If you shop Amazon, please consider shopping using the below link. Amazon will donate a portion of all sales back to the Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association! This is where I work! We provide education, peer support, social rec, sporting events and more to persons with a spinal cord injury. Thank you for helping to support our amazing programs!!!

Arizona United Spinal Cord Injury Association Inc

HOT!

Well, summer is upon us! It's been in the 110's the last few days. It's AWFUL! But, after all, we ARE in Arizona. It is hot everywhere tho. I hope everyone is staying safe and remembering to drink, drink,drink. I know I am bad about it and have to constantly remind myself to do just that as well. And you would THINK, that after almost 10 yrs living with a SCI and having a catheter I would remember. But alas, I don't..sigh..always too busy doing other things..LOL. Speaking of doing other things- If you hadn't heard already- I spend several days in the hospital a couple weeks ago- I was getting ready to shower, set up in bed to cut my toenails. Managed tog et 3 done, pulled my right leg closer to get the last 2 when I heard a SNAP! I KNEW something happened so we called the EMT's. They came to check me out. Of course after all the normal questions and checking BP/heart rate,etc, they checked me over(in seated position no less) and found nothing. Never laid me down,which isn't always a bad thing when dealing with someone with a SCI- keeps AD at bay better and less chance of killing us(AD is autonomic dysreflexia which people with SCI can get and if you're having an episode and lay down- it can kill you, so sitting up was ok), anyways, they found nothing and left. Did tell us if anything changes to call them back- well I got up to get shower. Jon was putting the sling under my right leg and said ohhhh, something doesn't feel quite right here. I looked at him and thought- I KNEW IT! So I got back in bed, got dressed and in chair and off we went to the ER. Went back to Good Sam, where I was when first injured. Got into ER, they took me right in and after awhile got x-rays and was told- looks like you're going to be here with us for awhile...I knew it already before I even got there! LOL...what I didn't know was I had broken my femur right at the hip! Lovely! Here's a picture if interested.LOL

They got me into a room, settled in, and in comes my surgeon- Hi! I'm Mike, I'll be doing your surgery tomorrow. I was SHOCKED! Have never had a doctor introduce himself by his first name! He was SOOO cool! Dr."Mike" Lucero explained what he was going to to do in words I could understand even. I LIKE this guy already! Friday we went for surgery at 8AM- 3.5 hrs later I was in recovery. He said it took a bit longer than expected as it was in a tough spot and a bit more damage than they thought. I did well tho in surgery and recovery was A LOT easier than other times I've had surgeries. Not sure what they did differently but it seemed to go smoother! Yeah for me! So I had about 40-45 staples on the outside all along the right side of my leg and I don't know how many dissolving stitches inside to hold everything. I have a nice rod from above the knee all the way up to and attached to my hip. Now I have a matching pair since it was about a yr ago I broke the left femur...always something! Healing is going well..staples were removed about 12 days out. Have a nice scar all along the side of my leg but that's OK! No one looks at my legs anymore anyways..LOL. Went back for check up yesterday- 3 weeks out- and got the OK for next week to get into the pool! YEAH! Haven't been in the water(besides showers)since before I was injured 10 yrs ago! Hoping to get into the pool at the Sports and Fitness Center once day next week! I know I'm going to cry..LOL..I'm such a baby! We're gearing up for the Dry Heat Classic July 26,27,28 at Wild Horse Pass Casino/Hotel. Michael Finney is a comedian/magician who started a Foundation 16 yrs ago to help children who need surgeries. He has since included Wounded Warrior Project, Operation Smile( for children who need cleft palette surgery) and Gift of Life(heart surgeries). This year his main charity will be the Arizona Spinal Cord Association, for which I work at and LOVE. We do education, sports/recreation.per mentoring, info and referral for persons with Spinal Cord Injuries. Michael has graciously taken us on this yr as the main recipients of his event. It's going to be amazing! 2 days of golfing with celebrities-sports/magicians/comedians are put in foursomes with average type Joe. Then in the evening they'll do their shows of magic and comedy. We're also doing raffles, silent auctions and more! If you would like to help sponsor a golfer or want to come golf and stay the weekend- check it all out here You can register for golfing or get tickets to the show! Also looking for auction items!! Will take anything- dinners, shows, event tickets, cars, etc. We have an awesome jute box and motorcycle we're auctioning! Come join the FUN!

WHOA!

How come no one told me I haven't been here in forever in a day??? lol. Dang! Guess since I'm on Facebook 999 times a day I don't think to come over here and blog. I'm such a sluffer! hehehe.

