PT Update

So, my last appt at PT wasn't AS bad as the one before...meaning I wasn't crying. Granted, this could be because I saw the physical therapy assistant, not the actual physical therapist. AND the physical therapy assistant said she would "go easy on me" because my arm had been throbbing the entire time since the previous appt (i.e. the appt from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks) Anyways, they called my ortho doc to see about possible getting a muscle relaxant. Basically, they aren't able to "stretch my arm to it's full capacity" because my arm is stubborn and the muscles spasm out before the therapists can get to the "frozen" point of my shoulder. Basically, they can't determine if my shoulder is actually "frozen" because the muscles spasm before the physical therapist can feel the "frozen" point. Meaning, they don't know if surgery would actually be beneficial to "break up the scar tissue" because they can't determine if the scar tissue is what's causing the delay in progression. Leave it to me to do things the unconventional way. ANYWAYS, the surgeon said he doesn't want to give me any muscle relaxants or pain meds (what the physical therapists were recommending) until he (the surgeon) actually sees me at my follow-up appointment. Ugh, looks like I have 4 more PT appointments (including 1 today, and 3 next week) before we find out any new news. My follow-up appointment is on Jan 8th. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out what is causing my arm to be so stubborn, and alter my treatment plan accordingly. All I can say is whoever invented the heating pad is a God send!

Sorry for the negativity

Okay, I am going to vent a little bit. Sorry for all the negativity, but I'm just frustrated. Since I started PT, I have been in more pain than I've experienced since right after the surgery. My orthopedic surgeon told me on my first visit with him to stop taking any of my prescription pain meds, and just take 2 Aleve twice a day to keep the inflammation down. Yesterday, though, I almost lost it. I was in PT and I had chatted with the therapist about how I've been having lots of spasms since starting PT. She replied with 'it shouldn't be doing that this long after surgery,' which was really comforting. Then we proceeded with the rest of the PT session. She decided she wanted to see if I had any more motion then when she saw me when I first started PT. I explained to her the pain that I get once my arm gets to a certain point. Well, she just kept pulling/twisting/whatever other form of torture she was doing at the time. I would tell her, "that hurts, it feels like something is going to snap" and I showed her where. I have one spot that is the biggest trouble maker. Well, she would dig her finger into that spot, which would shoot pain from my shoulder down to my elbow, and keep moving my arm. Now you have to understand, I very rarely cry when I'm in physical pain. Yesterday, she had me to the point of tears several times. I actually cried in PT because it hurt so bad. I know there is a certain amount of pain associated with PT, but when the patient is crying, you would think that's a good point to stop and rest for a second. I kept telling her, all I needed was maybe a 30 second break where the muscles could rest. I mean my arm was shaking it was so fatigued. You know that running after you've ran to long where your legs are like jello and you feel like they are going to give at any moment? At the end of the session (which was supposed to be 1.5-2 hours and ended up being a little over 3!) she had the nerve to say "well your shoulder moved a little farther than it did the last time I saw you." I wanted to yell "well yeah it did, last time you stopped before the tears came."I'm very frustrated because I can't get a straight answer from anyone. I just want to start seeing progress. I've been in PT for over 2 weeks now and I can't notice any difference, unless you count the fact that the muscles from my elbow to my neck are completely knotted, I have muscle spasms at random times during every day, whether I've had PT or not, and I'm in a lot more pain than I have been since surgery-and getting less sleep because it keeps waking me up. Well, with her seeing and documenting "a little progress" in my movement, I'm afraid that the orthopedic surgeon will want me to just continue PT. Despite what the last year of my life looks like, I really don't LIKE or SEEK OUT reasons to have surgery. But now, I am really leaning towards them knocking me out and just ripping all the scar tissue loose that way. Is that irrational of me? Right now, PT is like when you taking a bandaid off one hair at a time. Surgery would be like just ripping the bandaid off-it'll hurt more initially, but everything will be loose and I can finally start progressing. I'm just scared now that the surgeon will see "progress" on the physical therapist's notes and want to stick with PT longer, but that report will probably not mention the fact that it was the therapist just deciding to just torture me instead of stopping when I told her it hurt like she did when she measured the first time. That's what PT is like right now...sheer torture. How do I explain this to the doctor without sounding like a wuss that's too lazy/doesn't want PT and is just looking for a shortcut. I would love to be able to get this fixed without surgery, but I just don't see any significant progress happening anytime in the near future with the rate we're going in PT. Any suggestions?

