It's week 3 of hyperbaric therapy. I'm kind of getting used to getting up early again. That doesn't mean I like it though. At least when I go back to my normal schedule it will feel like I'm sleeping in. I have a feeling he will stop the treatments after 4 weeks (20 "dives"). We'll have to wait and see. I'm sick of movies and picking movies, but I'm glad there's something to do in there. We had a new guy today and he started to feel nauseous. Later he said he thinks it's the meds they have him on right now. I'm not sure why he's there (in other words, what's wrong with him). Luckily they have barf bags in there (better than the ones on the planes, too). He did end up throwing up and I felt so bad for him. I was a little bit grossed out, but I mostly just felt terrible that he wasn't feeling well, especially being TRAPPED in there. Because we're literally trapped in there at least until they could get the pressure back down to release the door. I'm not sure how fast they do it in an emergency. Anyway, I'm sure it was pretty awful for him. :(
So far I've been feeling the same. At least as far as I can tell. I don't think I'd notice subtle changes since I have good days and bad. (and even good hours and bad ones). That's why even if it means I get really sick, I want it to be obvious whether it's working or not. I want to be able to tell Mitch that there HAS been a change, whether it's bad or good. Either way it will eventually be good. Sometimes ya get sick before ya get better. I really just want to get better. It would be amazing. If you pray for me, pray for clarity and healing. I'm also very thankful; my bill was a lot lower than I expected it to be which is good news.
Tonight we were supposed to go out to dinner with my parents since Lance is still gone at camp, but my mom isn't feeling very good. :( The flu bug has been going around and that's what she might have. But it's okay because we just went out last night with my grandparents so we prob shouldn't eat out two days in a row anyway! Plus, we will have something to look forward to when she's feeling better. I hope she feels better soon. :-/ It sucks being sick!
Ugh, I better go. I'll post again soon, and hopefully because I'm feeling all better. :)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Lyme? Most likely...
Yesterday after going in the Spaceship, my mom met me at Mitch's office and we got to talk to him for a little while.
Basically, the western blot test checks for various protiens that could show up in your blood if you have lyme (and some can show up for lyme OR other reasons, so you never know). What is showing up is actually what shows up when your body is FIGHTING OFF the lyme. That's why there are so many false positives. I also read that not only can the lyme bacteria hide in your tissues, organs, and bones instead of just staying in your blood... They can ALSO take your body's collagen (which is found like, everywhere in your body), and coat themselves in it to hide from the antibiotics! Ugh! Little brats! They can also go into a dormant/sleeping state which I believe only one kind of antibiotic is able to kill those ones off. Those little bugs are relentless! In the later stages of lyme (which is what I'd guess I have since I've had symptoms for 10+ years), it's more likely for the bacteria to have found hiding spots by then or become dormant, so sometimes the worse the lyme, the harder it would be for it to show up positive on tests. LAME!
Anywho, my test was borderline because you're supposed to show a certain amount of protiens, but I believe I'm only showing one. The test they did most recently looked specifically at the protien band that shows up on my test to determine whether it's probably lyme causing it or if it could be something else. He told us that the newest test indicates that it probably IS lyme. He also explained that my C-reactive protien is a whopping 28.something (normal is like 0 - 3.5), which isn't necissarily Lyme specific BUT it definitely indicates there is some sort of inflammation/infection in my body - no question. So, based on all of that stuff we're pretty sure I have Lyme. The only thing that he questions is that we did about 2 months of antibiotics about 18 months ago, and I felt no difference - better or worse. To me, 2 months doesn't seem that long because often times people do it for a year or even more. This time I'm on antibiotics AND we're doing the hyperbaric chamber so I reallyyyy hope it works this time!
I'm scheduled to go into the hyperbaric chamber next week. I wasn't sure if he'd schedule me for an additional week, but he did, and we'll see how much longer he schedules me for after next week. I want to go as many times as he'll allow because the more times I go, the more chance I'll have of it killing off the bacteria.
I was talking to Robin about everything today and basically trying to explain all of this stuff. It's kind of hard to explain when you don't understand it fully, and when there's SO MUCH stuff involved with it. But anyway, I was talking about how WEIRD it would be to be all better. Healed. Fixed. I mean, I've had my symptoms since AT LEAST Jr. High age, but maybe it was even earlier? But pretty much it feels like my whole life - or at least MOST of my life. I don't remember what my body even felt like when it was "normal". And I think it was such a slow change that I kind of got used to it, so it has been my "normal" all of these years. But to feel no pain, or little pain... it will be INSANE! I told her, "hey, maybe I'll become a runner or something!" and she said "don't go crazy on us!". She said "uhh, I don't like to run and I don't have pain like yours", but I explained how it would be like if an old person all of a sudden felt like they were in their 20's or teens again! It doesn't matter how other 20 year olds feel... it matters that they felt like crap and now they don't! You know what I mean? But in all of these years I've never had a day, or an hour, or a minute where my body felt pain-free and normal. That's a lot of years to be able to forget what pain-free & normal really feels like. So I think if I get better it will be pretty mind-blowing. Heck, if anything I hope I at least have enough energy to get off of my butt and lose some weight. I'd also like to have more energy to be a better wife, and someday a great mommy. Kids take lots of energy, and I simply don't have energy. :-/
Anyway, that's the latest. We're on like movie #100 now. They generally turn on a movie in the hyperbaric chamber since we're in there for almost 2 hours. This morning we started watching Juno, and I guess we'll finish it up on Monday. Let's see... what else have I seen in JUST the last two weeks?? Taken, Along Came A Spider, Frequency, De JaVu, The Family Man, Meet the Parents, Wild Hogs... Hmm, I think that's it. Let's just say, I probably don't need to see a movie for a LONG time after this. I still have at least another week of movies. I'm really tempted to bring in Lost and force everyone to get addicted to that show. It's the BEST! Plus, we're watching it over starting with season 1 anyway, so it'd be like 2 birds with one stone, right? I wonder if they'd go for it. It's kind of smart to watch a show in there instead of movies. Because people generally go for at least 3 weeks at a time, sometimes longer. So a show makes sense because it's ongoing. Plus, we wouldn't have to choose a new movie every day, which for some reason is the most difficult task ever for everyone. Hmmm.
Well, I've got to go now. I'm SO glad it's Friday! I wish I could see the boys (my nephews - James and Josiah), but I think Nae went to Ashley's this weekend. :( I miss those lil cutie pies!!!!!!!!!
