Comdey+Trauma = Tramedy

So we got a little snow today. By a little I of course mean a ton. Anyway I decided before I do anything else this morning I ought to help my mom and brothers shovel. So I layer up (a jacket, 2 coats, 2 pairs of gloves, tights, socks and a hat...what, I get cold easy?!) and head outside. After shoveling for a while mom asks for someone to put the garbage on the street. "No problem" I think and head over to the side of the house.

I brush off the snow and start trudging towards the street. I'd trudged maybe 3 steps before slip, crunch, ouch! I had slid and fallen on the snow and had taken the garbage with me. The bin had landed on top of me and having already used up all my strength shoveling I found I couldn't lift it. I was trapped, and it was SMELLY. Um...help I said without much hope since my family had gone to the neighbors. Lucky for me it didn't take very long before Dom rounded the corner and rushed to my aid. That my friends is what Simpson's and I call a comedy+trauma = tramedy.

For the Simpson fans this experience reminded me of the time Homer Simpson gets stuck under the tractor. By the time Dom had found me I was yelling, "Move the hand break!" :)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I have had this song playing in my head all day and for the first time I recognized in the text a feeling of both peace and power. For a moment I wondered how something could be both those things at the same time in my mind power and peace were opposites. Then I remembered the Savior and realized that there is nothing more powerful and nothing more peaceful. He is the The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
Have a wonderful Christmas.

Tag!

My Aunt Tagged me and I am finally getting around to the tag post.

4 shows I watch:

I don't have TV but I do watch MASH on DVD and If I could I would watch Criminal Minds.

4 things I am passionate about:

The Gospel

Family

Education

Ice cream

4 Phrases I say a lot:

"What are the odds?"

"Oh honey"

"love you"

"Crimeny!"

4 things I have learned from my past:

You wont usually regret being kind to someone

If you are really craving something just eat it so you don't eat everything else in you cupboards

Everything changes

You are never alone

4 Placed I would like to go:

Italy

New York

Harry Potter world

Home

4 things I did yesterday:

Saw Harry Potter 7 (LOVED IT)

Ate my favorite kind of Pizza

Did a crossword puzzle with my mom

Studied anatomy

4 thing I am looking forward to:

Christmas vacation

Graduation...someday

Buying a new box of cereal

The future in general (is that a comp out :) )

4 things I like about winter:

Early morning walks in fresh snow it is so peaceful.

Hot cocoa

Christmas

That my family gets to be together

4 things on my wish list:

New church clothes

To know what my parents want for Christmas

Cute, warm, long socks

To redo my 72 hour kit.

4 people I tag:

Jenn B.

Kelli J.

Deb S.

Chessie O.

Pacemaker printout

Back on Nov 1st I sent my cardiologist all the recordings my pacemaker had made in the last 3 months. I just hooked up a monitor to a phone and put an antenna over the pacer and it sent everything to Orem where they were able to print it all out.

Yesterday my parents happened to be down at the cardiologists and were able to get a copy of the printout. And this is a little bit of what it said.

• My heart rate dropped down to 0-39 beat per min (bpm) about 20 times a day
• It dropped down to between 40-49 bpm about 70 times a day.
• It also recorded lots of tachycardia even up to about 169 bpm. That is without exercise... um that's crazy.
  

So I realize this might not be fascinating to anyone else but it blew my mind. I can't believe that My heart has been doing that for pretty much the last 6 years. Why did it take so long to get a pacemaker?

Oh well I have it now and I am very glad for it. I'm for sure seeing a difference in energy levels. I feel so lucky to be have the stamina to go grocery shopping, go to 2-3 hours of school, and watch a movie with my friends all in the same day! I am still passing out and am tired since my blood pressure isn't stable. I am also having a hard time with temperature regulation and nausea but without having a ridiculous heart rate all that seems more manageable. I'm just so pleased that it's helping I can't even put it into words.

'Nuff said

USU 31

BYU 16

'Nuff said!

Freedom

This semester I am in an institute class that covers the history of the church. So far we haven't even gotten to the restoration we have been covering the many things that had to happen first. I have been amazed by all the different events that led up to the restoration. Last week we were talking about America and how religious freedom was key. Our teacher showed a us a quote from a speech given by Ronald Reagan and I loved it so much I wanted to share some of it with you.

