A little R&R, my doctor's style

The last few days could be described as nothing short of eventful. I hate it when I have it in my head the way things are going to go and somebody comes along and changes them. This week it was Dr. Peterson but I have to tell you, right at the moment, I have to be thankful.

As I stated in my last post, I was pretty sure I was going to have to do something. I called the Dr's office Thursday morning and just told the receptionist to tell Kim I was ready to go to the hospital. She put me on hold and Kim came right on the line and told me to get to Memorial, check in, tell them what was going on and let them just do their normal evaluation and then they would probably give me an iv of steroid and get ahold of Dr. Peterson, who was already at Memorial on call this week.

We got up here at noon on Thursday, did all my paperwork and then was evaluated by the ER doc. He was not a nice guy and treated me like I was stupid for even worrying about this. Well, I am bleeding where I shouldn't be bleeding and I am tired because I have went to the bathroom 25 times in the last 24 hours--no, not an exaggeration. As soon as I got in the treatment room, they put an iv in so I thought at least they would give me the steroid to stop the bleeding. Then the ER doc comes in and tells me my blood work doesn't look all that bad, he has paged Dr. Peterson but he will probably just send me home. I was livid! I had wasted all that time, and money to get here and they weren't even going to give me the steroid?? Well, about 10 minutes later, here he comes back, nice as pie. Dr. Peterson ordered a colonoscopy, then he would give me a steroid treatment and send me home. Much better....and what I wanted. Dr. Peterson had been wanting to do the colonoscopy for quite some time and we just hadn't done it so this was killing two birds with one stone. The laughter part comes next--They are taking me to the SPA to have my colonoscopy, yeah it doesn't matter how you sugar coat it, it is still a colonsocopy, but I did find out that SPA stands for Special Procedures Area--which the girls who assisted with the colonoscopy informed me that SPA was much better than what they used to be--the SPU--Special Procedures Unit, I concurred.

So, I get ready for the colonscopy, being rest assured that I would be put out, the way I like. Dr. Peterson comes in, tells me the same plan, colonscopy, since I'm here, a dose of iv and home. I was a bit concerned about doing the colonscopy with no prep but I hadn't ate all day and there is a suction on the end of their scope--so I didn't even have to do the awful Miralax prep--a definite plus. Anyway, I wake up from the colonoscopy in the recovery room with Andrew, who tells me I'm staying. Apparently things were worse than Dr. Peterson imagined so he thought he better keep an eye on me while I took multiple doses of the iv steroid. My worst part of that was Andrew had already mentioned we would stop at Red Lobster on the way home. In a matter of a couple hours, I went from getting Red Lobster for supper to getting beef broth and jello.

So, today is Saturday, we have the bleeding stopped, we have the "I have to go to the bathroom NOW" stopped and we have me started on my new medicine. The long term goal is to stay off the prednisone. When Dr. Peterson and I first started talking about alternatives, he said there was a new drug on the market but it was a bit pricey, when I asked how pricey, he said "$1,000 a month", I said, "Yeah.....no". So now I am starting on Imuran. It has been around since 1968 and was originally used as an anti-rejection drug for kidney transplant patients. It has been shown to have really great results for complicated Crohn's and UC patients too though and that would be me. It can take up to 3 months for the drugs full effects to kick in. Apparently, according to the research I have done today. The inside of my colon is so messed up that my body thinks the insides needs to get out---which makes perfect sense as to the urgency of the diarrhea I have. This drug makes my body not see the bad stuff in my colon so it stops trying to get rid of it. We are going to PRAY it works. If it doesn't, we have a Plan B but this is our first try. I would absolutely LOVE not having to worry all the time about finding a bathroom or carrying extra clothes in case I have an accident.

So, this afternoon I got to eat a real cheeseburger and it went well. I have walked the halls until everyone is probably sick of seeing me and of course, I am wearing my activelink and counting my points because my Weight Watchers is part of my life now so I just worked it in.

Andrew has been staying at Sis and Richard's in Lincoln and that has been a godsend, his back couldn't make the two hour trip here and back each day and even though he could get a room, I would rather spend money like that when we could at least both enjoy it.

As far as everything looks right now, I get to go home tomorrow afternoon--hopefully with a stop at Red Lobster on the way.

