Living In Grace

Time Out *Updated*

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*** ETA- The appt at mayo had to be rescheduled. Unfortunately, in the middle of the Oscars telecast, I started to come down with the flu. In talking to Mayo today, because I'm so immune suppressed they suggested I stay home until I'm better. Too many weird bugs going around that I'm liable to catch. So, home we sit. Yahoo.

Wrestle, wrestle, wrestle.

Right now I'm wrestling with several things. Emotional, physical, spiritual, and a few other "uals" ...

We have our appt. with Mayo Clinic on Tuesday, as well as some other things next week . I need to get my head around alot of stuff, and get my heart back on track.

I guess I'm just trying to say- I'm going to have to take a break for abit. It may be a few days, it may be long. I don't know.

It's the whole "peak and valley" thing, and right now- it's Valley Time.

Hope to be back soon.

Shock. Shock. Double Shock.

 

First of all, a big Thank You to the support team at Typepad. After a gazillion emails back and forth ove r the last week and a half, the blog seems to be healed.

(One bad thing ... while all this has been going on, comments have not been emiled to me so I'm way behind in responding. I'm working to catch up today)

Thank you Jesus! It was really becoming a pain in the neck.

Speaking of pain ...

(note the nice, smooth segue there?)

I had a date today with the hubby.

At the ElectroShock place.

It was highly romantic.

We both needed a Nerve Conduction Study done- he's being treated for carpal tunnel in both wrists, and they are trying to figure out the extent of the neuropathy in my legs.

So I figure why not go together?

Our tech Clara was really nice, and really chatty. She's the former wife of my neurologist, so we got alot more back history than we planned ... but I digress.

Basically, she shocks you over and over with this mini-cattle prod type device. And lawsie, it hurt. She started with my feet and worked up to the back of my knee. I will say I didn't cry, but only do to some real restraint on my part. I'm such a baby.

John "took it like a man". He was more interested in how it worked, and what she was looking at on the monitor- and frankly, she was thrilled to have someone who was a) interested and b) understood what she was talking about. To me, it was all "Charlie Brown adult noise" -... wah wah wah wahwahwahwahwah.

From here, I'll get an ultrasound to review the blood flow. We do know, thanks to the 21 vials of blood that he drew, I have a high CRP level and high Sed Rate. Both of these point to some type of inflammatory condition in the vascular system. 

This may be a reason for my kidney failure, although we aren't sure. I've had to sit down for the first time and type up my medical history in an exact time line. Funny, I've never done that. Everyone always assumed the reason for the kidney failure was chronic infection- however, the source for that was treated in 1977, and infections were sporadic after that.  No one, including myself, ever questioned that there could be other things going on. Weird, huh.

So now we're pointed toward a few potentials, some treatable, some not - but if we can determine that something else is going on and it can be stopped? It may slow down the progression of my kidney failure and buy me more time before transplant can occur. 

It may also explain the extreme issues I had in September with the multiple infections hitting so many major organs at one time.  I've been referred to a specialist (yet another one... sigh) at Mayo on the 26th of this month.

For those of you keeping  count? We've added a new specialized nephrologist, an endocrinologist and a neurologist to the party.

It's beginning to get a bit crowded in here.

All that blood work brought up some other questions, but we're hitting them in order of importance. I sense a bit of a long and winding road ahead in the next few months.

The immediate plan is:

1) Get the results of the NCT from today and find a med that will help slow the progression of the numbness

2) Schedule with the Endo at Mayo Scottsdale, probably in March or April based on their booking times

3) Meet the new Neph Spec on the 26th to pursue the hig CRP and high Sed Rate issues

4) Redo all the required tests for transplant that must be done annually (blood, EKG, mammo, chest x-ray, blah blah blah)

5) Figure how and when I'm going to get to Denver, Salt Lake City and Scottsdale for transplant clinic reviews and evaluations

6) Get John's carpal tunnel resolved or under control

7) Have a life.

Easy peasy.

Right?

Because Winter is Only Here for 5 More Weeks ...

I'm a firm believer that cooking is an art I will never master. So when I accidentally mangle create a recipe that actually works, I hold on to it.

Tight.

I'm also a firm believer in the crock pot. Mainly becasue I like to throw stuff in and forget about it, mostly because I'm, well, lazy.

Anyway.

We love chili around here, and I've been messing with a basic recipe for awhile now and it seems to be pretty good (ie the kids will actually ask for it). truly  a milestone in my opinion.

Without further ado, I present to you ...

Mamma's Cheap, But Rockin' Chili

4 cans Chili Beans (I use the generic brand from WalMart)
16 oz. can Tomato Sauce
16 oz. water (just fill the tomato sauce can when empty)
1-2 pounds cooked ground chuck (we like a really meaty chili, so I use 2 pounds. 1 will do just fine)

Spices:
1/4 cup chili powder
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp. dried oregano 
1 tsp. paprika
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cayenne pepper (we like it HOT!, but you can use less)

And the secret ingredient:

1/4 c. sugar or Splenda (or a matching amount to the cayenne pepper you use)

And now, the hardest part.

