Lucky Me!

Okay, so I always knew I beat the odds by surviving the aneurysm in 2007, I just didn't know exactly how lucky I was until last week. After my final follow-up with the Neurosurgeon who installed and then took out the pump, I was given a follow-up appointment with the Neurosurgeon who performed the aneurysm clipping. When I went back for my follow-up, the doctor was really surprised to see me. When he walked into the room, his first words were, "Wow, I'm surprised to see you alive." When the #1 neurosurgeon in the world tells you that after he's the one who performed the surgery, you know you're lucky. :)
This was my first appointment with him since the aneurysm in 2007. Needless to say, he has some tests he wants to run. I have an angiogram scheduled in May. He wants to be able to see the vessels better than an MRI or a CT will show because the multiple clips up there obstruct the view. That was another interesting thing I found out. Apparently, I don't have just one clip, I have multiple clippings. I asked Ed if he knew that and he was as surprised as I was. I guess the doctor forgot to mention that to him after the surgery. Oh well. No big deal.

So Friday is the Rio Division Contest. I've got a great Contest Manager and she's doing an amazing job getting things ready. I have to stop and ask myself... Why didn't I have a contest manager for the other 3 contests I ran? It would have made my life so much easier. I've got two days to finish all the preparations for it, but I have nothing left to really prepare. I do need to make an index card with my notes on it for the contestant briefings, but other than that, everything is set. The timed agenda is done, I have confirmed with all the contestants and checked their eligibility, and Jerry Vaughn is working on creating the program. My Toastmaster, Kim Figor, is set with everything she needs. Most of the food has been purchased and Barbara is meeting me at University of Phoenix at 5 pm to help with set-up. It is going to be a terrific contest!

Ed is doing well with his job. He was called into the big-boss' office the other day and told how good a job he was doing. He was also told that his 3 direct bosses had nothing but great things to say about him. I'm proud of you Ed.

We'll be in this apartment for another month and a half, and then we'll be moving. My dad is going to let us rent his second house for significantly less than what we're paying here. It'll be really nice because Ephraim will have a back yard to play in. It's not the greatest neighborhood, but according to dad, it's improved significantly in the last few years. I'm still going to be investing in an alarm system though. In my opinion, it's better to err on the side of caution.

Wednesday, March 31st I completed my Advanced Communicator Gold requirements for Toastmasters, which in turn completed the requirements for the Distinguished Toastmaster award. This is the highest award given to members by Toastmasters International. I am so excited to finally be done. It was almost 5 years of hard work, but it was completely worth it and has paid off. I'm excited for Spring Conference on April 30th. I'll get to receive my medallion and attend the DTM reception. It's going to be great because Kenna will be here to present the medallion to me as my mentor.

Well, that's it for now. TTYL

Pain Free!!!

Ok, so I had 2 nerve block injections of Friday. That was an experience to say the least. It didn't really hurt, but afterward I couldn't feel the back of my head. It was really weird. The effects began almost immediately by reducing the pain. It was slow at first, but by the time I woke up on Saturday, I was pain free. After 3 1/2 weeks, I am finally pain free! I don't know how long it's going to last, but it's a good feeling in the here and now.
Today I finally got my stitches out. I was all set to chew out the doctor because he made me keep them in so long, but when he came in, he did so with a smile on his face and he sat down to talk to me. He's never done that before. I'm thinking to myself... "I can't chew you out if you're being nice." I'm supposed to get a call from Barrow's from the surgeon who did the aneurysm clipping to do one final follow up and then I'll be done at Barrow Neurological Institute. That will be a huge relief.
Tomorrow I have another spinal tap scheduled to check on the cocci and see how the levels are. The good thing: it's scheduled 2 miles from my house rather than 20. The bad thing: it's yet another spinal tap. Oh well.
It's going to be a busy week.

When Will Things Get Better?

