Monday, April 6, 2009

Phoenix Baby!!!











So we decided that after I got my PICC out...we were going to take off. We have been wanting to go down to Phoenix to Spring Training forever, so we finally did it. It was SO much fun! Plus it was warm - so that was a bonus. We drove...which we will never do again...and it took about 10 hours to get there from our house. We stayed at a hotel and just went to baseball games every day! Awesome. We were there supporting the "A's" of course...Tony has liked them forever. But we saw them play the Angel's, Dodgers, Orioles, and I can't think who else. But it was awesome. I definitely want to go again. I got some old Hall of Famer dude's autograph. I can't remember his name, but I paid $10.00 and stood in line to get it. I think we lost the autograph, I hope it wasn't worth too much money. I was also excited that I was so close to Jason Giambi! He was like right there. Crazy. Tony laughs at the picture of Billy Beane. He claims he is giving me "the look" because I am taking his picture. I don't think he even knew I was there. We had a wonderful time and if anyone wants to come next year then giddy-up! We're going! K...I am off to watch UNC beat Michigan. Later.


Ya...No Joke...




So after I got out of the hospital, I had to get my hair done. It was looking pretty bad. When I was feeling good enough I went to my hair dresser Patty. I was just planning on doing the usual, boring highlight and trim. But before I left, Tony said, "You should do something cool with your hair!" What he was meaning exactly I wasn't sure. He continued to tell me that he thought I should just do something funky...like get a different hair cut, or color it different or something. I didn't think much of it and headed to Patty's. I told Patty what Tony had said, and being the brilliant stylist that she is, she said "Let's put a fun color in one section of it!" So she pulled out what colors she had. She had red, blue, magenta, & purple. I didn't even hesitate...purple. (Although now I think magenta would have been cool...maybe next time.) I told her to just go for it. So this is what she did! I went home and Tony loved it. He was a big fan. I like it too...it is different and gives people another good reason to stare at me besides the fact I have fluid running out my nose!



Sunday, April 5, 2009

Ya, I'm a Slacker!!!







So yes, it has been forever since I have written and updated my blog. But I do have a good excuse. I was in the hospital for about a month. The reason goes as follows: I had Meningitis twice, then for some odd reason I started having seizures. My mom was there with me and said I had about 7 of them. Crazy. I don't remember it at all but my mom said it was awful. So I was back in ICU for that for a while. Next I was back up on the floor. Then Dr. Hunter (one of my doctors) did surgery on me, yes to try and stop the leak, so I was in the hospital another week recovering from that! Whew! He went clear up my nose by my brain to patch a spot.
So I had packing up there for a while. It is pretty crazy when they pull packing out of your nose that is packed up so far is it by your eyes! It feels like they are pulling your brains out of your nose! AHHHH!!! So it was quite the journey. More so for Tony and my mom, because I don't remember very much of it, but I sure wasn't feeling my best and it took quite a while to recover. The seizures really messed with my brain and memory. In the hospital it was hard for me to do things mentally that a third grader could do. It was different exercises that were really simple, like simple math, comparing 2 pictures and finding the differences, or finding things that came next in a sequence. It was crazy, and frustrating. But a lot of it has come back to me. When I got home I had to be reintroduced to my home, I didn't remember any of it. I would ask Tony the day or the date about 20 times a day. I am sure he got sick of it. Anyway, I am doing a lot better now. Not 100%, but better. I have already started leaking again since the surgery, so no it didn't work. But really, who thought surgery number 59 was going to be the winner?!?!?! Just kidding, I don't have a bad attitude about it. One of these times it will work. I actually am sitting here with a tissue stuffed up my nose so that I can do something with out dripping everywhere. My mom got the great idea of getting those cotton rolls from the dentist (thanks Bruce) that they put in your cheek and they fit perfectly up my nose and can hold me over for a little while. So they are nice. They look pretty funny, so I usually just use them when I am home.
Anyway, while I was in the hospital, they put a PICC line in. (I have the picture, it is the long purple tube with two ports on the end) It is basically a glorified IV. It goes in your arm in a vein, but they actually thread the catheter all the way up your arm and around to your heart. It is a nifty invention. They are wonderful for me because I don't have any veins left. IV's only last a couple of days, but PICC lines can be in for over a year the guy told me. So since I had a PICC in, they let me go home and give myself the antibiotics I needed for another 4 weeks. It was a pain but I did it. I had to give myself 2 different medicines, so about every 4 hours I was shooting up with one of the two. It was a pain during the night having to wake up and do it. But I did it, and now the PICC line is out and we are moving on. I have been going to doctors already to see what surgery they are going to do next. Not sure what it will be, but I will let you all know. Here are some pictures of me giving myself medicine and also with a roll of cotton up my nose.