Braved the Stairs

I managed to brave the stairs after spending a whole day upstairs. I slept the whole day and just felt I needed to rest more. Six nights at the hospital and then falling down the stairs was just too much for my fragile body. The good news is my surgery got postponed. Pulmo rehab is also on hold until I'm better. 

I'm pushing myself to move hourly to make sure the bruises don't develop into scary blood clots! I'm on blood thinners, but that will only work with movement and lots of fluids. I don't want to have another PE. The boys are watching me like a hawk to make sure I don't have another mishap, hehe.

My motivation to conquer the stairs today was to see Little Grey and August the kitten. There were originally two kittens, August and Ten. They were born on August 10. Their name was supposed to be Marvin Augusten, hehe. Little Grey lost the calico kitten, huhu, so there's just the tabby one. It's complete name will still be Marvin Augusten and I'm calling it August for now. 

August's 10th day

Little Grey finally put the kitten in the nest we prepared for her in the pocket garden. They are well protected from the rain and won't be bothered by other cats. The kitten will also be protected from other possible predators and can quietly grow up here. The boys are preparing another nest in case Little Grey wants to move again. In a few weeks we'll bring both of them to the vet. 

As for my leg, I'm following doctors orders to use warm compress to increase blood flow. My hematologist also told me to eat iron rich food so I can produce more RBC. That will also help break up any clots. 

Missing my other cats and my plants. I hope I'll be more mobile soon!

#BeKind #StaySaffe

Throwback Thursday: July 2025 One Second Everyday

Delayed posting my 1 second everyday video for July again. Most of this month seems to be dedicated to recovery. 

July though was a very wet month. We were affected by consecutive typhoons. It was really stressful and was what brought me down by month end.

Most of our "outings" happened during the first half of the month. We got to dine at some of our favorite places and then got busy with adulting stuff.

Here's the short video:

I honestly don't want to have a repeat of this month since I ended up in the hospital.

#BeKind #StaySafe

How I Dealt with My Leg Injury

I'm going to write about my recent leg injury in case it can help someone, especially for those who take blood thinners and/or have clotting issues.

We still do not know exactly why I had two pulmonary embolisms. I never had DVT. Don't have a genetic disorder for clotting. No auto-immune disease. I do have May Thurners Syndrome, but the compression isn't enough to contribute to clotting. Recently, my new hematologist confirmed I have thalassemia alpha and I'm anemic (as usual). Anyway, what this means is I'm prone to bruising and clots can happen due to an injury. That's what I hope won't happen. 

A lot of other blood clot patients always ask whether they should go to the ER for bruising or injury. My doctors always advise, YES. Even before I got up from my fall, we started compressing the painful area with ice. It helped keep my lower leg from swelling. I should have also iced my knee, but it only started hurting by late afternoon. By that time the ice we brought had already melted. 

I didn't go to the ER since I had 3 doctor appointments lined up. My first appointment was with my cardiologist. He took a look at the area that already started bruising. He insisted I go see an orthopedic doctor to make sure I hadn't broken anything. We squeezed in seeing him before my second appointment. The doctor did some tests and poked around my leg. Made me stand and since my humor was still intact, declared it was just a contusion. Whew!

We finished the two other appointments, but by the time we got home I could barely walk and my knee was really painful. That's when I realized I should have iced it too. It was too late. I kept a stiff upper lip, but by early evening I took paracetamol to ease the pain. Ice compress for 48 hours, then warm compress after 48 hours. New bruises showed up on my left foot after 48 hours. Well, that is the peril of being a clotter. We have to monitor closely, drink lots of fluids and make sure I walk around hourly to keep from clotting.

Cold compress. See a Doctor. More cold compress + some painkiller if need. Then warm compress after 48 hours. And MOVE. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Bag that Saved Me

I mentioned in last Sunday's blog that a bag saved me. It cushioned me from hitting the ground hard. If I hadn't had it on me, I may have hit my head on the floor and my shoulder would have been injured too. I had just finished making the bag before I was hospitalized a few weeks ago. I made it from one of Mom's unfinished projects. 

It's been years since I made myself a hand bag. My needs are different now since I lug around my packet of prescriptions and a few other essentials. I also wanted to have something that reminds me of my Mom whenever I go out. One of the unfinished projects she made were pieced together charm fabric. I remember I bought it for her either when she was in Singapore or I had sent it to Miggy during the pandemic. 