I read this story and laughed, because I think this is almost the point that I have reached with my ortho doc:
"A man went to see his doctor because he was suffering from a miserable cold. His doctor prescribed some pills, but they didn't help. On his next visit the doctor gave him a shot, but that didn't do any good either. On his third visit the doctor told the man to go home and take a hot bath. As soon as he was finished bathing he was to throw open all the windows and stand in the draft."But Doc," protested the patient, "if I do that, I'll get pneumonia.""I know," said the physician, "I can cure pneumonia!"

Soooo...wazzup real world?

Apparently, my sister won't update my blog now that I'm home...Home? You may ask. Just in case you haven't heard, hear is the scoop...as mentioned in my sister's update, I had to have surgery on my shoulder while in the MTC. Well, they had me recovering there in the sick-bay at the MTC clinic. That's where you put a post-op asthmatic...in the sick bay, right? One week before my follow-up with the surgeon, I came down with an upper respiratory infection, for which I went and saw the MTC doctor, who then decided that I need to come home...many more detail on my feelings of that decision, but hey, it's the Christmas season, right? Who needs to think about that? So, needless to say, I'm home (technically "released" from full-time missionary status, but kind of put in time-out, with hopes that I will be able to return after all the torture...I mean healing.) Well, in the process of sending me home (the post-op asthmatic with an upper respiratory infection, who is now being placed on an airplane), I managed to catch an infection in the arm that I had surgery on. This managed to be a blessing in disguise...no orthopedic surgeon here wanted to take me on as a patient without having done the surgery, an understandable concern...what with liability and crap. Well, the infection managed to get me to the ER, where the ER doc consulted with an ortho surgeon, who then had to take me on as a patient. I have to admit, I was VERY glad about being home by this point, because the ER staff know me and I haven't ticked any of them off, so the nurses kept my blood level of morphine at a very acceptable level. Anyways, my PT had to be postponed due to the infection. I had my follow-up with the ortho here, who told me that because PT was postponed so long, I have developed "frozen shoulder" on top of needing PT for post-op recovery. Basically, being 23 years old bit me in the butt (or shoulder) and caused the scar tissue to form nice and strong, quickly...however, it's not quite where it needs to be, and the scar tissue is so tightly formed, my shoulder doesn't want to move...and no one can make it. Last Wed, I had my first PT appt (i.e. H-E-Double Hockey Sticks). They are trying to break up the scar tissue with hopes of avoiding the alternative:I get to go back into surgery where the ortho will "manipulate my shoulder and break up the scar tissue himself." After 4 PT visits this is the analogy that I've drawn: PT is breaking the scar tissue up one fiber at a time, kind of like pulling a band-aid off one hair at a time. The surgery just rips it all apart at once...like ripping the band-aid off-it hurts A LOT more initially, but gets the job done faster. At least that's the way I understand it. I think I get 2 more visits before the physical therapists decide if they are "satisfied" with how I'm "progressing." If the ortho does have to go in and "break it up himself" then I get to go to PT 5 days a week for 4 weeks after...YAY!!! Anyways, I'm slowly getting settled home...and getting used to the fact that I am no longer a missionary. It's definitely wierd being home for Christmas after planning on missing 2 of them, but it's nice to see the tree up and to be honest...presents! This has definitely been a "different" holiday season than I initially planned, but if there is one thing I learned at the MTC, it's that God knows what He has in store for you and He know MUCH better what you need than you do, so just trust in Him, roll with the punches (or surgeries), and eventually, it will all work out the way it needs to be.

¡Feliz Navidad!

