Sunday, May 29, 2016

When will it end? February? March? Not likely

When February arrived I was wishing I could crawl into a hole.  I was still in pain, but the doctor had given me a huge amount of steroids that would taper down in 10 days on top of major pain killers. By the time I went to follow up with the cardiologist and have a stress test I was doing so much better.
Ready for my stress test feeling so much better but watching the clock for medicine.
They hooked me up to a machine then made me walk/jog on a treadmill until my heart rate hit a certain percent and then they had me lay down and then they did a quick ECHO and watch my heart rate drop back to normal.  According to the technicians that were in there with me, my heart is in excellent health.
All hooked up ready to go.  Just waiting for the technicians to come in.
See my heart beat? Nice, strong, and calm for now.
Here is the set up.
After I met with the doctor and she said that there is nothing wrong with my heart.  Perfect health except for ending up in the ER twice.  I hate not having answers.  But she did say that if the medication that I was on didn't work she had another medication that I could take to help with the inflammation.

The following week I thankfully was feeling better, but I was taking all my medication.  We had parent teacher conferences with all the kids almost all on the same day.  That was a crazy week of running that seemed like it would never stop.  Found out that Rhett was missing work, Nikole was missing lots of work in lots of classes, Gavin doesn't do any work and that Dylan doesn't do work.  WHAT THE CRAP!!!  These are not my kids!  I would never.... I guess they are their father's kids.  (Shaking head and sighing.)  Thankfully I was feeling good enough at the end of the week to attend a national convention.  It was awesome. (I will get into this at a later time.)

On the 18th of February I took Rhett to the doctor.  Of course he has pneumonia and gets to stay home.
This is a common sight for me to see everyday, but when he is sick I see it so much more.
The very next day, I was able to sit down and have a meeting with Gavin's teacher and his counselor to try to brainstorm ideas that might help him be more productive.  Instead of just having him sit there and do nothing and shutting down in class.  We came up with a few ideas but mostly I felt like there wasn't too much that could be done.  We did taxes that Saturday and my husband went out of town Monday.  Can you non-stop?

While my husband was out of town Dylan had an eye doctor appointment just to get new glasses.  We ended up not getting them there, we will probably be get some this month to replace the ones that he has.  Gavin had a performance at school and he was so excited that Rhett and I went.
Watching the other kids perform.
He found me!
I didn't realize that he had a special part.
He stayed with the teacher the whole time.
I am glad he wasn't scared to get in front and perform.
He was an example to his classmates.
So proud of him!!
Look how happy he is.
He really enjoyed this.
That weekend I went with my sister down to Cedar City to our cousin's wedding!!  Can you say road trip, ok but it was with a baby so we had to stop often and change her and take care of her.  But we had a blast!!!  We came back that night and I get home to this:
Rhett decided to bleach his hair and daddy took him to his hair appointment.
I get back from going out of town and feel like a truck has hit me.  Somehow I contracted something and got really sick.  I had just got better too!  MAN!!!!  I ended up getting something again. :( Getting sick sucks!!!

Thankfully I had a follow up with the cardiologist and my heart is still perfect and the pain is GONE!!!  Thank goodness since the same day I find out that I have a sinus infection and lose my voice for a month.  My kids still have school and doctor appointments that need to be attended to. When the doctor tell you to rest and you look at him like he is crazy, it is in fact because he is crazy. There is no such thing as rest!

A week later I had a dentist appointment and realized that I am not really eating anything because i cannot bite food or chew food.  Awesome..... NOT!  Anyways that recommended seeing an orthodontist since my teeth are all healthy and they do not want to ruin them.  Geez when will the fun end?  So I set up an appointment to visit an orthodontist.  The wait continues.....

Dylan was really cute as he started a program for the visually impaired children.  It was an art group and he had so much fun and made tons of friends too.  Here are pictures that he is so proud of.


























Last day with the coordinator.  Dylan had a BLAST!
I am not the only parent who had a child that loved going and doing art.  The funniest part I think was that fact that Dylan's eye sight was the best out of all the kids there.  The art group met every Saturday for a month starting the middle of March and went until the middle of April.  By the last day of the art group I finally had my voice back.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

January what a painful month

Things have been really crazy around here.  I have a lot that I am juggling and I feel awful for not staying on top of the blog.

