Monday, July 30, 2012

Eating real food / follow-up appointment

Now I've been eating solid food two meals a day for six day's and let me tell you chewing food is wonderful. This is the longest since this started on June first so life is tasting very good!

Had my first follow-up appointment on Tuesday with my V.A. Doctor, about that 2 am trip to the E.R. My doctor told me after 4 doses of Nitroglycerin and having those tests done in less then 12 hours! Those test's results had better have come out good. Of course Hennepin County Medical Center had not yet send it to my V.A. Dr. G. so she ran a few more tests increased one of my med's then I was off to blood draw to fill even more test tubes, for some odd reason I think with all the blood that's been taking from me, maybe blood letting does help? Just kidding!


Turns out it was a bigger deal than I thought it was. What the Doctor said they do know it wasn't a heart attack. The Doctor isn't yet sure which one of the following it could be Angina or Congestive Heart Failure, also learned M.S. is also a risk factor. Because the scars can show up anywhere within the brain or spinal cord it's rare but, not as rare as it was first thought to be. by Causing interference with major command function. It's one of the reasons having M.S. sucks so much! You just never know what it will take or do to you next! But hey life is a crap shoot anyway! So what!! All I can do is the best I can with the hand life has dealt me, I for one am not going to sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop or worry about something, I have no control of out come anyway. Until the Doctor finds out what it was and what course of action I need to take to handle this. I'll keep doing what I've been doing since I got sick, taking better care of that I'm eating by keeping it real food.


At the end of each day, I pray and thank God for this day. Asking for one more day, if the answer is no. That's okay I know either way I'll wake feeling God's love surrounding me. Each day is a gift and I'm thankful for each one I get.



Thursday, July 19, 2012

May have jumped the gun just a bit.

Sorry about this, yesterday wasn't a good day. Maybe I should have waited until I read all the paperwork. Please remember I for one like to share good news, after setting up my follow up appointment with my Doctor at the V.A. they  informed me that needing 4 low dose aspirin, two spray of Nitroglycerin under my tongue on the way to the E.R. and then two more Nitroglycerin pills under my tongue after I got there. Wasn't very good news about my heart, it wasn't a heart attack but angina.

I see my Doctor on the 24 so I'll wait until she checks all my test's results before I blog about it again. I'm happy to say 70% of my diet is now solid food. Having made some small changes like eating real food. Surely my Doctor will tell me I need to make more changes, but I'll wait until after I see her to do that. Losing 26 pounds didn't hurt, it's nice most of my clothes fit again with a little more room to move around within them feels nice.  

Friday, July 13, 2012

Update on ... a bit of everyone

Started 7/11/2012
Let's start with the easy one first, it's going to get H-O-T again! Like I didn't see that one coming. haha Now for some good news Jane had her MRI & A, got the results today no change, will do a follow up in a year. (happy dancing)!! The garden is coming along with the smallest tomato's  and peppers showing up now, the flowers and herbs are enjoying the heat. The grass is in need of rain, watering isn't the same in so many ways when using city water. We may get some rain at the end of the week. Ben is getting much better at playing, he'll even bring me the toy because he wants to play fetch, he's getting stronger and has filled out nicely can't see his hip bones anymore. The shaking in fear is gone now he backs away with a growl and he barks like a big dog. The more he sees someone the better he is, Ben understands that I need help from Jane in more ways he getting better and now he only growls instead of showing her his teeth. As for me I'm holding up fine that heat wave wasn't any fun thank goodness for A/C! It's been nice being able to get outside even had a fire, in our new fire pit using the wood from the two trees one in front and the other in the backyard, each time the wind blows the old trees gives us more than enough dry wood for a nice little fire once in awhile.


