Sunday, September 28, 2008

I'm a Meme-a-holic!

The Book Meme

Okay, here's what to do:

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
* Tag five other people to do the same.

If debugging is turned off, send the message in an email and print a default message.

"When we met Martha, we told her that her doctor may have been giving her appropriate treatment, but there were still many unanswered questions. Why had she developed symptoms like those of Parkinson's? Was there anything else we could do to address these possible causes? The only way to know would be through tests."

Yes, intriguing! I had to have a medical book plastered to my hip, you know! Ultraprevention really is a good one, though! :o)

I tag the five people who read my blog.

*TAG!*

Thursday, September 25, 2008

I'm Stealing This One, Dang It!

Nobody tags me anymore because I'm such a crappy blogger..so I'm piggybackin' on this one--Woo Hoo!!

Me and My First Baby MEME


1.Were you married at the time? Yup. For almost one year.

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant?
I was amazed and scared to death...I think I had that "I'm on a roller coaster that I put myself on and now its too late to get off!!" feeling.

3. How old were you? 24

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I peed on a stick.

5. Who did you tell first? told my friend, Amy...then Kelly...then Nancy....THEN Andy (ha ha ha!) I wanted to surprise him, but I needed to vent before then :o)

6. Did you want to find out the sex?
Heck yeah! I told everyone that I "needed" to know so I could "paint the nursery"--Well, I found out, alright, but I painted the nursery beige and then didn't use the nursery... :o)

7. Due date
: May 28, 2005

8. Did you deliver early or late? I delivered one week early, when the doctor decided that Landon needed to come out (I was naive and stupid and went along with it)

9. Did you have morning sickness?
Oh YES, I had morning sickness, evening sickness, and every other kind of sickness in between (!!) for about five months--blehhh! Weird things made me sick like an azalea bush by our front porch and a couch we had just bought that we wound up having to give away to my grandma

10. What did you crave? Pizza and (I have to go all "Stereotypical Pregnant Lady on you now) ice cream

11. Who irritated you the most?
Ooh--We could be here for a while on this one--I think everyone around me made it onto this list at some point in time...but my doctor topped the list fo sho!

12. What was your first child's sex? Male. And he showed it off proudly on our ultrasound tapes, too, honey!

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? (Andrea: "Moo"...me, too, sister!) I think I gained OVER 50 lbs. by the end. My family thought it was hilarious! I kept running into things and tripping b/c I kept forgetting I wasn't my old size

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Ahhh, just the usual...high blood pressure, preterm labor, bedrest, broken tailbone, bad rip...you know, same ole same ole! ;o)

15. Where did you give birth? At the nasty staph infested hospital--Blah! At least my sweet Aunt Mary got to be my nurse :)

16. How many hours were you in labor? How many hours are there in 15 weeks? LOL!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? I did! And I put on makeup on the way like a crazy person (it was one in the morning....I've got issues)

18. Who watched? Andy, Kelly, my mom, and the nurse (oh, and the camcorder--can't forget that!...No, really, I can't forget about it...shiver, shiver)

19. I was about to say "The Fun Way", but I guess there IS no fun way as far as new life is concerned)--vaginal (I know I am a midde scholer at heat, but I hate that word..."Vagina"...Blehh!)

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Yes and I am still mad that I caved!! They talk me into an epidural that I didn't even feel like I needed and now my back is all screwed up. Thanks.

21. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 7 oz.

22. What did you name him/her? John Landon

23. How old is your first born today? Free yeers old.

Tag five mommies:

Everyone has already been tagged...Hmm...Hey, Kim, wanna participate? Stacey? Anyone?

Nothing Like a Meme to Getcha Bloggin' Again!

Just One Word

You can only type ONE Word! Not as easy as you might think. It's really hard to only use one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? Andy
2. Where is your significant other? Asleep
3. Your hair? Ew.
4. Your mother? Helpful
5. Your father? Smart
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Doctor :o) (are you curious?) Hee hee!
8. Your dream/goal? Health
9 The room you're in? Living Room
10. Your hobby? Photography
11. Your fear? Illness
12. What do you want to be in 6 years? Mother
13. Where were you last night? Dad's
14. What you're not? Quiet
16. One of your wish list items? Camcorder
17. Where you grew up? South
18. The last thing you did? Library
19. What are you wearing? Brown
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pet? Dogs
23. Your computer? Broken
24. Your mood? Calm
25. Missing someone? Always
26. Your car? GAS!!!!
27. Something you're not wearing? Helmet :o)
28. Favorite store? Emily Austin
29. Your summer? over
30. Love someone? absolutely!
31. Your favorite color? changes
32. When is the last time you laughed? today
33. Last time you cried? yesterday
34. Who will resend this? nobody? :oD

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Going Back in Time a Little....

Since I have been the worst blogger in all of history for the last couple of months, I thought I'd fill in some of the blanks with a couple of journal entries from my "absence" (read: living in a bubble)


August 10th, 2008


"Ahhh--I had another "adventure" today with my health...I'm actually just settling back in at home after being in the ER all afternoon! It has been the strangest day! We all know I haven't been feeling well (I think I've made that pretty clear lately)-Today, though, I really, really, REALLY didn't feel well. I went shopping at Whole Foods with Andy to find some gluten free, dairy free food that I can eat and the whole time I was there, I kept feeling like I was going to just-POOF!-pass out on the floor. It came on suddenly and just kept getting worse, so I went to sit out in the car. I thought being outside would help, but it didn't. I tried driving around the parking lot, first with the A/C going full blast, then with the windows rolled down--Still nothing helped. I prayed over and over, begging (sometimes loudly) for God to help me. I kept feeling like I was spinning, dizzy, confused and nauseated. It was absolutely terrifying! My heart was going nuts like it always does...I finally called Dr. Fields. I described what was going on as best as I could and she promptly recommended me to go to the hospital to be checked out...So, I did. Without delay."

