Seven years ago I was put on hormones. When I had the stroke they removed me from them cold turkey. When Jari was born I told her she sucked all the heat out of me.....turned out there was still one heck of a lot more heat in me, but for some reason it just stock piled up and is coming out all at once! UGH!
So, if you come to see me and think my house is really cold, now you know why!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Yeah!!
Stephanie again. This has been a good week! Tuesday I went to a nyro optomologist (I dont know how to spell it, the brain and eye doctor). It was a wonderful and informative meeting.
She did a test to determine my sight. I am sorry, I cannot recall what the test name was called. I lost a chunk of my sight,which we know. The good news is the percentage of sight lost will still allow me to drive again someday. She said I still cannot drive now because there is too much wrong with me at this time.
She was very clear that I will be off of work for at least 6 months. I spoke to work and was told I will still have a job when all is said in done, so that was great news to hear.
Turns out there is exercises I should be doing to try and regain my opportunity to read again. My eyes go out to the left and right instead of the middle so they are not working together. I meet with the therapist this Friday and we will know more after that as far as how often we have to go and what I will need to do. I am pretty darn sure the exercises will be exhausting and I wont feel very well after doing them, but hopefully it will be well worth it! I go back in January for a follow up to see if the exercises are working. (my neurologist had said she would not tell me anything he had not said, and that only time will heal my eyes. I need to do a little research to find a new neurologist....)
She also said the white spot in my eye and the splots around it will reduce in time.
They are still trying to figure out this whole blood thinner thing. They called this week and asked if I was taking it because the numbers dropped to a level like I was not taking anything. Strange! I told her I was taking them every day and I had not started eating the foods on the list that can impact the numbers. She asked me to please go look at my pillbox to make sure! I giggled and looked, and also explained I know I take them each night because Paul always makes sure. I will have to start going more often to check things out until we figure this out.
Paul and I met with a financial guy this week. We went over our current budget with and created a plan based on me not going back to work for a long period of time. This was a free service from our employee assistance group, and I must say I am very grateful to have had the chance to review this with someone looking at it from the outside and giving us some advice. I told Paul now that we are looking at the worst case scenario, we will feel rich when I get to go back sooner. (but she was clear it will not be for 6 months at least).
I am still struggling with the whole memory thing. This week I left Scout out on his leash then Paul picked me up and we went to Dans eye doctor. We were gone for a few hours. On the way home I remembered Scout was on his leash, and when we got home he was gone!!! Scout had gotten loose, and fortunate for us a neighbor had him waiting for us to come home. And right now, my purse is in Wisconsin while I am sitting here in Minnesota.... Hopefully that will improve but in the meantime I guess we are going to have to figure out ways to help me remember the important things.
Again, thank you all a million times for the cards, the phone calls, the meals and the rides. I am a very fortunate person for having all the wonderful people in my life. Thank you all !!
She did a test to determine my sight. I am sorry, I cannot recall what the test name was called. I lost a chunk of my sight,which we know. The good news is the percentage of sight lost will still allow me to drive again someday. She said I still cannot drive now because there is too much wrong with me at this time.
She was very clear that I will be off of work for at least 6 months. I spoke to work and was told I will still have a job when all is said in done, so that was great news to hear.
Turns out there is exercises I should be doing to try and regain my opportunity to read again. My eyes go out to the left and right instead of the middle so they are not working together. I meet with the therapist this Friday and we will know more after that as far as how often we have to go and what I will need to do. I am pretty darn sure the exercises will be exhausting and I wont feel very well after doing them, but hopefully it will be well worth it! I go back in January for a follow up to see if the exercises are working. (my neurologist had said she would not tell me anything he had not said, and that only time will heal my eyes. I need to do a little research to find a new neurologist....)
She also said the white spot in my eye and the splots around it will reduce in time.
They are still trying to figure out this whole blood thinner thing. They called this week and asked if I was taking it because the numbers dropped to a level like I was not taking anything. Strange! I told her I was taking them every day and I had not started eating the foods on the list that can impact the numbers. She asked me to please go look at my pillbox to make sure! I giggled and looked, and also explained I know I take them each night because Paul always makes sure. I will have to start going more often to check things out until we figure this out.
