had their musical/dance recital. sasha was so wonderful! very genki and loud. afterward she said that the teacher would have been angry so she did her best. she always says the teacher is going to be angry, but i wonder what that means...i missed hiro's class. they did a production of cinderella, and hiro was one of the princes (basically there were four kids in each role, though for some reason (flu?) there were only three princes). tommy was SOOOO OVER IT by the time it was hiro's turn so i chased him around the school. *sigh* i had yoshi order the DVD so hopefully i'll be able to see it soon.

they actually did half the classes in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. that was great because then we didn't have to watch ALL the kids (no matter how cute, i do not want to sit through three hours of 3-6 year-olds singing and dancing!) so that was a plus. hiro and sasha's classes were in the afternoon, though, so i had to get out of there as early as possible to go teach. what fun!

the kids had monday off (because the 11th was a holiday) but it was orientation day at the elementary school. i had to take tommy and sasha with, and sasha was actually mistaken for the future first grader! *sigh* poor hiro. it was pretty interesting, though, with the kids pairing up with fifth grader, watching the first graders (basically sing a few songs), then lunch with the fifth grade and then off to the library while the parents got a presentation (about the school, about what the kids need on the first day of school, etc.) i think hiro enjoyed himself, but tommy and sasha were so hungry! afterward we went to mcdonald's for lunch and then went home to play.

the rest of the week was pretty low-key. i slowly got my strength back from having the flu (which really wasn't all that bad, it just made me really tired and not want to eat). it's time for me to actually concentrate on losing weight, i've been putting it off for about eight weeks now. wish me luck!

because they won't do surgery on you if you have the flu, apparently. *sigh*

sheesh, nearly two weeks since i last posted. oops!

so, let's see. last last weekend (Jan 29/30) i went to kyoto for an AFWJ Board meeting (yes, i'm on the board.) i got up way too early, took a taxi, got on the wrong train (going the right way, just far too slow) and got on the shinkansen with 20 seconds to spare. rachel got on at the next stop and we had a lovely time chatting and speculating about the meeting (would it be long...yes!)[NOTE: this does not mean we gossiped! only talked about the topics on the agenda!] and what we would do in kyoto. we had both been invited to ash's birthday party but sadly, i didn't think i could go (and had already purchased my return ticket.) rachel was still planning on going, but the weather was a question. and getting in touch with corinne!

anyway, the meeting was long and very interesting (to me, anyway. there's so much to learn still, and so much to work out even in a group like AFWJ.) then many of us out-of-towners went to our hotels (i was in the kyoto tower hotel, it was in an awesome location, and was a little-better-than-ok) and then those who were going on a gion walk met at the station. we took a taxi to the first spot (not gion, but another geisha district) and then walked (all five, i think.) i am a total lame-o and forgot my cameras (CAMERAS!!! as in both of them. i am not a photographer) but we did see some geisha and some well-dress patrons. it also snowed and was very beautiful. and cold. then we ended up at our dinner location, an irish pub which was fabulous. i had fish and chips (though, sadly, i couldn't finish it as it was too oily. MY FAULT! duh, it's fried in oil. it was good, but not the right thing for my digestion right now). afterward a few of us went to karaoke and sang out hearts out!

on sunday morning i didn't feel all that great (yeah, probably a minor hang-over) but was out and about by 8. i went to the starbucks on the first floor and had breakfast (mocha in my travel mug and a big big tea) while i crocheted. i met up with rachel at 9 and we used our free tickets (came with our rooms) to kyoto tower, which i had never been to before. then i checked out of the hotel and wanted to find a bookstore. i thought there would be a big one in kyoto station, but i was wrong. rachel decided to stay in kyoto with me, so i suggested going to a shopping center i had seen the day before. it had a movie theater so i thought it would be huge but i was wrong! oops! we spent the rest of the morning using rachel's iphone to find bookstores.

i was pretty wiped out on the shink back to hakata, i hope i wasn't too rude to rachel! we chatted a bit and then i got into one of the books i bought. i also managed to get to kinokuniya in hakata (they are renovating and making a new shopping center so there's a lot of construction, but the book store is open!) so i got a couple more books. then hopped on a train and took a taxi home. i was so exhausted!

last week, i was pretty tired, actually. i don't know if it was a lingering hang-over, my kidney stone causing trouble or me coming down with a cold, but i was pretty slow last week. which is why i didn't write or even charge my phone until tuesday! (it died on sunday.)

the weekend before kyoto i went to the hospital and it turns out my kidney stone hasn't budged. damn. so, i have to have it taken out. over the past weekend, we all went to consult the doctor (because i will have it taken out on wednesday--yes, the day after tomorrow) who told us about it. i won't be put totally under (twilight, do we call it?) and should be able to go home on thursday. if not, i'll have to wait until saturday, because friday is a holiday. this means i will be going to the hospital tomorrow. yoshi is taking a couple of days off and if i get out on thursday, all will be well. otherwise we will have to rely on his mother to come and help out.


