Christmas

It feels like forever since I've blogged! Our family had a great Christmas this year. The kids were at each other a lot earlier last week, so I wasn't sure how we would all survive (especially knowing that Santa wasn't bringing them the Wii and Nintendo DS they wanted). After a little chat about loving each other, the rest of the week went smoother and they loved their presents! No complaints at all that they didn't get the high-dollar presents they asked for. My stomach even cooperated for a few days, which I was very thankful for! The pain came back yesterday as we were leaving to visit relatives, but the first day is usually milder and that was the case this time as well. Today is a pretty bad day all the way around, health-wise, so I spent most of the day in bed and the rest of it on the couch. In two weeks, my mom will take me to Cleveland and in the mean time I have tons of paperwork to organize from the 21 doctors I have seen so far. Speaking of my mom, each year she gives us a Bible verse to encourage us or that is relevant to our lives at that point in time. For instance, my verse last year was Zephaniah 3:16b-17 "Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you." That verse has brought me such comfort, just thinking that God is strong enough to handle any situation I find myself in.

I love my verse for 2010. It is Psalm 109:27 "Let them know it is in your hands, that you, Oh Lord, have done it!" Now, if it were up to me, the "it" would be a complete healing and I'd be able to do all of the things I love once again. I've learned enough over the last few years to know that I'm not the one that makes those decisions, however, so I don't know what "it" is. Perhaps "it" means my children will become compassionate adults because they have walked through this illness with me, or perhaps "it" means someone will have a deeper relationship with Christ. Possibly, "it" will mean something else, but what I do know is that God is doing something amazing through this situation and I'm excited about that!

Since Scott and the kids are home this week, I won't be blogging as much (sorry, but I'd rather spend my time with them!), so in case I don't write again this year, "Happy New Year!" I will pick up again next week, unless something major happens before then. Talk to you in 2010!

More Good News

What a week! Scott wrapped up finals yesterday, my parents started moving into their new house (only 12 minutes away), I was able to schedule an appointment with a cardiac EP at the Cleveland Clinic for the same day (1/13) and today we found out I am approved for social security disability. Can you believe it? I sure can't. We are still fighting the short-term disability company, so we thought for sure we were in for a long ordeal. We've all heard many many stories of people fighting S.S. for years to get their claim approved, too. Since I have long-term disability coverage through work, this won't affect our income at all, but it could be a major factor if I'm not able to return to work after being off for two years. At that point, I will no longer have a teaching position and will lose my insurance and my pension. Since Scott will still have one more semester of school at that point, that would be a very big deal to have no insurance. Of course, we are still hoping/planning that I will be better long before we hit the two year mark and I will be able to go back to teaching, but since the one-year anniversary is not that far away, we do have to think about such things. What a relief to know that God already has all of that worked out for us!

Cleveland Clinic

We finally heard from Dr. Barbish's office today and my appointment at the Cleveland Clinic is January 13th at 10:30! I am very pleased that we get to go that soon. I had no idea how long it would take to get in there. We also got the biopsy results back and they were normal, yea! He also prescribed a new medicine to control my stomach, which helps a little bit. While I was looking up Dr. Su (the woman I will see in Cleveland), I also discovered a Dr. Detnat-Tarazi, who specializes in orthostatic hypotension and fatigue. Jackpot! I am going to see if we can meet with her while we are there. Speaking of "we:" if you think of it, please pray for the logistics of this Cleveland appointment. I cannot drive myself that far, so I will need someone to go with me. Scott is taking a heavier than usual class load next semester, so I'm not sure if he will be able to go with me, plus we will need to stay over at least one night (probably two) because of the long drive. That probably means babysitter(s) for the kids at some point as well as figuring out who can take off of work long enough to go with me. I'm not a very detail-oriented person, so all of this is a little overwhelming for me. Other than that, Scott is just about done with school for the semester (two finals tomorrow) and the kids are having tons of fun at school this week as they gear up for Christmas break. It is so amazing to see Christmas through their eyes!

Conflicting reports

I don't remember where the last post left off, but my endoscopy was bumped up to this Tuesday instead of next Tuesday because of the rapid weight loss. It showed food still in my stomach after 13 hours of fasting, so my GI ordered a stomach study where I ate radioactive oatmeal. That test was yesterday, and it showed my food moving through my stomach at a normal rate. In other words, we have completely conflicting reports. Dr. Barbish is at a complete loss, and recommended that I go to the IU Med Center. Since we will be asking for a referral to Cleveland Clinic for the fatigue/chest pressure/whatever-else-has-been-going-on-since-February next week at the internist, we asked if we could go there instead. They said absolutely, and will be calling tomorrow to schedule the appointment. In the meantime, he wants me to drink something like Boost or Ensure to slow down the weight loss. Lucky for me, the Floor's just gave me a whole case that Troy won't drink because he thinks it is "too vitamin-y" tasting. Thanks, Troy and Alicia! I am having a hard time staying hydrated, though, as even water is still very painful. I am so thankful for the friends and family members who have stepped in to help this week (some at the very last minute!) with food, prep for Ryan's birthday, babysitting, and helping me mentally think things through. I realize that I'm getting older and all, but checking to make sure I have clothes on as I drive to pick up Ryan from preschool is not usually something I have to think about! Yet, that is how scattered and disjointed my thinking is some days. We have so very much to be thankful for this week, including a special little boy's 5th birthday tomorrow!

Endoscopy

My MRCP from last week came back fine, and the pain continues to get worse. On Friday, Dr. Barbish called in an Rx that is a combo of Mylanta and Lidocaine to numb my stomach so that I can eat and drink a little. It feels sort of strange, since it numbs my mouth and throat too, but it works (a little). Unfortunately, I am losing a pound/ pound and a half a day even with the medication, so my endoscopy that was scheduled for December 15 has been moved up to tomorrow morning. I am so tired and weak, please pray that the doctor who does it (Dr. Barbish is out of the office this week) finds something so we can move towards healing. I'm all for losing a few pounds, but this sure isn't how I'd like to do it! I also see my new neurologist this afternoon and go back to the internist next week. Being sick has become a full-time job!