Paul and I met with a financial guy this week. We went over our current budget with and created a plan based on me not going back to work for a long period of time. This was a free service from our employee assistance group, and I must say I am very grateful to have had the chance to review this with someone looking at it from the outside and giving us some advice. I told Paul now that we are looking at the worst case scenario, we will feel rich when I get to go back sooner. (but she was clear it will not be for 6 months at least).
I am still struggling with the whole memory thing. This week I left Scout out on his leash then Paul picked me up and we went to Dans eye doctor. We were gone for a few hours. On the way home I remembered Scout was on his leash, and when we got home he was gone!!! Scout had gotten loose, and fortunate for us a neighbor had him waiting for us to come home. And right now, my purse is in Wisconsin while I am sitting here in Minnesota.... Hopefully that will improve but in the meantime I guess we are going to have to figure out ways to help me remember the important things.
Again, thank you all a million times for the cards, the phone calls, the meals and the rides. I am a very fortunate person for having all the wonderful people in my life. Thank you all !!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
10-28-2010
Hello there, this is Stephanie. Jarilyn gave me the info to put on my own updates since it is hard to know what to say.
Fist and foremost, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, cards, food, everything ! The help and support has been amazing,,,,thank you so much. Danny reads me the cards so it has been fun to share those with him.
So, how is it all going? Mostly it is the same. The vision is still what it is. I still have a big blot in my eye that is a white color with lost of spots around it (much like a migraine) and i still have blurry vision, not double, just not clear. again, much like my migraines. pretty much sucks, but i am super grateful i can see! like i said, got to see Danny's face to see how cute he is when he drives me nuts.. besides, you really need to keep an eye on him...could you imagine what he would try to get away with if he knew i can not see anything?? yikes!!!
Physically (other than the eyes) i have no difficulties, other than i am exhausted most of the time. i hope to start an exercise program next week to help with that. i have been active to build my strength, but I must admit that i don't feel well when i get my head hot (you know that point in exercise when that happens) and i don't have clear instructions on what i can and cannot do because the doctor said not to exert myself but it is OK to exercise. Really.... what does that mean? Isn't the whole idea of exercise to exert yourself? I met with the nutritonalist who gave me the specific questions to ask so i will have a better idea of what that means after my doctor appointment this week.
I am having some memory issues, so the dog is getting use to being left outside, i have let the water run for long periods of time, and i still cannot find my new wool jacket i bought at the end of last season (I wore it once and have no clue where it went from there), but they don't even measure that for 6 months so i am not going to worry about it too much. Danny is helping me by taking more responsibility in the mornings and we are finding ways to keep the important stuff straight. for example, my dear friend Jane gave me pill boxes to keep my meds straight, Paul fills the boxes, and i have a calendar/folder where everything is written down so i don't mess up, or if i do they will know what i did.
I went to the neurologist last week, and got a couple of answers but not all of them. i know i will have back most of the vision i am going to get back within 6 months, and then may get a little more during the next six months, but will have what i am going to get in the first year. I also found out i have not just a hole in my heart, but a pucker. the pucker allows blood to pool and that could cause clots. plus i have a genetic blood disorder that can lead to clotting and exhaustion. I will learn more about the blood thing on November 20 and will most definitely be sharing more so the Chases and Montplaisirs can get that checked out! He did say eye exercises and therapy will not help but that i should try to read and use them as i want to and suggests i get pink glasses for the eye sensitivity. so, if you want to send me an email that is great, but please use smaller words and more line breaks as it is really hard to read large groups of letters, and Danny cannot help me if the words are too big.
I am going to a Neuro Opthimologist next week who will measure my sight loss and will be kind of a second opinion to what the neurologist said.
Fist and foremost, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, cards, food, everything ! The help and support has been amazing,,,,thank you so much. Danny reads me the cards so it has been fun to share those with him.
So, how is it all going? Mostly it is the same. The vision is still what it is. I still have a big blot in my eye that is a white color with lost of spots around it (much like a migraine) and i still have blurry vision, not double, just not clear. again, much like my migraines. pretty much sucks, but i am super grateful i can see! like i said, got to see Danny's face to see how cute he is when he drives me nuts.. besides, you really need to keep an eye on him...could you imagine what he would try to get away with if he knew i can not see anything?? yikes!!!