At The Hospital:

When I got there, the waiting room was filled with the obligatory cold and flu sufferers, a few people with disposable puke bins in their laps and several others who looked like they were there to hang out. I was a wreck--It didn't help to think I might come in with one problem and leave with a multitude of worse ones. ANYWAYS, (God protect me) they called my name before too long, took my temperature and blood pressure and, after asking me a few questions about my medical history, announced, "Well, it looks like you're in Afib."----Can I just tell you that at that moment, I entered my own personal nightmare! Afib, Afib, Afib...My mind raced with all of the comments my mom had made about how terrible and deadly the condition is---about how she'd be fine with suffering anything if only not that...I thought about my aunt, my mom's uncle, my cousin...all with the dreaded Afib...and now the ugly words were being directed at me on this innocent Sunday afternoon. I was sure I was going to die. They wheeled me to the hallway of the ER rooms, then transferred me to the chest pain center where they took blood samples and hooked me up to all kinds of monitors. At one point, my heart rate was 120 BPM just sitting there! My mom (fresh off of a plane from Mexico) came with my step-dad, her nose shining bright red from crying in the car. I was more scared after seeing that...But I have to say that even though I was scared, I know my prayers (and my family's prayers --Bless their hearts!) were heard. The staff was wonderful. I was never left alone, wondering if anyone was ever going to help me. The man who took my blood told me jokes and made me feel comfortable, even as my blood leaked all over the bed and down my arm. The nurses were all great, too, answering my paranoid questions about air bubbles in IV tubes with all of the patience I could ask for. It was a nice change from previous hospital experiences, yet it was the scariest thing I'd ever been there for. I was there for several hours, hooked up to heart, oxygen, and blood pressure monitors and after blood test results were read and chest x-rays were examined (nice cheap visit to the hospital!), I was free to go.


A Clue?


Would you believe that my blood work all came back normal (even my thyroid!!!) EXCEPT my blood glucose level--It was 144!! What the heck, right?! I went in for heart issues (which I will find out more about this week when I go to the arrhythmia specialist) and came out with a possible case of DIABETES...Whaaaat?! That really threw me for a loop! DIABETES?! Could it be?! Could it have been diabetes this whole time? All these years of sickness because no one thought to check my blood sugar? Surely not...But my heart was staying normal through all of my dizzy spells, so maybe...MAYBE we have found an answer? How strange! When I heard my glucose levels were high, I tried thinking back to when I felt the "weirdest"---Once at mom's after drinking two glasses of orange soda, I had felt like I was going to die, if not from the dizziness, then from the horrible nausea. We had tested my blood sugar on my step-dad's machine and it registered in the 140s then, too! We had thought at the time that the machine had messed up. (DIABETES?!) The other day, I felt extremely ill--I thought it was from eating wheat and dairy from a peach and blueberry cobbler I made...could it have been the sugar??? Today could a big glass of orange juice, combined with not eating have sent my glucose levels through the roof??? Its food for thought. Maybe I've found the starting point for getting better.....

Anyways, I am at home now--thanking God with all of my might that I didn't have to stay there--didn't have to die there. I am home with Andy and Landon, my whole family is praying for me...I am blessed. ABUNDANTLY.

Thank you, God!"

Friday, September 5, 2008

Finally!! A Diagnosis!!

I know I haven't kept you guys very well updated on what's been going on with me and I hate popping by for another quick update, but until I get my computer back, this is all I can do :o(....I just wanted to let you all know that my wonderful OB/Gyn called me this afternoon with the blood test results I've been waiting for and I feel like I am FINALLY getting somewhere with all of this. I found out today that I have Hashimoto's Disease. I don't know anything about it right now other than it is an autoimmune disease where your body creates antibodies that attack and try to kill your thyroid (great, right?) I have been wondering if I had this disease since my thyroid started acting up almost TEN YEARS AGO!!! All it takes to diagnose this disease is a simple one-time blood test and I have never been able to get a doctor to do it for me until now. I should be really upset to find out I have a disease, but instead, I am relieved to finally have some answers. When I feel sick now, I can say, "Hey, its my Hashimoto's bothering me again!" instead of "Crap, I bet I have cancer!" It really does help. Beyond the Hashimoto's, she also found out that my Vitamin D levels are really low (about one fourth of what they should be) so now I have to take 6,000 iu/day of Vitamin D3 to catch up (yes, I said 6,000--that wasn't a type-O :o) I am soooo ready to start feeling better. I am supposed to start treatment for all of this beginning next week. Please keep the prayers coming! They are definitely working!

I'mm off to the arrhythmia specialist about my heart palpitations on the 15th--I was really scared (and I'm still not totally at peace with the whole situation), but Dr. Collins told me my crazy thyroid and my low Vitamin D levels can be making a mountain out of a mole hill as far as my heart problems go. Those issues could be causing the arrhythmias (or at least exacerbating the problem)---I hope and pray its "just" that and not what my mom has so that I don't have to have the ablation done (shiver, shiver!) That whole procedure creeps me out!

ANYWAYS, sorry to be flying in and out of here with nothing but updates on my health. I have been keeping a journal again so I'll have plenty of funny stories and interesting Landon-isms to report as soon as I get through all of this stress (and get my darn computer!!!). I miss my bloggy friends sooo much! You're all in my thoughts and prayers (lots of those lately, so be ready for good things to come your way!)