Mom has an eye for color, so she was able to piece together the charm fabric perfectly. I liked the color and thought a cheery bag is what I need nowadays. Here's how I made the bag -

I finished the bag two days before Sweetie brought me to the ER. It didn't leave my side the whole time we were in the hospital. We were about to leave for a check-up last Friday when I missed a step and fell from the stairs. The bag definitely cushioned my fall. It was fat because I had extra eco-bags and a jacket inside. It softened my fall and kept my head from hitting the floor. My fluffiness saved the rest of my body and I ended up with just a contusion. 

Thank you Mom for watching over me. Miss you and love you.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Checked Out Homemaker Furniture

Over the past few years we've bought furniture for our home. When movement was still restricted we got our beds from Our Home, Ikea and a manufacturer from Tarlac. They're both good and practical, but sometimes they don't have what we're looking for.

In the past 12 months, we expanded our search and got some stuff from Uratex and Mandaue Foam. Two good providers of foam based furniture (especially beds and mattresses). I've been looking for recliner chairs and chanced upon Homemaker Furniture.

I was looking for recliner chairs when I saw their page. I immediately looked at their website and saw some very nice options for recliner chairs. We already checked Blims at ATC and their options was limited. Ikea didn't have what I was looking for either.

Anyway, we finally visited their Paranaque branch. The recliner chairs were located just by the entrance. I immediately sat on one and felt very comfortable. They also had recliner chairs that doubled as rocking chairs.

I chose the recliner chair that has built in cupholders. Got it in charcoal gray to match the room where it will be placed. The best thing about it is they could deliver within the week. The joys of buying directly from a manufacturer.

The store probably has all your furniture needs. Go visit and see if there's something they can provide for you.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Had a Fall

Ouchie!

We were about to leave for my doctor appointments, when I randomly missed a step and fell from the stairs. Yup. Unthinkable! Miggy said I was looking at him when it happened. Luckily, my newly made quilted hand bag cushioned my fall. I didn't hit my head and only my knee and lower leg hit the step.

It was painful and I was in shock. Sweetie, who was behind me, immediately went to me and gave Miggy instructions. He was in shock too. I thought I broke my leg since it was really painful. They calmed me down and I was able to stand with their help.

I managed to go downstairs with help and I immediately iced the painful area on my lower leg. The pain started to set in on the way to the hospital. My first appointment was with my cardiologist. He immediately sent me to an orthopedic doctor to make sure I didn't break anything. I was still quite jolly at the hospital and it helped we were able to borrow a wheelchair. 

The orthopedic doctor cleared me and said it was just a contusion. We spent more time discussing Sweetie's knee while we were with him, haha. I managed to complete my 2 other appointments. It was on the way home when my knee really started to hurt. I was only able to ice the bottom part of my leg and didn't realize that my knee was bruised too (I was wearing pants). 

The boys had a hard time moving me from the car. We spent the night in the basement since I couldn't walk. By evening I gave in and drank paracetamol. I was really antsy by then and the ice helped, but it wasn't enough to relieve the pain. I slept on the recliner chair to keep my leg up. Good thing Sweetie still has his crutches, it's helping me to get around better. The boys are watching me like a hawk for now. 

Mishaps happen and I thank God my injury is minimal. I am antsy over getting a clot, but my hematologist said I should be okay. I just need to make sure to move around a lot and ice hourly for 20 minutes for 48 hours, then switch to hot compress after. Actually, my angiogram site hurt a bit more than the bruised area, hehe. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plants Almost Died

It was only a week after I got home when I was able to go around and check my plants. I only reminded Miggy to water the plants halfway through my confinement and he probably thought the rain reached them. Some plants died, others were in dire need of TLC.

Luckily, a drum full of rainwater was available and I used it to help revive the plants. They looked a lot better the next day after being thoroughly watered. I also plucked the multitude of caterpillars. They had eaten a lot of my calamansi plants. Argh!

The good news is my papaya plants produced more buds and they're forming into fruit now. It'll take a few more months before we can harvest. I hope the fruits will be sweet!

#BeKind #StaySafe