Tests

Well I had another test today. It was a Hida Scan. It took about 2 hours to complete. First they injected me with some dye and then took pictures of my gallbladder and intestines until it showed up. Then I had to drink this shake mixture and then did another hour of pictures. The radiologist is now preparing a report to send to the Dr on friday. Looks like by week end 3 of the 4 tests should have some results ready and we might finally get some answers.

I was able to sleep some last night - about two 3 hour sessions. I am hopeful that will continue becuase sleep makes me have a better attitude to face the day without any answers.

Pain Pain Go Away

it's 4:30am and I have been up since 3am dealing with terrible pain and diaherrea. No Fun. I watched some TV on entertainment gossip, then I took a hot shower. The picture is called "glass fire". I took it a while back in Toronto, it details a wall sculpture that I believe is Dale Chihuly.

In some ways it reminds me of what pain may look like. Little tentacles reaching out, different strengths and lengths giving their sting.

I will most likely be up for the rest of the night. Amazing how such a pain, that not even medicine can seem to make it stop. I just keep telling myself - endure, it will get better. I am hopeful that next week will bring some answers with the different tests, but now all I can do is try and ignore the pain and live with it.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved.

Passing the time

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

Relative

Well it's 2:46am and I am up watching some old movies and blogging. I had a relatively good night today -- I spoke with several friends this evening which helped pass the time and then after getting rather sleepy, I slept from about 10pm to Midnight and then again from Midnight to 2:15am after emptying my bladder twice. I woke up to pain, so I took a long hot shower and had it falling on my right shoulder. Now a orange popsicle and some blogging.

4:39am

Been able to grab 30 minutes sleep here and there, but mainly dealing with the pain. More showers, aimless walking around the house, can not eat now - need to wait until 7:30am to drink my barium smoothie!

This is a picture of the street light showing through the draped window in the living room.

Can not wait for a regular nights sleep and the pain to be gone. This is truly some test having to deal with these day after day and night after night.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

12:39 am

Well the pain is back. I can not sleep. I am updating the blog to help pass the time. This am I will be drinking my barium for my morning CT Scan. I have tried to past the time with a bath, a hot shower, two popsicles and watching Ugly Betty. My parents named me "Mr. Gurgles" since my intestines are making that sound constantly.

Knock On Wood

Today has been a good day, and I hope a good night. It's Midnight and I am heading for bed. What makes tonight different is that besides a little uncomfortableness from some gas and bloating I am not having the pain in my right side or back. Maybe I will get some much needed sleep.

I did the Poopie Tests today! What joy! I was made to promise no pictures for the blog.

Next test is Friday AM - my CT Scan.-

more tests no answers

Still in pain and the clock keeps ticking. Saw the specialist today. More tests -Tomorrow - stool test, Friday a CT Scan of my abdominal and pelvic areas, Tuesday a Hido Scan, Thursday - meeting with my primary care Doctor, August 6th - Colonosocopy.

It's hard to stay in good spirits when you do not feel well, and your frustrated.

3AM My Own Private Diagnose

GALLBLADDER ATTACK SYMPTOMS - I found this on the internet as I can not sleep due to pain in my right shoulder --- if I had to diagnose myself I would say this is me.

X = YES, S = Sometimes, N = No
X - Moderate to severe pain under the right side of the rib cage
X - Pain may radiate through to the back or to the right shoulder
S - Severe upper abdominal pain (biliary colic)
S - Nausea
S - Queasiness
N - Vomiting
X - Gas
X - Burping or belching
XX - Attacks are often at night
? - Attacks often occur after overeating
? - Pain will often but not always follow a meal with fats or grease
X - Pain may be worse with deep inhalation
X - Attacks can last from 15 minutes to 15 hours

One reassurring thing I found was this about gallbladder diagnoses: "Gallbladder symptoms can look and feel the same with or without stones. That is why medical testing is so necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Someone will go into the emergency room with a gallbladder attack and be told it's because he has gallstones. The person in the bed next to him also has a gallbladder attack and has an inflammed gallbladder but no stones. A third person has an attack but they can find nothing. This is not an uncommon question I get. "The diagnostic tests are all negative. What do I do now? How do I get out of pain?" People are upset because they want a diagnosis. "But what am I supposed to do with my pain if it comes back if the medical people don't know what to do with it?" Hey, lucky you! At least they won't be wanting to cut your gallbladder out! This person is the best candidate for turning around a gallbladder problem with natural products, treatments and diet."

I am alot like the third person in this story.
What do I do now? How do I get out of pain?"

