Happy Halloween

I had a wonderful evening tonight. I got to go out trick-or-treating with a very special little boy. We had a wonderful time... and came home with lots of treats! I forgot how much fun it is to go out with little ones. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be able to go out again....

Are You Kidding Me?

Believe it or not, I landed back in York Hospital on the cardiac floor yesterday. I went back into "active" heart failure. I was stunned. I've been feeling so well that I didn't even consider the fact that I could be in trouble at first. Fortunately I didn't ignore the signs I was seeing.

I began feeling a little tired a week ago. I've been working very long hours so I figured that was the culprit. Then this past Tuesday (three days ago) I noticed I was walking slower through the school and a little short of breath. That DID stand out as being unusual. On Wednesday I noticed that my legs were very swollen in the evening, plus I had coughed up some frothy sputum that morning. I realized I was in trouble but figured I'd give it another day and see what happened. Yesterday I had the school nurse check my legs and see what she thought. She immediately told me I needed to call my doctor. I knew that was what she was going to say. I waited until school was over and called when I was on my way to my "part-time" job. The doctor said she wanted to see me immediately. I went straight in and before I knew it I was being sent to the hospital by ambulance. She wouldn't even let me drive myself.

By the time I got to the hospital I had an IV in, had 4 baby aspirin in, and 2 doses of Nitro sprayed under my tongue. My B/P was very high (180/140 range). I was given 40 mg. of Lasix which made me pee like crazy. I finally made it to a room at 2AM this morning and was back up by 6:15 to get ready to go downstairs for some cardiac tests. I got a total of 2 hours of sleep. Fun. I was so tired by the time I was finished with everything. All I wanted to do was sleep. There's nothing restful about being in a hospital. All the tests came back ok, my labs showed one elevated level which is consistent with heart failure. I was put back on a heart med (which had been discontinued when I had surgery). My B/P should come down as the meds start working again. Yay. Now I'm just waiting to see if I can go home this evening. I hope so. I want to get into my own bed and hibernate for a few days.

As a final note, I was warned that just because I had the gastric bypass and lost weight, it would NOT "cure" the CHF. It would, however, make the condition more easily managed and less likely to occur as often or as severe. They were right. It's a good thing I have made the positive changes so far that I have. I can only imagine how much worse I would have been had I not lost over 100 pounds already. Another confirmation that I made the right decision to have the surgery.

Five Months and Counting

I'm back. Here are this months photo's of my transition.I got Mr. S., the teacher I work with to take the pics for me. He's such a sweet guy. He's young enough to be my son... and I tease him every chance I get. He was a good sport about taking the pics for me. See you next month.

Brie's First Homecoming

Homecoming finally arrived and Brie was beside herself with excitement. She had been looking forward to this since Emile went to her first homecoming dance 5 years ago. Believe me when I say that the past few weeks have been insane to say the least. Brie is a total girly girl. She wanted everything to be just perfect. We searched for dresses a couple of times and she tried on over 20 dresses from four different stores. Finally she found the dress she liked the best. Of course she also had to have matching shoes and accessories. It was an experience in and of itself. When all was said and done, here is how she looked.She's so cute. She told me she felt just like a princess.A bunch of Brie's classmates went to one home for photo's to be taken. I was amazed that not one dress was duplicated. The girls all looked lovely.Here is one of my favorite pictures. It's my softball girls (minus one player) all dressed up and ready to go. They cleaned up nicely. It's so hard to believe how grown up they're all becoming.

A large group of kids went to Fujuhana for dinner, followed by the dance at the school. Chelsey came over and spent the night afterward. I'm glad Brie had a fun evening. She is making memories that will last a lifetime. Before she knows it the whirlwind we call life will blow the years past her. These are the times she'll look back on and smile when she remembers. One down, three to go.