...I am sure that anyone reading this blog has been on the edge of their seats waiting to hear how much I won in the lottery. No luck :( I guess it is not as easy as just buying a ticket and wishing on a star.
Something is going on with my computer and it is driving me crazy. It will not allow me to use apostrophes or quotation marks. I have to say that I am really missing all my contractions. This feels so formal and more Kings Englishish. Such an old lady I have become! I am sure it is just a matter of hitting a button on the keyboard, but I do not (aka dont) want to make matters worse.
Since I wrote, I finally called the Mayo Clinic/Jacksonville to set up an appointment with that great neurologist, Elizabeth Shuster. She is so backed up, that they will not (wont) call to talk about an appointment until early 2013. That was a disappointment, but it really is not an emergency....and she is worth the wait. In a few weeks, I am going back to that wacky neurologist at the University of Miami. I know I am nuts, but he is just going to check to see how my blood vessels are pulsating behind my eyes. This gives him an indication of how my high csf pressure is getting.
Also, since my last post, I had to start with daily insulin injections. UGH! I was so upset that my A1C jumped from 8.1 to 10.5. In the past months, I have been more conscious of what I was eating and thought for sure the number would have gone down, if only a little. My endocrinologist said that it is a progressive disease and not my fault....although, I still feel completely responsible. Also, he said that there is something going on with my kidneys, early stages of kidney disease. That, I could do without. I will see him in a few months to check my numbers again. I was recently telling Vickie, my friend from Seattle, that I feel like I am made of velcro and seem to be picking up new health issues as I roll along. Everything is jumping and clinging to my velcro innards. At this point, I have five different autoimmune issues, with one yet to be diagnosed.
I am now taking the shots every night. I am shocked at how painless they are. Most times I cannot feel a thing. Not sure if it is that way for everyone, or due to my overall numbness. Regardless, it really is not a big deal at all. In the meantime, I am working harder on eating the appropriate foods . Hopefully, I will be able to turn this around and eventually go off of the insulin.
Like always, it has been so long since my last post. I think of coming on every day, but I have been too sick and embarrassingly, too miserable. Even if I did feel well enough to sit at the computer, my mindset has not been anything I felt like dumping on to you......aaaaaand, you are welcome...
In my last post, I mentioned that we were about to celebrate my sweetest little grandson, Maks second birthday. The birthday party was so much fun. Chris went to a geeenuuuuiiiiine (genuine) Philly Pretzel place down here, so we were all in Philly heaven. It was hard when I got home, and the following day, but it was SO worth it.
My son, Phil and his wife, called me a few weeks ago from Charleston. They told me that they were having a special vow renewal at my son, Ryans house. Phil only had two weeks notice, from the Coast Guard, that he could get away for the long weekend, so it was very last minute and exciting.
The vow renewal was last Saturday and so special. My parents, Ryan/Liz, Chris/Danielle and Lauras brother and his g/f were not at the first wedding one and a half years ago. I was so happy that Phil and Laura were able to share their commitment to each other in front their brothers and my parents. It was a beautiful day for all of us. Luckily, Ryan and Liz have a really comfortable bed, that I escaped to from time to time....that is, until I could overhear conversations that I just HAD to be part of, then I would join everyone again. Phil and Ryan prepared the food and it was delicious..... Chris brought more geeenuuuiiine Philly Pretzels... They also had a little wedding cake. Their first wedding was so simple, they did not even have a cake....so that was the icing on the cake.
About my doctors, I have a lot of appointments coming up. Next week, I will have a CT scan of my aneurysm to see if it has grown, as well as an echo of my aortic valve. After that, I have several more appointments scheduled. Whatever happened to house calls???
Yesterday, I had to go to Walgreens. For me, this was a major happening and social event. I even put on make-up, earrings and new clothes. How sick is that? All because I was going to leave these four walls for twenty minutes. I got in the car, backed out at my normal high speed and rammed right in to my neighbors parked car. UGH! SO upsetting....but, I immediately went to their house and the owner was home. He is the nicest man, but I felt horrible. It was a brand new Lexus and he is so particular about it. I can still hear the horrible sound of the crunch :( At the end of the day, I know it is not the end of the world. Insurance is taking over and running with it. I want to think of something I could do for this guy, to apologize for the inconvenience of him having his car in the shop and all that jazz. Unfortunately, I really do not know him. I will have to think of something. Wait a minute...come to think of it, he never mentioned my earrings OR lipstick OR new clothes....and I thought he was so nice...
He was going in and out of his house making copies of my drivers license and insurance card. He went in twice and each time he was gone for almost half an hour. The heat was unbearable with my ridiculously low heat intolerance. I could not breathe waiting for him to come back out. With my car just idling, the a/c did not really pump any cold air out. For me, that was all too much, so I went in the house, took off my earrings and back to bed. Jimmy ended up picking up my medications. A month or two ago, I sideswiped the guardrail down the street and blew out a tire. The sideswipe happened on a day that I was not really well enough to go out. I am sure that yesterdays accident had nothing to do with my condition. If there is a third driving issue, I guess I will have to rethink if I should still drive or not. For now, I am trying to think positive. I am so happy that I am all alone right now, because there are too many of you that would have a lot to say about my driving skills. (When Phil was a teenager, he once got in the back seat of my car with a hard hat on..I thought I was seeing things when I looked in my rear view mirror...so funny :) For years, I said I had a protective bubble around my car, because it was a miracle I was not in an accident every single day. Apparently, the bubble has burst.
For those of you that know Anita, I recently received a long, funny letter from her. It was so great to be back in touch. As Rick used to say at the shore, Anita towel. I still have to get back to hear more about what is going on back on Garfield Avenue.
For several months I have been very depressed. It has been so difficult trying to navigate my way through my problems....really difficult. Earlier today, I had a long conversation with someone very special. I called, only to ask one question. Somehow..whoever was driving the train...drove the conversation directly to all that I am struggling with. I wonder who that driver was....hhmmm...must have been a bad driver.
Anyway, this very special person that I was talking to today, helped me in a lot of ways. I am not going to mention who it was, but he/she is an unbelievable support for me. If anyone reading is in the same boat as me, struggling to come to terms with multiple progressive illnesses, feel free to contact me. I would love to share my conversation with anyone that needs help in that area.
Today, I cried and cried, then turned things around to take my focus off of me, myself and I and called Shari, another one of my very sick friends. That was fun. From the way my day began, I would never have expected to say anything was fun.
I feel like Jimmy came home to a house that was a little less dark than usual and that was a good thing. Here comes my ADD, speaking of Jimmy, I mentioned, in my last post, that he was going up north with my father to see the Phillies play. He had the best little getaway with John, Lisa, Nancy, Dave, Geri, Laura, Paul, Dan, Mrs. McDowell and my cousins, Mike and Irene. It was just what the doctor ordered. Everyone went out of their way to make this trip so special. My prison is his prison, so I really think Jimmy needs his head examined for coming home. So happy that he had such a fun and meaningful escape. Oh, and for those from home...he brought home the most amazing cream donuts from L & M and incredible Jersey Tomatoes!!! I was like a little kid going through his bags the second he walked in the door.
I did not realize that I had so much to say...but, I guess that is a lie! There is plenty more where this came from. I hope to be back soon...with apostrophes and quotation marks!!!
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