When Animals Attack XI

So, the craziest thing happened. Friday morning my mother called me, crying. Apparently one of her cats had gotten spooked by a stray outside the patio door and attacked Mom's foot when she went to close the door. He scratched her pretty good. She stopped the bleeding, cleaned the scratches and put on a bandaid - went to bed. She woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain - and couldn't walk on that foot. By the time she called me the foot was throbbing in pain, and she was worried about the other cat. I had to drop my kids off at school, but I said I would stop by after. Her foot was swollen and the area around the scratches was red; I suggested we go to the doctor. The doctor said it was infected, gave her antibiotics and pain pills and sent her home with strict instructions to keep it elevated. I bullied my sister into staying with her (school's out, no responsibilities). This morning Mom calls - the foot is feeling worse, and the redness is spreading. She asked if I would come look at it. I suggested she should have someone who actually knows something look at it, so she went to the ER. They admitted her - apparently she has cellulitis, is in a lot of pain, and it was a very good thing she went in, or she could have had some serious repercussions.
Ok, how bizarre is this? Honestly, I have been scratched by cats thousands of times, and have never suffered more than a little bleeding. Trust my mother to get a wild mutant cat scratch that lands her hospitalized on Mother's Day. That's my insane family for you.

11 years ago today...

The world was made a little bit better by this guy...

Happy birthday to my favorite Monkeybutt!

A Little More Myself

So I'm starting to feel a little better. I have been sleeping - so very important. I'm still waking up shaky and uncomfortable, but each day gets a little easier. I've realized, though, I do not want to spend the rest of my life waiting for the meds to stop working. I'm going to look into seeing "someone" - you know, a (whisper) psychiatrist. Figure out what is going on up there. I'm also starting yoga classes this week, and I'm going to learn to meditate.
But for tonight, when I'm feeling not so bad, and needing to get to bed - I'm simply going to post a small list for your reading enjoyment. These are the things I am grateful for tonight. Because a little gratitude never hurt anyone...and can only make me sleep better.
I am grateful for:

1. My son, who will play endless games of Yahtzee with me when that seems to be the only thing making me feel better.
2. My daughter's hugs - ever plentiful.
3. This gorgeous state I live in. Have I mentioned how much I love it here?
4. My husband - who continues to love me no matter how crazy I act.
5. The amazing friends I have made here - every one of them will allow me to sob on their shoulder or babble incessantly about my state of mind.
6. My mom. For everything she is. And that is worth an entire post on its own, to come later.

Ok, so this has been an unusually sappy post, but I can't help it. That's just me tonight. G'nite sweet readers. I am grateful for all of you.

Update

I saw the doctor yesterday. I told him my meds seemed to have stopped working and he just nodded and said, "yeah, they'll do that." Lovely. So he prescribed a new one - I started the first one this morning. I'm praying that they will kick in quickly.

help

I can't sleep.
Sunday I started getting a little shaky. Not too bad, just a little shaky and nervous. The next day I woke up a bit early, spent the morning shaky and anxious, felt a little better by afternoon. Each day has gotten a bit worse. Yesterday I spent the day going between anxiety attack and sobbing fit. Today I woke up at 1:30AM - and I can't get back to sleep.
Many of you know I've been on antidepressants for 5 years. I was very lucky - the first one I tried worked for me. I've felt normal - with only 2 setbacks, for 5 years. I know how lucky I've been, I've never taken it for granted. So why, all of a sudden, does it feel like I'm not on anything at all. Why do I feel like I'm going slowly and uncomfortably crazy?
I don't mean to make it sound like I'm the only person to ever suffer this crap, but if you have anxiety issues, then you understand - it makes you very self-focused. All I think about is the fact that I can't calm down, my stomach feels a constant dropping and nausea (and hunger, since I can't seem to eat), and I'm absolutely miserable.
I have made a doctor's appointment for later today. I'm hoping he can do something for this. Wish me luck, please.