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hiro has two loose teeth. i can hardly believe it, my little baby is growing up! who says his teeth will come out while i'm in the hospital (two teeth are loose and we can already see the two new teeth behind the baby teeth!). i guess i better edumacate yoshi on the tooth fairy!

well, i've been home from the hospital for a little over a week now. I was pretty tired and also pretty busy and haven't had a lot of time for blogging. my mom went home on monday, so i've been a bit bummed about that. it's sad when you haven't seen your mom for three years, and then when she visits you spend a week in the hospital....

anyway, the surgery went well. the day after i was pretty sore and woozy from the anesthesia, which made me doze and snore all day saturday (dec. 4). and, it made me not care that i was snoring even though i was awake! i was in a shared room and in retaliation, my roommates talked about me (and how awesome it was my kids could speak english).

by sunday morning i was up and about, and went downstairs twice to buy milk. i lurve milk, but there wasn't any in the vending machine on my floor, but plenty in the little shop on the first floor. i was a very good little girl and didn't buy any sodas or chocolate bars, only milk, which i enjoyed every morning and afternoon while i was in the hospital. one of the women who work in the shop happened to recognize me (i often get tommy's bribery snacks there) and was surprised that i was up and about only three days after surgery. it helps that it was laparoscopic surgery, that's for sure!

the kids had a hard time of it, as they did in august, but i was lucky in that the doctors let me go home early (i was supposed to stay a week from surgery, which was on a friday, but they let me go home on wednesday evening). it was also rough on my mom and yoshi, but i think everyone survived the experience!

so, i no longer have a gallbladder. it was weird to me, but then i remembered that i had my tonsils out when i was very young, so it wasn't like i was whole before the beginning of this month!

i did have a check on my kidney stone, and don't have very good news there. apparently it hasn't moved much in the past month or two. if it doesn't move, i may get stuck and grow larger, which wouldn't be good. i have to go back in january and if it's still in the same spot, they're going to have to go in and get it out. which would mean another hospital stay!! fingers crossed that it will pass soon.

today i had to go back to the hospital. i knew that it was the stomach camera test day, but i wasn't too worried about it. or so i thought. my blood pressure was pretty high when they checked it. of course, it could have been the morning, too....

this morning when the bus came, hiro was completely naked (although sasha was dressed and ready to go!) and bentos weren't finished. (the bus was about 3 minutes earlier than usual. also, hiro was being a pain and wouldn't change his clothes!!) i went out and told them that we were really behind and that i would take the kids to school by car. so, hiro finally gets dressed, i finish up the bentos, then i put out the laundry, got tommy dressed and then we got in the car and took off. then i realized that i forgot the paper they had given me at the hospital about today's test, so i had to go back and get it. damn, that made me late! so, twenty-five minutes later we arrive at the school and i get hiro and sasha in the building and then tommy and i are on the road again! one quick stop at 7-11 to get: gum (soda flavor), chocolate pocky, anpanman chocolate on a stick (lollipop, kinda), a cherry lollipop, a small toy and a tea (for me) and then off again. only a few minutes late to the hospital, but all in all, not too bad.

we had to wait for a long time (kinda, it was nearly an hour) before the blood pressure check, and then a bit longer before the camera part. what an unpleasant venture that is. i had to drink a cup of liquid that was very disgusting. i had asked the technician if it tasted bad and she wouldn't say it tasted bad, but it was...not nice. and she was right, it barely had any flavor at all, but it had the strangest texture. it was almost like drinking silicon or something. well, what i would imagine silicon, or perhaps liquid plastic, would be like to drink. supposedly, that was to help the camera move around in my stomach. then i had to get a shot, which wasn't too bad (just a small sting) but then the tech had to massage the spot and that hurt! then more unpleasantness in the mouth! i had to take a spoonful of gel in my mouth, but not swallow it, for three minutes. of course, that was when tommy decided to ask me a lot of questions! lol after three minutes, i got to spit out the gel, and i could tell my mouth was quite numb. next was the worst part, next to the cup of nasty i had already had. they had to spray the back of my throat to numb my gag reflex. it stung, tasted awful and triggered my gag reflex, making me retch and make very undignified noises! finally, after three sprays, i was ready for the camera!

