Signmark

Have you ever had to answer a survey or questionnaire that asks what your favorite music is or who your favorite artist is?  I have many times.  I never really answered that question.  I didn't know what to put down.  I could name a few well known popular artists like Michael Jackson or Britney Spears, but I really don't know if I like them as singers or artists.  It felt wrong writing something down that I felt didn't really apply to me.  It felt wrong to pretend that I liked a particular artist or music when I had no clue if I liked their message or not.  This past Thursday and Friday however, I figured out my answer to this question.


Signmark (Marko Vuoriheimo) is a Deaf Finnish man who has a passion for music.  He grew up surrounded by people that told him because he was Deaf he couldn't love music.  He decided to go out and prove them wrong.  Marko is the first Deaf person to sign an international music label.  He writes his own lyrics and signs his music.  He has someone (Brandon) who raps the music with his voice so both Deaf and hearing people can know Signmark's message.


I am part of the Deaf Ambassador program at the University of Minnesota.  We worked to bring Signmark to our campus for about a year and if finally happened.  I got to meet Signmark last Wednesday at the silent shout and then again on Thursday during the University of Minnesota Deaf/Hard of Hearing Day and during the concert later on Thursday night.  We were hoping that we could get 200 people to come to the concert.  Our numbers were WAY off... a whopping 700 people came to the concert!  It was awesome!  After the concert I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with many of the Deaf U of MN ambassadors, interpreters, Signmark, and other Deaf and hard of hearing people.  We all stayed late and chatted about anything and everything.  Our group at the restaurant was so huge!  It's not surprising though considering that this is how Deaf Culture is.


I am so glad that I had this experience.  The Deaf community (my community) extends all over the world.  It is wonderful to know that Signmark is connecting everyone together through music!  Below I uploaded some pictures and video so you can see a small portion of what I got to experience during the concert.

                                                             Marko, Me, and Brandon

                                                                 DJ Wierdness and Me

                                                                 Smells Like Victory

                                                                    Deaf Man's Blues

Hello!

Wow!  I haven't made a single comment on here for over a year!  Life has been busy!  I am going to try to make it on here more often.  I find that writing is very helpful for me to process things that have been going on in my life.  It allows me to share my successes and vent my frustrations. 


So, what has happened in my life since I last wrote?

• I had my 22nd birthday on April 28th.
• I graduated with my BS in Foundations in Elementary Education 
• I worked at a Girl Scout camp in New Hampshire.  That camp was THE best I have ever worked at!  I was the waterfront director.  The drive over was about 23 hours but well worth the drive!  I met amazing people that were so very willing to give me a chance to succeed!  None of the other staff members were concerned that I couldn't hear.  They were very excited instead!  I had so much fun managing the waterfront.  My organization and management made the waterfront so efficient and safe that the ACA (American Camp Association) representatives very impressed when they came for our camp accreditation. 
• I started my masters program in special education: deaf and hard of hearing at the University of Minnesota.
• I was a CA (also known as an RA) in Sanford and Wilkins halls.  
• I had surgery (dental cleaning) on April 20th
• I turned 23 on April 28th

Those bullet points were big highlights of what has happened in the past year.  Very short and sweet.  I hope from now on to write more often!  Enjoy the wonder May weather!

I Have to Make a Decision

Well for the past week or so I have been struggling with the decision to have more surgery or not.  I am so tired of being in pain all of the time and seeing no clear-cut solution.  I miss important classes and meetings, I can't sleep through the night, and I can't eat any of the hard foods I want.  Right now the only two ways that I can go from here is living with pain and trying to find a medication that might help or having another partial jaw joint surgery on my left joint.  
I hesitate to have surgery because of a few things.  First, I've already had to have 18 surgeries.  Having another surgery is not something I really jump at.  Also, what if the surgery does not work?  My last surgery on my right jaw joint hasn't really eased any pain.  If this surgery doesn't work, I'll have gone through another surgery and would still be in pain.


Any suggestions?  I would welcome any ideas, points of view, etc...