Some years ago a writer, who happened to be an avid student of history, told me a story about that day in the little hall in Philadelphia where honorable men, hard-pressed by a King who was flouting the very law they were willing to obey, debated whether they should take the fateful step of declaring their independence from that king. I was told by this man that the story could be found in the writings of Jefferson. I confess, I never researched or made an effort to verify it. Perhaps it is only legend. But story, or legend, he described the atmosphere, the strain, the debate, and that as men for the first time faced the consequences of such an irretrievable act, the walls resounded with the dread word of treason and its price—the gallows and the headman's axe. As the day wore on the issue hung in the balance, and then, according to the story, a man rose in the small gallery. He was not a young man and was obviously calling on all the energy he could muster. Citing the grievances that had brought them to this moment he said, “Sign that parchment. They may turn every tree into a gallows, every home into a grave and yet the words of that parchment can never die. For the mechanic in his workshop, they will be words of hope, to the slave in the mines—freedom.” And he added, “If my hands were freezing in death, I would sign that parchment with my last ounce of strength. Sign, sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, sign even if the hall is ringing with the sound of headman’s axe, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the bible of the rights of man forever.” And then it is said he fell back exhausted. But 56 delegates, swept by his eloquence, signed the Declaration of Independence, a document destined to be as immortal as any work of man can be. And according to the story, when they turned to thank him for his timely oratory, he could not be found nor were there any who knew who he was or how he had come in or gone out through the locked and guarded doors.
Well, as I say, whether story or legend, the signing of the document that day in Independence Hall was miracle enough. Fifty-six men, a little band so unique—we have never seen their like since—pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Sixteen gave their lives, most gave their fortunes and all of them preserved their sacred honor. What manner of men were they? Certainly they were not an unwashed, revolutionary rebel, nor were then adventurers in a heroic mood. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants and tradesmen, nine were farmers. They were men who would achieve security but valued freedom more.
Jan 25,1974 "City Upon a Hill" speech given at the first annual CPAC conference source: Reagan 2020 - Selected Speeches of Ronald Reagan

When I hear someone say that this country was founded with divine help it feels very much like they are speaking truth. I'm grateful to have been born in this time, in this place, and into this gospel. I wonder how it is that I ended up so surrounded by blessings?

Crafts

During the summer time my mom and I often try to do a craft or two. I am putting up some pictures up of the things we have completed.

We made some PJ pants which was supposed to teach me how to read a pattern. I did OK but I'm still not very confident with patterns. (The picture doesn't do the them justice the colors are more vibrant.)

Next Mom and I put together a quilt to keep in the living room. Mom chose the fabric and it ended up matching the living room colors perfectly! I love making rag quilts.

My favorite craft was putting together this bulletin board for my room I plan on putting it above my desk. I found the old window frame at a second hand store and had to buy it! It has both magnent board and cork board and that flower is actually a push pin that my mom made cute right? Sanding that window was an experience. I was using this tiny power sander and it was taking forever. Josh said if I wanted to go faster I could use the belt sander. When I pulled the trigger on the belt sander it nearly pulled me off my feet it was WAY powerful. Josh had to take over before I hurt myself.

Pacemaker check up

Hello folks. I went to the cardiologist yesterday. They were just making sure the pacemaker was doing what it was supposed to. All I had to do was sit there. The nurse put a scanner on top of the implantation site and then they could tell me tons of stuff about my heart. It was like being on a star trek episode you know how they use those funny scanners and then suddenly know what is wrong with the patient. It was pretty cool.

I really have not felt any improvements since the implantation, so I didn't think the pacemaker was doing much, however the doctor said that it has actually been doing quite a bit especially for how long I have had it.

It is set up so that when my heart rate drops down below 50 beats per minute it will speed it back up. My pacer reported plenty of times when my heart rate dropped down into the 30s. This was kind of a surprise I never knew that my heart rate was dropping so low so quickly.

So all in all I still feel sick lots of the time, but the pacer is keeping my heart rate at a good level which means they are successfully treating part of my syndrome. My fingers are crossed that we will find other things to help other aspects. For now I am happy with the baby steps we are making.

Riley

That's right my sister bought a puggle puppy. A puggle is a pug and beagle mix. We named her Riley. She is about 7 weeks old and around 3 pounds. I have been getting to take care of her and love it.

She is definitely a puppy she chews on EVERYTHING including peoples hair I wouldn't put your head within her reach if I were you. When she first wakes up she sucks on fingers (and earlobes if she can get them try waking up to that eww weird.) She is so tiny that her bark sounds more like a squeaky toy than anything else, and her absolute favorite thing is to annoy our older dog Sammy. Oh man even with all her naughtiness I still think she is cute.

