Missing Timmy

Been thinking a lot about Timmy lately.  Sometimes it is hard to believe that he is no longer around here on Earth.  I miss him a lot!  During the past week, while trying to fall sleep at night or trying to take a nap, I think about sitting next to Timmy and we both are worshiping God. 

I will also ask God, what is Timmy doing?  I talk to Timmy, too.  I wonder when I get to Heaven if I will be able to get a Timmy Hug.  I miss  his hugs. 

This was taken on Christmas 2010.  Even though he is in Heaven, he will always be a part of my heart.

Fireworks

Yesterday was the Fourth of July.  The United States of America is 238 years old.   I went to three different fireworks this week.  Sunday night, mom and I went to see fireworks in Fairlawn.  They were really good, last about 30 minutes, really cool designs.  Thursday night, mom and I went to Wadsworth to watch fireworks.  They started late, and were okay.  Wadsworth has done better in the past.  Fairlawn's were way better this year.  Last night with a few friends, went to the Rubber Ducks game and watch fireworks afterwards.  This was my forth Rubber Ducks game this year. These pictures of fireworks are from Fairlawn's.

Member Night at the Akron Zoo

Last evening from 5-8 pm, was member's night at the zoo.  I bought a single membership back in April to the Akron Zoo.  The zoo has two baby snow leopards, but they are not on display yet.  The komodo dragon died earlier this year, and they have replaced it with a new one.  There is now a red panda at the zoo.  Here are a few pics that I took last night.

                                              Penguins

                                                  Sting ray

                                                  Lion

                                                   Coyote

New Lung Doctor

  Last month, I chose to change lung doctors.  I asked my kidney doctor if he knew anyone.  He gave me three names, then I called my doctor to ask her for a referral for the new doctor.  I got it and called to make an appointment.  My new lung doctor is half Hungarian.  I am  one quarter Hungarian, that was neat for me.  I will see him again  before school starts. Before then, I will be getting my fourth ultrasound of my right leg in the past year.  In early August, I will have a lung function test.

   He did show me on the computer, a comparison of my PET/CT scans from last August to the one I had at the beginning of March.  He said there was a mass in August and now it is gone.  He also said that Sarcoid is an inflammation of the lymph  nodes. 

    Yesterday morning, I wore my tennis shoes for a few hours.  That was great.  I have to build up time in my tennis shoes.  The swelling in my right leg is going down!  By end of summer, I should be back at Curves working out.  My other goal is to be able to wear my slip-ons by the middle of next month. 

   The OT is working on both of my wrists and my lower arms are very tight.  I have a few exercises to do through out the day.  I am looking for a brace to wear, which will also help. 

Toledo Zoo

Yesterday, I left Heather's house and stopped in Toledo to walk around the Toledo Zoo before heading for home.

                                                  Tiger

                                                  Mama and baby elephant

                                                  White Rhino

                                                African Penguins

                                                  Monkey butt

                                                Giraffe

Detroit Zoo

Saturday afternoon, Heather and I went to the Detroit Zoo after eating at B.D. Mongolian Barbecue.  We got to the zoo and was told they closed in an  hour.  (We got there around 4 pm.) Heather saw on the Internet that the zoo closed at 8 pm, well, that was wrong.  Here are a few pics from our two hours at the zoo.

                                                Butterfly from the butterfly house.

                                                  Penguins

                                                  Seal sunning itself.

                                              Rhino butts.

                                            Flamingos

                                                 Buzzards

Met the OT Today

I've been going to Edwin Shaw for two months now.  I was continuously wrapped from last Friday night till yesterday morning.  The swelling in my right leg has gone down a lot!  I can almost fit into my slip on shoes.  I am able to put on my black tennis shoes, but they were a little snug, though.  When I move, the foam on my upper leg moves down over my knee, and if I pull it up, it seems to get worse.

The OT only works at this Edwin Shaw on Wednesday and Friday mornings.  I had my first appointment with her this morning.  I will be seeing her twice a week.  My fingers have been numb all day on my right hand.  I have had carpel tunnel syndrome for almost twenty years now. I was given a few exercises to do.  Rehab does work.

Monday Meet Me

I follow some different teacher blogs and they are having blog link up where you share some information about yourself, so I decided to join up with them.