Somehow, they called her on a mission....

So, I promised Caitlin that I would update the blog for her. What was I thinking? I can barely keep up with my own. So what you will get is a month by month lowdown on her goings on. So here is an update on Hermana Caitlin Hargis's first month on the mission. She was safely delivered to the MTC on September 30th, 2009. Family is no longer allowed inside the MTC at this point due to the whole swine flu epidemic. So some good family friends dropped her off and she officially began her 18 month adventure.
This picture is her proof that, yes, everything that she packed fit into one tiny closet. For those of you who are nearest and dearest to her, this is quite impressive.



Here is her proudly displayed nametag complete with missionary "dork dot" (or so I'm told by my husband". For those of you reading this who may not be members of our church, Hermana is the title she will use over the next 18 months. It is Spanish for sister. When I was young I just thought all the female missionaries had the same horrible first name. Anyway, I digress...


Caitlin was placed into a trio of sisters as there was an uneven amount in her district (5 sisters, total). Here is is in between Hermana Villareal and Hermana Fillmore (more on their disastrous companionship later...she looks happy now...). Caitlin describes Hermana Fillmore as having "a ton of energy...all the time."

Here are the 5 sisters in their district...Hermana Villareal, Fillmore, Shumway (who is apparantly quiet but when she opens her mouth it's always funny and she and Caitlin pointed out which sister's had the "best" hairdo's during general conferance), Haase (pronounced Hozzy, don't forget her because she becomes important later in the month) and Caca (I should point out that this is what my children call their Aunt Caitlin and the name has stuck. Feel free to use it. I do....on every letter and package) :)


I warned her that they don't like you to walk on the grass at the MTC. I've never actually served a mission but it's what I heard from return missionaries. See? I'm not wrong. Check out the sign she found.

Here are a few pictures of her district but I'm not going to name all the elders because it would be long and boring :) Scroll down for the brief recap.

(I think they are all trying to figure out which camera to look at here)

Ok, so her mission started out with a bang. Her companions had a difficult time figuring out that if class is scheduled for 7:30, you have to be there at 7:30, not leaving the room at 7:30. She also came to the realization that at 23 years old, she is one of the oldest missionaries there. One of her instructors is only 8 days older than her. Ahhhh, the older the wiser, right?

A few days into her mission she was diagnosed with an ulceration in her eyeball. Sounds gross, right? Basically she had to wear glasses for a long time and no contacts and the doctor told her to "repent if she was sleeping in her contacts and not washing her hands when handling them". Funny Mormon doctors....She has recovered.

She had continuous problems with her two companions wandering off without her. They don't realize that when they leave, she is left alone and then she gets asked "where's your companion?" and she didn't even know they had left. Girls....

Her Spanish is coming along and she actually got put on an independant study program because she was more advanced than the rest of the district. This made things a little less boring in class.

After much more frustration with her companions, she was temporarily assigned to be Hermana Haase's companion since Hermana Shumway was sick and bedridden. Later, they were assigned as permanent companions which was a real blessing for Caitlin. Hermana Haase is a hard worker and much less drama.

Things were going well until she decided to injure her shoulder playing volleyball. The good news is, she was serving the ball, not falling :) The shoulder was partially dislocated but when they moved it do some Xrays, it popped back into place. That's the good news. The bad news is that they looked at the other shoulder and decided that all her ligaments were overstretched and could no longer support her humerous (upper arm bone) and she required surgery. She had surgery last week and things went well but she is in a lot of pain and on lots of medication. The plan was to have her start physical therapy on that arm but after she "overdid it a bit" she has been assigned to bedrest and won't be able to start physical therapy until December 1oth. If you're keeping track, that means she will be spending LOTS of extra time at the MTC. She will probably be there until January, at least. No fun.

That was a very brief recap but hopefully it fills you in a bit on her MTC life. Keep her in your prayers and let's hope there are no more injuries!

Until next time, this is her sister, Jocelyn, signing off.

