Mom
Dad
Run
Jump
See Jane Run.
Run Jane, Run.
Those are some of the first words we learn to write. Eventually we branch out into more difficult words - School. Mother. Father. Homework. You get the drift. And by the time we're in our 20s we know how to spell more words than we can every use in a single day. And it's all inside our brain, nesting away until we need them.
I learned a word last year that I wish I'd never heard of. It started off hiding from us by masking itself inside other big words Kidney failure. Liver failure. Englarged heart. Cirrhosis. Congestive heart failure. Cancer. But all those were small words when compared to the real one.
Amyloidosis.
Amyloidosis is a disease of the bone marrow/blood cells. Amyloids are produced in the bone marrow, and is something that everyone has, but most people have the ability to get rid of them normally. A few people - not the lucky ones - develop a condition in which the amyloids build up in the blood stream and deposit themselves on various organs. As they build up on the organs, they cause them to fail. Only a few people are diagnosed with Amyloidosis - maybe 1,200 -1,500 each year. I suppose those few could consider themselves "lucky" - in that they received a diagnosis. Most doctors hav never heard the word. Isn't that special - we know words that highly educated doctors don't know? Many times, the disease mimics other conditions and the doctors don't diagnose in time. The big words we learned first we heard for six months before chance dealt us a card and a doctor who randomly ordered a particular test because he happened to attend a conference the week before.
There is no cure for Amyloidosis. Prognosis is terminal. The trick is diagnosing it in time so that certain procedures can be taken to reduce the effects and before the affected organs fail completely. And it turns out that the most effective treatment is also the most dangerous - autologous stem cell transplant. Another big word or four.
Stem cells are the roots of our bodies. They contain the blueprints for how how our bodies work. By harvesting stem cells from a patient, then killing off all the bone marrow where whole blood is produced, and then giving back the stem cells, the hopes are that the stem cells will return to their places and start doing the work they were intended to do, without the bad bone marrow getting in the way. The bone marrow is removed by a single shot of Melaphan, a posion used for chemotherapy. It affects the digestive tract as well as the bone marrow. It causes hair to fall out. It makes taste buds disappear.
My sister-in-law was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in 2010. Since then she's undergone "normal" chemotherapy, and most recently a stem cell transplant, in the hopes that the Amyloid production will be halted and her affected organs can start to heal. It's been a rough ride - she's now experiencing complications and the doctors aren't sure what is going on. Since the stem cell transplant, her body isn't producing white blood cells, platelets, and other things essential to her well-being like it should. Those really smart stem cells seem to have encountered a road block of some kind and are having a tough time getting back to where they belong. I worry about her every day. I worry just as much for her family, who is pretty much left to sit back and watch and hope that the doctors can "fix it." All we can do is sit by and watch, and try to encourage her. It's hard - her spirit is starting to wear down. Whose wouldn't, after being in the hospital for 20+days, with no end in sight? We're hoping her numbers go up soon, so that she can at least spend one or two nights in her own bed. And at the same time, we want her to stay in the hospital so that the doctors are near. And yet life goes on - we have to continue going to work, and taking care of our own kids, while she's fighting for her life just a few miles away.
All these big words. Once upon a time, I liked learning new words. Knowing big words made me feel smarter than the average bear. Now - they makes me feel helpless.
We love you Dea - keep fighting the good fight!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Musings from Llamaville
The llamas started on a new healthy lifestyle, and have lost a total of 27 pounds to date. And then they fell off the wagon, and have been ignoring the little voices that tell them to start back up again, and so have gained back 2 pounds. Today it starts again - no more excuses!
We went to a family wedding this weekend. I say this with all respect to my family and friends in Arkansas...but who would've thought that the nicest, "fanciest" wedding I've ever been to would be in Little Rock, Arkansas? My youngest cousin got married this weekend in Little Rock, in a gorgeous church (Cathedral of Saint Andrew), and then had a wonderful reception out at Pleasant Valley Country Club. Dinner, dancing - and good times with family. I sure wish Camden was closer to the Rock - that 2 hour drive can be quite a trip. And of course, what is driving with Chelle without getting lost? I missed the "first" 430, and saw a sign for Shackleford, and thought, well, I know Shackleford, duh. We ended up taking 30 West to Benton, hanging a left on 35 to Sheridan and eventually found 167 (187?) and made it back to Camden all in one piece. And only about 10-15 minutes behind Uncle Wayne, who KNEW where he was going. :)
This will be a long week. We leave on Wednesday, the 22nd to head back to the Rock. Protech, Fit Test, testing to watch, friends to cheer on, judging (5 rings!), and compettion. And the 3rd Annual Party at Laurie's House! I'm so looking forward to the trip. It's the most tiring fun I'll have all year (until we go skiing, and while that's fun, it's somehow not nearly as tiring).