There have been some really hard things that I have had to process so far this year.  I am very grateful that I have had music to be able to calm me and be able to find my center.  I will relay what I can to help you understand a little.  Starting right before Christmas my kids started getting sick.  By the beginning of the new year we were all starting to feel healthier, until the 14th of January.  That day started out some what normal with getting kids out the door to school.  All except for the pain in the neck that I had woken with.  I took meds to alleviate the pain, and went to help my friend who I love dearly.  As the day wore on the pain never did stop it just got worse.  I am not a wimp and thought I can work through this, no biggie!  My friend wanted me to go get Dylan and then go back to her house and hang out more.  As I sat there thinking that maybe I can do that it got harder and harder to breathe and then there was pain in my chest right where my heart is.  I wasn't scared but I know that my inhaler was at home and that I needed that in order to breathe better.  I told her that I wasn't she that was a good idea and that I needed to go home.  As I was driving home the pain was getting more and more intense and starting to spread into my shoulders and down my arms.  It hurt so bad just to take a breath that I really didn't want to breathe at all just to not be in pain.  While driving and listening to my music I ended up calling my mom and asking her what I should do since I hurt pretty bad.  She recommended calling the doctor, or going to the ER.  Well being as I was trying to brush it under the rug I called the doctor and it took me 3 times trying to just talk to the nurse to then be told that I need to go to the ER since I was having chest pain.  Thankfully Dylan was home and I didn't have to worry about him being dropped off without someone home to get him.  I loaded him up and off to the ER we went.  I was also letting my sisters and my business associates know what was going on since I was planning on being at a business meeting that night. (That so doesn't happen when you are in the ER for a few hours.)  After getting to the ER it was work walking in and not just wanting to collapse from pain.  As I was checking in they asked for my ID and it was too much for me to even get that out and ended up handing my whole wallet to the person checking me in. (I have never done that before!)  At that point I realized that I was really not all there if I was trusting a person I have never met before with my wallet.  As I get taken back with Dylan to a room they said it would be crazy for a little while which is understandable. (The fastest way to get a room in the ER is to tell them you have chest pain.)  As soon as I was ready (had help with the gown and crap like that since it hurt so bad to breathe and the pain in my chest felt like a lot of pressure and that hurt too) they had the EKG tech ready and in sticking "stickers" all over and hooking me up to a machine to get the information on my heart rhythms.  Then after the EKG and they didn't see anything wrong with it they sent me to get a chest x-ray.  As they were getting ready to wheel me to radiology Dylan jumped on the bed and hitched a ride and was able to stay with the technician while I was getting the x-rays done and then I was wheeled back.  To my surprise when I got back to my "room" my sister was there waiting.  I was happy to see her, she was worried about me since things like this never happen to me. After a little while my daughter walks in tears streaming down her face.  She looked like she wanted to hug me but was unsure, so I gave her a hug and let her know that I was not dying.  She wasn't sure if I was telling the truth or not.

Insert - Of course I was typing and then my computer died and everything after this point was erased so I had to start again.  Sorry I was hoping to get this out two months ago.
Try to look good when you feel like dying.
A room with a view. HAHA
Back to the story....  They then did a ECHO which is basically a ultrasound of your heart.  They couldn't find anything wrong with me.  So because it was intense pain the doctor told me that I had inflammation.  What he was really saying was "I think you have costochondritis."  Which is inflammation in the chest.  They put me on major anti-inflammatories and steroids to help the inflammation decrease.  They sent me home with the orders to rest and take it easy.  (These doctors were men and I honestly think they have no idea what a woman's life is really like.  Rest I have yet to meet a woman that was a mother that knew what rest is considered.)  So I rested for the weekend and then it was Dylan's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday little man!

Daddy took the day off of work and was able to spend time with us and the did give me a chance to "rest" a little since all the kids were home from school that day.  Daddy, Dylan and I went out that day and got birthday stuff.  Dylan wanted a cake from the bakery and I was ok with that since I still was not feeling good.  (It is crazy how we take breathing for granted.)
Morning time and he is so happy to be 8!!

Picking out ice cream.  What is up with picking strawberry?
Can't say it better. Happy Birthday little boy!! :)
He even go to pick some wrapping paper out.
He had such a good time with mommy and daddy at the store.  He always loves spending time with mommy and daddy. :)  I am lucky to be his mom!

After that I had to hurry and set up a follow up appointment with my doctor since the medication that I got from the ER were almost gone and the pain was not going away.  How frustrating!
These gowns are AWFUL!
After getting more medication and starting to finally feel like myself even though I was taking quite a bit of medication.  That was between ibuprofen, steroids, and inhaler.  (Gosh dang it I better be feeling better after all that!)  It was time to celebrate my mom's birthday!

Because I am crazy and like to make a big deal about my mom's birthday I try to do everything I can to do that.  This year I took her, my dad, and my lovely aunt out to lunch on my mom's birthday. HAHA!  Ok Nikole came too just because her birthday was the next day and it was a birthday lunch.  I went to the dollar store and got balloons for all three of us birthday girls, with table toppers and decorations.  Went to the restaurant and set up before my mom, dad and aunt arrived.  I also made some awesome signs that all three birthday girls got to wear.  I got everything in place right before they got there.  We had so much fun talking and enjoying the time that we were able to spend together.
Birthdays!!
The only thing that I didn't plan was when the people came out and sang to us.  They even brought all three of us cake.  It was just a lot of fun.  We found out that there was writing on the plates with the cake.
This one was mine.
Line them all up and it reads "happy birthday to you".
After that day it was Nikole's birthday!!  Oh my to have a teenage daughter.  Let's just say life is never boring.
Another year older and now taller than I am.  That is ok I am not tall to begin with. HAHA!
My beautiful girl!
Even though being a teenager is hard according to my kids, they have yet to be an adult.  HAHA! Fourteen years ago she came into my life and brought with her a little piece of sunshine and happiness. She is an amazing artist and loves to just take things in unless she is absorbed in a book or video game. Since Sunday was her birthday on Monday when I got her from school she was lit up. She was so excited she has friends and the decorated her locker to the point that she couldn't even open it.  This is a huge blessing since she has never had anything like that happen.  She has had a few friends here and there but not to the extent she has now.  She wishes we lived closer so they could play more often.  So thank you to those friends that brought light into her life for her birthday.