I have taught from fourth-seventh grades. I have taught in both TX and here in OH.  I was only self-contained twice (where I taught all of the core subjects).  I have taught mostly science and social studies.  Those are my two favorite subjects.

I do not have a husband or children, but I do have my parents, sister, niece, grandma and a lot of friends.

My all time favorite TV show is Emergency! (a show from the seventies.) I also watch Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, Major Crimes.

I listen mostly to Christian music. but I also do enjoy listening to Country music.

I love to read.  I mostly read Christian fiction, of which most of those books are about the Amish.  I will also read biographies.  My favorite magazine is People Weekly.

My hobby is scrap booking.  I scrapbook the school year, trips and other events.  I do both digital scrap booking and by hand.

Clevland Zoo

Real Life went to the Cleveland Zoo on Saturday.  I did miss seeing a few animals.  I do wish that the Cleveland Zoo came people the chance to feed the giraffes.  You can pay to ride a camel there, though.  We did see  a wedding party take their wedding pictures at the zoo, and the bridal couple did ride the camel.

                                                The group that went to the Cleveland Zoo.  There were almost 20 of us who went.

                                                 There are two elephants here.

                                                          lemur

                                                      giraffe

                                                      rhino

                   I made the mistake of telling Brett on the way to the zoo that you could ride a camel.  That is all he talked about doing all day.  This is the last thing we did before leaving the zoo.  This is Brett riding the camel.

First Day of Being Wrapped

I was back at the rehab clinic this morning. I had dad drop me off and mom to pick me up.  I wasn't sure how well I would be able to walk, let alone, drive.

Only my lower leg is wrapped today.  This is so, I can get used to wrapping it myself, before i have to do my whole leg.  First things are first....both of my legs were measured.  The biggest difference between my two legs, is the calf area...14 centimeters.  The other areas, no more than 3-5 centimeters, of where my my right leg is bigger than my left leg. 

I have two videos of my therapist wrapping my leg, first my toes then the rest.  That is so I can watch it first. 

First a protective sleeve is put onto my leg.  Then folded gauze is wrapped around my toes.  Then two layers of gauze is wrapped around my lower leg.  Then three different size of bandages is wrapped around my leg, starting with my foot to ending just below my knee/at the top of my calf.

When I am not wearing my compression stocking, then I will have my leg wrapped.  I can not wear a sock on my right foot.  There is an added piece of Velcro to the strap on my shoe, so that I can strap my shoe.  I can not have my leg wrapped at school, because of the type of material my pants need to be.  I am to sleep with my leg wrapped.  This wrapping is to get the swelling down in my leg. 

First Visit to the Lymphodemic Clinic

      Sometime last month, I called my doctor and complained about my lymphodema.  They called and got me an appointment someplace.  The appointment was scheduled for April 21 and I was put onto the cancellation call list.  I got the call for a 2:30 appointment today.  I had to do so rearranging at school, so I could leave extra early.  This clinic is at a rehab place and I am going to get some help to get my swelling down.  I want to wear my tennis shoes again, then I can start working out again.  My next appointment is next week.

The PET Scan That Didn't Happen

On Monday, I stood at the desk, I was scheduled for a PET scan for today. My lung doctor scheduled this scan, not my oncologist.  They had to call the Infusion Center to schedule an appointment for me to be accessed.  I had an 11 am appointment this morning to be accessed.I had to be downstairs by noon fora 12:30 appointment.  I am downstairs early and precede to check in.  I wasn't on their schedule.  The code for the diagnosis that my lung doctor used was for a scan that they don't do where I was.  Phone callas were made, and I found out that my test would be rescheduled.  I had to go back upstairs and be deaccessed.  I wasn't too happy. 

This was the third day in a row that I wasn't at school.  Wednesday I saw my kidney doctor and my personal doctor.  My blood work came back good, except  for my magnesium which is low. 

Yesterday, I had a light case of the stomach flu.  It started Wednesday night.

Saw my Lung Doctor Today

I saw my lung doctor after school today.  Turns out, I was not supposed to stop taking steroids last month.  I was supposed to continue taking them until I saw him today.  I told him that i never want to be on steroids again.  There are other drugs that I could take if needed to.  He checked my blood work that was done on Valentine's Day.  My calcium is 8.8, my creantin is in the normal range.  My kidney function is normal.

   This Wednesday afternoon, I will be getting an ultrasound on my left leg.  My left leg has been swollen, along with the foot.  When my feet swell, they hurt.  I do not know why my left foot and leg is swollen.