Ok, so it's been a week since my visit to the Neurologist. I go see him again tomorrow and I really hope that he has something new to tell me that will explain the headaches. I have been without pain medication for 7 days and currently, things are worse than ever. My head constantly feels like it's going to explode and my joints feel like they're on fire. I wake up 10 to 15 times a night in so much pain that I start crying. I'm really trying to stay positive through all of this, but as the days go by, it just keeps getting more and more difficult.
I was supposed to give a speech last night at Leaders Plus. I had everything ready... my script, my handouts, my manual. When I got there, I realized that I walked off without my manual and that my head was starting to pound. Not to mention, every time I stood up, I felt like I was going to fall right back down. The meeting was running late, so I decided to not speak so that we didn't have to cut the meeting short. Everything worked out okay, but now I'm behind on my speeches to complete my DTM. I've rescheduled last night's speech for March 24th and will complete my final speech on March 31st. I'm getting really excited to finally be able to be done!
Well, wish me luck tomorrow!

BLAH!

I feel completely BLAH today. It's been a really rough week for me in more ways that one. Yesterday was a good day. Ed, Ephraim and I went to Kiwana's Park in Tempe for the unTEAL A Cure 5k Run/Walk for Ovarian Cancer to show support for my family. I had a cousin, Taryn Ritchie who died of Ovarian Cancer when she was only 22 years old. She died the same year I had the aneurysm rupture and I felt I needed to be there for the family since they were all there for me!
Saturday night I got absolutely no sleep so yesterday I felt like a zombie all day. It was nice being able to spend time with the extended family though. The ride up to Cave Creek to Aunt Judy's house afterwards was a little scary because it was really pouring outside. Last night, I ended up giving in and taking an OTC sleep aid at 1 am. I finally got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep, but I still feel really BLAH.
Ok, so I had my surgery 10 days ago. I was told when I was released from the hospital to make a follow up visit within 10-14 days of the surgery. I called today to make the appointment for this week and was told that the Doctor was out this week, but that he specifically has a note in my file that he wants to see me himself... I wonder what all that's about. I guess I'll find out on Monday, I just have to wait for the stupid stitches to be removed until then. Great! NOT!!!
Well, that's about all that's been happening with me for the last few days. I'm hoping I get some decent sleep tonight, but I guess only time will tell with that one.
Well, bye for now!

Good Day/Bad Day? It's up to me to decide, right?

So I've been thinking a lot about what's been going on with everything in my life right now. First of all, Ed had his first job interview yesterday and it went really well. Ok, so what's my problem?? The problem is that it's a Part Time Position with no benefits and that scares me. He suggested that he would just get a second part time job to make up for it, but I can't seem to make him see that two part time jobs don't make a full time position with benefits. Am I over reacting? I'm starting to think that maybe I am. I have been with Ed for more than 10 years (married for 7 1/2) and he hasn't let me down yet. Sure... times have gotten really difficult, but I'm still here and our family is whole... that has to count for something, right? Ok, so I've decided that maybe my attitude with the whole thing is the problem. There's no reason I shouldn't support him if he gets a job. So Ed, you have my full support, but with that also comes the knowledge that you'll provide for us what we need to survive. I know you can do this... have faith in you and in our love!

On to other topics. I have an appointment today with a Neurologist who deals specifically with people and headaches. I'm really hoping this guy knows what he's doing because I could really use some relief from this headache. It's been going on now for more than 2 1/2 weeks and it just plain SUCKS!

On the brighter side of things, Toastmasters Contest Season is in full Swing! The R3 Area Contest was last Friday night and I heard it went great! Unfortunately I didn't get to go because I was still loopy from the surgery, but Trish B. was there as the District Rep for me and she seemed pleased, so that makes me happy. The R5 Area Contest is coming up Tomorrow and I'm excited to see what Theme Barbara Traines has in store for us! For the Fall it was Pirates! Aargh! We also still have R1, R2 and R6 sharing a day, and R4 coming up soon. Once this weekends contest is over, Barbara is going to go into full swing for her HPL by being the Contest Manager for the Rio Division Contest! I've asked Kim Salo to be the Contest Toastmaster, and if she says yes, I know she'll do an excellent job! (As long as she has on the right shoes! I love you Kim!)

One more point of good news to end with... I have my second to last speech scheduled for this Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at Leaders Plus and my final speech towards my Distinguished Toastmaster Award will be March 31st, 2010 at the Leaders Plus Speech-a-thon. After that, my paperwork will be submitted and I will be presented with my Distinguished Toastmaster at Spring Conference on Friday, April 30th by my wonderful Mentor, and Dear Friend Kenna Thomas! I miss you Kenna and I can't wait to see you! Without you, I don't think I would have ever been able to make it this far!