Oop's 7/12/12 Was rudely interrupted by a 2:00am Ambulance ride to the  Hospital Emergency Room! Couldn't breath I thought and felt like I was having a heart attack. For many year's I've been told by many Doctor's my lung's had the start of C.O.P.D. and likely caused by emphysema, because I smoke cigarettes. I do have asthma triggered by mold that is controlled by keeps my home free of mold. Also been told by Doctor's that my heart muscle was weak due to anorexia and being under weight since I was a child until my late 20's. Most of my life I've had a low blood pressure reading averaging in 100~117 over 70~92,  I did have a heart attack caused by my blood pressure crashing that was many year ago. So I had little reason to think I was going to get any good news. 


After many blood test's, a stress test and many chest X-rays. The results came back, much to my surprise it all turned out to be good news. What they found was my lung's are clear of any blood clots, no C.O.P.D or emphysema my breath sounds were very good and my O2 stats rate were great 94~100% even then sleeping. The heart stress test results showed no blockage and found it to be strong and healthy, the heart enzymes blood tests came back good, only bad result was my protein level was low and they found that understandable because I've lost 24 pounds in the last six to eight weeks, was given liquid protein, let me tell you it tasted more like I was drinking salt worst tasting crap ever!!


7/13/12
Got back home late last night still not feeling that great, was told the stress test can cause that. Ben was so happy to see me, Jane was glad to have me home too, told me Ben had been looking for me and crying off and on the whole time I was gone. It's nice to know I was missed but, I didn't have any fun either so I too am very glad to be home. Will need to see my Doctor within the next few weeks, not looking forward to that and I have a few questions for her was well. Right now I'm just so glad to be back home and I'm starting to feel much better, still on a 60% liquid diet and eating only real food, the stuff that looks like it came from a plant and not a processing plant!! Maybe I'm better because I have been given good information, I didn't know before. So all in all I feel great about what I've learned in the 24 hours.   

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Weather is weird

The heat wave for me has ended, there's another one coming next weekend. As with most it took a storm to move it out, with it being so hot Jane does most of the cooking on the grill, I'll make side dishes that are cooked in foil on the grill. Then it stays in the mid 80's at night the thought of cooking inside well, I'd rather have a bowl cereal, then heating up the house by cooking! The weather man said the front to cool us off wouldn't be coming in for a few hours, of course he was wrong again!  Jane was about half done cooking when the front and rain started, we moved the grill under cover just as the rain started. Because of the strong wind I was watching the grill and the rain. When I noticed to the north just two houses down, it looked like a wall of water,  in our yard it wasn't raining as hard, looking to the south it was lightly raining and it stayed that way until the rain stopped falling. Now I've seen this driving, a wall of rain falling knowing I'm going to drive right into it. This was something I've never seen before the wall of rain didn't move at all. Watching the small stream of water falling off the shed, two houses down it was more like a water fall.


This got me thinking of all the things, I've seen and learned because, m.s. has forced me to slow down, with my needing to stop and recover so I'm spending more time watching the world around me. Realizing this could have happened before but, I didn't take the time to watch. Leaving me to wonder what else have I missed because, I wasn't taking the time to watch! Now that my eyes are open, I'm looking forward to what I'll see and learn next.       

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Fourth of July

Thankfully things in this country have changed a lot since it's first Birthday! For me having been around for fifty of them, with age so much has changed. As a kid the whole family went to a lake for fun in the sun, food, swimming and a sunburn or two for about everyone! In my teens it was floating on an inner tube down a river with my Mom and her sisters and us kids. Good food, swimming and not as many sunburns. In my twenty's alcohol and partying with friends, getting out of town and far away from my family. Swimming including skinny dipping food was munches, more alcohol was consumed then food. Few slept alone that night, trying to remember the person's name the next today, to say good bye wasn't easy. When the light of day was burning into my head! After those wild years passed into history. It became what it once was all about family friends and firework's.

Now I work at finding my balance, between fun and a little sun, staying cool maybe a small fire, watching the fireworks show on T.V. Before I float off to sleep with my memories of the Fourth of July when I was a kid with my family, I say a little prayer thanking God for this day and asking if I could have one more day, if not that's okay either way I'll see You when I wake, Amen!

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4 of July!!