Paws4Thought

Okay so I am 3 days count them 3 days away from February! I haven't posted to my ignored blog since June 5th! More than half a year later I am finally checking in. This past year has been a year of unbelievable feats! I think I am still spinning and I know I have not fully recovered! 
After posting my last post I headed off to the beautiful state of Colorado to our mountain cabin. I always feel like I am in heaven when I am there so this was a pleasant escape! I took my beautiful granddaughter, Alyssia with me to meet my sister and her grandchildren. I am happiest when I am in the presence of little people so this was a trip not to be missed. Needless to say we had a marvelous time and Alyssia stayed with me for a little over a month. I brought her home the 2nd week of July however I immediately returned to the Colorful State!

Alyssia and I took some jewelry making classes while she was with me in Colorado. My dear friend Carol Fleming has a fabulous shop in South Fork by the new name of Rock, Paper, Scissors! At the time of our classes her shop was named The Blarney Stone which has now become a gift shop. If you are in the  South Fork area, stop in and say hello at either location and I think you will be pleasantly surprised! Anywho back to my jewelry making classes; we learned to wire wrap stones,work with polymer clay, and to crochet with wire. Alyssia is quite talented at the wire wrapping and not so much interested in the crocheting. I purchased numerous wires, cabachons, and various tools needed to do the wire wrapping. Following are a few of the pieces Alyssia and I crafted together. 

 After returning to Colorado, I continued working on my jewelry....taking classes online.....taking any classes I could find in the area......and reading everything I could get my hands on pertaining to the art of wire-working. I spent hour after hour learning as much as I could and hanging out at Carol's shop. Caroline who is a gifted jewelry maker and fantastic instructor actually set me off on this journey or jewelry making. One day while visiting the shop Caroline told me there had been an interest in the crocheting with wire class but no one knew how to do it much less be able to teach it. Well, I had been working on several projects using the crocheting technique so I quickly volunteered to teach some classes if they would like for me to..... lol, I hinted. Thankfully, Caroline took me up on the offer and I was scheduled for my first class. I had to return to Texas and my jewelry class was scheduled for the next week. I quickly returned and my teaching career was launched.I was visiting Carol one afternoon and told her I would love to stay in Colorado year round if possible. I asked her if she would possibly have an opening for me to work at the Lapidary Shop. Carol became excited that I might be staying the winter and told of course she could hire me to work part time in the shop. Rick is planning on retirement in the next couple of years with a plan on us moving to the Colorful State. With this in mind I thought it would be a good idea if I went ahead and moved to Colorado ahead of him. I am desperately wanting to go back to work and have been unable to find anything close to home.


 I have been studying under some fantastic designers and perfecting my jewelry skills in the art of wire-working. I have been working long and hard and am now scheduling classes to be taught in Amarillo at Hobby Time! That is right! I am now going to teach jewelry making classes in Amarillo! I am so excited to be teaching something again! I will be teaching wire wrapping, wire weaving, viking knit, and crocheting wire. I have been making jewelry and selling some of my pieces at the local pharmacy. Keith has added a section to the pharmacy for artisans to sell their art on a consignment basis. I have sold several pieces of which I am totally excited about! I am posting examples of some of the latest additions to my jewelry line. 

 
While in Colorado teaching my classes I was mauled by a friends pit bull. I was visiting Ron and Sherry at their home. I was friends or so I thought with Buddy their pit bull. I was invited to their home for dinner and a Denver Bronco game. After the game I was leaving and walked over to tell Buddy goodbye. I was petting Buddy on the head when the next thing I knew I was on the ground and Buddy was ripping the flesh from my right hand. Ron helped me up and took me into the house to clean up my wounds. It was apparent I needed stitches and I knew I needed a tenuous shot so I drove myself to Del Norte's Emergency Room. I received my tenuous shot and my hand was neatly stitched up. I returned with my two sheltiess to our cabin where during the night I became extremely nauseous and threw up most of the night. The next morning I wasn't feeling real spiffy, Ron came by to check on me and told me I really needed to get my antibiotic filled as soon as possible. The hospital had given me enough a few tablets to get by on for a day. Heading Ron's insistence, I headed off to Monte Vista to have my prescription filled.   My hand had become extremely swollen and I noticed a lot of red lines moving up my arm from my hand. On the way to Monte Vista I began throwing up in the Escalade. Instead of driving on to Monte Vista I stopped in Del Norte and back to the Emergency Room. The doctor took one look at the red lines moving up my arm along with the fact that I couldn't hold anything on my stomach and ordered my antibiotics to be given by intravenous injection. I found out much later that he wanted to admit me to the hospital but since I didn't have anyone to keep my dogs allowed me to go home with a promise to return every 12 hours for the antibiotics. I was referred to a fabulous orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jon McMillan who along with his fabulous wife, Gretchen not only became good friends but also treated me throughout   this harrowing experience.  I am so thankful that God sent Dr. McMillan into my life. My ordeal with what turned out to almost be a horrible case of blood poisoning was averted and my hand is almost as good as it was before the attack. It is amazing to look at my hand prior to Dr. McMillan and know that after it is all over I still have a fully functioning appendage! 

Prior to the dog attack, I had been diagnosed with a paralyzed lung and referred to a neurosurgeon by my pulmonary specialist. After an MRI by my pulmonary specialist, I was referred to a neurosurgeon due my 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th vertebrae being herniated. Not wanting to go through another surgery since my shoulder surgery in February 2011 I decided not to see the neurosurgeon until I returned from Colorado. Since Carol was hiring me to work in her Lapidary Store I was not planning on returning to the Lone Star State any time soon. While being treated by Dr. McMillan in the Del Norte Hospital my saturation of oxygen rate really dropped. Dr. McMillan became alarmed so I infor.med him of my lung diagnosis and also of the impending trip to the neurosurgeon. Dr. McMillan told me that the diaphragm which controls the lung is controlled by the 3rd and 4th vertebrae. Since those were two of my herniated vertebrae I decided to get in touch with the neurosurgeon as quickly as possible with a prayer that he could make my lung function again.

I returned to Texas in October with an appointment with Dr. Jeffery Cone an Amarillo neurosurgeon. Dr. Cone looked at the MRI done by my pulmonary specialist  and informed me that I would need surgery as soon as possible. Dr. Cone told me not get my hopes up of the lung coming back to life as that rarely happens.  He did say it was possible however so I signed up for the surgery. On the 19th of November I checked into the hospital to have my throat slit. Literally, I had my throat slit and the vertebrae repaired. Dr. Cone had to remove the discs from the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th vertebrae and insert plastic discs in each one. Dr. Cone also cleaning out and around the 1st and 2nd vertebrae and inserted a titanium bracket to hold it all in place. I still have a very stiff neck with a lot of pain so have started physical therapy. Hopefully physical therapy will help and I will have a good recovery. While at the doctor's office my saturation level was checked and was almost back to that of a normal person. I am hopeful my lung is responding. I will know when I return to the doctor in about 4 weeks. 

Since I have written the first of chapters to my new book I will sign off now. I hope I haven't bored you too much with my catching up. At least it doesn't take 7 months to read the spattering tidbits of  a little of what I have been through in the past 7 months. For those of you that have read through to the end I thank you. And to those that have skipped to the end I thank you for stopping by. I will try to keep my blog updated with my newest creations and look forward to have you visit once again!

Hugs!
Lisa