Physically (other than the eyes) i have no difficulties, other than i am exhausted most of the time. i hope to start an exercise program next week to help with that. i have been active to build my strength, but I must admit that i don't feel well when i get my head hot (you know that point in exercise when that happens) and i don't have clear instructions on what i can and cannot do because the doctor said not to exert myself but it is OK to exercise. Really.... what does that mean? Isn't the whole idea of exercise to exert yourself? I met with the nutritonalist who gave me the specific questions to ask so i will have a better idea of what that means after my doctor appointment this week.
I am having some memory issues, so the dog is getting use to being left outside, i have let the water run for long periods of time, and i still cannot find my new wool jacket i bought at the end of last season (I wore it once and have no clue where it went from there), but they don't even measure that for 6 months so i am not going to worry about it too much. Danny is helping me by taking more responsibility in the mornings and we are finding ways to keep the important stuff straight. for example, my dear friend Jane gave me pill boxes to keep my meds straight, Paul fills the boxes, and i have a calendar/folder where everything is written down so i don't mess up, or if i do they will know what i did.
I went to the neurologist last week, and got a couple of answers but not all of them. i know i will have back most of the vision i am going to get back within 6 months, and then may get a little more during the next six months, but will have what i am going to get in the first year. I also found out i have not just a hole in my heart, but a pucker. the pucker allows blood to pool and that could cause clots. plus i have a genetic blood disorder that can lead to clotting and exhaustion. I will learn more about the blood thing on November 20 and will most definitely be sharing more so the Chases and Montplaisirs can get that checked out! He did say eye exercises and therapy will not help but that i should try to read and use them as i want to and suggests i get pink glasses for the eye sensitivity. so, if you want to send me an email that is great, but please use smaller words and more line breaks as it is really hard to read large groups of letters, and Danny cannot help me if the words are too big.
I am going to a Neuro Opthimologist next week who will measure my sight loss and will be kind of a second opinion to what the neurologist said.
Monday, October 11, 2010
October 11th, 2010
Special thank you to everyone who brought over food this weekend. Danny is very excited about all of it!
My only update from yesterday is that she had a good day. She was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day, but it was a good one. We had some visitors and we went to visit grandma and made her dinner, so that was nice.
I know that I ran into some of you at work today, but I just want to throw this out there again. Mom enjoys company. She is not supposed to be focusing her eyes, which doesn't leave a lot left, so please don't hesitate to stop by or give her a call sometime. :) She enjoys it!
Well, mom had another doctor's appointment today and it turns out she has shingles? It's like the old person's version of the chicken pox is what I have heard so far. The poor woman just can't catch a break. She has it on her shoulder and upper back. I didn't get to talk to her much because she was just walking out the door with dad to go pick up more pills.
For those of you who don't know, mom had surgery on August 2nd to correct a bladder issue and had about 5 weeks off for that, then about a week after that, she was diagnosed with bronchitis and had to take 2 weeks off for that, then was at work for 3 days and went on her girls weekend (when she had the stroke) and then tried to work on Monday and Tuesday of the next week before they took her in and discovered the clot. She finally gets out of the damn hospital and now she gets shingles... I can't help but laugh.
My only update from yesterday is that she had a good day. She was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day, but it was a good one. We had some visitors and we went to visit grandma and made her dinner, so that was nice.
I know that I ran into some of you at work today, but I just want to throw this out there again. Mom enjoys company. She is not supposed to be focusing her eyes, which doesn't leave a lot left, so please don't hesitate to stop by or give her a call sometime. :) She enjoys it!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
October 9th, 2010
Spent the whole day with mom today. She is doing really well!
We didn't do much, but I definitely wore her out!
We went and got Scout groomed and now he looks like a girl... opps... Then got lunch at Don Pablos out in Roseville. Needless to say, she was craving it. She ate so much and wasn't nauseous at all! :) It was really nice to see her feeling better!
After that she got a massage and then we went to get her nails done.
Mom's friend Jane is coming over tomorrow to talk to mom and dad about the medications. She is a nurse and actually understands all this stuff. She also brought mom some medication holders that she can actually read, so she was very excited!
That's it for now!
We didn't do much, but I definitely wore her out!
We went and got Scout groomed and now he looks like a girl... opps... Then got lunch at Don Pablos out in Roseville. Needless to say, she was craving it. She ate so much and wasn't nauseous at all! :) It was really nice to see her feeling better!