Not off to a good start so far!

See, this is why I never really had a blog. It's the same reason a journal as a kid. I would write in it for a day or two and then miss a few months, then write for another day or two. Finally, I turned my daily journal into a poetry log. I had a lot more luck with that, but even that didn't last long.

The presentation with JD and Mike went really well! I was really please with how everything turned out and I think I speak for Mike and JD when I say they were pleased as well. I was supposed to be scheduled to give a speech in my home club on the 10th, but got the schedule today and was signed up for Grammarian instead. I went in and signed up for the back up speaker slot and I'm hoping someone steps down. If not, I only have 2 other opportunities to get it done on the day I said I would. My ultimate goal is to have my final speech completed on March 31st and the Leaders Plus Speech-a-thon. I was specifically asked by the International Director, who is a member of my home club, to give my final speech there and he even put it in his calendar. I feel impressed upon to do so and I'm really looking forward to having it completed.

I had surgery on Friday to remove the medication pump in my stomach. I don't even remember seeing Dr. Shetter, but I can remember the Student working with him that day... I really seemed to make his day with all I've been through and lived to tell about... :) Saturday, I ended up in Banner Gateway ER with a horrible headache and the on call doc at St. Joe's told Ed to take me to the nearest ER. Well, they didn't know what they were doing so they send me home with pain meds and told me if I had to go back, I should go to St. Joe's since they were the ones that did the surgery. Well, at about 1 am I woke up in tremendous pain and that's where Ed took me. It was of course too late to find a sitter for Ephraim, so we brought him with us thinking he would sleep most of the night.... he didn't. He woke up and refused to go back to sleep once we were there. We were in the ER from 2 am Sunday morning until 5 pm Sunday evening when I was admitted. I then spent all the rest of Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday in there. The ID doctor picked up a bug sometime on Tuesday and came in to see me wearing a mask and gloves so as to not pass it on to me. He wanted me out of there as quickly as possible so I wouldn't get anything worse that what I had. The running theory.... that the surgery flared up the Cocci Meningitis that I've been dealing with since 2005.
Now I have an appointment on Friday with a Neurologist who deals only in headaches. Hopefully he'll be able to tell me why I've been having mine and help me figure out a way to get rid of them.

I was a little sad this morning when I picked up Ephraim from Ed's sister. He wasn't happy to see me because he didn't want to leave. He was having too much fun at Aunt Heidi's and he didn't want to come home with me. It's heartbreaking with your only living child doesn't want to spend time with you because you're not as cool or as fun as Aunt Heidi and Uncle Bryce. What can I do with that? Man, sometimes it's a hard life, but I've learned you've just got to roll with the punches you're handed. We'll all make it through it one way or another.

Sally

February 16, 2010 - getting started

Ok, I've never had a blog before so this should be interesting!

I have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Shetter at Barrow Neurological Institute. He's the surgeon who put in the medication pump and who performed the revision surgery 18 months ago. He didn't do a great job at putting it in so I have a big lump in my stomach where it sticks out. Well now the pumps not working and I go see him tomorrow to talk about it. I asked his assistant what it was he wanted to talk about doing and she said he wanted to talk to me about removing it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, that means I won't have an ugly lump protruding out of my stomach. On the other hand, the pump really helped with my headaches when it was working. Not to mention... this will mean a third surgery and a fourth incision behind my right ear. The scar there is finally looking really good and we may have to start all over again with the healing process. I guess I'll go tomorrow and talk to him about it and see what he says. There's really no point in having it in if it's not working.

This week I will be presenting Characteristics of Successful Leaders with JD Austin and Mike Mur. The event is scheduled on Friday, February 19th starting at 6 pm at Rio Salado College in the Conference Center. We've practiced together a few times and I think the presentation is going to go great! After this, I will be down to two speeches to earn my Distinguished Toastmaster Award! I have them both scheduled. One for March 10, 2010 and one for March 31, 2010. I'm excited to earn the award because Kenna Thomas, my mentor, will be coming back from Dallas to present it to me! I'm so glad we'll all get to see her for a day or two, but it won't be nearly long enough!

Well, bye for now!