A Sale from Heaven

So, in order to get ready for a mission, one has to get a few key items...comfy shoes, nylons, long skirts, etc. I was at Dillard's at Oak Park Mall getting a good pair of shoes and decided to run over to JCPenney to get some nylons (these are really the only ones I can stand to wear and buy because I've found they last the longest). Well, I walked into JCPenney and I think I heard angels singing. There was a big yellow sign saying "75% off Store wide." At first, I was really bummed, because I knew that I couldn't buy any "street" clothes because I was getting ready for a mission and wouldn't be able to wear them, and I hadn't had any luck thus far finding skirts long enough. Well, I looked to the left and more angels started singing. There was an entire section of mid-calf length skirts...that were cute...and ON SALE!!!!!!!!!! BINGO!!!! So, needless to say, I left that store with more than just a few pair of nylons. In total, I got 6 skirts, 6 tops, 2 sweaters, 1 slip (which I might add was the most expensive purchase of this trip), 2 pairs of tights, and 2 pairs of nylons...all for an AMAZING price. So, I am that much closer to having all my "stuff" for my mission. YAY!

Now, I'm home.

Our car trip home proved to be VERY exciting. Well, to preface the story, our trip up to Illinois was a HOT one. My car doesn't have air conditioning, so needless to say, we were all drenched in sweat by the time we got there. We went to get the suitcases out and noticed that one of Jazon's suitcases had a small spot that melted to the carpet in the trunk. We knew it was hot, but we didn't think it was THAT hot. Fast forward a week to the trip home. It was cool, and rained off and on the whole trip home. Well, Jazon and I are convinced that this was because we took the time to do a temple session... Anna, who was in the back seat had commented that her seat was a little "warmish" and we just thought that it was getting hot again from the semi-muggy weather. We got home, and a section the carpet in my trunk had completely melted through, and one side of my suitcase was melted too. Inside that suitcase, were my scriptures, which melted. After finishing my panicking session because I was a little more than a month away from my mission with melted scriptures, we figured out what happened. My tailpipe had rusted through, and separated from the muffler, so the exhaust was blowing directly on my trunk, causing things to melt. I swear, they are going to start investigating me soon if more of my cars start melting or catching fire. To make it a little more dramatic, I might add that this was about a foot away from the gas tank...we are SOOOOOOO glad we went to the temple and had that little extra protection:) (Oh, and by the way, we were able to fix my scriptures with some duct tape and a little bit of love, now I don't have to break in a new set...whew!)Now I am back home, getting ready for my church mission. I gave my “farewell” speech at church last Sunday August 30. I report to the training center in Provo, UT for up to 8 weeks learning Spanish, then go to my mission in Seattle, WA. I’ll be working with the Spanish speaking population there. I won’t know my exact assignment or the area of Seattle I will be in until I arrive there. I will definitely keep y’all updated.

P.S. Yes, there will be some sort of going away get together before I leave for the training center. Those details will be sent when I figure them out

Summer excursion-stop 4 and 5

Well, all summer, I had been trying to get a week as a "normal" counselor instead of a health counselor because the experience is SO different, and because I'll be on a mission, I won't get to next summer. The Wednesday of my last week in NH, I got a call from BYU saying that I had been offered a "normal counselor" week at a Special Edition EFY in Nauvoo, Il. These counselor spots are few and far between because the session is amazing and in a location where SOOOOOO much church history took place. After jumping up and down and announcing to everyone at lunch that I got the job, I realized that I had 3 days to prepare....it all worked out, though. Anyways, I made it home for about 20 hours, then drove up to Illinois for one more week of camp. It was SOOO much fun. It was pretty much my dream week. I got a small group-only 6 of the older girls (they are broken into two groups, 14-15 year olds and 16-18 year olds, and I got the 16-18 year olds), with one of the most amazing guy counselors I've ever met as my co-counselor. My group of youth were amazing, and my girls liked sleep just as much as I did. The counselor isn't allowed to go to bed until all their youth have lights out...well, my girls always had their lights out before 11pm, when it's required. It ROCKED!!! I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I love working with the youth and teaching the gospel. I was able to go to the Nauvoo temple too. Not only did this bring a few "interesting" experiences, but it was great to see the temple after it was dedicated a few years ago. I got to see the temple when it was still "in progress" for 2 youth conferences, but this was the "finished product." It was SOOOOO beautiful. AND the perfect way to end my EFY summer.