Basically, the western blot test checks for various protiens that could show up in your blood if you have lyme (and some can show up for lyme OR other reasons, so you never know). What is showing up is actually what shows up when your body is FIGHTING OFF the lyme. That's why there are so many false positives. I also read that not only can the lyme bacteria hide in your tissues, organs, and bones instead of just staying in your blood... They can ALSO take your body's collagen (which is found like, everywhere in your body), and coat themselves in it to hide from the antibiotics! Ugh! Little brats! They can also go into a dormant/sleeping state which I believe only one kind of antibiotic is able to kill those ones off. Those little bugs are relentless! In the later stages of lyme (which is what I'd guess I have since I've had symptoms for 10+ years), it's more likely for the bacteria to have found hiding spots by then or become dormant, so sometimes the worse the lyme, the harder it would be for it to show up positive on tests. LAME!
Anywho, my test was borderline because you're supposed to show a certain amount of protiens, but I believe I'm only showing one. The test they did most recently looked specifically at the protien band that shows up on my test to determine whether it's probably lyme causing it or if it could be something else. He told us that the newest test indicates that it probably IS lyme. He also explained that my C-reactive protien is a whopping 28.something (normal is like 0 - 3.5), which isn't necissarily Lyme specific BUT it definitely indicates there is some sort of inflammation/infection in my body - no question. So, based on all of that stuff we're pretty sure I have Lyme. The only thing that he questions is that we did about 2 months of antibiotics about 18 months ago, and I felt no difference - better or worse. To me, 2 months doesn't seem that long because often times people do it for a year or even more. This time I'm on antibiotics AND we're doing the hyperbaric chamber so I reallyyyy hope it works this time!
I'm scheduled to go into the hyperbaric chamber next week. I wasn't sure if he'd schedule me for an additional week, but he did, and we'll see how much longer he schedules me for after next week. I want to go as many times as he'll allow because the more times I go, the more chance I'll have of it killing off the bacteria.
I was talking to Robin about everything today and basically trying to explain all of this stuff. It's kind of hard to explain when you don't understand it fully, and when there's SO MUCH stuff involved with it. But anyway, I was talking about how WEIRD it would be to be all better. Healed. Fixed. I mean, I've had my symptoms since AT LEAST Jr. High age, but maybe it was even earlier? But pretty much it feels like my whole life - or at least MOST of my life. I don't remember what my body even felt like when it was "normal". And I think it was such a slow change that I kind of got used to it, so it has been my "normal" all of these years. But to feel no pain, or little pain... it will be INSANE! I told her, "hey, maybe I'll become a runner or something!" and she said "don't go crazy on us!". She said "uhh, I don't like to run and I don't have pain like yours", but I explained how it would be like if an old person all of a sudden felt like they were in their 20's or teens again! It doesn't matter how other 20 year olds feel... it matters that they felt like crap and now they don't! You know what I mean? But in all of these years I've never had a day, or an hour, or a minute where my body felt pain-free and normal. That's a lot of years to be able to forget what pain-free & normal really feels like. So I think if I get better it will be pretty mind-blowing. Heck, if anything I hope I at least have enough energy to get off of my butt and lose some weight. I'd also like to have more energy to be a better wife, and someday a great mommy. Kids take lots of energy, and I simply don't have energy. :-/
Anyway, that's the latest. We're on like movie #100 now. They generally turn on a movie in the hyperbaric chamber since we're in there for almost 2 hours. This morning we started watching Juno, and I guess we'll finish it up on Monday. Let's see... what else have I seen in JUST the last two weeks?? Taken, Along Came A Spider, Frequency, De JaVu, The Family Man, Meet the Parents, Wild Hogs... Hmm, I think that's it. Let's just say, I probably don't need to see a movie for a LONG time after this. I still have at least another week of movies. I'm really tempted to bring in Lost and force everyone to get addicted to that show. It's the BEST! Plus, we're watching it over starting with season 1 anyway, so it'd be like 2 birds with one stone, right? I wonder if they'd go for it. It's kind of smart to watch a show in there instead of movies. Because people generally go for at least 3 weeks at a time, sometimes longer. So a show makes sense because it's ongoing. Plus, we wouldn't have to choose a new movie every day, which for some reason is the most difficult task ever for everyone. Hmmm.
Well, I've got to go now. I'm SO glad it's Friday! I wish I could see the boys (my nephews - James and Josiah), but I think Nae went to Ashley's this weekend. :( I miss those lil cutie pies!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
last couple weeks...
I haven't blogged for like 2 weeks! I've been tired and busy and I haven't found time to make a proper post. :)
I started hyperbaric last week on Monday. So today I had my 8th treatment. It's pretty weird! I'm getting used to it though. It doesn't feel weird, other than ear popping & stuff, but it's just a weird thing all together. I haven't felt any different so far except for being pretty tired. I still haven't figured out if it's the hyperbaric chamber making me more tired, or if it's from waking up 2 hours earlier than I'm used to and having a really busy weekend last weekend. I guess we'll see. I am hoping to have more than 2 weeks of treatment just because I want to give it a fair chance. I need to figure out how expensive it's going to be because I'm still not exactly sure how much I'm being charged.
Here's what the tank looks like (this isn't the same one, but it's similar)
And this is what the ultra-attractive, totally awesome "head tent" we get to wear looks like. They pump oxygen straight into the hood instead of filling the whole tank with oxygen (like they'd do if it was a single person chamber - ours holds 6-ish people). I must say, the hood paired with my awesome over-sized DENIM scrubs sure makes me look like a hottie.
Tomorrow I will stay after hyperbaric to talk with Mitch. His assistant called me yesterday and told me he wanted to talk to me for about 30 mins and that he has some test results back & stuff. The test they did was to look more closely at the protien bar that was showing up in my blood to further research whether I might have lyme or not.
Anyway, let's move on from the spaceship, shall we?