Anyways, lots happening in the last yr...where to begin...hmm...
April 5,2011 I fell out of my shower chair(don't ask) and broke my femur. Then got a blood clot when the dumb ass surgeon didn't put me on blood thinners...hello! Can't move the legs and the breaks been floating around there now for 4 days...I can't only imagine the mess it was..have xrays but will have to find them again..well here's the link to the one on Facebook-let's see if it works..lol
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=207667&id=588958012#!/photo.php?fbid=419132238012&set=a.419131948012.207667.588958012&theater

Got clot taken care of..summer uneventful...move on to Christmas- it was a quiet one since Jon had to work :( but at least he has a job! Alot of folks are way worse off than we are...loosing homes, jobs, etc...it's so sad to see how bad things are all over the place. Make me wonder if we'll ever get out of this mess the country is in...time will tell but for now we just plug along and do the best we can with what we have to work with...

Jan 2011- I was offered a job with the Az Spinal Cord Injury Association as the Community Resource Specialist and Peer Mentor Coordinator...LOVE the job so far! LOTS to do but I figure it keeps me out of trouble and off the streets...LOL...also on the SCI retreat commitee helping get our annual retreat going and set up...challenging but that's ok! Love the people interaction and helping out those who have a chance to do something other than sit home all the time...this is their yearly outting!

Stil on 2 creative teams- Kathryn Estry and e-scapeandscrap.net web site...although I've been MIA the last yr they still keep me on..THANK YOU ladies! Love you! Working on getting back into the swing of things! Seems I had nothing to do there for a long time- now with work and CT's life in a whirlwind! Oh and to top it all off- my girls are coming to visit for a week on Sat! YEAH! Well girls as in daughter,Heather and granddaughter, Kaileigh..boys too- grandson Chace and Heathers new beau- Shawn..can't wait to meet him as he sounds like a great guy! She SO deserves to be happy but that's a whole nuther story! LOL..Tammi can't make it since her work is short handed :(...Chace turned two yesterday already! Dang! Happy Birthday bud! Mimi loves you!!! Heather said he's growing well and eats like no tomorrow! Has a great appetite which is awesome...still no walking or sitting up but that's ok! He's taking a few steps with his walker which is great! I'll have to get some video and pictures...ohhhh maybe I'll go buy a Flip! hehehe...but honey we HAD to get movies...hehehe...

Well have to get busy and do some cleaning- hmmm..do have to clean up my Frontierville too...decisions decisions...clean or farm???? THAT is the question!

Another day, another post

It's a gorgeous day outside but here I sit in front of the computer, once again. I have NO energy to do anything these days. I'm beginngin to think I never will but know that I HAVE to! I haven't even done our taxes yet and their due next week! YIKES. Every year I say I'll do better the next but always fail at it..LOL..maybe this yr will be different..heheh...
I created another blog just for updates and such with my Breast Cancer 3 day stuff- check it out here: http://rollinthe60miles.blogspot.com/ I'm going to be starting my fund raising thru the blog, the 3 Day site as well as Facebook so be prepared..LOL..would LOVE to have all my monies in by Sept if I can..so if you're thinking of helping please do soon!!! and thank you to my 2 friends who donated already! You girls rock!

Well I guess I'll run and see where else I can post something, or maybe even work on some scrap pages- for which I am SO behind with all that's been going the last few months. We meet with an estate attorney next week to get things going with moms estate- what a job! Anyone need a mobile home all set up in a senior park? LOL

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Wednesday Feb3

One of these days I will get to doing this blog thing on a dialy basis! If I can do Facebook each day you'd think I'd come here as well huh? Guess I figure FB is enough or something. Not quite sure..

I've been TRYING to get some LO's together so my designers don't think I've abandoned them but some days just come and go and nothng gets done. I'm doing PT 3 days a week so that takes time- about 3 hrs total..I found a gym setting at Glendale Community College that is set up just for people with disabilities. I'm going to call them and see if I can come check it out before I commit to anything. It's a great deal they have tho-$90 for 4 months and you can go as often as you want to go. So I should,huh? Maybe it will help be get some weight off as well as tone up and keep working what I do have.