PS...wanted to add some pics...this is for Thumper. :D
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tales from Under the 'Hood. Or...what happens when a Prius runs out of gas
Well, last night was interesting.
I will say that the most interesting comment of the night was when my husband told me that I run out of gas more than anyone he's ever met. And I will state for the record, that it's not my fault.
Cuz, you know. I'm a girl. And I truly believe that my tank was siphoned while I was at work.
Now, with that out of the way, here's what happened last night. And why you should be aware of your surroundings at all times, and NEVER rely on the Dallas County Sherriff's Courtesy Patrol Truck to help you out. Because apparently they won't.
On the way home from work last night, I was talking to my husband about a friend with a Prius. Apparently, when it came time to trade it in, he found out the hard way that the Prius is subject to some kind of "battery remediation" charge, which is more than the car is worth. I haven't delved into this any further than random conversations about it, but it's noteworthy that I was discussing this - when suddenly the dash in my Prius went haywire.
(to add to the weirdness, brother and I were discussing possible alien invasion and elderly abuction that morning...but that will be a different post).
Back to the topic - the dash went haywire. And it felt like I was losing power, which it turns out was what had happened. I made it up onto I-45, and exited Martin Luther King Blvd., hoping to find a gas station. But as I crossed the service road to turn right, the car lost all power. And I do mean - ALL power. No lights, no nothing.
And so I suddenly found myself in the position of - That Random Person on the Freeway Whose Car Had Died and was Making No Effort to Move Out Of the Way. I don't like that person - they're annoying. I have had many a conversation about how they're just too lazy to try and move, and how miserable they are making traffic.
Karma hurts, let me tell you.
Now to be fair (and try and shuffle more blame onto someone else) - where the car died was not exactly the best place for me to be...by myself, in high heels and a business suit...alone. I could see the gas station - it wasn't a block away, on my side of the street even. But I couldn't get to it. I couldn't tell if the car was in park or neutral, and there was too much traffic to make a serious effort for pushing it. And there wasn't anyone to ask, because I didn't have any cash on me, nor did I feel safe doing so.
And then appeared what I thought was my Knight in Shining Armour - the Dallas County Sherriff's Courtesy Patrol truck. Let me tell you - the black and white of that truck never looked so wonderful. But as I sat there, trying to smile at him, and wave others by, while my hazard lights were blinking merrily away...he drove off. He sat there at the light for a few minutes, chatting with a homeless person on the side of the street, and he did make eye contact with me - and then off he drove, into the sunset. Without a single word or offer of assistance.
Well, okaaay then. I'm on my own. Just for grins, I tried to turn the car back on - and it worked. So I was able to limp over to the gas station. When I got out, I was immediately confronted by someone wanting to pump the gas for me. (Again, not the best place in the world to be as a woman, alone, in high heels). And I will confess - one of my random thoughts at this moment was that the plastic kamas - IN THE TRUNK - weren't going to be helpful if I needed them. But one of my heels might have been...and I was working out how quickly I could get one off if I needed to, let me tell you.
I had to go inside to prepay for the gas, and was once again confronted by someone inside, asking how I was doing. And THIS is where I think that whatever training I've had up to this point helped - I looked him right in the eye and told him I was fine, and asked how HE was doing - and he grinned, said fine, and walked off. And after that, I was left alone. Until I went back outside and had to deal with Mr. I Want to Pump Your Gas for Any Change You Have.
The moral of the story has several important points to remember...
I will say that the most interesting comment of the night was when my husband told me that I run out of gas more than anyone he's ever met. And I will state for the record, that it's not my fault.
Cuz, you know. I'm a girl. And I truly believe that my tank was siphoned while I was at work.
Now, with that out of the way, here's what happened last night. And why you should be aware of your surroundings at all times, and NEVER rely on the Dallas County Sherriff's Courtesy Patrol Truck to help you out. Because apparently they won't.
On the way home from work last night, I was talking to my husband about a friend with a Prius. Apparently, when it came time to trade it in, he found out the hard way that the Prius is subject to some kind of "battery remediation" charge, which is more than the car is worth. I haven't delved into this any further than random conversations about it, but it's noteworthy that I was discussing this - when suddenly the dash in my Prius went haywire.