Last weekend I went with my mother-in-law, Tammy, to Fresno to see a Keith Urban concert (opening band was Sugarland). I don't really listen to country music very much, so I didn't know all of the songs but it was still really fun! I borrowed her CD before we left to listen to it and learn a few of the songs. I only got to listen to it through twice. Anyway, we had really close seats in the first place, and then they started allowing some of the floor seat people (us) to go up front and stand in front of the stage. They brought up the girls in front of us and Tammy was like "I want to go up there!" We gave our puppy dog eyes long enough that they brought us up there, too. So we were enjoying being really close and snapping pics and stuff, when I felt/saw two security guys squeezing right past us. Before we knew it, Keith was coming down a ramp off of the stage RIGHT by us! Tammy looked at me with HUGE eyes and her hand held up a little bit and said "I touched him! I touched him!" HAHA! We were kind of shocked that he came down right next to us. Then he played like 3 songs on another mini-stage right behind all of the floor seats. He came back to the stage another way throught the crowd. Later in the evening he came down AGAIN, right past us. That time he came back the same way he left, right past us, so I decided to touch his back just to say I did. :) haha! It was pretty funny. Some drunk girl walked up onto the stage on the same ramp a little while later. The security guys escorted her back to her seat and everyone around her started to high-five her. It was funny watching all of the crazed fans up front. :) We had a good time, but stood forever and went to bed late (not to mention, we traveled a ways) so I must say we were pretty dang tired that weekend!
I started hyperbaric last week on Monday. So today I had my 8th treatment. It's pretty weird! I'm getting used to it though. It doesn't feel weird, other than ear popping & stuff, but it's just a weird thing all together. I haven't felt any different so far except for being pretty tired. I still haven't figured out if it's the hyperbaric chamber making me more tired, or if it's from waking up 2 hours earlier than I'm used to and having a really busy weekend last weekend. I guess we'll see. I am hoping to have more than 2 weeks of treatment just because I want to give it a fair chance. I need to figure out how expensive it's going to be because I'm still not exactly sure how much I'm being charged.
Here's what the tank looks like (this isn't the same one, but it's similar)
And this is what the ultra-attractive, totally awesome "head tent" we get to wear looks like. They pump oxygen straight into the hood instead of filling the whole tank with oxygen (like they'd do if it was a single person chamber - ours holds 6-ish people). I must say, the hood paired with my awesome over-sized DENIM scrubs sure makes me look like a hottie.
Tomorrow I will stay after hyperbaric to talk with Mitch. His assistant called me yesterday and told me he wanted to talk to me for about 30 mins and that he has some test results back & stuff. The test they did was to look more closely at the protien bar that was showing up in my blood to further research whether I might have lyme or not.
Anyway, let's move on from the spaceship, shall we?
Last weekend I went with my mother-in-law, Tammy, to Fresno to see a Keith Urban concert (opening band was Sugarland). I don't really listen to country music very much, so I didn't know all of the songs but it was still really fun! I borrowed her CD before we left to listen to it and learn a few of the songs. I only got to listen to it through twice. Anyway, we had really close seats in the first place, and then they started allowing some of the floor seat people (us) to go up front and stand in front of the stage. They brought up the girls in front of us and Tammy was like "I want to go up there!" We gave our puppy dog eyes long enough that they brought us up there, too. So we were enjoying being really close and snapping pics and stuff, when I felt/saw two security guys squeezing right past us. Before we knew it, Keith was coming down a ramp off of the stage RIGHT by us! Tammy looked at me with HUGE eyes and her hand held up a little bit and said "I touched him! I touched him!" HAHA! We were kind of shocked that he came down right next to us. Then he played like 3 songs on another mini-stage right behind all of the floor seats. He came back to the stage another way throught the crowd. Later in the evening he came down AGAIN, right past us. That time he came back the same way he left, right past us, so I decided to touch his back just to say I did. :) haha! It was pretty funny. Some drunk girl walked up onto the stage on the same ramp a little while later. The security guys escorted her back to her seat and everyone around her started to high-five her. It was funny watching all of the crazed fans up front. :) We had a good time, but stood forever and went to bed late (not to mention, we traveled a ways) so I must say we were pretty dang tired that weekend!
The day after we got back, we had a birthday party for Ryan at Lynae & Seths house. They decorated it AWESOMELY according to the "Wild West" theme, and bbqed hamburgers for us. Seth made these cool saloon doors which totally made the decor amazing! The party was a murder mystery party with a wild west theme, which meant we had fun with our costumes and accents. :) It was pretty hilarious.
Ry dressed up in his southern oufit:
Saloon doors:
Silly southern boys:
Western Lucy with a 'stache & cowboy hat!
The whole group, minus Ashley who was gracious enough to snap the pic:
We had a great time. Today is Ryan's actual birthday. He turns 27 today. We're going out to dinner with Tammy tonight for his bday. We're going out with my parents next week, partially for his bday, but also in celebration of his recent promotion. I'm so proud of my Rynie and I'm so glad he came into this world 27 years ago so that we could meet 10 years ago and be married and live happily ever after! :) He's my best friend and I love him so much. Happy Birthday Ryan!!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
First few days
So, I started the first antibiotic and the cholestyramine powder on Tuesday morning. So I've basically only had 2 doses of the powder and about 5 of the antibiotics, so I've barely started. Nothing has changed so far, but I didn't expect anything to change yet. I'm trying to keep in-tune with my body but I start to over-analyze when I do that. Like, yesterday my right shoulder hurt a little bit and I was like "hmmmm!!", but that's actually really normal for me and I probably slept on it funny. And then this morning my wrists felt really good and stuff, but it only lasted about an hour or 2 and that's normal too. So, I'll have to wait and see and continue to pray that God will make it OBVIOUS if there's a change. Which, you know, sucks... since getting really sick will be hard but it will be worth it if I get better. :)
I got a call today from a lady from the Hyperbaric center and she said they have an appointment ready for me on Monday. I think we go in at about 8:15, but I have to be there at 7:45am. That's pretty early for me! :) Let's hope I can get up and moving by 7-ish at the latest. I'm excited about starting so soon but it will probably be a pretty weird experience!
I'll put more updates as the changes come (I'm hoping). Until then I have to wait and see and hope for clarity.
Anyway, tonight I'm hanging out with Carrisa and I think that Ashley and Nae are going to join us, too. So it will be another baby-fest. :) It's fun for me to hang out with all of the little cuties, and hopefully I'm of some help to the mommies - Some fresh energy I guess. I'm looking forward to spending time with them!
It's almost Ryan's BIRTHDAY! I want to plan a little party for him but he doesn't really know what he wants to do yet. He mentioned doing another murder mystery party like we did a couple of years back for my bday, but it takes some planning so we'll have to see. I think the best weekend slot for his party is going to end up being the 24th - 26th which is only in like 2 weeks. I guess we better get our butts into action.
