Friday, September 12, 2008

Happy Happy Joy Joy! That's really all I can say! I just had my follow-up echocardiogram, and they said everything looks great! Yippee! I knew I had been feeling better and getting stronger every day, but it's always nice to hear you have a clean bill of health from an official person. :) Now I can truly rest easy, know all these medical woes are behind me, and enjoy my 40th birthday on Monday completely. Alot has happened in the past 4 months, and I'm so very thankful to be alive to enjoy each day! Like I said before, "Happy Happy Joy Joy"!!!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hello! Time has certainly flown since I last posted. I was not planning on posting much more, but several people have asked me to keep this up, so I promise to post things more regularly. I can't imagine that my life would be that interesting, so people must be desperate for cheap entertainment. Ha! :) The most recent news for us is I went back to work on August 1st, and Blake and Brooke started school on August 18th. Blake got his driver's permit this summer, and he has been practicing quite a bit. It's funny to listen to his little sister complain about his driving. Guess she doesn't realize her time is just around the corner. I'll post some pics of the first day of school later. Blake is a Freshman @ Rogers High School, and Brooke is a 7th grader @ Elmwood.

Almost a Week Later---June 10th, 2008

Well, I have been home almost a week, and it feels sooooo good to be here!!! I have been enjoying time with Blake and Brooke, relaxing, and getting my sleep patterns back to normal (noone here pokes and prods me fifteen times a night, so I'm not used to it...ha!). It has been a wonderful time visiting with family, getting caught up with friends (old and new), and just enjoying life. There are so many people that just keep doing random acts of kindness for us. Just when I think it can't be anymore, someone shows up with food, flowers, an e-mail, kind words, running errands for me, cleaning my house, yard, and pool, etc. It's just amazing!! I hope I can return the favors someday!!

Several people have asked if I'm going to keep up the blog. At this time, I have to say I don't think so, but that could change, and I'll let you know if it does. It was a WONDERFUL tool to keep everyone informed, and it was the highlight of my day to be able to post and let everyone know what was going on while I was away. However, I started typing up my whole ordeal from beginning to end, and that is going to take some time. So......if I try to do both, I'll be overwhelmed, and we all know my new motto....take it easy, and don't overload~ha! :) I will let everyone know when my saga is all in print, and for those of you bored or curious enough, you can read it at your leisure. :) I am also really wanting to check into how to start the foundation I was talking about before I go back to work. I have several good leads, and from everything I've heard from others, I'm not alone in believing human touch is one of the the best healers of all. So, I'm anxious about that!!

Please feel free to e-mail me, call or come by. I'm getting more and more strength every day, and if I take it easy, I can handle more and more each day. If I can't, I'll just tell you I'm pooped. Ha! :)

Thank you to each of you who have made a difference in my life!!
Joey :)
P.S. This is on my perpetual calendar for today (not a coincidence, I know), so I'm going to use it in place of my scripture:
" Live for today but hold your hands open to tomorrow. Anticipate the future and its changes with joy. There is a seed of God's love in every event, every circumstance, every unpleasant situation in which you may find yourself."
~Barbara Johnson

Homecoming!!!! June 4, 2008

When I arrived home in Rogers (the best place on earth in my opinion!), this is what I was greeted with! My sweet Blake and Brooke had made this poster, and Nonna (my mom) had brought them over to be here when I walked in the door. I was sooooooo excited to be home and see my Mom, Blake and Brooke!!! I just wanted to do the Happy Dance (still working on stamina, but getting there!!!) There's definitely NO place like home!!! Did I mention I love my kids?!?! :)

Coming Home!!!

On Wednesday, June 4th, 2008, I was released from St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, MO. I was sooooooo ready to come home, that I woke up early, took a shower, cleaned everything up, put on make-up and fixed my hair (shocker, I know!!!----sorry for the scary photos previously), and twiddled my thumbs until it was time to go!!! I finally got my pick line out (which had been in my arm since May 20th) and signed all my release paperwork, had prescriptions in hand, ready to leave the hospital......and they couldn't find the cart (which had been ordered an hour before) to help carry stuff down!! I'm telling you, by this point, I had ants in my pants and was pacing the room. So, being the typical Joey that I am, I just started picking up stuff and carrying it downstairs. I wanted to get home!!! :) Joey 2 kept saying I was crazy and I needed to let him carry everything. He said, "It's just not right....you were in here on your death bed two weeks ago, and now you're carrying your own stuff down the hallway to leave. This is wrong!" Well, I thought that was such a great plan, but after one trip, I was totally pooped, so I waited downstairs outside for Joey to go get the rest of it. In the meantime, the man with the cart (let's call him "Cart Guy") was out of breath next to me declaring he "found the missing cart that someone else had taken by mistake". He also had the rest of the stuff from the room on the cart, so I text Joey and told him to not make that trek up to the 6th floor. He didn't get the text and saw an empty room when he got up there, so I'm sure he panicked a bit, but you never would've known it! Anyway, we hit the road at about 11:45, stopped for lunch and lots of potty and stretching breaks along the way, and I got to see some of my favorite people on this planet when I got home!!! It's great to be back!! :)

