Colors of Summer!!!

Lucky - August 2011

We were doing some corn from our garden and Lucky decided she wanted to try some. So I thought it would be a great time to grab the camera and take some pictures of her.

So Beautiful!!!!

This tastes so good!!!!

Finally After 5 Months of Waiting - Things are Getting Scheduled!!

After 5 months of waiting and dealing with Temple, things are finally on the move. After them letting me know that they had lost my chart, things miraculously starting moving forward. Funny, isn't it? They lose the chart and then things start happening.

I received 2 calls from the actual doctor himself (I think one was even from his cell phone!!!) The first call from him was just throwing ideas around of what he wanted to do and the second was that he had found my chart and had come up with a more definitive plan of what he wanted to do. So we agreed on what we would do and he said somebody would be calling the following week to schedule when I would come down.

I got a call the following week and I am now scheduled to go to Temple. I will be down there the week of the 15th for testing that whole week and then go back the following week on the 26th for a hopefully "simple" procedure with no complications and won't have to miss work anymore than necessary. I will be going into more detail briefly in future posts of some of the things that will be done while I am down there.

I just glad things are finally looking like we are going in the right direction. I will probably be posting more frequently now, since things maybe actually be starting to happen. I hadn't been posting because nothing new was going on, and it was just the same old thing.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Temple Update!!

I spoke with my doctors secretary last Friday and she told me that they had lost my chart and that was why nothing was being done. She said they were going to have to go through all of the doctors patient charts to see if they could fine mine, maybe it had gotten filed wrong or something. An hour later the doctor called and said which tests he wanted to do and that somebody would be calling me on Monday to schedule the appointment.

I wasn't going to hold my breath on waiting to hear from them yesterday and when 4:30 rolled around with no phone call I wasn't too surprised. Even though I was still hoping, I didn't really expect them to follow through since I've been dealing with them for the past 4 months.

Last evening around 9:00, I was on a date with my boyfriend and a call comes through with a number that I don't recognize. I let the call go to voicemail. When I listened to the message it was my doctor from Temple, so I called him right back. He said that they had found my chart and that he wanted me to come down to Temple for 4 days to have testing/procedures done. So now I am just waiting for a call to get that scheduled and hopefully I will soon be heading to Temple for a little while.

Will keep you updated.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

July 5th Bloodwork!

I had my blookwork drawn again on July 5th to recheck my levels since they adjusted my TPN this last time. My numbers still came back a little off, so they had to do some more adjusting and I go back on the 18th for some more bloodwork.

It had just dawned on me this week that I have now been on TPN for 5 months. The worse part about it is, that we are no closer now to getting things done to try and get me off of it. Such as running tests and trying procedures that work for some people.

Temple is still causing us frustrations. I have called 4 times now since finding out I was denied by my insurance for the one specific test they wanted. The test they wanted done first was denied, so I need to find out what the new plan is and what they want done next since we can't get that test done. I'm hoping they will say that we can just skip that test and do all the other things that Dr. Fisher wanted done.

I don't know what the deal is with them. They don't return my calls, and half of the time I have to leave a message because nobody answers the phone. I don't know if it's the staff or what the problem is. It seems like everyplace I go I somehow drop through the cracks and nothing happens. I will be calling them again this week plus probably sending some emails to see if we can get things moving in the right direction.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

July 4th Fireworks!!!

These are the results of trying to get some pictures of the fireworks. We went to a local town that was having some that night. This first one here is probably my favorite one. I don't think we had a good view of the firworks. In all the pictures there is a tree on the right side that blocked some of the view.

GI Nutrition Appointment - 6/30/2011

I had my GI Nutrition appointment last Thursday. I really like the doctor I see for my nutrition appointment. He was a fellow but as of July 1st he was going to be an attending. I requested to keep seeing him and he agreed so that was good. I will be going back in another month.

I got my first B12 shot that day. They are going to start doing them every 3 months. I haven't noticed a difference since getting the shot though. I was hoping it would give me more energy or something, but I can't tell that anything is different.

I did have more bloodwork done today to recheck things since they changed my TPN formula the other week because my labs were messed up. So we will see how they are this week. They had it done today so they can change the fomula for tomorrows delivery if they need to.

I will be having some other bloodwork done around the 18th that my family doctor wants done. Other than that I will see GI nutrition again at the end of the month.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Lucky!!!

Update Ramble!!!

Not too much new to report on lately. Temple is still not returning my phone calls. I will be putting in another call/email this week. I have a GI nutrition appointment on Thursday. My labs were off last week so they will be needing redrawn next week. They had to adjust my TPN so we will have to see how my labs look next week. Will keep you posted as/if anything happens!!

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Photo of the Day!!!