Hit the Ground Running

Well to be totally honest I wasn't running.  I participated in a 5K Fun Run/Walk this morning.  I haven't really done anything that requires a lot of strength or stamina since I had Gullian Barre and was in a wheelchair in 2004.  I decided to walk because my strength and stamina is so low.  This was my first attempt at a 5K.  I wasn't able to do the whole walk but I completed a 2.5K.  My time was 28:28.  I have plans for another 5K in two weeks so I am hoping to complete the 5K or improve my 2.5K time.  I have a goal to run a marathon someday.  It may not be for a while since I have a lot of strength to regain but making the decision is the first step right?  I am very excited to try to do this.  I am going to try to set up a training routine to gain some strength in between the events.  Hopefully I will be able to write in the future about actually running a 5K and eventually completing a marathon!

A Little Note to Pain

I wrote this note to pain on my Facebook page and I thought I would share it here as well since I haven't given much of an update on how my pain is.  I've decided to apply a bit of the relationship knowledge I have gleaned from some of my classes this semester to my note. 

Dear Pain:
Why must you increase so much at such inconvenient times? I need to sleep because I have class in the morning but you do not allow it. Don't you know I want to live my life untouched by you? Why can't you just leave me alone? I think our relationship is unhealthy and needs to be ended.  I promise I won't bother you so don't bother me.
Sincerely, Kathryn

It's short, sweet, and to the point.  I believe that I will be getting another surgery sometime soon.  Possibly in May.  It would be right after graduation and before I leave to work at summer camp.  We will see what happens.  For now I need to figure out how I am going to get all of my school assignments done without being about to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time from pain.

Relay for Life

Hello!
Well I would ask if you were enjoying the nice spring weather but alas it has started to snow AGAIN here.  Well I am going to be a part of the University of Minnesota Relay for Life event again this year.  I am a team captain and we have 13 members so far!  We are going to try to raise as much money as we can!  I think we have about 2 1/2 weeks until the event.  If you can, please donate to our team!  Hopefully we will have warm weather as this is the first year it is being held outside because so many people are participating! 

Thank You So Much

Thank you for keeping my grandma and family in your prayers.  My grandma passed away March 5th, 2011 at  4:14pm.  She was comfortable and died very peacefully.  Please continue to keep my family in your prayers as we grieve her passing.

Please Keep My Family In Your Thoughts and Prayers

You may or may not know that my grandma has been living at our house since last July.  She started on hospice a few months ago.  She was deteriorating for a while but then leveled out.
I just got a text from my mom.  My grandma has entered the "actively dying" phase.  The hospice nurse just left our house and said that my grandma could have from an hour to a week left.  Please pray that my grandma is comfortable and at peace during this scary time.  Also please think of my family as we watch my grandma pass away.

Donating Blood

We had a blood drive at the University on Thursday.  I volunteered for a while at the sign-in table.  Watching people arrive and give some of their time to give blood made me so jealous.  I know so many people that need transfusions that need this blood!  I so wanted to give but in the past when I tried to give blood it wasn't a happy experience.

I went with my parents on Thanksgiving a few years ago to give blood.  I know I am a hard stick because of all the blood draws that I have had.  I told the Red Cross people that I am a hard stick and I need their BEST person.  Alas, they gave me the new girl.  She poked in one arm, missed, and dug around for a bit with no success.  The second poke in my other arm was more productive.  After the poke, missing my vein yet again, and digging around for a while, some blood finally came out!  It was quickly lost though and I left without successfully donating with enormous bruises on both arms.

After this past experience I knew that it would not be easy for my to try again.  I did try though because at least I am trying to give.  The needle guy poked me and got my vein!  My blood started to come out but... it... was... so... slow...  At one time I had about five people around me giving suggestions on how to get my blood moving faster.  The guy that was in charge told me that I would be setting the record for the longest blood donation.  On average, it takes a person about 7 minutes to fill a bag of blood.  After 29 minutes, they finally said to stop.  I didn't even fill the bag!

I suppose that I will have to figure out other ways to help other people since donating blood hasn't yet been successful for me.

Please Pray for Kate

Kate had brain cancer.  She beat the cancer and was in remission.  She went in for an MRI a few days ago and it is not looking good.  There is a possibility her cancer is back.  Please pray for her and her family as they wait for conformation on if the cancer is back or not. 

You can visit her caringbridge site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Long Time Wasn't It?