10pm

when you create you can leave your body even if for just a little while

copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

9pm

feeling better --- its all relative - compared to this am when I couldn't sleep and was in terrible pain --- now I am just slightly uncomfortable. I have eaten. I have a warm cup of tea by my side. I am almost out of sugar-free popsicles. I am trying to stay awake by channel surfing . It is raining and thundering and lightening. Showers seem to help. I appreciate all the calls and concern. The combination of the medicine for the diaherra and the tylenol seem to be a combination that I can tolerate and help me. Here is to a better night and a better tomorrow. I hope that if I can find some sleep so can my friend Jim.

9am

Well it was 5:30am and I screamed at the top of my lungs (wonder what the neighbors thought if they heard it) - I took a hot shower thinking that might help get my mind off the pain. For a short time it did. I was able to sleep somehow between 6am and 9am - I woke and had a small bm (still moving in the right direction). I am awake now and mulling around. At first I thought it was Monday but then realized the days are blending together. The pain is still there but it is a dull pain, not sure if that is the Tylenol working or just numbing from sleep. 48 hours before I see the Doctor.

4am

It's early am, I can not sleep because of the pain. The pain is mainly in my back right shoulder blad and feels like a hot knife stabbing me. It does not help to sit or to lay it continues to hurt. I have been up and up for the last several hours hoping that I will either fall asleep from exhaustion or a miracle will occur. I just took two Tylenol to see if that will help. The stomach area is getting better or so it seems. Cross your fingers here. Not even popsicles make me happy at this moment. I just want the pain to stop.

not well

Been a rough weekend. The pain in my stomach, intestines at times has been awlful. The good news - a poop. Not diaherra, I hope this is the beginning of the healing.

The bed, to the couch, to the bed, occasional shower, getting tired of being sick and tired.

here's to better days

I'll see your walker and raise you

TWO LOAVES !

In honor of you Jim, I baked two loaves of white bread. Amazing to watch the dough rize all day and then smell of freshed baked bread in the house.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

TOXIN DREAMS

It was a day of getting rid of toxins - some were just my body getting back to knowing how to work and have a regular BM (not my initials), some are what I believe the drugs that were in my system from the hospital - I have been totally off drugs now for two full days, the pain is gone except for the gas & bloating pain.

I took a few naps today and they were very vivid and wild - I dreamed I awoke in my old house in Getzville and the new owners were in the bathroom. Then my Dad was the invisible man and needed help getting getting shirts out of the closet before the new owners caught us. I found a piece a paper and took that - we left the house and I saw the new owners took off the garage of the house (they will not be happy come winter) - then I read the paper and found out the Lionel Ritchie was my dad and we lived on the same street as Karen C. --- and if you thought it couldn't get any strangers then I dreamed that Alice from the Brady Bunch was shrunken and doing a reality cooking show in my intensines with the cast of the Brady Bunch kids.

So now I have taken some imodium to hopefully stop the runs, and get back to feeling some full energy. Watched my secret pleasure Big Brother tonight and now getting ready for bed.

Sweet or Strange Dreams tonight?

Distroy

No this is not an actual slide culture of something that I have but it is something I created while thinking about my digestive tract and the troubles that I have been having. Yuck Yuck Yuck - I am doing lots of positive thinking and focusing - so I created this as a icon of the bad feeling that I have so that I could distroy it.

Well off to bed for an early night and hopefully a good night of rest - tomorrow is another day.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

I miss Karen already

It was quiet and lonely in the house when Karen left today. Not that the place was noisy with her here (she does like to ask lots of questions), but the comfort of knowing some one was near to say hello, complain about my gas cramps, eat a Popsicle with. Well off to take another nap.

Hope Jim has made it home from the hospital today!

Popsicle Toes - A medical mystery

I am sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. Last Monday I was not feeling well with several sharp pains in my right chest under my ribs. I stayed home and rested thinking it would get better - it only got worst - so at 3am I got in my car and drove to the emergency room at Park Plaza Hospital. At 3:30 am I was admitted very quickly, then did various tests on me (blood tests, sonogram, x-rays) and they could not find anything wrong. But to me the pain was excrutiating - the worst pain since I broke my arm when I was 12 years old. Finally at 8:30 am they sent me home with directive to take some Milk of Magnesium and things would get better. I did just that - 3 hours later I was vomiting (3 times) and had a fever - on my sheet it said if that were to happen to return promptly - which I did. This time I took a taxi rather then drive to the emergency room.