Also, Troy and Alicia Floor are travelling to Cleveland Clinic this week for his appointment before his surgery next month. Please pray for safe travels and that the appointment goes well. Troy had a blood clot in his neck last week and spent the week in the hospital. They were mentioned in Ron William's sermon "God is still... God." It was an amazing and powerful sermon that everyone should hear. I highly recommend that you podcast it from ITunes or from the website (www.pathwaycommunity.org). Sometimes it takes a few days to get to the website, but it will be worth the wait!

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It's Off to the GI's I go...

The sharp stomach pain is back with a vengeance this week, so today I went to my GI, Dr. Barbish. He ordered an MRI of my pancreas, pancreatic ducts, etc (the test is called an MCRP? MRCP? something like that) which I had today and an endoscopy which will be on the 15th. It is so painful that I can barely eat or drink anything (even water is very very painful), but I make myself do it anyway so that I don't have to do to the hospital. The magic number seems to be four pounds. If I lose more than four pounds in a week, I think they will make me go there, so my goal is to stay above that magic number (or lie, which at this point I might be willing to do...after all, they really can't do much at the hospital to help me at this point). Please pray that the pain goes away and/or we find the source. Gotta run, Ryan is just ITCHING to play on starfall.com!
PS Swagbucks fans, don't forget that gift cards are on sale now through the end of the year, new one each day!! Whoo hoo!

What a WEEK!

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Typically, the week of Thanksgiving is one of relaxation, food and family. I purposely avoid the grocery store by getting everything I need the week before, my mom and mother-in-law have every detail planned out weeks in advanced and the holiday goes quite smoothly. Not this year! Don't get me wrong, we DID have a great time with our families, everything worked out well in the end, and we all had a good laugh over all that happened. However, much happened before that big laugh to try and mess with our holiday plans. Mom was sick over the weekend and came home from work early with a fever on Monday. They also put an offer in on a great model home. We were all on pins and needles waiting to hear Monday night and all day Tuesday. A few minutes before it was to expire on Tuesday, they got a counter-offer. In the meantime, my stomach pain that started 6 weeks ago was getting so bad that I could no longer eat anything without severe pain. If we'd had a babysitter in town (in-laws at camp) that was fever-free (my parents), Scott would've taken me to the ER Tuesday night. Since we didn't, I managed until Weds. AM when I called Dr. Agnihotri's office and he would see me at 2pm. I called my mom to see if she could babysit (fever and all), as I would need Scott to drive me to my appt. She and dad were signing papers for the house at the time, but told me she probably couldn't, as my brother was at the ER. Wait, WHAT? Sure enough, Rob was also having abdominal pain and his wife convinced him to go to the ER. Long story short, both of us had abdominal CT scans that showed nothing. He had surgery to remove scar tissue from a 20 year old surgery and to check out his gall bladder b/c they thought one of those was the problem. He had some scar tissue, but not enough to cause that amount of pain so we are praying that it takes care of the pain. I was put on Nexium and by Friday night my pain started getting better. At one point on Wednesday, our family was bouncing around to most of the city's hospitals. Fun, fun! Rob spent the night in the hospital, but was able to come home Thursday morning. He was doing well enough to join us for Thanksgiving dinner at our parents' house, the final event at the old house. It wasn't easy keeping six kids entertained in a nearly empty house, but we all had a nice time together and have so very much to be thankful for!

Most of you know that my parents were planning on moving on Friday and Scott and I were planning on going to Indy for the weekend Fri-Sun to relax. Everyone thought that would be fine, as mom and dad only had a few large items left to move on Friday and we weren't going to leave until noon or so. Without Rob's help (you know, surgery and all), it was a little more difficult. The builder was kind enough to allow ma and pa to move some of their furniture into the garage at the new house, instead of hauling it up to the lake. What a time saver! While mom, dad, Scott and Jim (good friend) loaded up the moving truck, I was having a near panic attack as I realized I booked the hotel for the wrong weekend. I went online to get the phone number for my inlaws in case anything happened with the kids and realized what happened. Since I named my own price on priceline.com, it was nonrefundable and unchangeable. Yikes! We really didn't have the extra money to do that in the first place but it was something we needed so we splurged. I knew there was no way I could justify taking the money out of savings twice. I called priceline and sure enough, there was nothing they could do even though I was crying hysterically (does that tell you how much I needed to get away???). I decided to try calling the Marriott as well, I had nothing to lose. I composed myself as much as I could, then spoke with the front desk manager, Ashley. I explained what had happened and why it was that we booked the trip in the first place, etc. She offered to call priceline on my behalf. I didn't think it would do any good but I said, "sure." A few minutes later, Ashley called to tell me that priceline will be issuing a full refund. Woo hoo! I am so thankful she helped us out. She had every right to stick to the policy, but she didn't, and I am so grateful to her. I jumped on hotwire.com and booked another hotel right away. It wasn't the Marriott downtown, but at least we were able to get away and relax and that was what we needed.

Appt

Quick update on yesterday's appt: Basically, Dr. Agnihotri just doesn't know what is wrong with me. The blood work and ultrasounds just aren't off enough to really raise big red flags and point him in a certain direction. Scott was sooo impressed by how thorough he was, though. He spent another hour or so with us yesterday. He is sending me to an endocrinologist to pursue the adrenal gland possibility, and he also mentioned that it could be chronic fatigue. There recently has been research that links a specific virus to chronic fatigue, but the test is not widely available, and even if we were able to "prove" that I had it, there is no cure or medication to control it at this point. There are not very many endocrinologists in this area, so my appointment is scheduled for February 18th, but I am on a waiting list in case someone cancels. I am not discouraged, as I've been on lists before and usually get in early. As for the stomach issues, Dr. A put me on pepcid Rx in hopes that resolves the pain and nausea, if not he will do an abdominal/pelvic CT scan in two weeks. Please pray that the pepcid just works so we can cross at least one symptom off the list! Also, please continue to pray for the Floor family as Troy battles his colon cancer. He goes for his consultation with the Cleveland clinic in a few weeks and surgery is scheduled for early January (baby due in February), as well as my dear mentor, Judy, whose stage 4 breast cancer has come back. Pray for strength for both families as they fight this terrible disease. Thank you! Karin

Lab Results are in!