Dump everything into the slow cooker, set to LOW.

Take a rest, you've earned it.

When fully rested?

Stir the pot.

Then leave it alone for 3 hours.

About 20 minutes before you're ready to eat, throw together some cornbread. I make it with Jiffy.

You know, from scratch.

Cause I'm all lazy and stuff.

To serve: take a piece of cornbread and put it in the bottom of a bowl. Top with chili. You can top with cheese, or whatever tickles your fancy.

Stir it all up and enjoy.

This will feed a small army, or a family of four with leftovers. It freezes beautifully.

Good news ... no... GREAT AMAZING news!

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Well.

I got monthly labs back today, and lo and behold, I got some compliments from Nurse Cratchit!

Although this may not make sense, I think the numbers will make tell the story:

BUN (poisons filtered out of body) - 
January: 178
NOW 32.
Thirty-two. 3-2. Less than forty.
Note: "normal, non-dialysis people range 8-25"

Creatinine (Another measure  of kidney function) -
January : 8.7
NOW 2.09
Note: "normal, non-dialysis people range 0.60-1.40"

GFR (Amount of kidney function present-estimated)
January: 5%
NOW 26%
This is based on the BUN/Creatinine readings.We will confirm with adequacy testing in three week.

Everything else fell into line, except the phosphorous levels. They're down, but still high.

Darn cheese.

With the other things that have crept up in the last week, I was really struggling with the whole "being sick, finding new things every day" issue. This came at such a good time, and has done alot to raise my spirits.

Even if it's just a one month bump, I'll take it.

Thank you, Lord.

Test 1

Test

Warning .. This Blog May Self Destruct in 5..4..3..2..

I'm in the process of working with Typepad to get the blog back in line. It's been in timeout for a week now. So, if things are funky?

It's me.

Not you.

Do not adjust your TV set.

We will return to normal, I hope, soon.

Thank you.

That is all.

As Close to French Cooking as I'll Ever Get

As requested, here's the recipe for my Idiot Proof, Even I Can Make Them, Strawberry Crepes!

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CREPE BATTER:

8 eggs
1 c. milk
8 tbsp. water
16 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt

FILLING:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 tbsp. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sugar (or an equal amount of Splenda)

SAUCE:

2 c. fresh strawberries (or frozen unsweetened & thawed)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 c. sugar (or an equal amount of Splenda)

Batter:

Beat eggs, milk and water. Add flour and salt, beat just until smooth. Lightly oil a crepe pan or medium skillet (I used a non-stick pan, and had no need to oil it). Heat pan over medium heat. When pan is hot spoon 1/2 cup batter into pan and rotate pan to spread evenly. When edges of crepe are browned, turn crepe onto a plate. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling into each crepe and roll. Arrange crepes seam side down on plate.

Filling:

Place cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar in mixer. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Sauce:

Coarsely chop strawberries (I bought pre-sliced frozen strawberries, so skipped this step completely). Add lemon juice and sugar. Toss lightly.

Important: Top with strawberry sauce right before serving to avoid  crepes getting "mushy".  Top with a bit of whipped cream, if you so desire.

Makes 12 crepes.

Prepare to be worshiped and adored.

You're welcome.

In solidarity of the Union Writers Strike ... We're On Strike

courtesy ideallives.com

Well, actually not.

Ye old blog blew up today, and there was no fixing it. So, to save evreyeon the frustration of the atomic disaster, I threw up the password protection for a couple hours.

Which in turn, set my email on fire :)

So now, we're back to a basic template until the rest can be worked out.

Sigh.

Needless to say the helpful links sent to me by the Typepad IT department are, well, meaningless to my brain. I can't figure out where this stupid tag code goes, so until I can, this is it.

Love me anyway?

First Test Results Back: Congratulations, it's a ...

Ok.

No.

I'm not pregnant.

However, I am growing something.

On my thyroid.

While getting some blood work done with the neurologist for the numb feet issue, we discovered several things. The first being that my thyroid has all but shut down. No biggie, I'm taking a pill to help out.

In following up on that, we discovered a lump on my thyroid which required an ultrasound. Turns out I have an adenoma on the left side.

So, new specialist. Endocrinologist.

I've been referred to the Mayo Clinic for follow-up, but unfortunately they're currently booking in March, which means we're in a holding pattern on knowing the full extent of what this is until then.

So, we are praying that things like "benign" remain, and "no biopsy needed" are the outcome of this whole experience.

One thing down ... a few more to go.

I'll keep you posted!

Prayer Request

Hey.

I was wondering if I could ask y'all to pray. There are some things that have cropped up over the last week that will require new specialists to meet, and more tests to be run.

Normally, I'd share the specifics, but so much is "up in the air" right now, and may be nothing - so if you'll indulge me, I'd prefer to just share things as they come to fruition. One way or the other.

We have several appointments made over the next three weeks, and alot of traveling to accomplish them.

I stand on this:

Jehovah Jirah, my provider, His grace is sufficient for me.