 This Friday, I am going to get a PET/CT scan to check on my lymph nodes.

George Strait Concert

Saturday, I drove down to Columbus for the George Strait concert.  This is year two of the two year "Cowboy Rides Away" tour.  After June 7, George will retire from touring.  I had never seen him in concert before.  Last year, Martina McBride was his only opening act.  This year, he has a variety of opening acts.  Saturday, was Little Big Town.  They are okay, but I really wanted to see Martina besides George.
   Took me little over an hour to go three miles from my hotel to the parking garage on Saturday,  George came out around 9 pm, and started off the show with "Fireman".  The stage is a square, with a microphone at all four corners.  He sings a couple of songs at each corner.  With a five song encore, the concert lasted over two hours.  He sang"All of my Exes Live in Texas" during the encore. 

I used my zoom lens to take some pictures.

Withdrawal

Monday, (MLK Day) was day 90 for the steroids.  That was the last day I took steroids.  Since then, my body has been going through withdrawal.  I've been having all day headaches, and my head hurts.  The headache is really painful early in the morning.  The early morning one has been like an Interferon headache.  My neck has also been hurting as well.  These headaches have not been fun.

Check up with Oncologist

  I saw my oncologist this morning.  My bp was good, and since December 26, I have gained 9 pounds.  I have until February 24, to loose that weight.  I was doing really good staying within a 4 pound range while on the steroids.  I have had more energy the last three weeks, compared to how I was the previous 6 -7 weeks before then. 
   I will be done with the steroids on Monday!  Yeah!  I was originally scheduled to see my lung doctor on Monday, but that appointment has been cancelled and rescheduled twice.  I am now scheduled to see him on Monday, February 24. Will see if that stays or gets rescheduled.  My oncologist is allowing my lung doctor to schedule my next CT scan. 
   I am scheduled to see my oncologist 8 days before my birthday.  So, if this scan comes back clean, then I will go a year after July's visit before I see my oncologist.  After next month's port flush and blood work, I will start going about 6 weeks in between port flushes.  I don't do that now, but will start doing that. 

Happy 2014

New Year's Day, 2014.  I spent last night with my single's group from church.  We rented the same place as we did last year.  A certain restaurant catered the meal, had dancing, devotional, and a lot of fun.  Here are some pics from our New Year's Eve party.

                                                       Greta and myself

                                                       My table having fun taking pictures.

                                                      Five of the seven ladies from my table.

                                                   The whole gang

                                                    Brett and myself

New Breathing Mask

I found out a couple of weeks ago, that with my insurance, I can get a new mask for my breathing machine (for sleep apnea) every three months.  In the past month, I started having problems with my mask, because of the swelling of my face.  I last got a new mask, back in February.  I  like the mask, but it wasn't staying on properly, and the straps kept moving up towards my ears.  The week before Christmas, I stopped using the mask.  Last Monday, the 23rd,  I had an appointment over at Cornerstone to get a new mask.  I needed a bigger mask.  My new mask is similar to my old mask, but still different.  
   I slept pretty good this past week.  The first three nights, I was feeling good in the morning, with a good amount of energy.  I still took naps (on vacation).  But by Thursday/Friday, I started noticing that my energy level wasn't up as high as it had been. Dad made a comment Thursday or Friday night, about how the swelling was getting worse in my face.  I noticed Friday (I think) night, where the straps on the side was moving up towards my ears, having to readjust the mask when I woke up at night.
   Between my slightly high blood sugar levels, and not getting enough air due to the mask not fitting properly at night, my energy level hasn't been very good.  It is better than it was before Christmas vacation, but slightly lower than the beginning of last week.
   It is going to be interesting on New Year's Eve, since I get really tired in the evenings and become half asleep.  I am hanging out with my friends.  I am planning on taking my own pop, since last year they only served Coke products, and I am a Pepsi person.  Pepsi does help, but I hope I can last til midnight.