The lab results are in! We really can't tell a whole lot from them, but we are hoping that Dr. Agnihotri will know where to go from here based on this info. Most of the labs came back just fine; the three that were off are: cortisol was one point high, AST (SGOT) was one point low and MCH was 0.3 high. Cortisol is the one we were most curious about, as that deals with the adrenal glands, but we all thought it would be too LOW, not too high, so this changes things in my mind a little bit. We were thinking that perhaps I had an adrenal gland disease (if it was too low), but it being too high could mean there are tumors in there. Even if there are, though, they are usually benign (only 1-2 out of one million are malignant). Since it is not that high, though, we will have to wait and see what the doctor says. For now he does not want me going back on the medication that raises my blood pressure since that would also raise my cortisol level even higher. I will need to closely monintor my bp in the meantime to make sure it doesn't go "too low." If only one of these doctors would define "too low" when they leave these messages on my machine! Oh, and I moved up my appointment to Tuesday, as we are celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday this weekend and I wanted to be well-rested for her visit. I will post more after I see the doctor on Tuesday!

Ultrasounds

My ultrasounds from Monday came back looking good, so we are very pleased to hear that. I will go this Friday to have several labs run, including a re-do for the adrenal glands. Apparently, the Rx I'm on to raise my blood pressure is also used to treat low glucocorticoid levels caused by disease of the adrenal glands (in other words, the VMA test results are worthless, as they would show my levels as being normal even if they aren't, since I was on that med). I've been off of that med since last Friday to get it out of my system for the test on Friday and I can tell a difference in the way I feel (extra fatigue, etc). I don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so I am looking forward to sleeping in, followed by resting on the couch, with perhaps a nice nap thrown in for good measure! I will go back to the internist next Friday, the 20th, for the test results and to see where we go from here. I'd like to just say thank you to my dear sweet friends who have been checking on me lately. I've really needed that the last few weeks, and I appreciate all of those phone calls, movies, plans for DeBrands, invites to your homes, etc so much. Some days, just having those things to look forward to are what keep me sane!

Internist

I went to the internist yesterday for the first time, and so far I am very pleased. Granted, he doesn't know what is wrong with me either, but he isn't afraid to admit it, and he spent an hour with me going over my reams of paperwork, asking questions, etc. When he examined me, the one strange thing was that when he pushed on the right side of my abdomen, I had very sharp pains every time he touched that side. I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but the past few weeks I've had no appetite and only eat because I know I need to, not because I want to. Nothing sounds good (except TOPPIT pizza!), not even chocolate! I've never uttered those words before, and hope to never again, ha ha! Really, though, eating has become something I dread now because usually my stomach hurts immediately afterward. Thus, Dr. Agnihotri has ordered an ultrasound of my abdomen on Monday morning. He also has ordered several fasting labs to be run on Friday and I am not to take one of my meds until after that. He is still wondering if something is going on with my adrenal glands, even though the VMA test came back fine, so he is running a different test for that. Even though my neurologist has not called me with my MRI results, the internist had a copy, so I was able to find out those and they look good!! The only thing that showed up was a 3mm cyst on the left side of my brain, which is apparently not a big deal, so we are very happy about that. The bottom line is this: Dr. Agnihotri recognizes that something is going on, but he doesn't know what. He is running all of these tests in hopes that something jumps out at him. To be honest, I have no idea where we go if these all come back normal, but I am at such peace knowing that he is willing to do his best to help figure me out.
Today, we took the kids to Scott's parents' house to jump in the leaves (since we don't have any) and then to my brother's house for some outdoor fun with the cousins. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine, and just spend some time with family. My youngest nephew even giggled and laughed for the first time ever while I was holding him! I feel so blessed when I am around our family or friends. You just can't beat days like today!

I've been waiting to post for a few reasons. First, I knew we would be getting a "new to us" computer this week, thanks to Scott's sister and the great Kaboom! organization (THANK YOU, Mandy!!) Second, I was really upset and disappointed in my visit with the neurologist last week. I had such high hopes for that visit, and I was really not pleased with the doctor at all. Third, I was hoping to share results of all those tests and the MRI. I was able to get a copy of the VMA and blood work from medical records, but Dr. Al Hamda's office won't return my calls to tell me what they mean. So, based on what I can tell from the medical records, here's what I think we know: my thyroid is functioning correctly, and the VMA results (which I finally remembered was to check for tumors in my adrenal glands) look good. The only thing that came back high was the hematology - manual cell counts lab, which shows my ESR level is at 32, but should be between 0-20. I have no idea what the means, but the one I was eager to hear about was the VMA anyway. In the mean time, my brother called last night to recommend going to an internist to manage all of these different doctors. What a great idea! I am working on finding one as we speak. I think I will look for a new neurologist while I am at it. Scott and I are also planning on getting away for a few days over Thanksgiving weekend, thanks to his parents' willingness to watch the kids and hotwire.com's willingness to find us a cheap but nice hotel room in downtown Indy. We can't wait to get away for a few days and pretend that I am healthy!

