Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Time Has Come Today
I am sorry that reviving "Things I'm Happy About Thursday" lasted all of two weeks. Being in school again, my time is not my own and I have had a hard time accepting that. I am still here. I still plan on posting. I am just not able to plan when.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Things I'm Happy About Thursday #2
1. Fried pickles from Sonic (eaten while driving home from today's twelve hour day at school).
2. Getting past the scariest part* of creating a rocking horse in TEC 322 class. *The scariest part being using a band saw to cut out the head and seat of the rocking horse with a band saw.
3. Being done with the stress of today's math test.
4. Having an admissions specialist take the time to fill out some forms with me today that will make things easier for me later.
5. Enjoying a catch up chat with a former professor in the hall.
2. Getting past the scariest part* of creating a rocking horse in TEC 322 class. *The scariest part being using a band saw to cut out the head and seat of the rocking horse with a band saw.
3. Being done with the stress of today's math test.
4. Having an admissions specialist take the time to fill out some forms with me today that will make things easier for me later.
5. Enjoying a catch up chat with a former professor in the hall.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Retro Redo
In one of my past blogs, I made a serious effort to post five things I was happy about every Thursday. I did this as a reminder to myself to be grateful always. Sometimes, finding five things to be happy is really tough.
I've been absent from my blog for several months now because I don't have as much independent thinking time as I once did and I decided that reviving Things I'm Happy About Thursday would be good practice towards the habit of 1.) counting my blessings and 2.)posting more regularly.
Things I'm Happy About on March 18, 2010:
1.) Finding these at my local library. I love audio books and this doodad is most convenient for walking around campus.
2.) That My House Is Cuter Than Yours looks to be posting again.
3.) Can I say, "The weather."? I know there is nothing more boring than weather talk, but walking around outside to warmer temperatures is doing a lot to improve my emotional, physical, and mental state.
4.) Hearing (and seeing) someone practice bagpipes while walking on campus.
5.) Axl sharing his Xbox Live Gold account with me so that I can stream Netflix Instant Queue goodies to the t.v. Dr. Who at my beck and call!
I've been absent from my blog for several months now because I don't have as much independent thinking time as I once did and I decided that reviving Things I'm Happy About Thursday would be good practice towards the habit of 1.) counting my blessings and 2.)posting more regularly.
Things I'm Happy About on March 18, 2010:
1.) Finding these at my local library. I love audio books and this doodad is most convenient for walking around campus.
2.) That My House Is Cuter Than Yours looks to be posting again.
3.) Can I say, "The weather."? I know there is nothing more boring than weather talk, but walking around outside to warmer temperatures is doing a lot to improve my emotional, physical, and mental state.
4.) Hearing (and seeing) someone practice bagpipes while walking on campus.
5.) Axl sharing his Xbox Live Gold account with me so that I can stream Netflix Instant Queue goodies to the t.v. Dr. Who at my beck and call!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Long Time No Post
Oh my goodness! Has it really been nearly two months since I posted anything of substance? Time really got away from me when I quit my job. As it turned out, I ended up going over my end date. That was my fault since I should have stopped working with clients earlier than what I did to give myself time to get all of my personal effects together. I said I was going to be out on Thursday, August 13th but I worked most of Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th. Cleaning out my office and shoring up my files was a miserable process. I will do better should I ever be in that position again.
Let's get back on track with some news. I have some great news and some very sad news. I'll start with the sad news. During the first week of classes, Girl Cat peed on the floor outside the litter box. Peeing outside the box is not uncommon in cats but it always makes me uneasy. Peeing outside the box can be a sign of something bigger. I question, "What did I do differently?", "Did I use something in the box she didn't like?", "Is this behavioral?", "Is she sick?", "What happened?". I expected the vet to come in and tell me that this was yet another urinary tract infection. Sadly, it turns out Girl Cat is in the early stages of renal failure. Evidently, by the time the condition shows in a test, a cat has already lost some of their kidney function. I continue to be utterly devastated by the news. I can't even think about her situation without welling up. Axl chastises me because he says I act like putting her down is something I have to do tomorrow when, happily, the vet says Girl Cat can live comfortably for some time (possibly years) before I have to make my hard decisions. Currently, she gets to eat special food that is low in sodium. She's the house princess so I'm sure getting to eat separately from her brothers suits her. Here's a picture of the princess herself a few years back.
Now for some good news. The cardiologist's physicians assistant called me on the 12th of August to say that the cardiologist had reviewed and finalized my test results and that I do not have a Patent Foramen Ovale. In fact, I do not have a hole in my heart at all. While that is wonderful news, I was well and truly upset that the cardiologist never told me that diagnosis he gave me was only preliminary. Personally, I think he goofed. I think either: A) He read the test and really thought he saw a PFO or B) He read someone else's test thinking it was mine. After all, it was an absolute madhouse in his office the day of my test. When the physician's assistant called me back to give me my test results, I wasn't in the room two minutes that the cardiologist got a phone call and had to leave the room. The physician's assistant was left waiting with me. She stood around shifting her weight foot to foot awkwardly then left the room without much excuse. When the cardiologist came back, he continued on without her. He told me to follow up with my primary care physician and to tell her to put me on beta blockers. As a result, when the physician's assistant called to tell me that I was fine, I had been taking beta blockers and baby aspirin for about a week. Let me say, I'm glad I didn't retract my resignation as I had debated doing. It also does not please me to have an ugly medical bill for something it now feels like my primary care physician should not have ordered as quickly as what she did. I'm happy to be alright but I'm off doctors for awhile.