Finally the last week of January!  So Rhett had his normal appointment for pulmonary that I thought was going to be in February but turned out to be on Monday morning to be exactly.  As we are heading to the hospital for his appointment my car is trying to die.  (What the crap!  Oh wait I planned to have a really bad day today.)  Those were my thoughts as I was trying to get my car up the hill to the hospital.  We got there a little late thanks to said car sputtering, but we were still able to have the test that is always dreaded complete.  The pulmonary function test.  The results were like I normally plan them to be, his lung function decreased again.
As you can see the *33 is lower than before and that is his function.
Nikole and Dylan also had their well child visits with the doctor that afternoon.  It was a day of running around and seeing doctors.  Glad that it isn't today.  Besides all that I only forgot that it was spirit week for Dylan, oops!  It ended on a good note with presents, and ice cream. HAHA!  Well Tuesday he was able to dress up superhero style.
Superhero Dylan!
Tuesday Gavin had a problem at school where he accidentally hurt a girl with a chair and felt terrible about it and shut down.  I got to go over and sit and talk with him during lunch and he was so sad. Wednesday I get a call while I was at counseling saying that the school was having a major problem with Gavin and I was at a loss at how to help him.  They needed help and so they put me on speaker phone and I was able to talk to him for a little bit and the officer ended up letting me know that because he had to move Gavin's hands he needed to write up a report just saying that he moved Gavin's hands.  By the time I got there school was almost over and Gavin had fallen asleep and when he woke up he was fine.  Thursday I get another call from the school that for fighting Wednesday he was in ISS (in school suspension) and refused to eat, talk to anyone, and do anything.  He ended up sitting in the hall way for 2-3 hours.  I was kinda shocked but I wasn't sure what to do with that.  My sister asked me if I could watch her baby so I was babysitting that day.
Isn't she a cutie!!
After school when I talked to him about it he slowly shut down on me, but when daddy got mad at him about his behavior he held it together and went to his room.  When I took my niece to the school to have grandma and grandpa take her home with her siblings I went in and talked to Gavin and let him know I was leaving and that I would be back later.  That cute baby brought a smile to his face before she went home.  By Friday I had thought that I was getting better from all the crap I had been going through that month, but by 9 am I wanted to die.  My chest hurt so bad.  As I laid in bed texting my sister and husband.  I could tell my mind was not with it since it felt like I was in and out of awareness.  Grateful that Rhett was the only one home and I was able to rest.  By noon I knew there was no way I was going to be able to get Nikole from school, and asked my husband to get her.  He did and by the time he brought her home the doctor had told me to go to the ER or call an ambulance. I have already been through this once this month I figure it would be the same so I refused to call an ambulance for myself.  My husband took me to the ER as soon as he got home with Nikole.  It was so painful to sit, walk, or stand.  Laying down was painful but not as much as the other ones.  In my mind I was like.... "Really? Again?  Why can't this just go away?!?"  You would not even believe this but it was just like déjà vu.
Same Hospital. Yeah I don't think I look that great after having all that pain either.
Same Room.
It was like I never left. HAHA!  So they ran all the tests again except for the ECHO since I just had that on the last ER trip.  This time the white blood cells were elevated but everything else came back good.  The ER doctor that saw me this day was leaning toward me having pleurisy where the lining of the lung becomes inflamed.  Again with the inflammation, you would think it would want to go away. Just to be on the safe side the doctor referred me to cardiologist for a stress test to make sure my heart was not being affected by all of this.  I did not have time for this!

Dylan wanted to be baptized on his birthday but the soonest that we could do that was the 30th.  He was so excited!!  Grinned all day.  I thankfully was not alone since I was still in extreme pain and just went with the flow of things.  He had a lot of support for his decision and was able to have pictures with his siblings and cousins after.
Shoveling before heading to the church.
Dylan and Daddy
Oh look they are all mostly smiling!
My handsome little baby boy!
So January was a rough month to say the least.  Between the inflammation in my ribs according to the doctor and then inflammation in the lining of my lungs and Rhett's lung function dropping again and Gavin acting out at school it was a whirlwind.  Happy to see it end on a happy note.
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