Catching Up

Well after missing a week of school because of the hospital and because I didn't get much sleep during the next week (spring break) because of pain, I feel like I have been constantly playing catch-up.  I'm hoping to get through this next week without many problems.  I have four tests and countless assignments due.  Luckily one of my classes Monday has been canceled and I can either study or get some more winks of sleep.  Ahh the college life...

Pain Update: My jaw still hurts constantly.  I will be having surgery on April 9th and hopefully that will relieve some of the pain I have.  Also, the pain in my right ear isn't as noticable as the pain right underneath my right eye.  I'm kind of wondering if something has moved/changed.  I will find out this Friday when I go to the doctor's office for my pre-op.

In the hospital

Well its been a while since I last posted.  A lot has happened in that time.  I guess the biggest is that I was admitted into the hospital last Sunday.  I was taking Tramadol for my pain and I'm allergic to it.  I had a bad reaction to the medication and my mom and dad had to come get me from school and take me to the hospital.  When I got there the Dr. said that he thought that after some benadryl and observation I would be ok.  That was before the Tramadol wore off.  Then my pain kicked in and I was admitted for the Tramadol allergy and pain.  So now my options for pain control are pretty limited.  Hopefully surgery in April will help with my pain.  I don't expect my pain to dissappear (although that would be awesome!) but hopefully it will lessen the intensity.

As soon as I got out of the hospital and recovered a bit I left home to help at the Model United Nations confrence.  I was part of the Secretariat.  I was still not feeling well because of pain control but I had a blast.  I got to see so many highschoolers get involved in a simulation weekend of the United Nations.  It is in my opinion one of the best programs out there.  

I've been having pain near my right ear now.  I'm not sure what that is but if it persists I will get it checked out.

Honoring Our Troops

A few days ago there was a big send off for some people in the National Guard. They were being sent to Iraq. I heard about it because a student from school was one of those people leaving. This will be his second tour. He is just 14 credits shy of graduating. When I learned about Ross Hedlund I thought back to a poem I once wrote for school in 7th grade. You can read it below. If you would like to follow Ross' journey though his second tour, you can find his blog at http://rosshedlund.blogspot.com/.

"The Army"

The people in the army
Risk their lives everyday
To make sure our country
Is safe from harm's way

Some go to Iraq,
To Japan, and Vietnam
Some don't make it back
To see the whole outcome

We owe it to the army
And to God up above
We offer them our thanks
With our support and love

Pin Cushion

Well I went to the clinic this morning. I was late but they didn't seem to mind much. Not many people were there. I sopke with a doctor first. We talked about the study and how it could impact the diagnosis of lupus or other autoimmune diseases. After that it was time for the blood draw. I told the doctor that I needed their absolute best person because I am a hard stick. Well, needless to say, it didn't work out well. When I told the nurse about not being easy to The nurse tried twice and missed both times. The second time she was digging around alot. I began not to feel well. After her second try the doctor and nurse were talking about sending me somewhere else to have my blood drawn. I didn't want to do that and neither did my mom. So my mom offered to try. She is a nurse so they said go ahead. She got it! They didn't get all the blood they wanted but they were satisfied with what they got. Now I'm off to babysit tonight.

















Pic 1: The nurse tried a heating pad to make the veins in my arm easier to get.
Pic 2: The first stick. Yikes!

Positive ANA

A couple of weeks ago, I had my blood tested for autoimmune diseases or disorders that may be the cause of all of my pain. The doctor called and said that I tested positive on the ANA test which means that I may be at risk for getting lupus in the future. So tomorrow I am going in to participate in a study. They want to find out a way to more accurately determine if my positive test will result in lupus or not. I'm not too excited though because they want blood. I have horrible veins so I expect to be treated like a pin cushion. Hopefully it goes better then I am prepared for!

ASL Browser

Just in case anyone is interested in learning some signs, here is an ASL browser that I found on the internet.  I'm trying to teach my friends and family so they can communicate easier with me.

A Month of Freedom (Kind Of)

Now that finals are through I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders only for something else to come in its place. I no longer have my assignment deadlines or have too study for tests. Now I need to apply for the education program, apply to be a Community Advisor, help three of my siblings with their school work, and figure out what everyone wants for Christmas. Whew! Well at least I can sleep in!

I am looking forward to seeing the Jazewski family more. I got to see them yesterday for a brief moment. Jilli looked so good! I'm hoping we have a good time on New Years Day!