A Ridiculously Overdue Update

Sorry for the lack of posting!! Life has been crazy busy with full-time work, full-time school and trying to get a side project I have built up into an actual business. Right now I am enrolled in Anatomy & Physiology I, Statistics and Organic Chemistry. It has been real difficult trying to balance both work and school. I submitted my first completed grad school application today so wish me luck!

The most important medical update comes from the orthopedic surgeon. Basically, my legs are a mess. It is going to require extensive surgery and rehabilitation to fix them, but I really do not have another option right now. My hips and knees are being damaged by the rotation of my legs and all the soft tissue abnormalities that go with it, so it is time to fix it before it gets worse.

My orthopedic surgeon is consulting with a specialist to see how the surgery would go. I'm not sure if it is just my tibias that need derotaion, or if the femurs need it as well. Hopefully I will get some answers soon.

Gearing Up For the 4th

The 4th of July is definitely one of my favorite holidays. All the cookouts and seeing family and friends is so much fun. I have three cookouts in three days to go to. I have realized that I can't go to all three, so I am opting out of the one today.

My lupus and exposure to the sun are very linked. It takes all of two minutes outside for me to get a sun rash. I usually get it on my legs, regardless of whether I am wearing shorts or long pants, and more recently on my neck and the underside of my chin. The rash is painful/itchy. I think in reality it is more painful, but my first instinct is to scratch it for some reason.

I also have a really hard time with sunscreen. I hate the stuff. No matter what it feels oily and gross when I put it on. Even when the bottle says "oil-free" or whatever, I can tell I am wearing it. So I tend to forgo it. This is bad. I need to get better about this especially since I just started a new job and I don't have any personal/sick/vacation time yet. I can't afford to have a lupus flare right now. So I guess this weekend will be filled with lots of food, family, friends...and sunscreen.

Summer Break!

I made it through the first two weeks of training at the new job. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours. I'm looking forward to the paycheck :) Now the kids are on a week long break for Independence Day. I NEEDED this break. The first week of training I just observed the interactions between teachers and students and the second week I took one student by myself. Next week I will have my whole group (3-4 students) along with staff support and the fourth week I am on my own! A little bit nervous. The kids have some very challenging behaviors including extreme aggressiveness. I had to learn how to protect myself from physical attacks while not harming the students. Also, many of the kids are non-verbal, anxiety ridden, have obsessive tendencies and panic attacks/tantrums. I can't wait until I see that I have made a difference in the lives of these kids.

I have an appointment with a new primary care doctor next Friday and made an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon in early August. I need to schedule appointments with my rheumatologist and endometriosis doctors tomorrow. I'm interested to see what the orthopedic surgeon says. All the Internet based literature I have read just leaves me dreading the visit.

I am still taking Chemistry I and I am actually doing well in it. That's a surprise. However, I should also say that the professor is horrible and has told us blatantly wrong information at times in lab which has kept us there longer because we had to fix HER mistakes. I start Human Growth & Development next month, but I am not worried about the class. Next semester I am taking Chemistry II and Anatomy & Physiology I. I think I will really like A&P.

That's it for now and I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

Bad Blogger

Hi everyone!

It has been another long time between updates. Sorry about that. Here is what has been going on in my life the past few weeks.

1. As I mentioned before I FINALLY graduated from college! I was looking for a job and I finally got hired at one that I think I will really enjoy and will allow me to do my nursing prerequisites. I will be working t a residential school for children with autism. It will be a lot of challenging work but I think I am up for it. I also think that the rewards I get from the job will outweigh the stress. I start tomorrow!

2. I started my chemistry class. I'm not really a fan of the professor. The requirements for the class have been very unclear and she assigns homework which she says she will go over and then does not. I have made friends with a couple people in the class and we have basically been teaching ourselves.

3. I'm all moved in back home. It is a little weird moving back home since I have not lived here full time in five years. A lot has changed in my neighborhood and I am still trying to get used to it. Also, I am not used to living at home. My dad and I get along fine, but sometimes I wonder if I have any more options. I know nursing school is going to be really expensive, so I do think it is a good idea for me to be saving that money I would be spending on rent.