This will be a very short post, as I forgot that Scott has class tonight so I need to get home! Neuro appointment today went okay. The man seems very nice, but really didn't listen at all and seemed in a rush. For as much as my insurance company is paying him, I was hoping for a little more understanding on both ends. Basically, he is doing a brain MRI on Tuesday, they drew blood today and I have to do a 24-hour urine collection (fun, right?) to check for something else but I've already forgotten what it is for because he went so fast. His main focus seems to be on my headaches, but I was really hoping for some info on the chest pressure, autonomic system, etc. We will see what happens. Right now, I could really use a long weekend somewhere warm. Anyone happen to have a condo or home somewhere warm I can visit? Oh, and if you happen to have a private plane to get me there, that would be just swell. :-)

Movin' On

Last week was a pretty rough one physically. The kids each were sick one day with a mild stomach virus (not the flu, thankfully) and while theirs only last 24 hours, mama was sick the whole week. On top of the virus, the chest pressure and pain was so intense, I had to physically make myself breathe. Not fun. I went to the regular dr. Thursday and he had no idea, and told me to call my cardiac EP Friday AM. He sent me to the ER, where I spent 5 glorious hours with the Dupont staff. Actually, the time went by pretty fast and while I hate being at the hospital, I have to say this was one of my better visits. The staff was very kind and attentive, which makes a world of difference. The only irregular thing was my d-dimer level was high, which can indicate a blood clot, so they did a CT scan of my lungs, which came back fine. Since my cardiac enzymes and everything looked fine, they felt I could go home even though they didn't know the cause of the pain and pressure.

This week has been better, but I find myself over-doing it, to make up for last week's marathon on the couch. I've been tracking my blood pressure and heart rate, and both are looking great, yet I feel the same. Not what we were hoping for, as that means something else is going on as well. I saw Dr. Devecci this morning, and he is pleased that my heart rate is lower thanks to the 3 prescriptions, but said I am a total mystery. He is thinking there is perhaps a neurological problem in addition to the heart issues since I feel exactly the same and the daily headaches are getting worse. He would like to have an MRI of my brain, and was able to schedule me with a neuro dr. next Wednesday. I am very thankful that I can see someone local and am praying that we get to the bottom of all of this soon. I hate living with the unknown, which is probably part of the reason God is allowing this to go on for so long. Daily I am reminded that He is in control, not me, which can be a hard lesson for me to learn!

Quick Update

I don't have a whole lot to say today, but hadn't posted in awhile so thought I'd give a quick update. Last weekend we switched the Rx to raise my blood pressure, as the first one gave me constant, dull chest pains in addition to the constant goose-bumps and chills. The new one doesn't give me either of those side effects, but so far doesn't seem to be working (I don't feel any better, and my blood pressure has been between 90/52 and 106/65). Starting last night, I'm having trouble breathing again. It feels like the elephant is sitting on my chest once again and I'm having issues with my stomach. I'm back to purposely breathing, which isn't much fun. I went to the regular dr. tonight and he said it isn't the flu, but he doesn't know what is wrong. He told me to call my cardiac EP tomorrow, as I am a mystery to him. In addition to praying for me, please continue to lift up Troy and Alicia Floor (Troy started chemo and radiation last week for his stage III colon cancer, cancer on one lymph node; questionable spot on his liver may be cancer as well) and Pat Sablic (Larry's wife... Larry lost his battle to cancer last week). Thanks for the continued prayers, Karin

Tilt Table Test

On Thursday morning, I went to the hospital for my tilt table test. When we started, my heart rate was 55 bpm, then when they tilted me up it nearly doubled (100 bpm). After 30 minutes of that fun, Dr. Devecchi gave me nitroglycerin to mimic my doing light activities. Within 2 minutes, my heart rate jumped to 150-160 bpm and it took all of my energy just to breathe. Apparently, that shows that in addition to the inappropriate sinus tachycardia, I also have postural orthostatic hypotension. What that means is when I go from laying down to doing activities, my blood pressure tries to bottom out. To keep that from happening, my heart pumps faster. Needless to say, I was not feeling too well the rest of the day. I have now started on a medication to raise my blood pressure (midadrine) and I will need to check my blood pressure often, as there is the possibility of it going too high. While I'm not thrilled to have a second electrical problem with my heart, I really feel like we are heading in the right direction. There is still the possibility that I have a problem with my autonomic system (the nervous system that controls the heart and lungs) as that is in the same family and same symptoms as what I am experiencing. We are taking it one step at a time and praying that the new medication makes a big difference. So far, I can't tell a difference (except for the constant scalp tingling, goose bumps and chills, which are apparently side effects??) but it is a fast-acting medication so we should know if it works or not in a few days. My next appointment is on October 21. Enjoy the weekend, Karin

Bye Bye Mr. Computer and a few pictures

A few pictures of this summer/fall (none of Scott, I just realized, as he took all of them!)

July 2009 Katie wrote this note to us (when she was supposed to be sleeping). It says, "Dear Mom and Dad, I hope that you buy that car." We didn't buy that one, but we did buy one shortly thereafter.
Katie loses her first top tooth!
Scott captured this amazing sunrise from our backyard.
July 2009: Visiting my nephew in the NICU. Welcome to the family, baby Luke!
Our house is protected by superheroes!

Well, we've managed to kill another laptop somehow, so the blog posts will be fewer and farther between. I will only be posting about once a week, as we do not have the money to buy a new computer at this time (and probably won't until I return to work). So at this time, please pray for me as I have my tilt table test tomorrow morning and am on my third round of antibiotics, as well as the Floor family. Troy, the father, has colon cancer at the age of 27. His wife is pregnant with their second child and is due the month he is having surgery (chemo and/or radiation in the mean time). Also, please pray for my discipleship mentor, Judy, as she has stage 4 breast cancer and goes in for another scan soon. One more to mention quickly, Larry (a close friend of Scott's parents) has been told he only has two more months to live, as he is losing his battle with cancer in several organs. My heart is so heavy for all of these families. As I was trying to sleep the other night, I found the following verses and they just brought such comfort to me so I thought I'd share them with you: Psalm 73:2-6, 16-17 "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny." What a comfort to know that I know where my final destiny is and some day ALL of those listed above will be pain-free for eternity. Karin

Wii and Grocery

I'm getting ready to head to Kroger and WOW there are some good deals! I will post them all when I get home, but in case you are getting ready to go shopping, too, make sure you go to shortcuts.com to put e-coupons on your Kroger card, then go to smartsource.com to get printable coupons to go with it.
I also will be heading to the doctor today in hopes of getting a 3rd antibiotic. I just can't seem to kick this sinus infection/ear infections!