They all looked strange at me at the emergency room when I returned. This time it was not as quick a response - it is now 2:30pm. It took about 2 hours for them to move me from the waiting room to a bed, then another 3 hours before a doctor came to see me. This time it was the same doctor from the late night before they had just changed shifts. He was rude, confrontational, and in definite need of some bedside manner - it was like he believed his charts more that what I was saying - after a few questions he left and said he was going to try and get a doctor to admit me. They finally did and admitted me to what I later learned was an observation room. I was not able to have any food or drink - NPO was posted on my door. They gave me morphine for the pain which did help me somewhat, it was uncomfortable to do anything but lay on my back and times that was uncomfortable. I had not had a bowel movement since Monday am - and now it is Tuesday night, but I have not had any food either. The days start to blur, phones calls to a few friends, co-workers and Mom&Dad. I was still in pain and they could not figure out what was wrong - they sent a specialist - who put my parents to ease with explaining that all my vital organs seemed to be working fine. But I still had the pain - it seemed like I has all the symptoms of shingles without the blisters. Finally they allowed me some ice chips to suck on, and then now Thursday, with still no definite diagnoses - they let me try some liquid food, then moved to low fat food. Flowers arrived (Thank You - The Office, Steve & Stephen, Denise, Tommy & Rich) Visitors started to call, email chains of information - amazing the connection and how fast and how far word can travel. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers over the past week, as all the offers for assistance in many ways and forms. Co-workers came to visit me (thanks Kevin, Shana, Sara and Jody) and my friend Karen came from Dallas, she is a RN and wanted to help me - it was perfect timing because that night they came in and said since they could not find anything wrong, they gave me the pain medicine and sent me home. Karen and Jody were there and helped me get into Karen's car it is now around 9:30pm on Thursday night. Karen took my prescriptions to Walgreen's which she picked up in the morning - I tried to sleep but it was very uncomfortable and the pain patch wore off and I had no medicine. We started the day getting on the medicine, and lots of resting - every day and every hour things would get better although - the highlights are taking showers, being able to sleep (for a minimum of 4 hours - and yesterday it was 7 hours), eating healthy but good food (who knew Karen could cook! - yes she made some chicken breast with Italian seasoning with Green beans & potatoes), eating sugar-free Popsicles ! I had a good conversation with Jim on Saturday from his hospital bed - we joked about how much art each of had sold today! (Only he did not know that a client picked up her commission piece "The Family Tree" and I got paid). It was great to his his voice and spirit. We bought agreed it was time to focus on getting well so we could get back to creating more art. The pain has stopped for the most part now I am just dealing with getting energy back and digestive problems. We think the digestive problems and dizziness might be related to the medicine I am taking, so we are trying to make it through today with out that medicine. So without a definitive diagnoses, it seems like I am a medical mystery! Thanks to everyone for your calls, emails, flowers, and cheer, thoughts and prayers - now it is time to enjoy a Popsicle.

P.S. The picture I took in the hospital with my new iPhone. Interesting colors and composition.

Creating from the soul

I had a day of art today - I finished my commissions today, they are varnished and ready to be picked up.

This is one of the paintings I worked on it is a diptych.

I had an idea based on photos I take of the details of my paintings. What is I blacked out the areas and focused the viewer on the details I see.

Is the painting more important then the

details.... either blacked out...or

or photographed.


Each painting has it's own unique story...and then

you focus on the detail to reflect on the story underneath.

Looking down the looking glass


or focusing on the drama of the colors, shapes?
This is one painting that I loved small elements, but struggle with the whole.


Fouced details are dramatic and powerful.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

4th of July on my street

This is the view of the fireworks that took place a few blocks from my home in Houston. I literally just walked to the corner and took these photos and this video of the fireworks. It took hours for the people and cars to clear from the street.

This is a view so you can see the cars and the street with the fireworks lighting the sky.

These are a collage of some of my favorite shots.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved

connected

This is an image of a piece of art created by my friend, Jim Frederick. He did this for a fundraiser, he did it for his friends, it is called connected. I was just beginning to know him then, I helped him photograph this and create a card with the complete image on it. Many of his friends who attended the fundraiser that night each got a piece of the final piece - it is a metaphor for how Jim connected with people and how is art and life connected with us all. Each of us is a seperate work of art, yet we are connected to the whole...and when you put the pieces together you see the greatness of the whole, and the threads, lines, and colors that connect us and our lives. For those of you reading Jim's Dad's blog (www.stevefrederickphoto.com/blog) you know that Jim has had better days --- connect and send the spirit so Jim can find some comfort, and his family and friend, Karen C, who are by his side can connect with him.

Traveling Art Book

Check out this --- an art book travel bug. Using Geo Cache - this will travel the world (I hope)

and get different artists to enter in it. http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=887403

Wonder what journeys, people and places it will see in the next year.

Travelled from Houston, TX to Getzville, NY to where it now lies in a GeoCache (a hidden box) waiting for the next tracker to come along and take it on it's journey. Thanks to Scott, Patty, Ellie, and Allison for placing my first travel bug.

Copyright 2007 William H Miller All Rights Reserved