first i got on the exam table and lay on my back. the tech then shook my midsection to get the nasty shit i had drunk to coat my stomach. then on to my right side for more shaking. then on my front for one last shake, and then i was on my left side and ready to be violated. i got a funny white bib because i wasn't allowed to swallow and had to let whatever saliva just flow out of my mouth. then i got a white tube in my mouth and then it was on! the only painful part (and it was very brief) was when the camera was pushed past my vocal cords. then i retched again. i also retched a couple more times when the camera was bumping around in my stomach! eventually, though, i got kinda used to it and also tried to zone out and relax. i had a couple more episodes of a retchy feeling, but i managed to suppress them. i thought this would last for a really long time but before i knew it, and to my relief, they were done and the camera was out!

tommy actually didn't freak out and get unmanageable during the procedure. i think because he wasn't separated from me (but he also wasn't on the exam table) and maybe it was a bit interesting for him? i had broken out his toy just before drinking the cup of nasty, so maybe that helped. the last bit of waiting was the hard part. he loves to run the length of the waiting room chairs (on top of the chairs!) which is really annoying so first came out the chocolate on a stick, and then the cherry lollipop.

i got to see the pictures they took, first in the room where they were taken (the tech went over them with me) and then with the doctor. everything looks really good, very healthy, there was only on spot and i think they told me it had something to do with the gallstones. i don't know what, exactly, but everything looked good. i also got to see the results of yesterday's scan and my gall bladder is stock full of stones! it's amazing, actually, and having it out is probably just the best thing to do.

so, surgery is scheduled for the beginning of december. wish me luck!

i got home last night, no more worrying about me! i have been pretty much pain free since i started solid foods last saturday. such a relief, i can tell you! but i had to stay, for observation i guess, but as we pretty much all know, a hospital stay in japan is usually much longer than one in the states (and i think, other western countries...) anyway. we had to meet with the doctor on wednesday (yesterday) to go over my condition and decide when to set me free. (sadly, the doctor is off on tuesdays, or we may have been able to do it then). i am doing well, though i still have inflammation, so i have to wait before having surgery (to have my gall bladder removed. i definitely want to have it done.) i have an appointment next friday to check my condition, so fingers crossed i can stay well!

about my stay....it was rough on me in several ways, most of all in missing my family. i think the kids had a difficult time adjusting, which made it rough for those taking care of them. then there was sasha's birthday, which made me quite sad. yoshi wasn't going to come visit (me in the hospital) that day, but he did manage it in the end, as you saw. another thing that was rough for me was all the needles! it took them four tries on sunday (my first morning) to start an iv, plus i had blood drawn, so i had five stabs right there. each time means they couldn't use the same place again, so they were kinda running out of veins in the end. if you know me in person, then i have probably told you my needle horror story and i have a great fear of needles, which only made it worse. *sigh* on the fifth day (thursday?) the iv had to be moved to prevent infection, which was not fun. it took the nurse two tries to get it. then, the next morning, the night nurse didn't change my iv bag in time and it backed up. which meant a new iv, of course. the night nurse tried three times, and failed, to do it. then another two nurses took three tries and finally got on in on my hand. i admit, i cried a lot that morning. and then, the boredom was pretty bad. i was in a shared room, but i didn't really talk to my neighbors. two of them were elderly ladies with some kind of leg injury, and they were mostly quiet and kept to themselves. they slept a lot, or watched a lot of TV. i slept a lot, too, especially the first week (most of the time when i was on an iv), but i didn't watch very much TV. i did get to read a few books and work on my cross stitch, but some times i was very bored and quite lonely! it was an unexpected hospital stay and it was difficult to ask yoshi to bring what i wanted or needed!

i have to be careful with my diet, limiting (or eliminating) fats and alcohol, and taking care with sweets and trying to increase my veggie intake. this will be good for my flummy challenge! wish me luck, because i never ever want to experience that pain again!!