(to add to the weirdness, brother and I were discussing possible alien invasion and elderly abuction that morning...but that will be a different post).
Back to the topic - the dash went haywire. And it felt like I was losing power, which it turns out was what had happened. I made it up onto I-45, and exited Martin Luther King Blvd., hoping to find a gas station. But as I crossed the service road to turn right, the car lost all power. And I do mean - ALL power. No lights, no nothing.
And so I suddenly found myself in the position of - That Random Person on the Freeway Whose Car Had Died and was Making No Effort to Move Out Of the Way. I don't like that person - they're annoying. I have had many a conversation about how they're just too lazy to try and move, and how miserable they are making traffic.
Karma hurts, let me tell you.
Now to be fair (and try and shuffle more blame onto someone else) - where the car died was not exactly the best place for me to be...by myself, in high heels and a business suit...alone. I could see the gas station - it wasn't a block away, on my side of the street even. But I couldn't get to it. I couldn't tell if the car was in park or neutral, and there was too much traffic to make a serious effort for pushing it. And there wasn't anyone to ask, because I didn't have any cash on me, nor did I feel safe doing so.
And then appeared what I thought was my Knight in Shining Armour - the Dallas County Sherriff's Courtesy Patrol truck. Let me tell you - the black and white of that truck never looked so wonderful. But as I sat there, trying to smile at him, and wave others by, while my hazard lights were blinking merrily away...he drove off. He sat there at the light for a few minutes, chatting with a homeless person on the side of the street, and he did make eye contact with me - and then off he drove, into the sunset. Without a single word or offer of assistance.
Well, okaaay then. I'm on my own. Just for grins, I tried to turn the car back on - and it worked. So I was able to limp over to the gas station. When I got out, I was immediately confronted by someone wanting to pump the gas for me. (Again, not the best place in the world to be as a woman, alone, in high heels). And I will confess - one of my random thoughts at this moment was that the plastic kamas - IN THE TRUNK - weren't going to be helpful if I needed them. But one of my heels might have been...and I was working out how quickly I could get one off if I needed to, let me tell you.
I had to go inside to prepay for the gas, and was once again confronted by someone inside, asking how I was doing. And THIS is where I think that whatever training I've had up to this point helped - I looked him right in the eye and told him I was fine, and asked how HE was doing - and he grinned, said fine, and walked off. And after that, I was left alone. Until I went back outside and had to deal with Mr. I Want to Pump Your Gas for Any Change You Have.
The moral of the story has several important points to remember...
- Be aware of your surroundings and be confident. Outside or inside was no time for me to turn into "ohmygosh I'm in the hood and I'm going to get mugged please don't look at me/talk to me" girl. I think if I had taken that position, it's possible that I would've been harrassed more than I was, which was very minimal, to be truthful.
- Always have something around you that can be used for self-defense. It might have been my purse, or it might have been a heel. Even if you're a ninja, don't rely on the plastic weapons that you've stored in the trunk. Mr. Bad Guy is not going to wait patiently while you get them, and then let you whack on him for a bit while you shout "Get Back, Leave Me Alone, I'm a Karate Kid!" That might actually bring about more issues that you ever dreamed of.
- Even a Prius can run out of gas, and at 60 mpg, it will suck the life out of that hybrid in about ...a tenth of a mile. Thank heaven for bridges that have downward sloping exist ramps.
- When you find yourself out of gas, in the 'hood, 30 miles from your husband, at 7pm...don't mistake his tone - he's not really mad at you, he's worried. And if you continue to ask him "Well, what do I doooo honey?" - it's not going to get much better over the phone. Especially if you get a little panicked about it - because he can't do anything right then. Men don't like to feel helpless. Especially when you put them in that position because you didn't check the gas level before you left the office. So - always check your gas level when you first get into the car. It may keep you from having to rely on the Dallas County Sherriff's Courtesy Patrol - which you shouldn't.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Random things going on in Llamaville
Not much has been going on in Llamaville. Not much worth reporting anyway.
In September, LK1 and 2 participated in Run the Jailbreak, a "mud run" consisting of 14 obstacles and 3.8 miles. Obstacles included mud, water, tires, mud, hay bales, mud...did I mention mud?
We ran with "Perkins the Terminator" and "Mojo the Beast" and had a blast At the start of the race, it doesn't look that bad...But by the end, Mojo was the cleanest of us all.