So, I mentioned on facebook that it is only fitting that I have a view of the Hilton and the Captiol from my room as I always love having a view of Memorial and the Capitol from my room at the Hilton when I get to stay. I'm too lazy to go take the picture of the Hilton, but here is what I see sitting in my bed

Hmmm.....

Okay, so I have had a little problem with the UC the last week, actually, things haven't been great since the 28th of December but since last Wednesday, it has escalated to "full blown flare".

This whole post is probably going to be in and out of GRAPHIC ALERT, so I am just labeling the whole thing as one big, giant, GRAPHIC ALERT.

I have a spot, his name is Wilbur, he has lived right on my anus for the last year or so. He gets big and little depending on how bad the UC gets, to be technical, he is a skin tag, not confused with a hemorrhoid, he doesn't itch or burn and he is a direct result of having to go to the bathrooms more than 10 times a day, a little piece of skin got folded the wrong direction one day and got inflamed, when it was time to get "un" inflamed, there was too much skin left, hence Wilbur. We live quite well together most of the time but before Christmas, I started feeling like Wilbur was giving birth to a little Wilburette, and this was making life, well, a bit more painful than normal. So, I called the gastro and he said call your gp, who said see the surgeon. I saw the surgeon on the 28th, his prognosis--the shape you are in, bathroom-wise, if I cut there, it will never heal. Long live Wilbur, Doc Reid did give me a cream to put on Wilbur, to help him not hurt as much, get this, it is nitroglycerin. Now if you now that Nitroglycerin was the precursor of TNT (it is an explosive liquid), you will understand the jokes that my guys have put through themselves. Anyway, on this little tangent, the nitro is actually shrinking Wilbur, the docs doubt he will go completely away but I won't miss him if he does.

That day, at the surgeon's, I also had an endoscopy, I NORMALLY get put all the way out for procedures such as these, but not that day. Here I sat in the table with my knees on one plane, leaning over a vinyl armrest with my butt up in the air so a scope could be put inside to see if Wilbur had any friends or if they could see any cuts that would be causing Wilbur to yell more than usual. The scope itself was one of the worst things I have experienced in quite a while. I am sorry, I cannot imagine anybody letting anybody else purposely put ANYTHING up there!!! Ok, gonna get off that subject before I get on it. Anyway.......ever since then, I have been bleeding again. Oh and no little Wilbur friends and yes, there were cuts, those too from the inflammation and constant bathroom usage.

Last Wednesday, it got worse, much worse and I started taking 40 mg of prednisone a day to try to stop it. This normally works but as of today, it hadn't touched it and I was running out of prednisone. So, I called the doctor.

I called, got the receptionist, told her I needed a refill on my prednisone and she said she would get the nurse to call it in, I got off the phone and thought I had gotten by with that pretty easy. A half hour later Kim called.  Kim is my favorite nurse and we are a lot alike, running 100 miles an hour 24/7 and loving every minute of it. However, Kim is also a bulldog and knows I try to keep things going on my own. So, she started out with "What's going on?" and as I told her she said you need to just come to St. John's to the ER. I said I was 2 and a half hours away and couldn't do that. I told her I used to be able to go to a friend of mine who was a PA and have an IV of prednisone and get over it, she said that is what I needed this time. Unfortunately, my friend no longer is in the area. I told her I would compromise and if we could work something out at the Effingham hospital I would go, otherwise I couldn't possibly come to Springfield before Thursday or Friday. She went and talked to Dr. Peterson and called me right back. Try 80 mg of prednisone today and tomorrow, if we don't see a big difference by Thursday, I am going to Springfield. I agreed. Oh, and as ALWAYS, I have to take a sample to Effingham to test for C-Diff. The girls at St. Anthony are so used to me doing this that they sent home extra supplies so I don't have to make a separate trip over. So, Andrew brought the "hat" to catch the sample and my bottles and I had a sample ready by 1:00. I had a conference call at 1:30 and then I ran my specimen to the lab. I know I don't have C-Diff, I feel okay, except for spending way too much time in the bathroom and starting to feel weak because of the iron and lack of blood thing.

