The partners at Daniel's company generally meet quarterly to discuss "business." Unfortunately, due to the slow in building and development, there have been more meetings more often. The last two meetings have been followed by layoffs. We are nervousness because the partners met today and it is not a quarterly meeting. We are not sure what this will mean for next week. We are praying that he will still have a job, but only time will tell...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
ER De Ja Vu
So I am sitting in the ER (again) waiting on a final explanation as to what is wrong with me. I fear that there is no definitive answer to that question.
Sometime around 10, I started to experience severe pain in my chest whenever I breathed in. Fearing that my pulmonary embolism had gotten worse (since being discharged from the hospital yesterday) Daniel and I headed back to the ER.
Thankfully I got right in. My blood pressure upon arrival was 144/80. They quickly gave me oxygen, did an EKG on me followed by inserting an IV. Before I knew it, I was on my way for a CT scan (the second in a week). After the CT scan came a chest xray. Then the doctor told me that the scan cleared me of any clots in my lungs - which is good news, but still does not explain the pain I am experiencing (he suggested pleurisy, but this seems to be a catch-all explanation).
He gave me some meds for the pain and then got me in for an ultra sound on my leg. And now I am waiting for those results and to go home. My current BP is 112/60. This just shows that my pain when I came in was real, but it has subsided for the moment.
Mostly I am just tired. I need sleep and I want to be in my own bed. Daniel is pretty exhausted himself. I will be so glad when this ordeal is over...
Sleep please... and no more pain...
Just got update from doc - I am outta here as soon as the nurse comes to unhook me from everything and my ultra sound showed that the blood clots in the leg are also getting smaller.
Sometime around 10, I started to experience severe pain in my chest whenever I breathed in. Fearing that my pulmonary embolism had gotten worse (since being discharged from the hospital yesterday) Daniel and I headed back to the ER.
Thankfully I got right in. My blood pressure upon arrival was 144/80. They quickly gave me oxygen, did an EKG on me followed by inserting an IV. Before I knew it, I was on my way for a CT scan (the second in a week). After the CT scan came a chest xray. Then the doctor told me that the scan cleared me of any clots in my lungs - which is good news, but still does not explain the pain I am experiencing (he suggested pleurisy, but this seems to be a catch-all explanation).
He gave me some meds for the pain and then got me in for an ultra sound on my leg. And now I am waiting for those results and to go home. My current BP is 112/60. This just shows that my pain when I came in was real, but it has subsided for the moment.
Mostly I am just tired. I need sleep and I want to be in my own bed. Daniel is pretty exhausted himself. I will be so glad when this ordeal is over...
Sleep please... and no more pain...
Just got update from doc - I am outta here as soon as the nurse comes to unhook me from everything and my ultra sound showed that the blood clots in the leg are also getting smaller.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
1 in 2000.
This is the statistical likelihood of women using birth control to be hospitalized from getting a blood clot. So if you know me, you now know one person who has been hospitalized for this very reason.
Scary stuff. I am under 30. I don't smoke. I am not obese. I am fairly healthy. And here I have been in the hospital for 5 days with a blood clot in my leg that managed to also become a pulmonary embolism.
I guess I just want to warn all of the women I know that it is possible to get blood clots from the pill. Based on those of you who have told me that you know someone else that has experienced this same problem, it seems that this is more common that the stats say.
I am so grateful that there are people in my life that told, no forced me, to do something about the pain in my leg. They wouldn't let me blow it off. They told me to get help and thankfully, I listened. If you are currently on birth control, please listen to your body. You never know when something could be terribly wrong.
According to this site, one way to remember the warning signs is ACHES which stands for:
Abdominal pain
Chest pain
Headache
Eye problems
Severe localized leg pain.
Notify your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms.
I personally had abdominal pain, headache and severe localized leg pain.
http://www.nbc6.net/health/5421876/detail.html
Scary stuff. I am under 30. I don't smoke. I am not obese. I am fairly healthy. And here I have been in the hospital for 5 days with a blood clot in my leg that managed to also become a pulmonary embolism.