From EngineerADebtFreeLife.com:

Nintendo Wii deal + FREE Amazon $25 gift card
Posted by Money Savin' Momma | 9/28/2009 09:25:00 AM | amazon, popular | 0 comments »
Amazon is having a hot deal on the Nintendo Wii right now. They are selling the Wii for $199, PLUS you get a FREE $25 Amazon gift card! This means the price after gift card is really like $175. If you are considering purchasing the Nintendo Wii as a gift this year, you will definitely want to take advantage of this hot offer before it's gone! If you use the FREE Amazon gift cards you get from searching online with Swagbucks and rating websites with iRazoo, the Wii can be totally FREE!


Get the Nintendo Wii for $199 + FREE $25 Amazon gift card

Here are the details from Amazon: Get a $25 gift card with a Nintendo Wii purchase. To qualify, add a Wii console to your cart from September 27, 2009 to October 3, 2009, and you will get a $25 Gift Card in the mail up to 10 business days after your purchase. Must be sold and shipped by Amazon.com

GREAT DEALS!!!

"Oh, the Lord's been good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need like the sun and the rain and the apple trees the Lord's been good to me, amen!" Yep, Scott's favorite song from camp applies today; everyday, actually, but especially feeling it today.
1) Walgreens has some spectacular deals! They are clearancing several items to get ready for re-vamping the stores. Some deals I got today:

backpacks~$2.59 each
Cottonelle TP ~4pk $0.89-$0.50 coupon from cottonelle.com/coupons=39 cents!
Walgreens 180 ct facial tissues~$0.50
Aussie products, Herbal Essence products and Bic Soliel razors with coupons and
register rewards CHEAP (don't recall the exact prices)
Domino 5 lb sugar~$0.80 some coupons out there for 50 cents, I didn't have any, but that is still a great deal, especially with holiday baking coming up!
Total spent:$21 for 21 items
Total saved: $52!! Whoo hoo!!

ALSO: go right this minute to www.childrensplace.com if you ever buy clothes for kids! They are having a fall sale, and some of the items are only $0.99! Add coupon code V4989 when you check out for 15% off. I spent $18.83 INCLUDING shipping for 15 items: 2 dresses, 9 shirts and 4 pairs of shorts. Some I plan on keeping and some are for gifts. Remember, Christmas is not too far away! :-) Happy shopping! Karin

CVS Prescription coupon

CVS prescription transfer = $25 gift card! I recently filled all of mine at Target (for the $10 gift cards), so I'll be transferring several next week! Coupon expires 10/4/09.
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/images/promotions/landingpages/rx/rx09027_triple_adv/coupon.html#

A Little Bit of Everything

What a week! So much to catch everyone up on:
After spending 5 days planted on the couch, I was ready to get out and about on Tuesday. In fact, I was so ready that I totally over-did it. You would think after 6 months of continually overdoing it and then paying for it that I would learn my lesson. Apparently not! Ryan and I went to visit my brother's wife, Jenny, and their four boys. I tell you, those four boys just bring me so much joy!! Any day I can see them is a good day. They are all so very different from each other, yet I just love them all. I am so blessed to be their aunt. Moving on, after that I took Ryan to the eye doctor for his first check-up. He was a little scared, but did a great job. Best of all, he doesn't need glasses! He is a bit color-blind, which was a surprise as we don't know anyone on either side who has that, but so far it doesn't seem to hinder him at all. After that, we met up with Katie and Scott at his parents' house for dinner. I was tuckered out by that time, but it was worth it. I am very fortunate to actually like my in-laws and enjoy spending time with them! As my reward for doing to much Tuesday, I had trouble breathing and hardly slept that night. Since I wasn't sleeping and didn't feel like watching TV, I spent the hours praying for several families who are dealing with cancer, job situations, our pastor and his family, and just thanking God for His protection and provision for our entire family.
Wednesday, I went back to my cardiac EP, Dr. Devecchi. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I think he is really great. He is thinking that perhaps my IST is being caused by my blood pressure dropping quickly when I stand up, which would cause the heart to beat rapidly to compensate. Next Thursday, I will do a tilt-table test to see if that is the case or not. There are some other tests he'd like to run but I have to get rid of this infection before we can do that. Unfortunately, the second antibiotic is not working and I am waiting to hear back from my family dr. for a stronger one. Wednesday also brought a pleasant surprise from a friend: dinner and clothes for Katie to borrow! I'm not sure she realizes what a HUGE blessing that was! Scott has two tests this week, so that gave him extra time to study.
Many of you have sent me great ideas for trimming our budget, for which I am very thankful! Jenny mentioned a great blog that she reads for saving money, so I thought I'd share that with you all as well. It is www.hip2save.blogspot.com I've looked it over and it looks like a great one! Oh, and have you seen the latest Kroger ad? I see some great bargains heading my way on Monday! Don't forget to use shortcuts.com along with your printed coupons for extra savings! Have a great weekend! Karin
PS Katie lost her first top tooth this week! If I can get our computer and camera to be friends, I will post a picture.