We adopted an 8 mo old German Sheppard puppy the other day. She was a stray and so so thin. OMG. I have never seen a dog in person so thin. I walked by her cage and she had her front paw up on the door so I leaned over and was petting her. She looked up at me with THE saddest looking eyes. I have never seen a dog look so pitiful. Jay wanted an Australian SHeppard but they didn't have any. I asked if we could look at Lily(that's the name Jayson chose.after we adopted her). They brought her out and she right away jumped up on me and snuggled in my lap. We pet her and loved her, getting puppy kisses..Jayson pet her some and said no I don't think I want her,mom. Let's go look some more". I said that was fine(All the while my heart breaking that she would go back into the kennel)..I was fine with it so we looked and re looked at all the dogs when all of a sudden Jayson said-Let's get the German Sheppard mom(YES!)...So we filled out the paperwork but had to leave her till Tuesday so they could get her fixed. We went Tuesday afternoon and picked her up. She came out just a waggin her tail and a happy look,like she knew she was going home! The ride home wasn't to bad. She rode good-on Jon's lap(her front paws) and hung her head out the window-occasionally gagging with the air hitting her int he face(why is it dogs do that but if you blow int heir faces they turn away) Lily rode well. We arrived home to be greeted by Jayson, his friend Matt and another kid I have no idea who it was..I had to leave right away to go back down to the DEC,which I had just driven by 45 min before...can you say road weary?! When I got home about 9 Jon said Lily did real well with Reggie and he thought she was already housebroken as she made no messes and sort of went to the back door to go out- SO that is a saving grace for her as well as me! This AM when we got up she was full of piss and vinegar! OMG, what a difference a day makes! She sat when Jon told her to -if she wanted her food she needs to sit first and she did...so we're off to a good start! Reggie won't even attempt to go near the food bowl when she's eating as I guess last night sahe growled at him(the big baby!)LOL...she wolfed down her food but not much of it..it's good tho as we don't want to eat to so much so fast for now- a little at a time until she get some weight on...we're taking her to the vet this afternoon so we'll what they say about her health-she gets a free check up from them which is great! Will be anxious to get her weight. Here is a photo I took when we picked her up..Pretty shocking and sad, isn't it?

A Little Story

Here is my little friend who loves to tell stories! as well as sing. We have a special song that I taught him when we were camping 3 summers ago and he hasn't forgotten it since! He's 5! Part 1 is his story time and 1 song, 2nd video is him being silly but then gets down to singing. With tonight being a Blue Moon I posted this in his honor! Take it away Kenny! (please don't mind the messy kitchen tho..lol)

This is for a friend of mine,Jen, who participating in the PF Chang’s Rock N Roll Half Marathon( to raise money for spinal cord injury research. in her manual chair! also Jen will be taking the last 2 steps over the finish line out of her chair! She WALK over the finish line! You can hear about her story, struggles and triumphs over her tragedy here:
http://www.kpho.com/video/index.html click on "Paralyzed woman taking new steps in life"

WOW! It's beeN awhile!

I am such a bad blogger! Worse since going to Facebook! I really should do better but can never remember to get my butt over here!

Well what's new? Hmm..oh yeah- the Breast Cancer 3 day walk! We're only 17 away!!! Did you get your donation in yet? Yeah you= you know who I'm talking to- the one who keeps saying oh I have time yet- NO YOU DON'T! I need only about $500 more to reach my goal so get with the program! Geez Louise! Don't make me come over there! Go to www.the3day.org/goto/karenhalgren and donate TODAY! PLEASE?!?!?!!?!

I found a generator too! We're working on HOPEFULLY getting one donated but if not, the manager said he would happy to loan us one! Yippeee! That will work SO much better than having to have people on hand to change out the batteries every 7 miles or so! Will post the business as soon as we get the green light one way or the other!

Happy Thursday!

Update on Chas first- he's out of the NICU and doing wonderful!