At the Doctor's Office Again

  I said that I had blood drawn on the 10th of this month.  Doctor's office called on Tuesday, to say they got the results and that the doctor wanted to see me.  So I scheduled the appointment for 10:50 this morning.  I waited about 50 minutes in the waiting room before being called back.  I gained about 2.5 pounds since the 2nd of this month.  I have been watching my portion sizes for when I eat.  I wanted to prove to my lung doctor that I wouldn't gain a lot of weight while on steroids.  My face is very puffy!
   Back on the 10th, blood was drawn to check my blood sugar and insulin levels.  I was told that steroids can mess up your sugar levels.  Mine is a little high.  6.3 is diabetic, mine is 6.5.  My doctor is not saying that I am diabetic.  On the 10th, I was taking 2 steroids a day, I am now down to 1 1/2 steroids a day.  Each pill is 20 mg.  The first month was 60 mg a day, the second month was 40 mg a day, and now I am down to 30 mg, 
  This is what we are going to do:  I was going to have my physical fasting  blood work done on January 17,  but it is being moved back to February 14.  I am already scheduled for blood work on that day for the kidney doctor.  Plus, my blood sugar will be tested on February 14 also.  According to my calculations, my last day to take steroids is January 20.  That will put me at 3 weeks without being on steroids, so hopefully, things will have settled down by then. 
    While I was at the doctor's office, I told her that my right leg was hurting.  I somehow did bruise an area on the front, but it hurt on the side for the past couple of days.  Since it felt warm to the touch to her, she wanted to get an ultrasound done on my leg.  That is the third one this year since July.  I had to head down to Green for a 3:30 appointment, since the places around where I live couldn't get me in for a stat ultrasound.  I do not have a blood clot in my right leg.  The area hurts and is kinda hard.  I will put the heating pad on it, and since I see the chiropractor on Saturday, I will ask him to do heat therapy on that area.  He is good at letting me  have the heat therapy when I ask for it.

Christmas Questionnaire

I linked up with another blog to answer these Christmas questions.

1. Hot Chocolate or Eggnog?
   Actually neither, but will drink hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap your presents, or do they just sit underneath the tree?
        My parents wrap the presents for us kids.  I wrap the ones I give out.

3.  Colored lights or white?
     Definitely colored?  I like the blinking lights the best, but we do not have those up this year.  

4. When do you decorate?
         Usually, the tree comes up stairs from the basement on Thanksgiving, but the tree goes up that weekend.  My mom puts up the tree, and I help decorate the tree.  On a nice day sometime in November, she will go out and put the lights up on the lamp posts along the driveway.  The stockings go up, and lights and garland go up the stairs and along the banister.  This year this did not happen.  Mom has been sick, and I haven't been well most of the fall either.

5.  Real or Fake tree?
       We have a fake tree.  This year, my sister brought over hers and put it up.  Mom wasn't up to bringing up or 9 foot tree.  My sister's is much small, besides she had been thinking of buying a new tree this year.

6. What tops your tree?  
      We have an angel on the top of our tree.

7.  Favorite Christmas Memories or Traditions?
       We get a brand new ornament every year.  My mom started this when we three were kids.  All three were in the same theme, but as we got older and became involved in things, our ornament might have something to do with what we were involved in.  I have quite a few teacher ornaments, because I am a teacher.  I have some different Pittsburgh Steeler ornaments.  When we go on vacation, we might try to find a Christmas ornament from that place, but not always.  This year, I bought the ornaments, and forgot to buy a new one for myself.  My niece is part of the tradition.  The last few years, we have been buying our ornaments from the same person.  We like her stuff.

8.  Do you remember your favorite gift as a child?
    When I was in the second grade, I got a watch for Christmas.  I think like every five minutes, I would go around telling people the time. 

9.  Do you prefer giving or receiving?
    I think all like receiving, but I do love giving gifts to others.  I enjoy looking for something different for my family and friends.  I am bad, at buying, and then telling my friends, that I have their gift, but I do not tell them and make them wait, until they get it.

10.  What is your favorite Christmas song?
      It is actually a hymn, "Angels We Have Heard on High"  That is because I love the chorus.

11.  Candy Canes, Yuck or Yum?
      Yum.  I buy them for my students, and try to get the different flavors for them.  I do like the peppermint ones, the best.

12.  Favorite Christmas Movie?
        I do not have one.

13.  Do you shop online or in stores?
         Both, but mostly in the stores or at  craft shows.

14.  Photo cards, letters, or store bought cards?
     My family did  a photo card, two years ago, when we had our family pic taken for the last time ever.  I do like getting a photo card from my friends.  I usually send out store bought cards, and for a few people will add a letter to it.  I do like getting the letter.