For those of you who work with me, you aren't getting rid of me that easy. I feel fine to go to work and I will continue to do so. Sitting at home and 80 mg of prednisone is a dangerous combination, especially on my recent weight loss. See the prednisone causes a little weight gain just from water retention ( I was up 3 lbs this evening so I planned on running to Casey to WW, I didn't do it to myself because that will go away when the dosage comes down) However, prednisone also makes you feel hungry. I know this and don't buy into it, but if I was sitting at home watching tv and feeling sorry for myself, I would be eating so we aren't going there. Life goes on, and I will too.


It is what it is.

Surprise!!

I knew I had been good this week with my Weight Watchers. I have, for quite a while, had mini goals of losing 5 lbs every 3 weeks, not too fast, not too slow. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, it took me all of December to lose 3 lbs, but it was 3 lbs that I have said goodbye to forever and that's what counts.

So, my goal this week was to hit right in around the 36-37 lb mark, then next week, the 38-39 and the next week push it over the 40. When I got on the scales this morning here at home, I had a nice surprise, I went over the 40 mark! Now, you have to understand that of course, I don't get to stand on the scales at WW in the same "non-clothed" state as I do at home, so I was still thinking I was going to have a really good week and I might hit 38 lbs this week. Even I was stunned, 39.2 lbs--less than a pound away from 40. Guess y'all know what my goal is for next week now.

I had told Andrew my new goal is 50 lbs by Valentine's Day and for the moment, that is still the goal but I may adjust it if I have another really good week.

My ultimate goal is still over 100 lbs away but I am inching closer to it being "just" 100 lbs away. By the time I get to the 100 lb mark though I will have lost approximately a third of all the weight I need to lose. That makes it be a big accomplishment too.

I am having a bit a of problem, I KNOW I have every size clothing upstairs from size 10 to size 24 but I went up this morning to look for a pair of size 18 pants and I can't find any or I couldn't this morning anyway. I am wearing 20's, and am still wearing 22's that my mom and I took in on Columbus Day but I am always and forever pulling my pants up so I am a little anxious to get some 18's out and see just where I am.

The deal is still a size 12 to get my car. Robert just bought himself a new kayak, I am thinking about buying one myself this spring......

2013

So, this year has started out so crazy that some of my friends are already wanting 2014 to get here. Personally, for our family, life has been pretty calm compared to some of the ones around us. There are some crazy things going on in our family too but nothing real major and nothing I can share yet, I will when the time is right.

Sunday afternoon though, we packed up the van and headed for Louisville for our annual "Great Escape", Robert got to go this year because his work schedule let him. I am always excited when he gets to go because I know those days are obviously numbered. We took in the Megacavern's Lights Under Louisville Sunday night. That was after we checked into our room, accidentally was given a room that hadn't been cleaned and received our money for the first nights stay. I didn't think that was necessary but Drury Inn insisted and I wasn't going to argue. I had already got a really good promo deal so we were getting a two room suite for less than a hundred dollars a night. Getting our money back for one meant our stay actually cost us $49 a night. You can't beat that with a stick.

Monday morning I got up, worked out and drove to Clarksville Indiana to weigh in. Down a pound!!  Whoo Hoo!  That took me to 35.8 lbs lost. I looked back at December and realized I only lost 3 lbs and that was a bit discouraging until I remembered that I LOST 3 lbs instead of gaining 10. The biggest thing is, I learned a lot about myself. I learned a piece of fudge can make me just as happy as eating half the pan, I learned that I don't have to make all the junk and have it in the house for my guys to be happy. I learned that I can keep track of what I am doing and be responsible for my actions. I learned I AM in control......that is the biggest part.  Anyway, that made me very happy.