June Photos

6/17/2011

Still haven't heard back from Dr. Fisher, so I guess I will be calling back on Monday and seeing what is going on. I've noticed that Temple seems really bad with getting back to me after I've called them. I even spoke with a real person this last time and still haven't received my call back yet.

I also am having my blood work on Monday. I had them add a hepatic function panel to the labs because I've been noticing that my eyes are a little jaundiced. Liver failure can be an adverse effect of TPN, so I just want to make sure that everything is alright.

Other than that there is really nothing new happening. Just taking it one day at a time and trying to go with the flow!!!

Temple update!!!

I put a call in to Temple, specifically Dr. Fishers office, last week to see what I am to do now. He wanted that specific test done first that geisinger insurance will not cover. So I called him to see how he wants to proceed, so I am waiting to hear back from him. Will call again this week if I still haven't heard anything by Thursday or Friday.

Trying to take it one day at a time!!!

Wednesday Wonderings

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the future and realistically how these problems are going to pan out in the long run. I just have different thoughts about if this or this happens, then what?

In regards to being on TPN with no idea when I could come off of it and not do it anymore. TPN has to be given through a central line. Well anytime you put a foreign object into the body it has a good change of becoming infection since it is foreign. It is the body's natural response to fight off things that are not supposed to be in it. So, I started off with a PICC through which the TPN was given. That became infected and I really had no other place for them to put another one, so they had to put in what's called a broviac. That line was placed in my subclavian (chest) area. So what's going to happen when that one becomes infected? Where will they put the new line? I figure I will eventually run out of places for them to put the lines for me to get the TPN. If I don't get the TPN, well then......(let's not even go there.)

In regards to treatment options and Temple. Things have gotten worse since I have been at Temple. My bowes have since gone bad. There was talk about the gastric stimulator. Well, if they are able to stimuate my stomach and I am able to eat, then it will just back my bowels up and cause more/different probem. It seems like it's a no win situation.

I've also gotten to the place that I have been dealing with this for so long with no improvements, that I have pretty well lost hope of ever getting better. By that I mean through medical and spiritual intervention. I know God is the Great Physician and can do miracles, but I feel like he can do that for everbody else but me. Then it seems like everytime the doctors refer me to great places that specialize in treating this, that I just fall through the cracks. I found out last week after 3 months that my insurance will not cover me to get the first test that I need done at Temple. So now I have a bunch of phone calls to make, but with no real hopes of getting anywhere which doesn't make me in a hurry to do them.

Now for something on the cute/funny side of things. I was talking to my nephew Taylor on the phone the other day and was asking him what he wanted for his birthday which was last month. Here is how the conversations went.

Taylor: " I want a gun that will shoot real bullets and when you pull the trigger the bullets come out and kill people."
Me (in shock): "Who do you want to kill?"
Taylor: "Drugs"
I was shocked because Taylor is the sweet one and it just surprised me that he would even say something like that. Then when he said drugs I realized what he was trying to get at since drugs are a big issue where they are at.

Hoping to be able to sleep good today and be well rested for work again tonight.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Update 6/8/2011

Nothing too exciting has been happening lately. I've been keeping busy with work.

I went back to work right away as soon as I was done with IV antibiotics. Work really takes a lot out of me, but my main problem is that I can't sleep. I usually don't get to sleep until 10:30-11:00 and then for some reason I am up by 2:00-3:00 and then I'm done sleeping. I sometimes will try and take a nap again before I have to come back in, but most times I think it makes it worse. I don't know whats with my body. It seems weird to me because at home I can't sleep, but when I was in the hospital it seemed like all I wanted to do was sleep.

I had a doctor appointment yesterday with the family doctor for a follow up from my hospital admission. I scared the PA a little because at first she thought I had a fever, but when checked via a different route the reading was better. She did mention she would like me to keep track of my vitals to make sure I'm not spiking any fevers or anything like that.

My next appointment is not until the end of the month and that is with GI nutrition to see if my TPN needs adjusted or anything.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Flowers!!!

Taking Time to Listen!!!

As I write this post I am sitting outside on the porch. Listening.......

It is amazing what all you can hear if you just take a moment and close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? I hear many varieties of birds chirping and tweeting, a tractor, cars and trucks that occasionally drive by, crickets chirping, bees buzzing, an airplane flying overhead. Some sounds are much more louder than other, while others are subtle sounds that you specifically have to focus on to be able to hear.

We often get so busy in our day to day lives that we don't take the time to stop and listen. We would be amazed what all we could hear if we just would stop and take time to listen. We don't realize how peaceful and relaxing it can be to just stop and take a few minutes to close our eyes and specifically pay attention to each thing we hear.