After that she got a massage and then we went to get her nails done.
Mom's friend Jane is coming over tomorrow to talk to mom and dad about the medications. She is a nurse and actually understands all this stuff. She also brought mom some medication holders that she can actually read, so she was very excited!
That's it for now!
Friday, October 8, 2010
October 8th, 2010
Mom was released from the hospital yesterday and will be calling people for rides soon. We thought we had a solution for Danny to get to school, but it might not work out, so we may need help with that after all.
"I woke up with a headache today, but I am supposed to avoid taking abortive drugs (Advil, aspirin, etc..). They are drugs that you take after the headache starts. I only had to take one ibuprofen yesterday and haven't had to take any today. :)" - Stephanie
She is going to try to get into a nutritionist sometime soon. She is not supposed to be eating anything with Vitamin K which is found in vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and fruits like avocados and kiwi. Just an FYI for those of you who offered to make food for the family.
Doctors told her to try not to focus to much, to try to relax her eyes as much as she can because she needs to let her brain do the work and if she strains her eyes too much it might hurt instead of help.
Her and dad went shopping today and bought stuff for her to see better. She bought a calendar/planner that is two 8.5x11 sheets of paper for one week. :) She got some felt tip markers too which are easier for her to see since they are thicker than pens.
I have talked to her a lot today and she has been in good spirits all day. I am glad, it has been a few weeks since she has giggled. :) I will be going over there and spending most of the day with her tomorrow. We are going to run errands and get some stuff done that she won't usually ask for like a haircut and maybe one for the dog too.....
"I woke up with a headache today, but I am supposed to avoid taking abortive drugs (Advil, aspirin, etc..). They are drugs that you take after the headache starts. I only had to take one ibuprofen yesterday and haven't had to take any today. :)" - Stephanie
She is going to try to get into a nutritionist sometime soon. She is not supposed to be eating anything with Vitamin K which is found in vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and fruits like avocados and kiwi. Just an FYI for those of you who offered to make food for the family.
Doctors told her to try not to focus to much, to try to relax her eyes as much as she can because she needs to let her brain do the work and if she strains her eyes too much it might hurt instead of help.
Her and dad went shopping today and bought stuff for her to see better. She bought a calendar/planner that is two 8.5x11 sheets of paper for one week. :) She got some felt tip markers too which are easier for her to see since they are thicker than pens.
I have talked to her a lot today and she has been in good spirits all day. I am glad, it has been a few weeks since she has giggled. :) I will be going over there and spending most of the day with her tomorrow. We are going to run errands and get some stuff done that she won't usually ask for like a haircut and maybe one for the dog too.....
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
October 6th
Mom is very tired today. She is going to try to sleep, so maybe not too many visitors? Thanks guys!
Went up there yesterday. She is caring and stubborn as many of you know. She was lying in her bed most of the night worrying about her other friends and hoping they were ok.
Nothing new on the doctor front. They took her off of sodium chloride (to hydrate her) and Zolphran (anti-nasea) at the same time, and then she was nauseous, so we don't know if it is because she is not drinking enough water or if she needs that medication again.
She got a lot of migraines last night though. I think she said that she had roughly 5 of them yesterday. Anyone who suffers from migraines knows that 5 in one day would be horrible. They do think that it might be a genetic thing, so mom is having me go to a neurologist to see if there is any similarities between us and maybe a cure?
They are looking to release her tomorrow as for now, but we will see how it goes for the next 24 hours. Keep sending happy thoughts!
Went up there yesterday. She is caring and stubborn as many of you know. She was lying in her bed most of the night worrying about her other friends and hoping they were ok.
Nothing new on the doctor front. They took her off of sodium chloride (to hydrate her) and Zolphran (anti-nasea) at the same time, and then she was nauseous, so we don't know if it is because she is not drinking enough water or if she needs that medication again.
She got a lot of migraines last night though. I think she said that she had roughly 5 of them yesterday. Anyone who suffers from migraines knows that 5 in one day would be horrible. They do think that it might be a genetic thing, so mom is having me go to a neurologist to see if there is any similarities between us and maybe a cure?
They are looking to release her tomorrow as for now, but we will see how it goes for the next 24 hours. Keep sending happy thoughts!
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