Look at little Nessie with the Mr. Potato Head parts on her! HAHAHAHA! :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Doc Appointment
I saw Mitch and the doctor today for like 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Some of that time was waiting time, but still, quite a while! I met with Mitch first and then we waited for the doc and I saw him for a little bit and then I went back to talk with Mitch for a few minutes. I love having Mitch because normally with a doctor you talk to them for like maybe 15 mins if you're lucky... Well, with Mitch he's able to talk with me for at least an hour, go over everything with me, explain everything to me, and come up with a plan. Then we go over to the doctor and Mitch tells him what he was thinking (for a plan of action) and the doc sometimes has additional ideas, then he signs off on everything and sets up the different prescriptions and referrals and whatever is required of the actual doctor to do. It's nice though because then it only takes like 15 mins of the doctors time as usual, but I still feel like everything was thoroughly thought about & stuff. I hate seeing a doctor for only a few mins and it doesn't seem like they fully have an understanding of what's going on with me.
Anyway, when I met with Mitch today we were able to talk about my labs. I think I misunderstood his assistant about my Lyme test (or she misunderstood him or something). But today he explained it to me. It sounds like it's pretty similar to my last test. Basically they test for different proteins in my blood, and I believe I'm supposed to have like 2 out of 3 of the "bars" of proteins but apparently I only have one showing up. He said that some professionals would say that's enough to know that I have Lyme, but others would argue the opposite. The "rule book" definitely thinks it's not enough (but I learned that it's something that hasn't been updated in a while and there's a lot of medical politics behind that which make the "standard" pretty LAME. Lonnggg story). Anyway, so there's a new test where they can take my blood and check that specific bar more closely. When they look at it they should be able to tell whether that bar/protein is showing up in my blood because of lyme or because of another reason. He said if they say it's because of Lyme then he pretty much believes I DO have Lyme... but if it doesn't, then it's still kind of undetermined. Again, you can get a pretty definite "yes" but it's not really ever a definite "no" since the tests are so questionable.
He explained to me why the test can differ each time and why they can show up negative even if they KNOW you have it (tick bite, bullseye rash, symptoms, etc). So, what they look for in the blood proteins that show up in your blood when your body is fighting off the Lyme. So, if for some reason your body isn't fighting when they take the blood, then it might not show up. I wish they were able to look for the actual lymie bugs (spirochetes) but I guess they can hide out pretty well in different parts of your body so they would probably be hard to find.
So, today he faxed an order over to IGeneX again for them to check that specific bar for Lyme which will hopefully come back with something conclusive. He's also going to start me on anti-biotic treatment again to see if I notice any changes. If the meds work I will either feel better or feel worse - most likely worse. It's called "herxing" when your symptoms get worse but it's actually a good thing because that's how you know if it's working or not (it happens when your body is killing of the lymie bugs). I'm starting one antibiotic tomorrow. I guess when I was young I had a reaction to a penicillin, so we've assumed that I'm allergic to it. They're going to refer me to a allergist to check me for a penicillin allergy because penicillin is what they'd normally start me on for Lyme treatment, so if I'm not allergic then they can prescribe me some of that. If I am, they need to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe me. Another thing I will start tomorrow is this stuff called Cholestyramine. It's a powder that you mix into water. It's normally used to help lower cholesterol when taken WITH food by binding with the cholesterol in your bile to keep it from being re-absorbed into your body. In Lyme patients you take it WITHOUT food, in between meals, and it can bind with the toxins in your body and then you pee them right out. Pretty cool, but it takes quite a while. That one is kind of an "extra" thing to try to just see if it helps. He said that some people say that they get better just from that, but it's not always the case. That would be pretty simple though, wouldn't it? :) I will start taking it once a day and work up to 3 times a day. I have to take it 2 hours after a meal and 2 hours before a meal which means I need to have 4 hours total in between meals. I generally snack and stuff throughout the day, and my breakfast and lunch are pretty close together, so I'll have to work on that. I also can't take it close to the time that I take my meds.
One more thing that they're going to do is try me out in the Hyperbaric Chamber. The Hyperbaric chamber is a vault thingie and inside it is about 1.5 - 3 times the normal atmospheric pressure (equivalent to 45 feet below sea level). They also pump pure oxygen into the tank. It basically makes it so that your blood receives oxygen better & faster I think. They use it for athletes with injuries that they want to heal faster & stuff like that. If your blood is receiving more oxygen, your cell walls are too, which means accelerated healing. Basically, the lyme bacteria generally doesn't survive very well at that pressure & oxygen level. We're just trying it out WITH the antibiotics to see if it helps at all. Most patients do several treatments, but I'm only doing about 5 - 7 treatments.
I just found this article that a man wrote who was diagnosed with Lyme and got treatment in the CHICO Hyperbaric chamber. It was pretty interesting for me to read. If you're interested, here it is:
http://www.hbotoday.com/treatment/lymediseasearticle.shtml
So, that's basically what we're doing for now... they're checking more into the lyme blood test (the protien that's showing up in my blood tests), they're starting me on anti-biotics and referring me to get checked for a penicillin allergy to see if they can put me on that, we're trying out the hyperbaric chamber, and we're trying out the cholestyramine which will hopefully bind to toxins in my body and take them straight out in my waste. I will blog more when I know more! Mitch has been REALLY great, waiving as many fees as he can and just being really helpful all around. He's a really, really nice man!
The things I want to keep in prayer, and you can too :-) if you think of me:
CLARITY: I want to be able to tell easily if I feel better or worse since I will have to report that back to my doctors. It's hard for me to tell sometimes because I've been sick for 10+ years. It's hard for me to gauge if my pain is better or worse... it's just THERE. ALWAYS. So hopefully I will herx or feel better enough for me to notice.
STAMINA: If the treatments do work then I will probably get pretty sick for a while. I want to keep working and living a somewhat "normal" life which might be really hard for me if I'm feeling worse than I already feel. I need to pray for stamina for myself and also for my Ryan for having to take care of me during the process. He's so great. :)
PEACE: I get easily overwhelmed. Something new and sorta drastic might really throw me for a loop so I really want to feel and accept God's peace which is the only true peace that my heart can have. I also want to have peace about my decisions and peace about the future if the treatments don't go as I hope they do.
That's basically it. I'm looking forward to this opportunity not only because it might mean that I'm finally ALL BETTER after being sick since I was 13-ish, but also because I think it will force me to have to stay in communication with God which I'm not very good at doing on my own, as well as with Ryan and my doctors. It's something that I have to jump into with both feet which I'm never brave enough to do. Sometimes being out of your comfort zone is the best thing for you. Hopefully being out of my comfort zone WITH extra oxygen will do me some good. :) If nothing else, I think the hyperbaric gives you extra energy.