I guess I just want to warn all of the women I know that it is possible to get blood clots from the pill. Based on those of you who have told me that you know someone else that has experienced this same problem, it seems that this is more common that the stats say.
I am so grateful that there are people in my life that told, no forced me, to do something about the pain in my leg. They wouldn't let me blow it off. They told me to get help and thankfully, I listened. If you are currently on birth control, please listen to your body. You never know when something could be terribly wrong.
According to this site, one way to remember the warning signs is ACHES which stands for:
Abdominal pain
Chest pain
Headache
Eye problems
Severe localized leg pain.
Notify your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms.
I personally had abdominal pain, headache and severe localized leg pain.
http://www.nbc6.net/health/5421876/detail.html
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hospital
It would seem that Daniel and I were due for one of our yearly visits to the ER. It has, afterall, been almost a year since Daniel's last fiasco involving a table saw...
Here is a recap of this week for me...
Sunday night around 10 pm I had severe abdominal pain, but went to bed hoping to sleep it off. Around 1:30 I woke up in even worse pain. After doing some internet research, I took a bath which temporarily relieve said pain. Soon after I was sitting in the hallway crying. After a call to Daniel's dad, we were on our way to the ER. The ER didn't really have a definitive answer for why I was in pain. They sent me home with a pain killer prescription and orders to rest.
Monday was a day of rest for me and I felt fine.
Tuesday I went to work feeling fine. Sometime after lunch I began to experience pain in my right foot and calf muscle. It really felt like a leg cramp, so I ignored it. Tuesday night brought more pain. I tried calling my sister for advice. When she didn't answer, I sent her an email listing all of the reasons I felt that I was "falling apart."
Sometime early Wednesday morning I woke up in severe pain in my leg. I wrapped my heating pad around it and tried my best to sleep. I woke up for work around 7:30 and found that I could not stand up. The pain in my right leg was excruciating. Daniel helped me into the shower and the pain subsided. Daniel made me call his dad who told me that he thought I had a blood clot and to see a doctor immediately.
I called my friend, LaCinda, who referred me to her sister Kathy. Kathy told me to walk in to her clinic. She agreed that she thought that I had a blood clot in my leg and referred me to an imagining center for an ultrasound of my leg.
After the ultrasound, they told me to go immediately to the ER. The ER checked me in and soon had me taking a CT Scan where they discovered the clot in my leg had broken and small parts of it were now in my lung. Then they left me to hang out for 3 hours while they found me a room to check into. By 11 pm I was finally checked into the hospital and in my own room.
Last night I felt very much in the dark with little communication, but today my nurse has been much more informative. They finally let me know that any danger seems to have passed. They are keeping me for observation while they transition me from injections to a pill. The pill has to build up in my system so I am hanging out at Presbyterian Hospital while they transition me from one medication to the other.
The pain in my leg has subsided substantially. I can get up and move around and I no longer have to be inverted in bed. The biggest thing I may suffer from is boredom. I am enjoying the extra time to read and cable television is a nice (albeit expensive) benefit.
Here is a recap of this week for me...
Sunday night around 10 pm I had severe abdominal pain, but went to bed hoping to sleep it off. Around 1:30 I woke up in even worse pain. After doing some internet research, I took a bath which temporarily relieve said pain. Soon after I was sitting in the hallway crying. After a call to Daniel's dad, we were on our way to the ER. The ER didn't really have a definitive answer for why I was in pain. They sent me home with a pain killer prescription and orders to rest.
Monday was a day of rest for me and I felt fine.
Tuesday I went to work feeling fine. Sometime after lunch I began to experience pain in my right foot and calf muscle. It really felt like a leg cramp, so I ignored it. Tuesday night brought more pain. I tried calling my sister for advice. When she didn't answer, I sent her an email listing all of the reasons I felt that I was "falling apart."
