Health Report...on Wendy!

Let me tell you about my weekend.

Due to some middle-of-the-night events, I had my daughter take me to the ER on Friday. When I mentioned chest discomfort, shortness of breath, headache and nausea, they immediately took me to a room and proceeded doing an EKG.

They admitted me for at least overnight, for observation. I was in a single-occupancy room, which was spacious!

They never put me in a gown, so I was in my street clothes the whole time!! Yay!

Due to the fact that I have been bleeding at least lightly and nearly continuously for over 6 years now, they did an ultrasound.

Of course, they also took vials of blood. And they did an echocardiogram. There was one mention of doing a scan on my brain (because of my lightheadedness and dizziness), but that never happened.

My heart monitor

My heart passes inspection. Apparently it's strong and healthy. But my blood pressure is high...And my A1C was 8.4. So now I am on meds for blood pressure and diabetes.

The gynecologist wants to do a D&C, or at least a biopsy, which is to be done outpatient.

I was discharged yesterday.

At least I had a nice view from my hospital room!

 And, hey, you know what?! The food wasn't too bad, either!

Friday supper

I didn't get to have Sabbath breakfast, since they had me NPO because they planned to do a stress test.

Lunch was a turkey sandwich, and fresh fruit.

Sabbath supper

Sunday breakfast

Sunday lunch

Sunday supper

Monday breakfast

(There was a thick slice of turkey and a slice of swiss cheese on that croissant. Those tater tots were way over cooked. This was the worst meal I had at the hospital)

Monday lunch

And I was there for Monday supper: beef stew, rice, broccoli spears, canned peaches.

I am mostly vegetarian, and I really want to get back to it, or even go vegan. But they served me meat 2 or 3 times a day while I was in the hospital, and I'm used to having nor more than that much in a week! It was hard to handle, in a way.

So, now I am definitely getting serious about my health. It is going to be a lot of hard work, I know, and I am going to need lots of encouragement. Won't you please become a part of my team of personal trainers and encouragers?!

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Diabetes Rears Its Ugly Head

Sometimes in the day-to-day of living life, tending to the routine of diabetes care, and so forth, one becomes somewhat complacent. Suddenly a speed bump or two rear up and shake things up a bit.

Last week a couple of those speed bumps came along.

First of all, the son of a friend of mine from where we lived in the northwest US, who had died nearly a year ago, I found out last Thursday he'd died from undiagnosed diabetes. He and my oldest son had been really good friends when they were very, very young.

The following day, when Jen went to get a refill of her insulin, she discovered that she no longer has insurance, because last month was her 26th birthday. Here she stands at the pharmacy, with one dose left at home, and finds out she simply can't afford to get more! It does freak us both out!

So prayers would be appreciated as we figure out how to process all of this: finding affordable insurance for her, that the other long-acting insulin she has on hand will stretch, etc.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the "saga."

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Fourteen Years of Blogging!

Today marks the anniversary of my very first blog post! It currently resides over on my old blog, Life at Rossmont. Originally it was posted on Homeschool Blogger, which no longer exists.

I feel so sad that after this long blogging, I still have so few followers/readers of my blog. It gets discouraging sometimes, but I keep plugging away at it.

I've tried having multiple blogs going at once; right now I only have two: Life on Chickadee Lane, and The Kitchen on Chickadee Lane (which is sadly neglected, most of the time).

Well, we're off for another year. Next year will be a big 15 year anniversary! I'll have to plan something big! I hope you'll continue following along.

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And there they go...makes me sad

I've seen for months that Google+ was going away. This makes me very sad, because I've found and follow nearly 500 photographers through Google+. I enjoy scrolling through my feed, admiring the hundreds of amazing photos they share. (In case you don't know, photography is one of my passions! <grin>) Now I don't know where or how to find all those photographers, so I can continue gaining inspiration from their photography.

This morning when I logged on to my blog account, I saw this message posted at the top of my page. And I've lost 470 followers on my blogs. I hope you'll come follow along on Bloglovin' or Feedburner, or some other method.

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Sad News

I don't know if this would really qualify as a health tip, but I am discussing health, mental health to be exact, in this post.

Yesterday I received a message from my 19 year old son, the one who lives with my brother and his family, off in another state. He told me that a friend of his had committed suicide. I've met this family, once.

Immediately my mama heart ached for this mother. The excruciating pain she is going through must be unbearable. The young man's sister must also be numb with pain.

My heart also immediately ached for my son, and I longed to be there to hold him in my arms. In addition, I am concerned, because his mental health is already fragile.

When I told someone about this young man's suicide, her response was: Why? Why would someone end their life like that? Why would someone give up on life?

Maybe someone is suffering such deep depression. Or perhaps that person feels totally betrayed by everyone in his/her life. Maybe he or she feels like a total failure, and thinks she or he cannot go on any longer. And maybe there is no way to actually know the answer. Then again, perhaps it is a physical health condition that triggers it.

This morning, the mother of the young man posted this on Facebook:

The following was written about my son, from one of the groups I am in for him on FB. I urge you to read it. Especially if you have questions about why he is gone.
 
Last night a Christian mom in the USA lost her son to PANS/PANDAS. She had just put him on an SSRI a few weeks ago. He was 17. He lost his life at his own hands. His symptoms were the same that I see regularly. OCD, tics, autism. These are an illness of epic proportions and nothing to joke about. Infections trigger the immune system to attack the brain until the person is no longer themselves but a slave to the disease. Mental clarity and the ability to make good choices are just as dependent on healthy tissue as going up stairs or folding laundry or running. When tissue is inflamed it malfunctions and when it malfunctions the things it is supposed to do don't get done or get done incorrectly. When it's the brain that is inflamed, it cannot be relied on to protect us or think about things correctly. People who commit suicide are not selfish. They are not sinners. They are not damned. They are victims of fallen flesh the same as you are with your lower back pain or your osteoarthritis in your knees. My prayers are with this family and with every single person battling mental illness. They are our children, our mothers, our brothers and sisters. They are the homeless and the famous. Pray for them. Pray for the medical community to start treating mental illness for what it is. We know that most central nervous system degenerative diseases are autoimmune in nature. Why do we keep treating mental illness like it is a choice?

If you need to learn what PANS/PANDAS is, you can read about it here (yes, I had to look it up myself):  What is PANDAS/PANS?

Today I ask you to pray for this family. While you're praying, please pray for my son as well.