Swag bucks link

Whoops! Almost forgot, you can also join swagbucks here:

http://swagbucks.com/refer/krmom

A few more money tips

Ooh, I am so excited to share these few tips with all of you! First, if you have a Kroger near you and you use coupons, listen up! A long time ago, I remember using coupons that go on your Kroger card and I was wondering if they still did that. Sure enough, they do! Not only can you put e-coupons on your card, but you can use them WITH paper coupons! I tried it yesterday, not knowing if they would let me, but sure enough they did and I bought $100 worth of groceries for $50! It has been a long time since I've saved 50%, especially since we started eating healthier. You can find those e-coupons at shortcuts.com (they allow other shopper cards as well, so if you don't shop at Kroger, check the website and see if your store participates). You can find printable coupons at smartsource.com and redplum.com to go with many of those e-coupons (Kroger triples coupons under $0.50, which is how I got so many things for free). Also, I am going to start making my own laundry soap soon. From what I've heard, it is very easy and only $0.75 for 2 gallons. Gotta like that!
A few people have asked about Swagbucks, so I will go into a little more detail. It is very simple to use. Basically, you get paid swagbucks for doing your internet searches at swagbucks.com (they use google and ask.com so the search engines are very thorough). You also get paid when you enter swag codes they are hidden in their blog, swidget (the thing at the top of my blog), or toolbar, as well as when people sign up under you. For example, if Susie Q. signs up through my referral link, every time she gets a swag buck for a search, so will I. Yippee! They have all kinds of prizes you can "purchase" but personally I am going to use mine to buy amazon.com gift certificates. A $5 one costs 45 swagbucks, and I've earned that many in just 2-3 weeks with no referrals. Very easy! I often check www.engineeradebtfreelife.com to see if a swag code is out, as they always keep track and there is one or two codes posted each day (in addition to the swag bucks I earn for my searches). So yes, it does work and it is very very easy! If you are interested, click the "sign up" button on the Swag Bucks box.
I also highly recommend reading any book by Ellie Kay. She is a fantastic Christian author who writes books about saving money. She has 6 teenagers, but manages to live off of one military salary, amazing! I am going to re-read a few books to help us trim the budget. Thanks to Ellie, I haven't paid more than a few cents for deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste or cleaning supplies since Katie was a baby!
Tomorrow is my second appointment with the cardiac EP, so please pray that he has some great ideas. The new med doesn't have the side effects the other one did, but it doesn't seem to be working any better either. Thanks and happy saving!

Money savers of the world, unite!

Next week we will get our first long-term disability check. We are so thankful that God has provided this income for us, but we are also wondering how this is going to work. We will be living off 66% of one income, so we need to cut an additional $1000 per month. At first, it was very overwhelming. We've looked at the budget, eliminated all the extras we can find, but are still short by $100-200/month. In other words, help us get creative! What money saving tricks or tips do you do that you can share? Just as a heads-up, we don't have cable or long-distance, we re-financed our mortgage at 5% earlier this year, we've changed our home and auto insurance to reduce it, our dial-up internet is free, I'm using Swagbucks to pay for Christmas and birthday gifts, our grocery budget is $50 (yes, we can still eat healthy foods with that) and we've already cut out all $$ for clothing and entertainment. So we need ideas that go beyond all of that. Any ideas you can send our way are most appreciated! Thank you!!

On Friday, I went back to my family doctor for a re-check of my upper respiratory infection. I was feeling pretty good until Thursday, and was thinking about cancelling it. Thursday, I woke up with a sore throat and by the evening my left ear hurt, so I didn't cancel the appointment. Good thing I didn't, as I have a double ear infection, sinus infection and pluerisy in my left lung. We are trying a different, stronger antibiotic to try and kick all of this. I've stayed away from Scott and the kids as much as possible and so far they are all still healthy. Ryan really enjoyed his first week at preschool and can't wait to go to the fire station for a field trip in a few weeks. He has homework this year, so he really likes that (I think he feels like a big boy now that he can do his homework while Katie and daddy do theirs!). The whole first grade at Katie's school went to Merry Lea Environmental Center on Friday, which was a big hit! They made apple cider, roasted hot dogs and marshmellows and learned about pioneer life. They even got to play with wooden toys that "Daddy and Uncle Daddy made in the shed when they aren't working the farm!" Not sure who Uncle Daddy is, but we heard a lot about him last night!
I can't remember if I blogged about this already, but I did get denied again on my -short-term disability. It sounds like we can appeal again, so we are waiting on the official letter of denial as it states what exactly the problem is. Enjoy your weekend, from the couch it looks like a pretty one out there!
PS I'm going to attempt to upload a picture. It's an old one, but we are having trouble with our camera software.

Blockbuster Trial

Anyone who knows me knows I love free things. I was on one of my favorite websites today, www.engineeradebtfreelife.com and found out about a 6 week free trial of Blockbuster Access (similar to Netflix, but you can get movies at the store as well). I'm all over free movies! I just signed up for mine, and if you are interested, go to the Blockbuster site and enter groupon as the promo code or get the full scoop at www.engineeradebtfreelife.com That website is also where I douns out about Swagbucks and making my own laundry soap. I'm a big fan!

I've avoided blogging the last few days because we have dial-up and I'm trying to keep the phone line open. I am still working on the short-term disability thing and have now included the agent who sold me the policy and his office, so I feel like I need to keep the line open in case someone somewhere has an update.
The cardiac EP switched my beta-blocker last week, and the changes have been good! I didn't realize how many issues I was having that were related to the medication. By Thursday morning, I wasn't quite as tired, and finally felt like my mind was clear and focused. My heart still races, but I don't have as many side effects so I am very thankful for that. I have had severe headaches every day since switching meds, so please pray that they go away as my body adjusts to the new Rx.
I've really spent some time in the last week reflecting on all of the blessings God has given us. Sometimes I am simply overwhelmed by His goodness! I don't know if I can even put it all into words, but I am going to try. His provision for us has come in so many ways, from strangers, friends and family alike. First of all, He has given me such a peace through this entire process. Yes, there have been times when I feel overwhelmed, afraid or anxious, but for the most part I've felt His hand guiding me and his loving arms holding me amidst the storm. Then there is the food...I think we've had around 40 delicious meals given to us since March! We've also had donations of meat and chicken (I never thought I'd be so happy to get a package of hamburger!), which we've stopped buying to reduce our grocery costs. Gift cards and Kohl's coupons were matched up to complete most of our Christmas shopping (yes, I've started and am 75% done!!) We've even been blessed financially, both through coupons that "just happened" to match up with the Kroger ad so we were able to stock up on cereal, etc. without going over our $50/week budget, and checks to help with Ryan's preschool cost and Scott's books. I say these things not to be boastful, but to share with you how God has provided for us. So if you wonder how we are getting by, now you know that it is not us but God who is taking care of this family. For that, we are truly thankful!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Today, I found out that I am APPROVED for long-term disability! Praise God! That is a huge weight off of our shoulders. That basically means that I will get 2/3rds of my salary each month. Whew! It has been so difficult dealing with the short-term disability company (my appeal has still not gone through yet for that), that I expected this to be a much harder ordeal. I think God knew that I couldn't deal with two difficult insurance companies at the same time! Ha!