Sometime early Wednesday morning I woke up in severe pain in my leg. I wrapped my heating pad around it and tried my best to sleep. I woke up for work around 7:30 and found that I could not stand up. The pain in my right leg was excruciating. Daniel helped me into the shower and the pain subsided. Daniel made me call his dad who told me that he thought I had a blood clot and to see a doctor immediately.
I called my friend, LaCinda, who referred me to her sister Kathy. Kathy told me to walk in to her clinic. She agreed that she thought that I had a blood clot in my leg and referred me to an imagining center for an ultrasound of my leg.
After the ultrasound, they told me to go immediately to the ER. The ER checked me in and soon had me taking a CT Scan where they discovered the clot in my leg had broken and small parts of it were now in my lung. Then they left me to hang out for 3 hours while they found me a room to check into. By 11 pm I was finally checked into the hospital and in my own room.
Last night I felt very much in the dark with little communication, but today my nurse has been much more informative. They finally let me know that any danger seems to have passed. They are keeping me for observation while they transition me from injections to a pill. The pill has to build up in my system so I am hanging out at Presbyterian Hospital while they transition me from one medication to the other.
The pain in my leg has subsided substantially. I can get up and move around and I no longer have to be inverted in bed. The biggest thing I may suffer from is boredom. I am enjoying the extra time to read and cable television is a nice (albeit expensive) benefit.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Life Is Good
Today has been an example of what I think Sundays post-house renovation will be like. Yesterday Daniel hurt his back so today we put a stop on the bathroom project. This meant that we have actually been able to do something relaxing (still wish we were getting things done, but it is better to embrace a relaxing day than to be annoyed).
So here is what we have in store for us whenever the house gets finished:
We got up and went to early service followed by breakfast at the Pancake House. Afterwards we went to Joseph Beths to read magazines to our hearts content. Following this we went to Crate & Barrel to get ideas for furnishing the rest of our house (after renovation stops). Now we are back home enjoying a lazy afternoon. The only thing that would make this day more perfect would be if we could go mountain biking (which is off limits due to Daniel's back, but a girl can dream).
Too bad I still have to do laundry, grocery shop and plan my lessons for the week...
So here is what we have in store for us whenever the house gets finished:
We got up and went to early service followed by breakfast at the Pancake House. Afterwards we went to Joseph Beths to read magazines to our hearts content. Following this we went to Crate & Barrel to get ideas for furnishing the rest of our house (after renovation stops). Now we are back home enjoying a lazy afternoon. The only thing that would make this day more perfect would be if we could go mountain biking (which is off limits due to Daniel's back, but a girl can dream).
Too bad I still have to do laundry, grocery shop and plan my lessons for the week...
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Debt
This is a topic that probably concerns everyone - both individually and also on a national and even world level right now. It is amazing how much debt we have all accrued.
For some time, Daniel and I have tried to slowly pay off debt that we have accumulated over the years. Our greatest amount of debt fall into the categories of our mortgages, student loans (I put myself through college at a private school, with help from scholarships), and credit card debt - most of which remains is what we have put towards home renovations. We own old vehicles (that we have purchased outright) so no debt there.
In the past 10 months, since I started working full time again, we have really upped the amounts we are paying towards debt. We have worked hard to be frugal in many parts of our lives. On a combined five-figure income, we have managed to pay off significant amounts of debt this year.
Recently Daniel sat down and figured out that if we continue down our current path (with absolutely no changes) we could pay off ALL of our debt in six years (including our mortgage). This is pretty astounding to think about. I am not saying that this will happen, but it is definitely within the realm of possibility. This does not take into account having a family or any change in jobs.
I have no idea what our financial future holds, but with all the financial crisis' that are happening, it makes me feel better to know that on a personal level, it is possible to be completely debt free by the time we are 34.
For some time, Daniel and I have tried to slowly pay off debt that we have accumulated over the years. Our greatest amount of debt fall into the categories of our mortgages, student loans (I put myself through college at a private school, with help from scholarships), and credit card debt - most of which remains is what we have put towards home renovations. We own old vehicles (that we have purchased outright) so no debt there.