Prayers needed please

Our new grandson Chace is in the NICU in Dallas- it appears he has somehow contracted Encephlitis somehow. Heather's not sure where he got it but I guess it might have come from someone with a cold sore. He'll be in the NICU for awhile it sounds like. Please say prayers for Chace that he'll come thru this with no problems. So hard to hear since he's only 18 days old! He's having some seizures along with this so it's a hard time for his momma,daddy and big sis right now. and for Grandma too who is so far away! I SOOOOO wish I could be there right now with them to give Heather my shoulder to lean on. It's hard being away from them when they need us. Why do our kids have to grow up let alone want to be away from home. I understand now how my parents felt when we moved Heather from NY to CO when she was a mere 5 wks old...sucks to grow up doesn't it? Anyways I'll post more as I know more...thankfully too one of my scrapping grannies group members live about a half hr from where Chace and Heather are so she's going to go visit them tomorrow and take Heather/Tammi ,our other daughter, out to lunch then go peak in on Chace for me...thanks Kate! Love ya girl!
Today was Jon's 45 birthday so we went to his moms and she took us all to lunch. We sat out on the patio and had shrimp all you could eat...yummmm...then while sitting there I got to looking at her left hand and noticed her ring finger on her left hand was all red- Mom let me see your finger- her nail had grew so long it was curled back around the finger and had cut into the finger but she didn't know it! She has no use of the hand after her stroke in 03 so she never paid attention! We took her over to urgent care and sure enough! It was infected- the doc cut the nail best he could and it was all pussy under there...then the ass- was looking at ME telling me how to care for it- I looked at him and said Um- it's her you need to be talking to and telling how! Not me! She's not deaf! oh I was pissed! I've never had to talk to a doc like that but he made me mad- 1st t ime I thought well it wasn't a big deal, I thought he would turn and talk to mom too...NOPE! After he started again that's when I looked at him and told him he needed to be talking to mom not me! and then he was cranking her hand around and hurting her I thought she would smack him! I reminded him she had a stroke and had no use of the hand but it hurt her to move it- he finally was a little gentler then...doctors can be a PITA sometimes when they don't listen! or at least pay attention to the patient!

Tired Tuesday

Not sure why but I'm feeling VERY sleepy today! Feeling like I did when I was on to high a dosage of the pain meds. I'm on the 400mg dose now(if its the real deal). I'm thinking I maybe dehydrated pretty bad so have water bottle-am drinking!

Chase is doing well even tho he's lost almost a lb since birth. Doc wants Heather to wake him more often to feed. I mentioned to Heather maybe she's not producing enough milk-which might be the problem since I had the same with her too. She may have to supplement, which is ok...he got the most important milk already. Otherwise he's good as are mom,dad and siblings.

I've been looking for some fund raising ideas for my 3Day walk and found a cool site that will pay people for posting reviews of local businesses. I'll be posting info on it here in a few days once I get it all set up! You make a review and the site sends the money directly to the organization in my name. Stay tuned!

I managed to do a cpl LO's this morning which I really like! I used Paint Your Easter by lkscraps @e-scapeandscrap
Check it out:

Introducing:
Chace Ryan Wells Our newest grandson born Mar.10. I so can't wait to see him in person and cuddle. Mom and baby are fine. They came home today after mom had to have an emergency C-section. All is fine with both of them. This will be the little announcement I made for his sister to print and take to school to show her classmates.

It's a boy! Introducing:

Chace Ryan Wells!!

Chilly Thursday

Can't believe how chilly it's been here this week, but after all it is Feb, Jon keeps reminding me! News this morning showed some gorgeous photos of the snow in the mountains and rocks in Sedona, just north about an hr and half of us. GORGEOUS photos. Maybe we'll take a drive up there this weekend.

Daughter just called and said they're going to do an ultra sound next week so maybe we'll find out if she's having a little girl or boy- well maybe not so little as she claims she's huge - due Apr 1 ...and of course has been very lax about taking photos no matter how many times I've reminded her- don't forget to take some pics today- yeah I should do that shouldn't I..umm-yeah! LOL she said she'd do some today so we'll see...

Oh police helicopter has been flying over the house REALLY low for about half hr now- guess I should turn on the TV and see what's up with that...just checked and the only thing news worthy on is a bomb scare at the high school a couple miles away. Turned out to be nothing and helicopter is now gone. Why people feel the need to do such stupid ass things!

I've started watching my ABC soaps again after about a 4 yr absence..LOL...a few people but the same dumb stuff happening..One Live to Live Dorian Lord is now married to David Vickers and is a Buddhist..LOL.She's up to something so it'll be fun to follow for awhile. I started watching the ABC's one back when my grandma was still alive- 1973 or so..LOL. thru the 80's when the kids were little- I spent their nap time watching, skipped most of the 90's and up till now- amazing how many are still on and haven't seemed to grow old for the most part- except the kids are all grown and have their own. Makes for cheap entertainment! LOL

American Idol this year is something else too- Some of their choices they picked to keep in were lame- screaming girl OMG!! I SOOOO hope America gets it right and boots her! She can sing fairly good but the screaming has GOT to go! The blind guy is good so I hope he stays...need to learn their names.

Here's a LO I just did for Jill D-zines- pic of my DH Jon.


Credits: Jon- Clearly Essential Casual Acrylics by Jill D-zines
Shabby Lil Man by Jill D-zines