Tomorrow night is the Ladies' Game Night at church, and I am so looking forward to spending some time with my friends. I get very lonely some days, since I am used to being around lots of people all day. My two youngest nephews are being dedicated this weekend as well, so I am looking forward to a fun weekend if my body can keep up!

Salt, Salt, and more Salt

Today was a busy day at our house! It started early for me at 8:40 (hey, that's really early for me these days!) with a conversation with our head pastor, Ron. We had a great conversation and he is getting me in touch with another church member who has had a successful ablation. Though I'm not too keen on that idea, at least he's been where I am and possibly has had similar experiences. Then came a conversation with Parkview's patient advocate, at my request, regarding my experience back in March. She was very nice and is on the case addressing my misdiagnosis and all the other mistakes that happened. I also spoke with the director at FW Cardiology about the same thing, and that went really well, too. Like I told both of them, the purpose of bringing up all that happened is not to rant and rave, but to make them aware of what happened so that it doesn't happen to anyone else.
After my busy start, I got ready and headed to see Dr. Devecchi, the cardiac electrophysiologist. He was very nice, knowledgeable and spent about 35-45 minutes with me. He is going to get my papers from Parkview and the Holter test results from Indy and look over them before my next appointment in two weeks. In the mean time, he switched my beta-blocker to one that will hopefully work better and not have so many side effects, like the memory, concentration and fatigue problems I've been experiencing. The other biggie is I need to add much more salt into my diet. Shocker! I never thought I'd hear a doctor say that! Basically, I am drinking plenty of water, yet am constantly thirsty and dehydrated because I don't have enough salt to hold that water in. That causes my blood pressure to go down, which my heart tries to compensate for, and my heart rate goes up even more. So now I am supposed to add salt to everything I eat and drink things like Gatorade, Propel, etc.
Dr. Devecchi and I also talked about the number of health issues I've had over the past four years, and there is a possibility that I may have a problem with my nervous system. We are not yet to the point where we are going to do any testing, but it is something we may address in the future.
Overall, I was very pleased with my visit with him, and feel like he knows what he is doing. He is also going to talk to some cardiac EP friends of his on the east coast and see if anyone is doing research for IST. He and I both agree that I am too young for an ablation/pacemaker, so I feel comfortable keeping him as a doctor.
The rest of the day was a blur of a fabulous lunch with my discpleship mentor, Judy, and taking Katie to the dr. for a 103 fever. Busy busy! Thank you for continuing to pray for our family. Scott's classes are pretty tough this semester and we have not yet heard back about long-term disability, so those are at the top of our prayer list right now.

The week is ending better than it started, hooray! I think we are all starting to feel better, and yesterday I met a few of our neighbors. One of them is also a Christian, and she and I really hit it off. We went walking together this morning, which is something I am supposed to be doing three times each week. It is much more motivating and fun when you have someone to walk with! We are planning on doing it again this week. Also, I spoke with someone from long-term disability and I should know if I qualify next Wednesday! That is much sooner than I expected, so I am thankful.
Before our long weekend begins, I thought I'd share my favorite verse and a half. Each Christmas, my mom picks out a verse for each of us. A few years back, this was what she picked for me, and I re-found it in my Bible last week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Zephaniah 3:16b-17 "Cheer up oh Zion! Don't be afraid! For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song." Ahhh, don't you feel less stressed already?! Have a restful weekend!

Rough week

The entire household is having a rough start to the week, thanks to upper respiratory infections Scott and I both picked up. Ryan has been perfectly healthy, but lonely, as Scott and I both lay on the couches, miserable. Katie got away with a mild cold, so we are thankful! I went to my family practice today to get an antibiotic, and the dr and I were talking at length about IST. She made a very interesting comment when I mentioned my appointment next week with the cardiac electrophysiologist. She said, "You mean you didn't see any of the cardiac EPs in the FW Cardiology group?" Come to find out, there are THREE cardiac EPs in that group, so if I had been correctly diagnosed when I was at the hospital, I could have seen one then, making us six months further along in this process. She also mentioned that she remembered learning about IST in med school, but in her 11 years of practice, this is the first case she's come across. Oh well, I suppose God already knew there were 3 cardiac EPs in that group, and if He'd wanted me to see one of them, he would've worked that out back in March. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine!

A Good Week

This week has been a pretty good one, overall. I had time to really look over a great IST website/support group and was very enlightened. It is so nice to find a group of people who are going through the same thing I am. While I was perusing the site, I kept reading about people going to a cardiac electrophysiologist, which I've never heard of before. After doing a little more research, I discovered that a cardiac EP is like an electrician for the heart. Well, since inappropriate sinus tachycardia is an electrical problem, I think maybe I ought to see one just to get his/her take on the situation. I was fortunate enough to find one in town AND in our insurance network! Praise God! I figured I would have to go out of town, but I will only need to travel to the south side of town. I called and was scheduled for Sept 16, but the nurse called Friday with an opening on Sept 9, hooray! If you want to learn more about IST, here is that fabulous website and support group: http://www.geocities.com/inappropriatesinustachy/main.html
I also got the unofficial word from FWCS that I am not going to be allowed to return to school half-days. I'm not really surprised, and am just trusting that God has a plan for all of this. The good news is, my job is secure for two years, which is a relief for us. Scott is debating on working two days a week, as he doesn't have class on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Please pray for wisdom about this. I don't want him to spread himself too thin, but I know he is worried about the next few months financially. Enjoy the sunny weekend!