Marching season has officially started for the Beast - and I've never seen him do so well in school and stay so organized...I think he's found his groove. (Interesting segue - someone told him yesterday that he reminded them of the Llama from The Emperor's New Groove. Bwahaahaa!
For Poolah, if she's reading - by the end of marching season, we will have the band perform the Llama song. It's so completely morphed now that it's epic. :D
In September, LK1 and 2 participated in Run the Jailbreak, a "mud run" consisting of 14 obstacles and 3.8 miles. Obstacles included mud, water, tires, mud, hay bales, mud...did I mention mud?
We ran with "Perkins the Terminator" and "Mojo the Beast" and had a blast At the start of the race, it doesn't look that bad...But by the end, Mojo was the cleanest of us all.
Marching season has officially started for the Beast - and I've never seen him do so well in school and stay so organized...I think he's found his groove. (Interesting segue - someone told him yesterday that he reminded them of the Llama from The Emperor's New Groove. Bwahaahaa!
For Poolah, if she's reading - by the end of marching season, we will have the band perform the Llama song. It's so completely morphed now that it's epic. :D
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Countdown - 15 days
The llamas have injured a hoof. The good news is that this is happened before. Randomly, a hoof will "roll," resulting in sudden sharp pain, maybe some swelling and brusiing, and then viola! Back to normal. This time, however, there was not really a Voila! moment. 
After a week of limping around and proudly showing off the swelling and brusing, I decided to take the advice of several friends and visit the doctor. Who diagnosed a torn ligament. His words were "Oh yeah, it's torn. Flapping away in the wind." He did seem surprised that I was walking around as good as I was - hardly any limp, and could go up and down on toes with no problems. Side to side, however, was an issue, as after a week, I still couldn't rotate it completely. And the bruising is epic (his words, not mine, but I like them). Based on that, and the condition of the OTHER ankle, he seems to think I've done this before, and this was "just" a reinjury. So two weeks of wearing a brace and doing whatever I want, non-impact, and then 4-6 weeks of rehab. So no backflips, 720 aerials, butterflys, or kicking the bag for a while. (Rats. I almost had the 720 down. The backflip was right behind it!)
Which will be interesting, as at the two week mark, I'll be competing at Worlds. :D This is why doctors love me - I'm a guaranteed source of income, lol. Walking annuity, even.
However, I did come away from this experience with at least one lesson. If you have insurance - don't delay getting to the doctor. It might not have made a difference in recovery time this time around, but it could've. IF I had gotten into the proper brace just a week earlier, the swelling might have gone down sooner. Maybe. But if you're paying for it - use it. That's what it's there fore.
The best news out of the injury - the balance on my right leg has improved by leaps and bounds! Of course, that was already my good side...but that's okay, I'll take any gain, lol.
After a week of limping around and proudly showing off the swelling and brusing, I decided to take the advice of several friends and visit the doctor. Who diagnosed a torn ligament. His words were "Oh yeah, it's torn. Flapping away in the wind." He did seem surprised that I was walking around as good as I was - hardly any limp, and could go up and down on toes with no problems. Side to side, however, was an issue, as after a week, I still couldn't rotate it completely. And the bruising is epic (his words, not mine, but I like them). Based on that, and the condition of the OTHER ankle, he seems to think I've done this before, and this was "just" a reinjury. So two weeks of wearing a brace and doing whatever I want, non-impact, and then 4-6 weeks of rehab. So no backflips, 720 aerials, butterflys, or kicking the bag for a while. (Rats. I almost had the 720 down. The backflip was right behind it!)
Which will be interesting, as at the two week mark, I'll be competing at Worlds. :D This is why doctors love me - I'm a guaranteed source of income, lol. Walking annuity, even.
However, I did come away from this experience with at least one lesson. If you have insurance - don't delay getting to the doctor. It might not have made a difference in recovery time this time around, but it could've. IF I had gotten into the proper brace just a week earlier, the swelling might have gone down sooner. Maybe. But if you're paying for it - use it. That's what it's there fore.
The best news out of the injury - the balance on my right leg has improved by leaps and bounds! Of course, that was already my good side...but that's okay, I'll take any gain, lol.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
JUNE 1ST - THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!
Worlds Week begins is approximately 22 days!
On the schedule this year - Protech training on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Top 10 Competition on Thursday. I can't wait!
More to follow.
On the schedule this year - Protech training on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Top 10 Competition on Thursday. I can't wait!
More to follow.
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