We were so late getting around to breakfast the the Drury was out of stuff on their free breakfast. I told the guys, especially since we were $100 in the green that eating at a restaurant would be easier for me anyway so we went to Bob Evans right in front of our hotel. It was easier for me, I was able to get 2 eggs over easy, an english muffin, fresh fruit and lowfat yogurt. The guys of course pigged out. It was almost 10 by the time we ate though and so we ended up only having two meals that day--another plus. We headed to the Frazier Museum, this is mainly a weapons museum and Andrew loved it last year and wanted Robert to see it. Now, you can imagine, it was not really my cup of tea but low and behold, Diana, the exhibit was also at the Frazier for a limited time. I got a ticket for it, the guys got tickets for the regular and away we went. I loved the Diana exhibit, They had her crown, her wedding dress (yes, I was awake that morning between my 8th grade and freshman year to watch the fairytale wedding), tons of her dresses, and just lots of things of hers that were priceless. The guys would have been bored to tears so some museum curator knows what they were doing when they sat this up. We left there about 3 and went to find a bowling alley. Of course one of my goals for 2013 is being more active as a family. Sunday night, we went swimming, Monday was bowling. So we bowled and then went to Buckhead Mountain Grill for supper. It was New Year's Eve so I bought sparkling cranberry and blueberry cider to celebrate in the room, I was pretty sure we wouldn't last until midnight but I figured somewhere around there would be close enough. We came back to the room about 8:30, Robert laid down on the couch, Andrew laid down on the bed and I sat in the chair. We apparently all immediately fell asleep. At about 10, I woke up, told Robert to make out his bed and I went to bed. Robert apologized for sleeping through our New Year's but I had to tell him we all did. That was the point. We NEEDED the rest and the getaway. Things have been just downright crazy especially since Junie died. So no regrets that we got some much needed rest bringing in the new year.

Tuesday we hit IHOP and I again got to have a really good breakfast. A swiss and turkey bacon omelet, and yogurt. The guys, of course had pancakes.

Okay, just went to insert pictures and it won't let me......oh well.

We took in the Kentucky Flea Market after that, made a few purchases and started heading for home. We stopped in Evansville at the Acropolis, our favorite Greek restaurant and ate dinner and made it home by 7:10. We got everything put away and had a chance to just unwind before bed. I would say it was a pretty perfect trip.

Wednesday I started my new position as the LIHEAP coordinator for ERBA. I have been fortunate to work under Brenda McDade, who retired but in the last couple of years has let me do a lot of the program myself getting ready for this day. So far, the transition hasn't been bad. It has been crazy busy so I really haven't had time to even think about the fact that anything changed. Honestly, the main thing that has changed is I have more responsibility and less butt coverage but that's okay.

So now we are to the first Saturday of the year and I have plans out the wazoo. My stove came FINALLY!! so we are going to get it this morning, I need to buy groceries and do the Walmart thing, I need to get my tree down and the decs I put up (this is where I am happy I didn't go overboard this year!) and a million other little things I need to get done.....with that being said, it is time to move on.

Happy Saturday and Happy 2013!

Catching up

Here it is less than a week before Christmas and I have resigned myself to the saying, "It is what it is". This was not the Christmas I planned for this year, not in a million but with or without me, Christmas is going to get here so the thing I need to remember the most is it is NOT about being organized and having everything perfect. In fact, maybe it has meant more to me that God sent this little baby in this world because I am NOT perfect and God needed Him to be perfect for ME.

The last six weeks have been a blur of emotions for our whole family. Taking care of my uncles estate, doing it right and doing it quickly has been my number 1 focus. My second focus has had to be work. My boss retires a week from tomorrow and I still don't know that I really feel ready to take on the other things she did. The deal is, I want to keep MY job and do the things I have always done and so the roles are really changing. To top it off, my assistant and I have committed to making the LIHEAP department work with two people instead of three. Until we get our rhythm down, that may be scary too, I just don't want to miss something I am supposed to be doing. In the midst of this, sometime in the next month, we need to move offices around.

So, most Christmas' I make all my friends homemade gifts, homemade goodies, take homemade goodies to my church kids, send homemade Christmas cards, decorate the outside of our house, decorate the inside of our house and have this grand Christmas. Early in November I had picked my "song of the year" for Christmas--Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and that is exactly what we are having this year. Fact is, I am planning on finishing the estate stuff tomorrow evening which really puts it in to perspective that this IS worth what didn't get done around here this year. Last year, I got sick the day before Christmas eve and ended up spending more time running back and forth to the hospital than I did at home. I am feeling really good this year and part of it is because I have to learn where to draw the line and I may not like it but it is better for me.

Now, that all felt like downer stuff and I am really not down about any of this anymore and I have honestly been more in the "Christmas Spirit" since a week ago last Monday, getting ready for our sisters weekend.