One last un-related note: We saw "Up" and it was so very cute! I teared up but I didn't cry so I was pretty proud of myself. I guess I had to make up for my stupid reaction to My Sister's Keeper!
Anyway, when I met with Mitch today we were able to talk about my labs. I think I misunderstood his assistant about my Lyme test (or she misunderstood him or something). But today he explained it to me. It sounds like it's pretty similar to my last test. Basically they test for different proteins in my blood, and I believe I'm supposed to have like 2 out of 3 of the "bars" of proteins but apparently I only have one showing up. He said that some professionals would say that's enough to know that I have Lyme, but others would argue the opposite. The "rule book" definitely thinks it's not enough (but I learned that it's something that hasn't been updated in a while and there's a lot of medical politics behind that which make the "standard" pretty LAME. Lonnggg story). Anyway, so there's a new test where they can take my blood and check that specific bar more closely. When they look at it they should be able to tell whether that bar/protein is showing up in my blood because of lyme or because of another reason. He said if they say it's because of Lyme then he pretty much believes I DO have Lyme... but if it doesn't, then it's still kind of undetermined. Again, you can get a pretty definite "yes" but it's not really ever a definite "no" since the tests are so questionable.
He explained to me why the test can differ each time and why they can show up negative even if they KNOW you have it (tick bite, bullseye rash, symptoms, etc). So, what they look for in the blood proteins that show up in your blood when your body is fighting off the Lyme. So, if for some reason your body isn't fighting when they take the blood, then it might not show up. I wish they were able to look for the actual lymie bugs (spirochetes) but I guess they can hide out pretty well in different parts of your body so they would probably be hard to find.
So, today he faxed an order over to IGeneX again for them to check that specific bar for Lyme which will hopefully come back with something conclusive. He's also going to start me on anti-biotic treatment again to see if I notice any changes. If the meds work I will either feel better or feel worse - most likely worse. It's called "herxing" when your symptoms get worse but it's actually a good thing because that's how you know if it's working or not (it happens when your body is killing of the lymie bugs). I'm starting one antibiotic tomorrow. I guess when I was young I had a reaction to a penicillin, so we've assumed that I'm allergic to it. They're going to refer me to a allergist to check me for a penicillin allergy because penicillin is what they'd normally start me on for Lyme treatment, so if I'm not allergic then they can prescribe me some of that. If I am, they need to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe me. Another thing I will start tomorrow is this stuff called Cholestyramine. It's a powder that you mix into water. It's normally used to help lower cholesterol when taken WITH food by binding with the cholesterol in your bile to keep it from being re-absorbed into your body. In Lyme patients you take it WITHOUT food, in between meals, and it can bind with the toxins in your body and then you pee them right out. Pretty cool, but it takes quite a while. That one is kind of an "extra" thing to try to just see if it helps. He said that some people say that they get better just from that, but it's not always the case. That would be pretty simple though, wouldn't it? :) I will start taking it once a day and work up to 3 times a day. I have to take it 2 hours after a meal and 2 hours before a meal which means I need to have 4 hours total in between meals. I generally snack and stuff throughout the day, and my breakfast and lunch are pretty close together, so I'll have to work on that. I also can't take it close to the time that I take my meds.
One more thing that they're going to do is try me out in the Hyperbaric Chamber. The Hyperbaric chamber is a vault thingie and inside it is about 1.5 - 3 times the normal atmospheric pressure (equivalent to 45 feet below sea level). They also pump pure oxygen into the tank. It basically makes it so that your blood receives oxygen better & faster I think. They use it for athletes with injuries that they want to heal faster & stuff like that. If your blood is receiving more oxygen, your cell walls are too, which means accelerated healing. Basically, the lyme bacteria generally doesn't survive very well at that pressure & oxygen level. We're just trying it out WITH the antibiotics to see if it helps at all. Most patients do several treatments, but I'm only doing about 5 - 7 treatments.
I just found this article that a man wrote who was diagnosed with Lyme and got treatment in the CHICO Hyperbaric chamber. It was pretty interesting for me to read. If you're interested, here it is:
http://www.hbotoday.com/treatment/lymediseasearticle.shtml
So, that's basically what we're doing for now... they're checking more into the lyme blood test (the protien that's showing up in my blood tests), they're starting me on anti-biotics and referring me to get checked for a penicillin allergy to see if they can put me on that, we're trying out the hyperbaric chamber, and we're trying out the cholestyramine which will hopefully bind to toxins in my body and take them straight out in my waste. I will blog more when I know more! Mitch has been REALLY great, waiving as many fees as he can and just being really helpful all around. He's a really, really nice man!
The things I want to keep in prayer, and you can too :-) if you think of me:
CLARITY: I want to be able to tell easily if I feel better or worse since I will have to report that back to my doctors. It's hard for me to tell sometimes because I've been sick for 10+ years. It's hard for me to gauge if my pain is better or worse... it's just THERE. ALWAYS. So hopefully I will herx or feel better enough for me to notice.
STAMINA: If the treatments do work then I will probably get pretty sick for a while. I want to keep working and living a somewhat "normal" life which might be really hard for me if I'm feeling worse than I already feel. I need to pray for stamina for myself and also for my Ryan for having to take care of me during the process. He's so great. :)
PEACE: I get easily overwhelmed. Something new and sorta drastic might really throw me for a loop so I really want to feel and accept God's peace which is the only true peace that my heart can have. I also want to have peace about my decisions and peace about the future if the treatments don't go as I hope they do.
That's basically it. I'm looking forward to this opportunity not only because it might mean that I'm finally ALL BETTER after being sick since I was 13-ish, but also because I think it will force me to have to stay in communication with God which I'm not very good at doing on my own, as well as with Ryan and my doctors. It's something that I have to jump into with both feet which I'm never brave enough to do. Sometimes being out of your comfort zone is the best thing for you. Hopefully being out of my comfort zone WITH extra oxygen will do me some good. :) If nothing else, I think the hyperbaric gives you extra energy.