Cafe Zupas

Dear WWW,

Brittney took me to Zupas a couple of weeks ago and I am still thinking about how delectable it was. If you like soups, salads, panini sandwiches, and chocolate covered strawberries you should check it out. I recommend the tomato soup with the ultimate grilled cheese it is comfort food on steroids. Oh no just talking about it is making me hungry.

love ya,

Charlie

Feeling good

Dear World Wide Web,

It has been just over a week since I got the pacer and I am definitely starting to feel better. Also I only have 3 weeks left before I'm aloud to use my left arm normally I am trying to think of a good way to celebrate the that momentous occasion.

Today I got the OK from my doc to bathe again Hallelujah! I have been taking baths anyway but I haven't been able to wash my hair for many a day. I was desperate right after I came home and my Mom took me to her friends salon and we got it washed there.Unfortunately I haven't gotten to wash it since. Yuck.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I'm lucky I know so many remarkable people.

This is an x-ray they took.... cool right?

Charlie

New treatment

Dear World Wide Web,

I have returned to my blog to share with you some news about my dysautonomia treatment. In the last 5 years we have tried every med available, compression stockings, raising the head of my bed, exercise routines, a visit to the mayo clinic, and I gave up candy for a week on the off chance that it might help. We have tried everything except a pacemaker.

My cardiologist has talked about pacemakers before but only as a last resort. We were just talking at my last appointment when out of no where in his thick Korean accent he said "It is time for you to start thinking about a pacemaker and I will schedule it for sometime in the next 2 weeks." I think my jaw dropped.

I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to decide if getting the pacer is the right idea. It only has a 50% chance of helping me. I don't really want a permanent battery stitched into my chest with its wires dangling inside my heart especially if it won't do anything for me. They can't take it out because the heart starts to grow around it. Also any type of surgery can set dysautonomia patients back in their recovery so just deciding to do it is a risk. On the other hand if this can help me improve even a little isn't it worth it?

In the end I decided to do it. It will be implanted June 16th as long as the insurance approves it. I am nervous and I'm still not sure I have decided to do the right thing but I do believe that I will be watched over and everything will turn out as it should.

Charlie

Aggie Basketball

I invited Brittney to come up this weekend to go and see the last Aggie home game. I had not been to a whole game yet and thought Brittney would feel at home in the enthusiastic crowd. We were both pretty excited to go.

See how very excited we look.

When we got there we realized we were sitting in a figurative ocean of aggie blue and both of us had on maroon. We joked about how funny it would be if the team came out and their color was red. We thought we were SO funny until New Mexico made their appearance.

D'OH!
Simultaneously we started to roll up our sleeves (isn't it funny how sisters think so similarly sometimes.) in an attempt to look like were were not wearing red. We got pretty nervous Aggie fans are not known for how kind they are to opposing teams.

See how very nervous we look

Don't worry they didn't hurt us. But wow they are hard core meanies.

We were both very tired and decided that we would just go at half time. I thought there were 4 quarters in a game and that we could go after the second one. Brittney and I watched the scoreboard and decided we would be ready to go as soon the "second period" was finished. The periods seemed to last forever. Finally it was winding down to the last seconds so we started to gather our things to leave. When to our surprise the crowd flooded the basketball court. "The game is over?" I exclaimed. We had thought periods, and quarters were the same thing and had ACCIDENTALLY stayed the whole game. How do you accidentally stay a whole game?

I guess basketball is not really our thing!

A Tribute to Josh

Who put the skull on my wheelchair? Josh!

Who put a GIANT valentines day heart on the wall just for me? Josh!

Who sends me funny quotes once a day? Josh!

Who bought me a delicious apple snapple....Dom. But I am sure Josh was thinking he should buy me one.

Who always carries all my stuff into the house when I come home? Josh!

Who laughs at most of my jokes? Josh!

All the good, the bad, the twitchy.

Hey Josh thanks for all you do for me. Love you!

Shark attack

Last night I had a dream, and in it I was sitting on a beach making a list of things that might be blog worthy. All of a sudden a SHARK jumped out of the water and bit my leg. I screamed until it let go then I examined the wound and said, "Yeah that is blog worthy."

Sorry for my neglect. Hope you are all well.