In the past 10 months, since I started working full time again, we have really upped the amounts we are paying towards debt. We have worked hard to be frugal in many parts of our lives. On a combined five-figure income, we have managed to pay off significant amounts of debt this year.
Recently Daniel sat down and figured out that if we continue down our current path (with absolutely no changes) we could pay off ALL of our debt in six years (including our mortgage). This is pretty astounding to think about. I am not saying that this will happen, but it is definitely within the realm of possibility. This does not take into account having a family or any change in jobs.
I have no idea what our financial future holds, but with all the financial crisis' that are happening, it makes me feel better to know that on a personal level, it is possible to be completely debt free by the time we are 34.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Received this survey twice recently and feel like procrasting...
1. What is your occupation right now?
Designer and Teacher
2. What color are your socks right now?
No socks for me
3. What are you listening to right now?
Pandora - specifically Pearl Jam at the moment
4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Just got back from lunch at Big Daddy's - chicken sandwich and onion straws
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Currently this is all I drive (or my bike)
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Probably by brother
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yep
8. How old are you today?
27
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Do the Olympics count?
10. What is your favorite drink?
Pumpkin Spice Latte
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Of course
12. Favorite food?
Breakfast at a diner
13. What is the last movie you watched?
Does 24 on DVD count? Otherwise, I think we saw Indiana Jones recently...
14. Favorite day of the year?
Any day that I can spend outside
15. How do you vent anger?
Exercise
16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
We didn't have toys growing up... just kidding. Don't know that I had a fave.
17. What is your favorite season?
Fall
18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Both, but I love blueberries for breakfast when they are in season (and affordable)
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
20. Who is the most likely to respond?
21. Who is least likely to respond?
22. Living arrangements?
A partially remodeled house
23. When was the last time you cried?
I don't cry too often. Probably last weekend when I was frustrated about a house project
24. What is on the floor of your closet?
shoes - maybe I need a shoeskirt...
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
26. What did you do last night
Watch Ugly Betty, then the last disc of season 6 of 24
27. What are you most afraid of?
being alone
28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburger?
cheese with all the fixin's
29. Favorite dog breed?
Labs or Goldens
30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in?
3 states, 1 province, 3 countries
32. Diamonds or pearls?
not big on jewelry
33. What is your favorite flower?
Gerber Daises
Designer and Teacher
2. What color are your socks right now?
No socks for me
3. What are you listening to right now?
Pandora - specifically Pearl Jam at the moment
4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Just got back from lunch at Big Daddy's - chicken sandwich and onion straws
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Currently this is all I drive (or my bike)
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Probably by brother
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yep
8. How old are you today?
27
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Do the Olympics count?
10. What is your favorite drink?
Pumpkin Spice Latte
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Of course
12. Favorite food?
Breakfast at a diner
13. What is the last movie you watched?
Does 24 on DVD count? Otherwise, I think we saw Indiana Jones recently...
14. Favorite day of the year?
Any day that I can spend outside
15. How do you vent anger?
Exercise
16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
We didn't have toys growing up... just kidding. Don't know that I had a fave.
17. What is your favorite season?
Fall
18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Both, but I love blueberries for breakfast when they are in season (and affordable)
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
20. Who is the most likely to respond?
21. Who is least likely to respond?
22. Living arrangements?
A partially remodeled house
23. When was the last time you cried?
I don't cry too often. Probably last weekend when I was frustrated about a house project
24. What is on the floor of your closet?
shoes - maybe I need a shoeskirt...
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
26. What did you do last night
Watch Ugly Betty, then the last disc of season 6 of 24
27. What are you most afraid of?
being alone
28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburger?
cheese with all the fixin's
29. Favorite dog breed?
Labs or Goldens
30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in?
3 states, 1 province, 3 countries
32. Diamonds or pearls?
not big on jewelry
33. What is your favorite flower?
Gerber Daises
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