One last un-related note: We saw "Up" and it was so very cute! I teared up but I didn't cry so I was pretty proud of myself. I guess I had to make up for my stupid reaction to My Sister's Keeper!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Mini Golf & 4th of July
Yesterday Ryan and I went miniature golfing at the ol' Chico Funland. Hahaha! I slept in way too long, and then we decided we were quite hungry so that's the first thing we did - get food. We went to Quiznos (and although I wanted to have a picnic, Ryan doesn't like picnics so we didn't go) :( After lunch we got some ice cream from Ben & Jerry's and headed across town to play miniature golf. A bunch of kids were only one hole in front of us, so we decided to play the 2nd half first and the 1st half second. Turns out we TIED the first half and then Ryan beat me by like 8 points. :( The last 3 holes took me 5 strokes and only took him 1 or 2. :( But I was doing better the 1st (er, technically 2nd) half than I thought I would so I'm still proud of myself. I guess I just got tired. Haha. They also have a batting cage at Funland so Ryan wanted to bat. He got 4 coins which give you 15 pitches per coin. I've kind of always wanted to try it but I haven't hit a ball since they made is in like Jr. High PE class or something. Ryan did the first 15 balls so I asked him if I could use the next coin. I did much better than I thought! I think I hit every ball except for 2 or 3! My arm is sore though, sadly... from only 15 swings. We had tons of fun and got really sweaty!
Today we went over to my grandmas house to celebrate the 4th of July. We went swimming and sat around the pool from 1:00 til about 6-ish, maybe. Then we ordered a pizza, hung out, and went home. I got to hold Josiah for a little while. I also got to swim around with Jamesie for a while and play "superman" with him. He's so cute and says tons of cute little phrases. I love him! Last time Ryan swam over at Grandma's (while we were in Roseville), he and Seth made up a game, so this time me, Ry, and Nae played it. It was fun but made me TIRED! I also got a super bad sunburn (and so did Ryan, and Nae's shoulders looked pink, too). Anyway, the game basically goes like this: One of us stands on the diving board with one ball and 4 pool rings. about 12 feet away the other two players stand on either side of a bucket (or in this case, James' floaty tube). You get one free shot to throw the ball into the center of the floaty. Then you try to toss each of the 4 rings into the center of the floaty, but when you throw the rings, the other two players try to either block them from going in with those water noodles or catch the ring ON the noodle. You get a point anytime you make a ball or ring into the bucket/floaty or when you catch a ring on your noodle. Ryan WON, of course, with 11 points, Nae got 2nd with 6 points, and I got last place with a whopping TWO points. hehe. Which, I didn't get until my last turn. I have no idea how many rounds we did because we played FOREVER. But I ended with 2 points, a sunburn, a stiff neck, and hopefully lots of calories burned! I can't say I didn't have fun though! :)
Ryan is treating me to a fancy dance right now. I think I'll go and give him a kiss and see if he'll do anymore funny dances for me.
'Night night.
Today we went over to my grandmas house to celebrate the 4th of July. We went swimming and sat around the pool from 1:00 til about 6-ish, maybe. Then we ordered a pizza, hung out, and went home. I got to hold Josiah for a little while. I also got to swim around with Jamesie for a while and play "superman" with him. He's so cute and says tons of cute little phrases. I love him! Last time Ryan swam over at Grandma's (while we were in Roseville), he and Seth made up a game, so this time me, Ry, and Nae played it. It was fun but made me TIRED! I also got a super bad sunburn (and so did Ryan, and Nae's shoulders looked pink, too). Anyway, the game basically goes like this: One of us stands on the diving board with one ball and 4 pool rings. about 12 feet away the other two players stand on either side of a bucket (or in this case, James' floaty tube). You get one free shot to throw the ball into the center of the floaty. Then you try to toss each of the 4 rings into the center of the floaty, but when you throw the rings, the other two players try to either block them from going in with those water noodles or catch the ring ON the noodle. You get a point anytime you make a ball or ring into the bucket/floaty or when you catch a ring on your noodle. Ryan WON, of course, with 11 points, Nae got 2nd with 6 points, and I got last place with a whopping TWO points. hehe. Which, I didn't get until my last turn. I have no idea how many rounds we did because we played FOREVER. But I ended with 2 points, a sunburn, a stiff neck, and hopefully lots of calories burned! I can't say I didn't have fun though! :)
Ryan is treating me to a fancy dance right now. I think I'll go and give him a kiss and see if he'll do anymore funny dances for me.
'Night night.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Swimsuits / Movies
I tried on that one swimsuit from target. It was kind of cute but not the best. Plus, they're out of stock in my size.
Now I want one of THESE!
The first two are really similar. They're vintage inspired and verryyy cute! They have a skirty looking thing in the front, but they're just regular int he back. I think the black one is slightly the "boy shorts" type of back. SO CUTE! The 3rd one is called the MIRACLE SUIT. I doubt any miracle would work on my current state of body, but that one just might have ot do. See the side detail? And that bottom panel looks pretty slimming! I just wish it came in more exciting colors/patterns. I did see a polka-dot version of it but it's more expensive, and they're small polka dots. The 4th one is one I found on ebay (New WITH TAGS, cuz anything else would be GROSS). It's actually navy blue and has cute little polka dots on it and rouching all down the middle which is supposed to be figure flattering.
Away We Go: Our stupid theater never showed it! Bummed. I read reviews later and they basically said that the movie was trying too hard to be an indie-type of film. But whatever, I still want to see it. It looks cute and the actors are funny. I might just have to netflix it later if it never comes to our theater. Pooooop. (PLUS Jim Gaffigan is in it!!!)
Moon: This is another one that I never know what happened to it...? It didn't come to our theater but I never heard anything about it either! I'll have to see if it came out and I might end up having to wait to netflix it, too. :(
The Proposal: K, I guess I've barely seen any of the movies I wanted to see. I haven't seen this one yet. If any girls want to go with me, let me know, cuz Ryan won't see it. It looks funny!
Year One: Saw it. It was pretty funny! Although, it was what you expect from the previews (in other words, the previews show a lot of it). I liked it though because I like the actors. Michael Cera is TOO CUTE and pretty dang funny. :)
My Sister's Keeper: Saw it. CRIED MY EYES OUT! Warning: I've heard that the book has a different ending. Today I read how the book ends online and how it compares with the movie. It's not just different, it's WAY different. So be warned if you've read the book but haven't seen the movie yet! I think I'd be confused/pissed if I read the book first!!! Good movie though. Total tear jerker!!!
Where The Wild Things Are: This one isn't out yet. I think it might come out at the end of this year (Oct maybe?). This one will be fun to see with Ryan. :)
Here are some more I think I want to see:
The Time Traveler's Wife:
Now I want one of THESE!