I haven't written in a VERY LONG time.  I'm sorry to those who check my blog.  To be honest I really wanted my next post to be about how I no longer have consistent pain.  Now I am beginning to think that if I continued to wait for that magical day, I would never post again!  I am about 10 months post jaw joint replacement and I continue to have pain that the doctor cannot figure out.  He suggested another joint replacement on my left joint sometime in the future as my arthritis has gotten worse but he has no further plan for my right joint.  Today my pain it very intense making it hard to concentrate on anything.  Even writing this post is taking longer than before.  Its very difficult to attend school and deal with pain that makes it hard to go to class.  I got an email this morning from a professor that wrote about understanding that I may miss class and that he wouldn't hold it against me.  I started to cry because no other professor has been so understanding.  I almost got a 4.0 this past fall semester and the only thing that held me back was my attendance and participation!  This is so disappointing that my work shows my effort but pain gets in my way for a perfect semester GPA. 

I know that everything I wrote above was very pessimistic so I am going to make things a bit more optimistic.  Since I last wrote a few things have happened.  I worked at Camp Northwoods and although working was less than enjoyable (I may write about that later because its not optimistic) some friends and I formed the Llama Club.

Members from left to right: Rafiki (me), Shante', Ringo, Penguin, Dove

We all have developed a love for llamas and the outfits that we are wearing in the picture is out llama tracking gear.  These people are so amazing.  They are among the best friends that I have.  We spent three months living at camp together and now every time there is a break from school we all get together and hang out like no time has passed. 

Tan puppy: Dusty, White puppy: Casper, Black Puppy: Dakota

My brother and sister got puppies.  Michael got a puppy named Dusty.  He is a very stupid dog to be blunt but my brother thinks that he has more brains than any other canine.  At this moment we have had them since November I believe and Dusty still refuses to pee outside.  Casper is Lacy's dog.  Casper is the smallest puppy and he doesn't run around too much yet.  Although he might seem like a pushover, he can hold his own.  Dakota is the first puppy of the family and he seems to fight Dusty for "alpha dog" status.  So far I think that Dakota is still on top of the food chain.  In the picture one of the puppies (not sure which) decided to chew up toilet paper and when the others joined, I investigated and snapped this picture.

I went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for a few days with my two sisters.  On the first day me made a mad dash for Harry Potter and we all fell in love with the place.  It looks so real that I wanted to become a witch and go to Hogwarts for school.  We all tried Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice which both tasted great!  We also went shopping and got magic wands.  If only mine worked... :)  I also took a tour of Hogwarts and there were sign language interpreters there!  I got to know about everything that was said while we walked the halls of Hogwarts.

Bekah, Lacy, and I got to try on wizard robes!

My first time to try Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks

 Well now that I have shared some awesome things about the past months, I gotta try to get some work done so I can shoot for and hopefully achieve a 4.0 my last semester of my undergrad schooling.

I am Home!

I have had approximately 17-18 surgeries and each and every time I had to stay inpatient for at lease overnight.  Well, yesterday I broke that record!  I had ear reconstructive surgery yesterday morning at 8am and I was leaving the hospital for home on the same day at around 2:30pm!  It wasn't seeming very promising earlier.  When I was going into surgery, the nurses couldn't get an IV in.  They tried 12 times before they got anything!  My goodness how I wished I could have been drinking water to pump those veins up a bit!  After surgery I was feeling pretty crummy.  I was in pain and upset stomach from the general anesthesia.  After I had a nap however, I was feeling so much better and preferred to leave the hospital before I would have to stay there so, I got to go home!  Woo Hoo!

Going Home... Not for Long...

I'm going home today!  My pain has gotten better and I have been able to eat more although I get sick everytime I eat anything.  I am so excited to be going home!  :)  I just talked with Dr. Bite who will be reconstructing part of my ear.  He scheduled surgery for next Thursday, March 25th.  So, I will be home for a few days and then back to the hospital for a day or two for my next surgery. 

Out of Surgery

I have been out of surgery for a while. When I woke up from surgery I was in so much pain but I was also so itchy! Apparently I am allergic to yet another pain medication. Everything was itchy. My face broke out and was the itchiest but the nurse asked someone in the recovery room to stand there and make sure I don't rub my eyes. I know there was good reason for that but I was really annoyed. I got three different medicines to stop itching and that didn't help at all! Even now I am still itchy but some of my skin hurts from being itched so much. My pain also took a while to get to a tolerable level. Now I have been in my hospital room for six hours. My mom is sleeping in my room with me. The is the most amazing mom! She and my dad have always been there. I can't really sleep... Been in and out of it but thought I would update.

