Lots of stress in my life, but I'm not smoking!

If you've been reading my blog, you know my Mom had shoulder replacement surgery on August 22nd. It took a pretty long while for her to recover from the effects of all the drugs they gave her. She was totally whacked out, but she recovered, and I was just thrilled for her. She was back in her apartment in the assisted living facility and had physical and occupational therapy there. All was well with the world.

 The weekend of October 8th, Mom's shoulder was hurting and a bit swollen. We chalked it up to aggressive therapy and sore muscles, but by Monday evening, she was in the hospital because she was hurting so much. X-rays had been taken and her shoulder replacement had become badly dislocated. She was discharged the next day because cultures needed to be grown to check for infection. She couldn't have any repair surgery for a week. Agonizing! A CT scan was ordered and the doctor discovered a broken scapula. Ugh.

On October 17th, Mom had surgery to fix the break with a metal plate and screws and relocate her shoulder. Turned out, she had no infection. Now she has a scar on her back to match the one in the front. The break was eventually blamed on aggressive physical therapy, and the doctor ruled out a fall. She is back in her apartment now with 24 hour sitter care. Her arm is immobilized, so she has trouble doing basic things and she's not allowed to use her walker yet. Her recovery from this second surgery was much better and she's our good old Mom we all know and love again. I think they changed her meds this time, because the doctor noted all her confusion after the first surgery.

Now you know why I haven't been posting regularly. I've been super busy and quite stressed out. Some health issues of my own have cropped up, but I'm getting better every day. Through all this drama and stress, I have not smoked. I have had some pretty strong cravings, too. I especially crave a ciggy when I see someone smoking. Strangely enough, I don't crave one when I smell cigarette smoke on a person in the store. I am happy and proud to be a non-smoker. A cigarette would not solve any problems, and would only cause me more stress. It would also give me a heavy dose of guilt, which I definitely don't need.

I used Chantix to help me quit. I had some minor side effects, but nothing major. It really helped me quit. The dreams were interesting to me, not scary. It was fun to try and analyze them in the mornings. If you want to quit smoking, it is certainly something you need to discuss with your doctor. There are other prescriptions that can help you quit smoking as well as over the counter things, but your personal doctor can advise you best. Just make sure you are firmly resolved to quit smoking.

To those who have already quit, congratulations. Stay happy. Stay smober! Peace everybody!

Getting back to cleaning mode. Helps with cravings to smoke.

I have been cleaning like crazy. I cleaned out my closet and had about a dozen kitchen trash bags of clothes to donate. I haven't been craving all that strongly, but when I smell smoke or smell someone who smells like smoke, I get a twinge. It goes away quickly.

Anyway, I've been cleaning like crazy to cut down on any cravings, the house needs to be cleaned, I need to exercise, and we are putting our house on the market. We'll be moving into my Mom's house. She deeded it over to me, so I've had a lot going on with painting and sprucing up there and getting our house ready to show. It's been crazy!

I'm hoping our house will sell really quickly, but we'll see. There's no mortgage at Mom's so that's one less thing we have to worry about. Her house is older, but it's in good shape. Our house is not even 10 years old and closer to malls and such, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Through everything going on, I have not smoked. I'm tickled pink to be a non smoker now. I feel free. I am happy. There is a bit of stress in my life, but I'm handling it just fine.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!