The first two are really similar. They're vintage inspired and verryyy cute! They have a skirty looking thing in the front, but they're just regular int he back. I think the black one is slightly the "boy shorts" type of back. SO CUTE! The 3rd one is called the MIRACLE SUIT. I doubt any miracle would work on my current state of body, but that one just might have ot do. See the side detail? And that bottom panel looks pretty slimming! I just wish it came in more exciting colors/patterns. I did see a polka-dot version of it but it's more expensive, and they're small polka dots. The 4th one is one I found on ebay (New WITH TAGS, cuz anything else would be GROSS). It's actually navy blue and has cute little polka dots on it and rouching all down the middle which is supposed to be figure flattering.
I was looking back on the movies I wanted to see in one of my May posts and I thought I'd give an update!
Up: Didn't see it yet. :( But! We might see it tomorrow. Ryan has some free movies passes and now that it's been in the theater a while we can use the passes. I still want to see it really bad! I heard it's sad. I bet it's really cute. James saw it without me.
Away We Go: Our stupid theater never showed it! Bummed. I read reviews later and they basically said that the movie was trying too hard to be an indie-type of film. But whatever, I still want to see it. It looks cute and the actors are funny. I might just have to netflix it later if it never comes to our theater. Pooooop. (PLUS Jim Gaffigan is in it!!!)
Moon: This is another one that I never know what happened to it...? It didn't come to our theater but I never heard anything about it either! I'll have to see if it came out and I might end up having to wait to netflix it, too. :(
The Proposal: K, I guess I've barely seen any of the movies I wanted to see. I haven't seen this one yet. If any girls want to go with me, let me know, cuz Ryan won't see it. It looks funny!
Year One: Saw it. It was pretty funny! Although, it was what you expect from the previews (in other words, the previews show a lot of it). I liked it though because I like the actors. Michael Cera is TOO CUTE and pretty dang funny. :)
My Sister's Keeper: Saw it. CRIED MY EYES OUT! Warning: I've heard that the book has a different ending. Today I read how the book ends online and how it compares with the movie. It's not just different, it's WAY different. So be warned if you've read the book but haven't seen the movie yet! I think I'd be confused/pissed if I read the book first!!! Good movie though. Total tear jerker!!!
Where The Wild Things Are: This one isn't out yet. I think it might come out at the end of this year (Oct maybe?). This one will be fun to see with Ryan. :)
Those were all of the ones I listed in my previous post. I also saw The Hangover with Ryan. It was funny and Bradley Cooper is my boyfriend, so I enjoyed it. But it's also full of yucky stuff that I could've done without. Still, I couldn't help but laugh through a lot of the movie.
Here are some more I think I want to see:
Funny People:
I can't really explain what it's about.
Sunshine Cleaning:
What ever happened to this movie? It's like it came and went! ugh!
What ever happened to this movie? It's like it came and went! ugh!
Synopsis: A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy 'Sunshine Cleaning.' This uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting. This one stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.
The Time Traveler's Wife:
This one could be cute, I dunno. The previews look good but it seems kind of weird!
Synopsis: A Chicago librarian suffers from a rare genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time whenever he is under extreme duress; despite the fact that he vanishes at inordinately frequent and lengthy intervals, he attempts to build a stable future with the beautiful young heiress he loves. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star. I love Rachel!
The Taking of Pelham 123:
This one might be good. We'll have to see. I haven't heard much about it. I just know that I LOVE DENZEL WASHINGTON.
Synopsis: A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train. It's a remake of a 70's movie which was a remake of a book. It stars Denzel and John Travolta.
And then, of course, a few I shall NEVER see: BRUNO (HELLNO.) and I Love You, Beth Cooper. No.
_____________________________________________________
A few peeps have asked me about the swimsuits so I'm adding the links! :)
The last one was an ebay one.
I also REALLY want this one! It's sooo cute! (quite pricey!)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Results
I hadn't heard from my doc still, so I emailed Mitch and his assistant Joanne to see if they had results. That way they could get back to me on their own time after they read the email (but they'd know that I'm still anxious about the results).
Joanne called me today and let me know what she knew, but I'll have to wait to see Mitch and the doc to get all of the info. Basically, my Lyme disease results from the IGeneX lab are coming back normal again. Lyme tests can be negative even if you have it (even multiple times) so it's not a "yes" for Lyme but that doesn't mean it's a definite "no" either. My 1st Lyme test came back kind of undetermined but technically "negative". This one is technically negative, too, but
I haven't talked to him about the details yet.
In addition to the Lyme test I got my basic labs done, too. One of them is pretty high. My CRP (C-Reactive Protien) level is rather elevated, which she explained to me basically means I have an infection (and/or inflammation) in my body... Could by lyme, could be something else. So that's what we're waiting to find out. It's pretty obvious that there's some kind of inflammation oing on in my body because I have pain, but from the outside my joints don't LOOK swollen or anything like that. At least as far as I can tell. And I remember when I used to see a rhematologist he'd physically check me for inflammation and I wasn't swollen. We'll have to see about an infection (maybe a lyme c0-infection like babesiosis or something...?) Inflammation could also be a sign of heart disease, auto-immune disease, or even cancer, etc. But I don't think I have heart disease or cancer because I believe they'd be able to tell in other previous test (like cholestorol & all of my normal blood tests. More obvious stuff would've popped up). On Tuesday I'm going to meet with Mitch and then we're both going to meet with my doctor to see where we're going to go from here. His assistant got back to me with what she could, but the docs will be able to tell me everything in more depth and start a plan with me for what to do next.
I'm glad something is showing up because I want 1, direction and 2, HEALING!!! But it sucks that it's kind of a vague sign and it could mean multiple things. I guess the docs will at least have some sort of direction for me. I don't want them (or myself) to give up until we figure it out, and then make a plan for healing.
Welp. That's it! Ryan got a new video game today. I'm sooo excited. (I'm sooo being sarcastic, btw).
NIGHT.
Joanne called me today and let me know what she knew, but I'll have to wait to see Mitch and the doc to get all of the info. Basically, my Lyme disease results from the IGeneX lab are coming back normal again. Lyme tests can be negative even if you have it (even multiple times) so it's not a "yes" for Lyme but that doesn't mean it's a definite "no" either. My 1st Lyme test came back kind of undetermined but technically "negative". This one is technically negative, too, but
I haven't talked to him about the details yet.