So now, we move on to "the good stuff". I left Friday morning for Fairview Heights, did some final Christmas shopping and went to the hotel at 2 to see if I could check in early because I had a coupon for a free upgrade if it was available at check-in. You are not supposed to check-in until 3, but the Drury Inn down there is always great about early check-ins. So, sure enough, I got us a suite. Just icing on the cake. So, I went and did a bit more shopping then talked to Sis, and figured she would be there around 3:30. We sat and visited for a while, then I drug her to one more store and then to Chili's for dinner. A guy I had sold Junior's cars to had told us to go to Lotawata Creek for dinner but when we pulled in there was no less than 200 cars there. I want to try it sometime but we decided that was not the night. After Chili's we drove to Our Lady of the Snows Shrine to look at the Christmas lights. They are always just simply beautiful. We used to make a road trip every year when Robert was little because they have lots of other activities, especially for kids. They have added a laser light show since we used to go so Sis and I went to see it. We were only going to go to the traditional one but the people coming out convinced us that we had to see them both. Okay, the Christmas story told to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody and Jack and Diane, I have seen it all......

We then went back to the room and talked until about 11, WAY past my bedtime. Saturday morning we got up, I went to exercise, we ate breakfast, went to the JC Penney outlet, then to the Spaghetti factory for lunch and then the highlight of the weekend--WICKED!!!  The show was great as usual, Sis loved it which tickled me. She had never been to the Fox so that was a new experience for her too.

 

 

 

So, we both made it back to our own houses about 7:30 Saturday night, great weekend, I SO NEEDED THIS!!

 

 

Sunday we did our Christmas Caroling at church, we used to have so many people to go see, this year we went 4 places, so many of our older congregation have passed on. That part seems sad until you realize who they are singing with. We had a very nice after party at Gary and Sharon Jackson's, just made for a really nice weekend.

 

 

Throw a little Weight Watcher's in for good measure, I was down a pound Monday. Still heading for the 35 but back on the right track, I am 8/10th's of a pound from 35. I go weight Monday at 9:30 and yes, I am shooting for the 35.

 

 

Last night was our AWANA program at church, so we are winding down the steps until Christmas. The program was really cute and the kids worked hard. Our boys had the opening which they were very happy about, they were seen but didn't have to do that much. Perfect for them.

 

 

Tonight, we are going to Plainfield's cantata, I love cantatas. I miss our church having a choir but holding out hope for someday.

 

 

Tomorrow is our Christmas play day at work, I also have a phone interview with a guy who is writing his thesis on Poverty and Energy. I was fine with helping him out until I found out he is going to school at Harvard. That's a little intimidating but I am really just enthused that something in his life has made him realize we have a whole population of people who get overlooked on a regular basis. So, looking forward to that too.

 

 

I haven't heard from my stove yet. Andrew got the new face put on my dishwasher so I know have a black fridge, black dishwasher and a white stove...patience.....I must have patience.  

 

 

I think that is it, I am caught up. At least it feels good to be caught up on "paper" if nothing else :-)

 

 

I have big plans for next year, we will see how hard God laughs at them when the time comes.

 

 

Happy Thursday everyone.

Saying goodbye to a huge part of me

Some people know my "growing up years" were some eventful times. My 7th grade year, my dad had a massive heart-attack, my 8th grade year he died and my Freshman year, my mom ended up in the hospital from October until December, twice we were told she wouldn't live. I had some amazing support staff through family and church during that time, which in a way, is to be expected. I had even more support staff through some of my teachers. One of them being Carolyn Domineck.

I guess  I feel to some extent that your family and even your church family are a little pre-biased to believe in you. But when teachers, who get paid the same whether they go that extra mile for you or not do, you feel like there might be something there worth believing in.

During my freshman year when Mom was in the hospital, Miss D didn't let two days go by that she didn't pull me aside and ask if I was doing okay or if we needed anything. There were days she just let me sit in her office and talk, I learned right then, listening is one of the best gifts you can give someone.

She also taught us though that there is strength in friendships and bonds and that was what we had as a band, we were stronger as a group than we could ever be by ourselves.

I have to tell you my last real memory though happened Robert's freshman year of high school, homecoming day. I had played in the alumni band and Robert had played in the Newton Marching Eagles for his first homecoming. After the parade, Robert and I ran to the grocery store. June Weiscope had brought Miss D in. She was already going through a lot of memory loss because of the Alzheimer's but that day, she walked in the door and saw me and said, "Mindy! wasn't today great?" she went on to talk about how much fun we had in California and just during band. She then asked if Robert was in band and he of course, piped up and told her he played trumpet. She said she knew any kid of mine would have to be musical. It was a great little visit. Around 4:00 that evening Bruce or June one asked her who she saw at the grocery store and she said Mindy Reisner, but by time for the football game that night, it was gone. It will never be gone for me.