My scripture for yesterday was:

Philippians 4:4-7~ (NKJV)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

(Other than getting very antsy and in a hurry to leave the hospital, I did pretty well with these verses.) :)

Dr. Brunts

This is Dr. Brunts, my cardiologist in St. Louis. He has the best bedside manner, and and checked on me every single day since my arrival. He is very dedicated to his job, and I just shake his hand as well, and tell him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" every time I see him!!! I asked him if I could post this picture to my Blog, and he was fine with it (he even knew what a Blog was). My heart is heathly, and I'm a happy girl!!! :)

Another Wonderful Day and More Great News!!!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!!! It's Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008, and what a day it has been!!! :) I was awake off and on again all night with a headache and fever (only happens at night) and ANOTHER storm!!! I'm telling you, between NWA and St. Louis, I've seen enough rain to float my boat for the next several months! :) I set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. to call Blake and Brooke on their way to school. This is the second day in a row I've been able to do that, and it made things seem more normal than they have been in a while. (As a tradition, on the mornings I don't have them, I always call them at 7:00 to wish them a good day, chat for a minute, and just hear their voices. It makes my day go much better!) I sure have missed that the past couple of weeks. It's amazing what creatures of habit we are!!

Anyway....X-ray came and got me at the crack of smack for another chest X-ray (which happened to be even better than yesterday---still just a little bit of fluid at the base of my lungs). After that, I had an Echocardiogram. This is a test of the heart, and the last one I had was in Rogers. As far as I remember, this was the test that showed my heart was swollen three times it's normal size, was beating irregularly, and the left side was only functioning at 45%. I may be wrong on some of the details, but I do remember this test was one of the ones with more scary results. Today, however, it showed I have a strong, beating heart with no long-term damage, and just a little bit of fluid surrounding it. Dr. Brunts (my cardiologist) said I may get winded easily for several weeks as the heart continues to heal. Hey! I can handle a little out-of-breathedness----I'm alive, and it's beating normally.....and that's a HUGE improvement from 2 weeks ago today!!!

After that test, I took a shower (standing up the whole time), and the only issue I had was me cutting my leg with the razor---imagine that---me being an accident waiting to happen~ha! :) I was drying my hair when the massage therapist came in. Remember the awesome massage I bragged about last week? Well, I got another one today to prepare me for the long ride home tomorrow. Kathryn, the massage therapist, came in on her day off to give me a massage! Can you believe that?!?!?! Another random act of kindness!!! We talked alot beforehand, and she is a very special lady who shared alot of wisdom! She was definitley a blessing to me both times she was here. :)

Next, a long-time friend of my parents (she graduated with my mom) came by and visited. Her name is Sandy Cowan, and she was a breath a fresh air!!! She brought "I Love Shea" foot cream (my favorite) and chocolate-covered almonds (which I immediately dove into) from Trader Joe's---another random act of kindness!!!

Finally, I ate lunch, read e-mails and regular mail, and took a nap. I had great plans to walk outside again today, but it seemed like everytime I got ready to, something came up and I got side-tracked. But, I have been working out in my room with my makeshift weights (water bottles), resistance band, and the side of the bed. I'm kind of like "MacGyver-ette" actually...and you can invison me in my hospital gown, hospital-issue pajama bottoms, and fuzzy socks just toodling around the room doing my little routine---pathetic, I know---but hey, it's better than bedsores. I can tell you.....never a dull moment! :)

I'm just so anxious to get home!!!! As a matter of fact, Joey 2 (or Joey 3, as my parents call him; or "Man Joey" as Tena calls him) is enroute to St. Louis as I type this to get ready to BRING ME HOME tomorrow!!!!! All the doctors agree that I am ready to leave, and I'm MORE than ready! I was rushed in here two weeks ago tonight with little to no chance of surviving the night, and I still can't comprehend everything that has transpired over the last 14 days!!! God heard all those prayers and smiled down on little ole' me!!! I have so much to be thankful for!!!

One thing I did forget to mention...Dr. Shein (my Primary Care Physician here) ran some more blood tests today, and there are a couple of numbers that are still elevated (platelets and Alkaline Phosphalase). He wants me to follow up with Dr. Leuders within a couple of weeks of returning home, and I'll definitely do that. But, I just know it's all going to be good though, so no worries!!!!

Here's a scripture I'd like to share before saying good night. It's an extra-special one because it is from a long-time friend who has recently suffered an incredible loss. It's amazing that she is comforting me when she is still grieving herself. What an amazing and selfless friend!
Jeremiah 29:11~ "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future."

I hope you're day has been wonderful, and I hope each of you has made at least one good memory to hold onto. Here's a little something my best buddy, PDHSBR, told me a while ago, and it's very profound (even though he's not technically a philosopher)! He told me this last Fall when I was just going 90 to nothing and couldn't seem to slow down. It rang true then and even more so now...."JJ, stop and smell the roses on the way, but don't rush to smell all the roses that you can."

Love you all~
Joey :)