Author: Jen Rios

Success!!!

Last night, I was a a little bit concerned about trying to open my pill bottle for my ibuprofen. The pill bottle has a lid that takes both hands to open.

I was more than surprised when I was able to push the tab down with my right thumb to allow me to use my left hand to twist the cap off. I let out an involuntary, “Success!” my Mom wasn’t even in the room!

I took my pill and thought for a moment as I peeled back the foil of my peanut butter cup, so then I could clearly see the sean where I pull it open. I was able to do that as well! That also got a, “Success!”

I do not know if I will be able to do that again tonight but the fact that I did it yesterday made me so happy! It’s serious now for me. It’s a daily basis thing to see whether I can or cannot do something. That is a unnerving to say the least!!! But, I like that I could do it yesterday! We’ll see about today…

Hopefully, a One-Off.

I am seriously hoping that what happened yesterday was a one-off. A couple things happened yesterday where it was obvious to me that I cannot control my hands and any longer.

I have been taking an ibuprofen 800 every night since I had my second knee surgery in 2017. I take it when I am getting ready for bed, and I take an Atkins peanut butter cup with it.

Well, last night, I could not open my pill bottle with my ibuprofen in it. I tried for a little while, I always try for a while. As my Mom was walking out of my room, I just helped the bottle up to her and told her that, “I can’t open this.”

She opened it and gave my pill. I tried opening up the packaging to my peanut butter cup. It takes a little while, but I can open it. That is except for last night. My Mom just cut it open with scissors.

I sat there in my chair, eating my peanut butter cup that takes three bites for me to eat. I was quiet. It really stunk that it could not open them yesterday but I’m hoping that I can today. I was able to put my contacts in the first time today; sometimes that’s difficult as well.

I will get ready for bed in a little bit and hopefully, it was a one off and I can open my things with no problem today. It’s like that now. Most days I can do things but some days I can’t…

“Don’t Call Your Mom.”

I have been thinking about having Sean since Halloween! But one thing I remember, the night nurse on November 1 was Irish. I really liked hearing her talk and my Mom stayed over at the hospital with me that night.

I spent November 1 in and out of coherency and I felt terrible the whole day. My Mom stayed and just told me to scoot over in bed. So I did and me, Sean (who was inside of me), and my Mom were sleeping in hospital bed.

My Mom left while I was sleeping because it was a Friday so she went to work. When I awoke, that nurse with the Irish accent was tending to me again. she told me that the doctors would be around for their rounds at 9:30. I still didn’t feel well!

Two male doctors stood at the doorway, and one of them walked in and asked me how I was. I remember telling him that my back hurt and he pushed on my left side and then my right side and both times hurt!

He pulled the paper that was coming out of the monitor and looked at it and then looked at the doctor in the hallway and told him, “Labor and Delivery. Stat.”

I remember being so surprised because I was not due for another eight weeks and that nurse with the Irish accent told me, “Don’t call your mom.” I remember her saying that to me, but there was no way that I could do that!

Immediately, I became a character in ER and nurses ran in messing with my bed, and one of them started pushing it down the hall with another nurse running ahead of her to push the button to open the door.

I have never really realized how emergent that whole situation was! The nurse told me that they would come around at about 9:30. Sean was born at 9:38 a.m. I didn’t get to meet him till about 6:30 in the evening and that’s when I told him, “Hi, I’m your mom.”:

November 2024 Faves

I COMPLETELY need to hear/feel this one right about now!!!:

I’m really diggin’ a live version of this song!!! It’s STILL NOT my choice!!!:

Last month, I listen to a lot of my Sara Bareilles playlist that I would listen to as I was falling asleep. My Mom didn’t like it at all! She told me that she likes ‘upbeat music’ and I told her that I can’t even handle that anymore.