Yes, I loved Miss D, we all did and we all have so many things to be thankful to her for. The experiences we had changed our lives forever. I would be amiss though if I didn't mention Sandra Nichols in my band experience. They both believed in me but somehow Sandra knew how to push me. The first day of my freshman year, she handed me a sheet of music, it was the flute part to the Stars and Stripes Forever. She asked me if I could play it, I told her I knew I could by tomorrow. I went home that night and memorized it. To this day, I can still play the first 4 or  5 measures by memory.  One year she handed me a contest piece, it was the hardest thing I had ever seen, it had a name on it that I didn't recognize, come to find out, it had been one of her contest pieces when she was in high school.

I have to tell you that after everything that happened during my high school years, part of me really thought I would aspire to work at a fast food restaurant or be a checker at Walmart the rest of my life. I did both of those and they brought in a paycheck so they are definitely nothing to discount. However, yesterday, as the post were running on fb about Miss D, I was sitting in a meeting in Springfield. I normally don't talk about my job and the specifics because it is really cool and I don't want to sound like I am bragging-- but I am the coordinator for a program to help low-income families and this program is still in its infant stages in the state. The state asked 4 people out of over 50 coordinators to come and sit on a steering committee to help make the decisions as to how this program works. I am one of the four. I have made a name for myself at the state level and I feel much of that is because I had years and years of people telling me I could do more than I thought. Carolyn Domineck and Sandra Nichols were two of the biggest influences.

So, thank you Miss D, may you see this from Heaven, and thank you Sandra, while you are still here, alive and well (and my friend on fb!).

I was telling my AWANA guys last night about one of the scariest times for me in the last few years....I was choir director at our church and Stella Aten passed away. Her kids wanted the choir to sing and they had called Sandra Nichols to be the accompanist. So, I would be directing her. Yes, I shook. Afterwards, she said, "Did you think I would really call you out on something?" Well, yes, I did and she would have and I wouldn't have expected any less.

I had some really rough times though my growing up years. I think it helps me be a better youth group leader to kids the same age because those years are so magnified. I know it helps me be more understanding to people in tough situations.

I know I owe a big part of who I am today to these two ladies, thank you, I truly am forever grateful. Nobody Does It Better.

Onward and Upward

Rough week in the WW world, I was up 1.2 lbs last night, that is nothing compared to the SIX pounds that showed up on the scale Wednesday morning. I really didn't know what I had done but it took me the rest of the week and getting through our company Christmas party to get back to the 1.2 up. Ironically, and as normal, I am down over 2 lbs this morning. So, work harder this week, stay focused and head toward the goal. I originally wanted to have 40 lbs off by the New Year. I thought this coming Monday would be my last regular weigh-in so I had resigned myself to trying to stay between 30 and 35 and just get through the next three weeks. Last night, I asked how we were supposed to handle weigh-ins over the holiday and found out they are going to be there at the 10 o'clock meetings on Christmas eve and New Year's eve. That put a whole new perspective on things I have a chance to hit the 40 lb mark, especially with the weight loss this morning. So, we are going to work HARD for the next 4 weeks. I CAN do this!  I am laying out my detailed plan because I still have the trip with my sister this weekend, a Christmas party Sunday night, a Christmas program with finger foods on the 19th, and of course Christmas on the following week as well as my boss' retirement party on the 27th. .

I started week 1 of the C25K again yesterday, I am going to do week 1 all through December, every other day. I am going to either do Leslie Sansone or walk on the treadmill the days I don't do the C25K. I also committed last night to doing 10 minutes of exercise in my office over my lunch hour. I downloaded some 10 minutes Leslie videos to make that happen. Every time I get to week 4 or 5 of the C25K, I start having problems with the UC, I thought maybe the combination of taking it slower and the weight coming off might help that, we will see.

So, that's the plan, gotta get off of here to get it all done!

It's gonna be an exciting week so will probably be blogging for other reasons this week.

Happy Tuesday!