My health has been up and down as well. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that the congenital abnormalities in my legs are causing problems. I am looking into having surgery to correct them but it is scary. Recovery will be long and hard and I can't think of a good time to have it. However, I think it may need to be done now so that it is not even harder when I am older. I plan on seeing an orthopedist as soon as I can. The health insurance that I am getting through my new job does not require referrals, so hopefully I can get in as soon as possible.

Those are my updates for now. Hopefully you will get another soon :)

I. AM. DONE.

So the "college" chapter of my life has officially come to a close. I checked my final grades this morning and was pleased with what I saw. So, now what?

I have signed up for two classes this summer. One starts on May 31 and is at 8 a.m. for 10 weeks through the summer. It is general chemistry and hopefully since I will have a little bit more time to focus on it, it will not be as stressful. The second starts on July 11 and is called Human Growth and Development. It is online so hopefully it will not be too bad. It is a psychology class, and since I just got an entire bachelor's degree in psychology, I do not expect it to be too hard.

I have had a few job interviews and I am keeping my options open. I am writing this from vacation in San Francisco and I will have to evaluate the pros and cons of each job when I return. I basically have an offer for one job, but I do not know if it is something I want.

Speaking of San Francisco, I love it here! I fell in love with Oakland yesterday. It is exactly the type of city I want for my 20s. I texted my dad last night to tell him I will be relocating and he said "you want to be in earthquake central". Ah yes. I love California (now that I have been to both north and south) but those pesky earthquakes.

Graduating from college is so interesting. I'm inundated with so many different feelings about it. Nervous, excited, happy, scared. My FUTURE is ahead of me. It's really interesting.

My lupus is pretty stable. There was some evidence of increased activity in my last blood tests, but I'm not that worried. I also was diagnosed with TMJ so I need to see a dentist to help me deal with that.

Well, hopefully I will have some more time to update the blog. I think I know what to rename it since I am no longer a college student and I will be playing around with formats and what not.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Stressful Times

A lot has been going on in my world the past few weeks. One is that graduation is rapidly approaching and I have nothing lined up for after it! I have not been able to even get a job interview and it is stressing me out completely. I am totally broke right now and I am not sure how I am going to pay student loans, nursing school prerequisites, car insurance, medical copays, etc. without a job.

Speaking of nursing school, I am planning on signing up for microbiology, chemistry and human growth and development this summer. I had to drop chemistry this semester because it was too much to focus on and I was not doing as well as I wanted. Now to pay for them...

Another big issue is health insurance. Since I am in MA, I am required to have it. While I really like this, most of the providers I have now will not accept the state health insurance. So I will have to start fresh with a new set, which is always fun (extreme sarcasm).

On the lupus front, however, there is much better news. I am doing and feeling great. My rheumatologist said this is the healthiest she has seen me in the 2.5 years I have been seeing her. Pretty nice to hear, especially since I feel the same way also.

The semester is wining down, which of course means a lot of work. Oof. I just wish I had a crystal ball to look to the future so I can see if everything will be OK or not.

Hey Spring Break!

Well I am on spring break and couldn't be happier about it. A week to relax. Well, kind of relax because I still need to study for both a chemistry and nutrition exam and I need to study for the GREs which I need to hurry up and take.

I saw the endocrinologist last week and they said they did not think I need one of my parathyroids removed at that time and that the other scary thing they were thinking about is probably not what is going on. I am going to have some specialized tests done on my kidneys to try to figure out why they are so calcified, however. In 6 months I have to repeat the blood tests to check on my levels of calcium and keep doing that every 6 months for a while. If they detect the high calcium again then we have to revisit the surgery issue.

I am really happy about this because I was envisioning ridiculous scars on my neck. And of course surgery just throws everything off and I am tried of having it. While my kidneys still remain a bit of a mystery, and this is scary with lupus, I can deal with it. I have been dealing with the stones in them for many years and while the number of stones keeps increasing, as long as I am not in any acute pain I normally don't think about it.

I am only a couple months away from being a college graduate. My dad keeps asking me how I want to celebrate and I don't really know. It is a little surreal to me. I have not found a job yet and that is making me nervous. I have been in school for so long and being done with it is a little scary.

Well, I am actually nowhere near being done. I plan on going to nursing school in the fall of 2012. But I haven't had an extended period of time not being in school in about 18 years.

I hope everyone is staying well!