Scott and I met in high school, dated off and on through college, and married in March of 2001. We had our little girl, Katie, two years later and Ryan twenty months after that. Over the years, we’ve had our share of ups and downs like everyone does and are learning to trust God no matter the circumstance.

I could write an entire book about my experiences over the last 6 months, but I will try to shorten it as best as I can:
At the end of February 2009, I started having trouble breathing at school and was absolutely exhausted. I was fortunate enough to have a great student teacher, Roberta, whom I relied upon heavily. I went to a doctor in my family practice, who diagnosed me with bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection. After two rounds of antibiotics and several days at home, I went in to the Saturday clinic at the same practice. He did an EKG, which came back normal, and a breathing treatment, which made my symptoms worse. He then decided to admit me to the hospital.

My time in the hospital was less than ideal, to say the least. Scott was in school full-time and also in charge of shuttling our kids to school and pre-school, plus trying to visit me at the hospital (the one the doctor made me go to was about a half-hour away from our house). None of the doctors there knew what was wrong with me. I would see a cardiologist who would declare there was nothing wrong with my heart, so they’d send in a pulmonologist who would say my lungs were fine. Then we’d repeat the process. On the fifth day, a new cardiologist came in, spent two minutes with me and decided it was anxiety and I was having a month long panic attack. He prescribed a beta-blocker, prednisone for my lungs and an anti-anxiety pill. No follow-up needed with him, just go see your regular doctor in a month. Ugh! How frustrating! I knew this was more than anxiety, but I was ready to be done with that hospital and they way they dealt with me. I called the Heart Center and made an appointment with Dr. Rich the following Monday. He spent a lot of time with me during my appointment and really tried to analyze the situation. Unfortunately, he was also unable to diagnose me, but I appreciated his honesty in the situation (instead of just making something up!).  He and my GP decided it was time to go to the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis, and they made an appointment for me to see a pulmologist, Dr. Sheski, on my 30th birthday, April 14. Needless to say, I left the office in tears. For the last year, I’ve been so excited about turning 30. I couldn’t wait! Most of my friends were dreading this milestone, but I was so thrilled at all that would come in this new decade! I was also disappointed to wait so long to see the new doctor. Three weeks is not unusual to see a specialist, but keep in mind that I could barely function. Most days, I couldn’t even go down the stairs because I had absolutely no energy and it was all I could do to breathe. Some days it was so bad, I couldn’t go to sleep because I was afraid my body wouldn’t breathe on its own. In fact, I can remember a couple of nights where I just knew that was the end for me. I was so certain my body would not continue to breathe on its own that I was actually surprised when I woke up in the morning. Those nights truly were the scariest times I’ve experienced so far. I mean, I know I will be going to heaven when I die, but when you really aren’t sure if you are going to be alive in the morning, you start thinking of all the things you’d miss if you didn’t: Katie going to prom, Ryan playing sports in high school, high school and college graduations, seeing my little girl’s wedding, watching Ryan find the love of his life, grandkids, growing old with my sweet husband, etc. Like I said, those were some rough, tear-filled nights.

Fortunately, God heard my cries and had mercy: Dr. Sheski decided to squeeze me in between appointments. It was spring break for my mom, so she and I headed to Indy the next day, laden with books, IPods and snacks (we were told to expect a long wait, since I didn’t have an official appointment). Mom wheeled me around the hospital, since I couldn’t walk that far, and eventually we found his office. Imagine our surprise when we saw Dr. Sheski in less than 10 minutes! He examined me, took my papers from the hospital and told me he would call me after he’d had a chance to read over everything and make a plan. The next week, his nurse called and said he ordered an exercise bike test that would check my heart and lungs both, as well as an asthma test.

On April 13, Scott and I headed back to Indy for the tests. First up was the asthma test, which I passed with flying colors. Next came the exercise bike test. Oh, my! I had about a dozen wires stuck under my shirt which connected to five or six different machines and two computers! It was so funny looking, that I had Scott take a picture of me. Hey, the Bible tells us to rejoice at all times, so we might as well have a little fun with the situation, right? They wanted me to ride the bike in two-minute intervals, with the resistance getting harder each time. The goal was to go as long as you possibly could. I was only able to make it 8 minutes (sad, considering I was up to 4 miles on the elliptical before all of this began!)
A few days later, Dr. Sheski personally called to give me the results (never a good sign). I will never forget that moment, as he told me, “Karin, your lungs look good, but there is something wrong with your heart. I don’t know what it is, but something’s wrong with it. Your heart rate went much much higher than it should. You need to see a really good cardiologist.” Yikes! He told me I could either find one at home, or he could recommend one in Indy. Since I’d already had three cardiologists from home tell me my heart was fine, I opted to go with one he knew.

At the end of April, Dr. Elisabeth von der Lohe “happened” to have a cancellation, hooray! I went to see her at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology. She did an EKG and lipid profile, and told me we could either do a 48-hour Holter test or a cardiac catheterization first. We opted for the Holter test, since probing my heart is about the last thing on my “fun things to do” list. So her nurse stuck electrodes on me and told me to do as much as I could to replicate the symptoms. Any time I had symptoms, push the purple button. I remember thinking to myself, “No problem, I have trouble breathing just walking across the room!” Needless to say, that purple button got pushed a whole bunch! I mailed in the monitor, and again we waited.

A week or so later, we FINALLY had a diagnosis! Inappropriate sinus tachycardia, she said. “Huh?” was my reply. IST is a rare heart condition in which the sinus node in my heart causes my heart to beat much faster than it is supposed to. My Holter readings showed that my heart rate was 160 walking across the room! I asked her what it would be for most people and it is around 70. Wowsers! Big difference. Dr. von der Lohe also told me that diagnosing IST was the easy part, treating it would be the hard part. At the time, I didn’t believe her because it seemed awfully hard to get a diagnosis (she was the 10th doctor I saw, mind you). Boy, was I wrong! It is now the end of August 2009, and we are still trying to find a way to treat this thing. I am still at home, waiting to get better. And here is where our blog begins...