In addition to the Lyme test I got my basic labs done, too. One of them is pretty high. My CRP (C-Reactive Protien) level is rather elevated, which she explained to me basically means I have an infection (and/or inflammation) in my body... Could by lyme, could be something else. So that's what we're waiting to find out. It's pretty obvious that there's some kind of inflammation oing on in my body because I have pain, but from the outside my joints don't LOOK swollen or anything like that. At least as far as I can tell. And I remember when I used to see a rhematologist he'd physically check me for inflammation and I wasn't swollen. We'll have to see about an infection (maybe a lyme c0-infection like babesiosis or something...?) Inflammation could also be a sign of heart disease, auto-immune disease, or even cancer, etc. But I don't think I have heart disease or cancer because I believe they'd be able to tell in other previous test (like cholestorol & all of my normal blood tests. More obvious stuff would've popped up). On Tuesday I'm going to meet with Mitch and then we're both going to meet with my doctor to see where we're going to go from here. His assistant got back to me with what she could, but the docs will be able to tell me everything in more depth and start a plan with me for what to do next.
I'm glad something is showing up because I want 1, direction and 2, HEALING!!! But it sucks that it's kind of a vague sign and it could mean multiple things. I guess the docs will at least have some sort of direction for me. I don't want them (or myself) to give up until we figure it out, and then make a plan for healing.
Welp. That's it! Ryan got a new video game today. I'm sooo excited. (I'm sooo being sarcastic, btw).
NIGHT.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Waiting
Two weeks ago (from Monday) I went to the lab to get some bloodwork done. One of them was my normal labs which check for basic stuff, and the second one was a batch of blood that went out to IGeneX labs to test me for Lyme... again. My last test was kind of undetermined so they're checking me again upon my request. It's been over a year since my last lyme test. Anyway, they said it'd take two weeks, and the two week mark was two days ago. So today I decided to call them since I didn't hear from them yet. Basically I still don't have any news. They said they'd have my doc check on the results and get back to me. I will hopefully hear from them tomorrow since I didn't hear from them this afternoon/evening. I was pretty antsy about it the first week, and then I chilled out the 2nd week, but now I'm stuck wondering again! I want a diagnosis of some sort so that I have direction and I can look forward to healing (or if healing somehow isn't in my future, at least I can know that and cope with it and built my life around it).
Anyway! Another thing I'm waiting for is to get on with our lives. I think I'll always feel that way. I think as humans we're programed to never be satisfied with our lives on this earth so we'll always be looking for the next chapter. We find a great boyfriend, we want to get married, we get married, we want to do well well in our jobs, we want kids, we want a house, we want all of the conveniences and "treasures" on this earth. We have one kid, we want more. We have teenagers, we long for retirement. :) tee hee. No matter what, we want more, or less, or whatever is going to make us happy. And once we get that, it's not enough. There's always something to look forward to or something that will be "better" than our reality. Always. At least that's how I feel sometimes. I don't know about you...? Anyway, right now it's like... we're stuck.. happily married, yes, but what's next? Should we get a house? Have kids? Get a house and then have kids? And what about Ryan's job? Depending on changes with his job, we might be able to afford a better house or have kids sooner...?
Right now, this is basically what's up with Ryan's job: So, he got promoted to Assistant (to the) Manager of his department a while back. THEN his department manager stepped down, so now they don't HAVE a manager. In turn, he's been taking on a bunch of the manager responsibilities but 1, his pay hasn't changed, and 2, he's not sure how much power/responsibility he has and how much he should stay behind since he's still technically the assistant manager. But he's done quarterly reviews, he's given "awards", and he's been the mediator for a bunch of little jr. high fights that take place at work. :) So anyway, we're kind of wondering if they're going to actually hire a new manager or if they're thinking about promoting him again to department manager.
In the meantime we're just... yep, waiting. I'm having a feeling that I've basically blogged this exact story already, so if I have I'm sorry. But again, it's the story of my life so you'll probably hear it a lot if you're a reader of my bloggy!
Soooo. This weekend we have a 3 day weekend for the 4th of July but we don't have any plans! Some people would like the idea of no plans, but we're the type that will be boring allll weeeekkkeennnd and not make plans. WHAT should we do?
Rynie's birthday is in like 3 weeks! I don't know what I'm going to get him yet (besides a couple of little things). :( I realized that Teryn is the best person to ask since her husband Daniel and my husband Ryan like the SAME EXACT THINGS! Video games, magic, sports, etc. I forgot what else I was going to blog about so I guess I'll end this now. Sorry for the boring-ness!
Here's a cute dancing baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2zoRAASOE4 :)
Anyway! Another thing I'm waiting for is to get on with our lives. I think I'll always feel that way. I think as humans we're programed to never be satisfied with our lives on this earth so we'll always be looking for the next chapter. We find a great boyfriend, we want to get married, we get married, we want to do well well in our jobs, we want kids, we want a house, we want all of the conveniences and "treasures" on this earth. We have one kid, we want more. We have teenagers, we long for retirement. :) tee hee. No matter what, we want more, or less, or whatever is going to make us happy. And once we get that, it's not enough. There's always something to look forward to or something that will be "better" than our reality. Always. At least that's how I feel sometimes. I don't know about you...? Anyway, right now it's like... we're stuck.. happily married, yes, but what's next? Should we get a house? Have kids? Get a house and then have kids? And what about Ryan's job? Depending on changes with his job, we might be able to afford a better house or have kids sooner...?
Right now, this is basically what's up with Ryan's job: So, he got promoted to Assistant (to the) Manager of his department a while back. THEN his department manager stepped down, so now they don't HAVE a manager. In turn, he's been taking on a bunch of the manager responsibilities but 1, his pay hasn't changed, and 2, he's not sure how much power/responsibility he has and how much he should stay behind since he's still technically the assistant manager. But he's done quarterly reviews, he's given "awards", and he's been the mediator for a bunch of little jr. high fights that take place at work. :) So anyway, we're kind of wondering if they're going to actually hire a new manager or if they're thinking about promoting him again to department manager.
In the meantime we're just... yep, waiting. I'm having a feeling that I've basically blogged this exact story already, so if I have I'm sorry. But again, it's the story of my life so you'll probably hear it a lot if you're a reader of my bloggy!
Soooo. This weekend we have a 3 day weekend for the 4th of July but we don't have any plans! Some people would like the idea of no plans, but we're the type that will be boring allll weeeekkkeennnd and not make plans. WHAT should we do?
Rynie's birthday is in like 3 weeks! I don't know what I'm going to get him yet (besides a couple of little things). :( I realized that Teryn is the best person to ask since her husband Daniel and my husband Ryan like the SAME EXACT THINGS! Video games, magic, sports, etc. I forgot what else I was going to blog about so I guess I'll end this now. Sorry for the boring-ness!
Here's a cute dancing baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2zoRAASOE4 :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)