This can be applied to our spiritual lives. We often get so busy that we don't take the time to stop and listen. We don't stop and listen to what God is saying, or what circumstances in our lives are trying to tell us because we get so busy we don't take the time. As I mentioned earlier, some sounds are much louder than others, and they tend to be the only ones we hear. We have to specifically focus on the important ones and tune in on them to be able to hear. Our worries, problems, and circumstances are usually the loudest ones in our lives but we have to be in tune with God to be able to hear His still small voice. We need to block out all the other noises in our lives and focus on the most important one.

Taking it one day at a time!!!

When It Rains, It Pours!!!

When it rains, it pours.

Wednesday I found out that my insurance will not cover me at Temple. I wasn't happy with the news, but what bothered me the most was that they waited 3 months to figure that out and tell me. We are in the process of trying to figure out how to approach this and what we should do next. There are a couple options we can look into, but it still doesn't look too promising.

Then on Thursday morning after work when I went home to hook up my TPN my PICC site was all red and nasty. I know it had been hurting at work that night, but it occasionally had done that in the past so I wasn't too concerned. So I had to drive all the way back to Geisinger and they said it was bad and it had to come out. (which means no TPN and no nutrition) Then they scheduled me for surgery the next day to have a tunneled cather placed (also known as a Broviac or Hickman catheter).

After coming home again my arm then started with a nice red streak going up it. After phone calls to the GI clinic and a visit with a home health nurse I had to come back to Geisinger and go to the ER. They gave me a dose of IV antibiotics and had me come back first thing in the morning to see if they would still do the procedure or not because of the infection.

So Friday I came to Geisinger for 7 am. They did decide to go ahead with the procedure. After the procedure was over and they were getting ready to discharge me when I stood up my heart rate jumped into the 150-170's. So they had me sit a rest awhile and they decided to give me a bolus of normal saline to see if that would help any, but it didn't. Then it was decided that they thought my mediport catheter was tickling my heart, so they decided that they would go in on the other side and pull out the mediport and clip the catheter and then put it back in. So I spent all day at Interventional Radiology then waiting for them to do this second procedure.


I had a little bit of a rough time during that procedure, but after it was over my heart was still acting up. After a few phone calls and discussion, they figured my heart was beating so fast because of dehydration from not being able to do my TPN for a couple of days. So they decided to admit me. They wanted to watch my heart, give me TPN, and give me IV antibiotics.

So I still sit here in the hospital, hoping to soon get out. I need to get back to work....

Taking it one day at a time!!!

Giving Thanks In Everything.....

I grew up hearing/thinking that God will never give us more than we can handle. Yet I look around and see people in situations that appear as they do have more than they can handle. Sometimes I even feel as if I have more than I can handle. Then an incident happened a couple years back in someone's life and it honestly seemed that person had more than they could handle. In the end they ended up committing suicide. I looked at that incident as if they were given more than they could handle. Then someone reminded me that he did have more than he could handle on his own. It's true, in his own strength he couldn't handle it, but that's is not the point that's trying to be made. The point is that God doesn't give what we can handle, but He helps us handle what we are given. In our own strength we can't handle things in this life, that is why we have to have Him on our side.

I also grew up always hearing/thinking we were supposed to give thanks FOR everything. I had a hard time understanding that, let alone doing it. How can I give thanks for cancer, gastroparesis, death, pain, storms, etc? You know deep inside that everything happens for a reason, but to honestly be thankful for it? Then tonight at church I heard that phrase in a different way that made much more sense to me. God did not say to give thanks FOR everything, but IN everything to give thanks. That may sound like the same thing just worded differently, but if you really think about it, it's not the same thing.

These two thoughts are actually tied together (at least in my thoughts.) Whatever situations we find ourselves in, we need to be able to thank God for it and let Him help us handle it. We can't give Him thanks when the situations are tough and we don't understand if He is not helping us to handle it. If He is helping us handle whatever situation we are in, then is when we will be able to give Him thanks in EVERYTHING!!!!

Fishing!!!

Went fishing today with my dad at Montour Preserve. It was a beautiful day and we even caught some fish. I was also able to get some pictures of the lake. Enjoy!!!

A cute little chipmunk that posed for me :)

This was a mushroom, but I had never seen one that looked like this so I had to take a picture!

The sunfish my dad caught!

The bass that I caught! (I wish is would have been bass season, but then again if it was I wouldn't have caught one then :)) I was just so tickled to catch a fish. My goal was to just catch one!!!

I think the sky is so beautiful in this shot!!

Here is an interesting story from the day yesterday. We were walking on one of the trails back in the woods and dad mentioned that he heard some water running. I looked around and I saw what he heard, but it was NOT water. It was a hole in a tree with hundred of bees swarming around it. I probably wasn't more than 6 feet away  from the when I saw them. If you know me, you know how much I can't stand bees. I was just so happy that they did not swarm and attack me. I had never heard a swarm of bees buzzing, but it was fairly loud. I didn't want to stick around long enough to take a picture even though it would be a cool picture.