Let's get back on track with some news. I have some great news and some very sad news. I'll start with the sad news. During the first week of classes, Girl Cat peed on the floor outside the litter box. Peeing outside the box is not uncommon in cats but it always makes me uneasy. Peeing outside the box can be a sign of something bigger. I question, "What did I do differently?", "Did I use something in the box she didn't like?", "Is this behavioral?", "Is she sick?", "What happened?". I expected the vet to come in and tell me that this was yet another urinary tract infection. Sadly, it turns out Girl Cat is in the early stages of renal failure. Evidently, by the time the condition shows in a test, a cat has already lost some of their kidney function. I continue to be utterly devastated by the news. I can't even think about her situation without welling up. Axl chastises me because he says I act like putting her down is something I have to do tomorrow when, happily, the vet says Girl Cat can live comfortably for some time (possibly years) before I have to make my hard decisions. Currently, she gets to eat special food that is low in sodium. She's the house princess so I'm sure getting to eat separately from her brothers suits her. Here's a picture of the princess herself a few years back.
Now for some good news. The cardiologist's physicians assistant called me on the 12th of August to say that the cardiologist had reviewed and finalized my test results and that I do not have a Patent Foramen Ovale. In fact, I do not have a hole in my heart at all. While that is wonderful news, I was well and truly upset that the cardiologist never told me that diagnosis he gave me was only preliminary. Personally, I think he goofed. I think either: A) He read the test and really thought he saw a PFO or B) He read someone else's test thinking it was mine. After all, it was an absolute madhouse in his office the day of my test. When the physician's assistant called me back to give me my test results, I wasn't in the room two minutes that the cardiologist got a phone call and had to leave the room. The physician's assistant was left waiting with me. She stood around shifting her weight foot to foot awkwardly then left the room without much excuse. When the cardiologist came back, he continued on without her. He told me to follow up with my primary care physician and to tell her to put me on beta blockers. As a result, when the physician's assistant called to tell me that I was fine, I had been taking beta blockers and baby aspirin for about a week. Let me say, I'm glad I didn't retract my resignation as I had debated doing. It also does not please me to have an ugly medical bill for something it now feels like my primary care physician should not have ordered as quickly as what she did. I'm happy to be alright but I'm off doctors for awhile.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I'm Not Gone
I am working on a proper post about everything that happened in August. Sorry for the delay!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Peace In The Valley
Though they haven't gotten past chasing (the dog) and hissing (the cats) at each other completely, this was nice to see today:
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Patent Foramen Ovale
Yesterday, I had an echocardiogram and something called a "bubble". To do a bubble, you have an iv put in your arm and bubbles are injected into the iv four different times: the first time you are just injected with the bubbles, the second time they inject the bubbles while you cough, the third time they inject the bubbles while you sniff and the fourth time they inject the bubbles while you bear down. If the bubbles go from one side of your heart to the other then you know there is a hole in your heart.
The results were yesterday that I do have a hole in my heart that is called a Patent Foramen Ovale or PFO. A PFO is less risky to have than atrial septal defect (what my primary care physician sent me to the cardiologist to be tested for). I don't have atrial septal defect nor mitrovalve prolapse (the second thing the primary care physician wanted me tested for).
The PFO is what is causing my migraines because the flap of tissue that normally closes shut over the PFO (which everyone has in the womb) at birth comes open on my heart and allows blood and hormones and body gasses to escape up to my brain. I am not allowed to go scuba diving ever and if I take long trips in the car or by plane I absolutely have to get up and walk around because if I get a blood clot it could go to my brain and cause a stroke. The biggest concern with PFO's is that they make you more susceptible to stroke. I'm not happy about that but of what it could have been, that's not as terrible.
For now, the doctor wants me to see my primary care physician and get on beta blockers and another med to keep stress hormones away from my heart and to see if that causes my migraines to go away. If it does, great. If it doesn't, when the doctor sees me again in a year he will enter me in a study where they will put in the umbrella that closes the hole. The catch is, I won't know for a year if they actually closed the hole or if they just pretended to close it. After a year's time, the results of the study get released and if you actually didn't have the umbrella put in, then the company pays for you to get the procedure done.
I have mixed feelings about the results. While I am happy not to have atrial septal defect, now I worry about whether I should petition to get the hole closed right away.
The results were yesterday that I do have a hole in my heart that is called a Patent Foramen Ovale or PFO. A PFO is less risky to have than atrial septal defect (what my primary care physician sent me to the cardiologist to be tested for). I don't have atrial septal defect nor mitrovalve prolapse (the second thing the primary care physician wanted me tested for).
The PFO is what is causing my migraines because the flap of tissue that normally closes shut over the PFO (which everyone has in the womb) at birth comes open on my heart and allows blood and hormones and body gasses to escape up to my brain. I am not allowed to go scuba diving ever and if I take long trips in the car or by plane I absolutely have to get up and walk around because if I get a blood clot it could go to my brain and cause a stroke. The biggest concern with PFO's is that they make you more susceptible to stroke. I'm not happy about that but of what it could have been, that's not as terrible.
For now, the doctor wants me to see my primary care physician and get on beta blockers and another med to keep stress hormones away from my heart and to see if that causes my migraines to go away. If it does, great. If it doesn't, when the doctor sees me again in a year he will enter me in a study where they will put in the umbrella that closes the hole. The catch is, I won't know for a year if they actually closed the hole or if they just pretended to close it. After a year's time, the results of the study get released and if you actually didn't have the umbrella put in, then the company pays for you to get the procedure done.
I have mixed feelings about the results. While I am happy not to have atrial septal defect, now I worry about whether I should petition to get the hole closed right away.
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