Nerves

Many people have asked me if I was nervous about surgery.  Right now I am sitting in a room waiting to be preped for surgery and I can say that I am really not nervous.  I never get nervous for any surgery until right before I fall asleep.  After I am under I have no control and those hours are lost to me.  I have no recollection of what happened.  That is both a blessing and a curse.  Blessing because I didn't have to endure pain during the surgery but a curse because I have no clue what happened to me until I am told.  For example, after one of my surgeries the doctor dropped my top palet on the OR floor.  It broke into two pieces and the surgery was prolonged because it needed to be repaired.  I had absolutely no clue that had happened until my mom told me why I had so much stuff in my mouth.  I wonder how I would have reacted if I knew about it while it was happening...  In any case, I sometimes wish I could both stay aware but fall asleep. 


I hope you all enjoy your St. Patricks Day!!!

Looks Like a Go

I went to the doctor today and it looks like eveything is set up and ready to go as long as I can still breathe through my nose.  I have surgery tomorrow at 11:30am.  We will be leaving home at 7:30am to get there in time for check-in.  At midnight I have to start fasting so I don't get sick during surgery.  I'm hoping I don't get too hungry!  Goodnight Everyone!

50/50

Right now I am not sure if I will be getting my surgery done on Wednesday.  I have caught a cold and so I think right now it is a 50/50 chance that I will get surgery.  I have my pre-op physical at 8am this morning so we shall see.  I won't find out all of the surgery details until 8pm IF I have surgery.  I'm hoping it does not get post-poned!  I will let you know the outcome when I know.  Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Fundraising Ideas???

I will be volunteering fot the LCMS National Youth Gathering this July in New Orleans.  I had a ride all set up and ready to go for me to get there and get back home but today that plan fell through.  Now I'm scrambling to scrape up some travel money to get to the Gathering.  If anyone has any ideas at all about fundraising ideas good for March and April or any fundraising ideas in general please let me know.  Thanks so much!!!

Trouble

Hey, sorry about the long silence.  I have been dealing with a lot lately at school.  I have been struggling with getting the interpreters I need which is a little bit annoying.  I keep getting interpreters who arrive late or cannot do the job properly.  Hopefully the managers will be fixing the situation soon.  


I also have a person almost stalking me.  That is really getting to me.  He started coming over last semester and wanted to talk to me because I was Deaf.  It was a little weird then because he stayed for hours that night and seemed to get a little too close for comfort.  He wanted to see all of the adaptive equipment I used and when I showed him my videophone he saw my number so now he calls me.  He comes around all the time wanting to hang out even if I am not in the mood.  Whenever I say no he gets annoyed with me and follows me around so I have stopped responding whenever possible.  I'm not sure what the best route to go is with this situation but I am talking with my supervisor tomorrow and I am thinking of changing my number.  We shall see what happens...


Anyways, on to positive things... I am getting my surgery for my jaw in less than a month.  Its hard to believe that I might be pain free in just a few weeks!  That is such a awesome thought!!!!  Some of my friends are planning on visiting me in the hospital after surgery so I am excited for that as well... They make any situation better...  I remember after one of my jaw surgeries, some friends came to visit and they just made me laugh and be happier.  Laughing made me hurt but I just couldn't help it.  They are so great!


I had a meeting with my adviser a few days ago and I have about 25 more required credits before I can graduate!  I am so excited to graduate and get my teacher license and then get my Master degree in Deaf education.  So much to do but I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!


My sister got a dog today and they came to visit me at school.  It is a little YorkiePoo (or something like that).  It is 10 weeks old and so darn cute!  I think I am going to have to visit home more often!  After my sister visited I started the process of getting a hearing dog.  It didn't work out the first time but I'm hoping this time might be better! 


I am trying to get plans in place to hold a lanyard workshop but with this stalker person I mentioned above I just am being more cautious and so I haven't been getting much done...


Have a good Sunday!

Mike Sutton

I mentioned way back that I had Guillain Barre Syndrome when I was 15 years old.  I was in a wheelchair for 6 months.  Now, 5 years later I am still trying to regain the strength I once had.  I got to thinking about my experience recently when I read an article about a basketball coach in Tennessee.  He too is recovering from Guillain Barre Syndrome.  Mike Sutton is very encouraging to many GBS patients because his experience was so severe he was on a ventilator for three months and he is now back on the court coaching.  It goes to show that struggles can be overcome.