I finally told her that I used to belt Sara Bareilles out in both of my apartments and I think surely after I moved into my house, I could no longer sing along with the radio. I just mounted the words. my mom that I miss that. I’m so grateful that I didn’t do anything professional or anything but I think it’s sad that longer can do it. These were the songs I was listening to:

The lyric, “Come on in, tug at my seams” really gets me!!!!:

I actually told my Mom about this song being written for a play that Sara Bareilles wrote, and I told her about the movie it was based on. I have no interest in watching the movie again, but I also told her I was super into GMFB, that there was a billboard right outside the studio for that play that was on Broadway years ago:

Sax-a-Boom!!!

I saw and shared the short of this interview on Facebook. I can’t believe that it’s from 2018 and I never saw it before. But then I saw the short again, and sent the short to my friend, so I can pull it up every morning when I get up. So far, it has been three days and I love it!!! I’m going to put the full episode here just so I can watch it whenever I want to as well. It is a great way to wake up and see Jack Black jammin’!!!

Audacity

I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. My mind was full because I was thinking about going into labor 23 years ago tonight. I don’t think I ever really realized how emergent that whole situation was and it’s only now that it’s over and done with that I can finally think about it being kind of a big deal!!!

I was talking about it with my Mom and she remembers that day we went to the emergency room and I was admitted into the hospital. It was about 1 o’clock in the morning on November 1. I could not sleep that night because something was not right and I knew that probably at about 6 o’clock in the evening.

I remember calling St. Mary’s (that’s the hospital where I was supposed to have Sean; it was all set up) The woman I spoke to told me that I need to go downtown to Henry Ford because they have an NICU in case that is necessary because I was only 32 weeks.

I remember my Mom driving me downtown and taking me into the building at the emergency room entrance next to where the night security guard is. She left to park the car and I sat there in a wheelchair, super pregnant, and in pain.

After 23 years, I finally am thinking about that old security guard who looked at me and had the audacity to tell me, “You look too young to be having a baby!”

I didn’t say anything because I was in labor, back labor, but I did not know that until November 2. My Mom came in and grabbed the wheelchair and I told her about it as we got into the elevator. She told me that I should have told him, “I am 25 and my husband is deployed as if that is any of your business!” That would have been a good thing to say, but I didn’t feel well at all at the time.

Aghast

I talked to Sean today I and I reminded him that his birthday is coming up! He told me that now that he is older it doesn’t matter. I was completely aghast?!

I told him that I have crystal clear memories of that time!!! These memories are 23 years old and they get so much more vivid this close his birthday!!!

I will NEVER forget ANYTHING from that time!!! I forgot my lunch on Halloween when I worked at dfcu and the branch was SO SLOW and we were each given baskets of candy to put at our window.

We just traded candy amongst us tellers. I went into labor later tonight and I was incoherent all of November 1. Nurses kept asking me what day it was because I was so out of it. That’s where my mind is right now…

It’s about that Time

I woke up early this morning because my Mom had Physical Therapy for her finger. After my prayers were complete, I got to watch A LOT of Hallmark Christmas movies.

I’m totally bummed that I didn’t see Harvest Moon but next year I guess! I stopped watching Christmas Next Door (because I’ve seen it like ten times) to watch Hocus Pocus because the last time to see it is Friday. I’ll get one more in!!! (That was weird whiplash with the holidays though…

But then I went right back to Hallmark Christmas movies. I finally got to see all of Christmas Crashers. But, now that it’s Hallmark Christmas, it’s about that time for me to see Christmas commercials!!! I saw one and I really dig the song!!!

I don’t shop at Ultra and I don’t even wear make-up but this song is in my head!!!

“We Quilt This City”

I saw this commercial and started to laugh!!! I used to write this on my Secret Santa list all of the time at CCA! My kids thought that was a dumb gift and I would ask, “Is it really? I’m going to use it, now I don’t have to pay for it!” I actually used write the Target brand toilet paper but being in a wheelchair for as long as I have been, I needed better quality toilet paper.

Each year I got a pack at work, I would sing its praises to my colleagues! Sean has told me that I have ruined him because he got spoiled from this quality toilet paper.