Summer excursion-stop 3

After 5 weeks there, we flew up to Plymouth, NH. The town was a little bigger. The closest Walmart was only two highways and 10 minutes away here. No air conditioning, 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. It was a blast! The first week went by without any major incidents, I got to attend all the classes, which made a HUGE difference. One of the teachers was Curtis Jacobs, who was the speaker at my very first youth conference ever, and is one of my absolute favorite speakers ever. Our session director (the "father" of the session) had also been a teacher for several of the years that I attended EFY as a participant. Well, then Saturday morning check out hit. I got a call saying that a girl was “kind of sick on the 2^nd floor.” I got changed (i had just been awakened by that phone call) then went to go check on her. It turns out “kind of sick” means unresponsive, and breathing at a rate of about 60 a minute. So I called 911…I never appreciated Johnson County dispatch as much as I did after talking to dispatch in NH. As my old supervisor, Joe Reynolds would say “wow.” The ambulance crew showed up and I knew I wasn’t in Johnson County anymore…two people TOTAL (for those of you who took part in my training, thank you, the ambulance crew said my “report” was one of the clearest, most concise ones they’d received in a long time.) Her blood sugar was 450 (first a blood sugar in the 600s in VA, then this...what was the deal?) She had never had any health problems in her life. After life flighting her to Boston (the nearest pediatric hospital), we had no more major incidents this summer. What I wouldn’t have given for a nice trauma. We went to Boston on the weekend in between sessions, which was very interesting. I’ve decided that I will NEVER drive in Boston again. I was able to go to the Boston temple, too...which was difficult to find, but worth it.

More Cali

I was reading through my last post and realized that I forgot my mini-trip to the mountains. I got to go visit my grandparents in the mountains in California. It was GORGEOUS!!! I got some amazing pictures. My grandma and I went up to the fire watch tower where we were above the clouds. We also attempted to watch the sunset from a great rock, but due to clouds, we didn't get to see too much. Living in Kansas, I try to get to the mountains as much as possible whenever I am near them...seeing as how there are NONE anywhere near Kansas. As my good friend Jazon put it...enlarge a pancake to the size of Kansas and you have the correct changes in elevation.

Summer Excursion-stop 2

After about a month and a half in California, I went to good ol Buena Vista, VA (pronounced Bew-na Vista). It was a VERY small town. The closest Walmart was 20 minutes and 3 highways away. McDonalds was closer, but still 10 minutes away. I was a health counselor at a church camp called Especially for Youth, of EFY. 5 weeks in Virginia only required 3 trips with camp participants to the ER (one kidney stone, a diabetic who neglected to inform us he ran out of insulin, therefore having a blood sugar in the 600's-it's supposed to be between 80 and 120ish, and a swine flu pt.) I desperately tried to convince the nurse (who was the only nurse in the whole 12 bed ER, keep in mind) to let me start IV’s to “help her out”, but she didn’t give in. We had weekends off, so we went exploring. The first weekend, we went and saw the movie "Up". I highly recommend it. It was so much fun. We practically bought out the small theater with most of the counselors all going to the same showing. So much fun. I got to go to Washington DC for the 4^th of July, which was pretty cool, we slept one weekend away, and we visited the Raleigh, NC temple on another weekend. It was in my first week in Buena Vista that I actually received my mission call packet for Washington. I got to open it in front of all the youth. I got a standing ovation! I have video of it, but my camera was stupid and right now, I am trying to figure out how to access the audio. Once I figure that out, it will be posted. Overall, VA was very pretty and we lucked out with the weather, no TOO many really hot days.

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth-Summer first stop

Hey all! This summer was CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY with limited internet access, so I couldn't update my blog. Here's a summary of this summer: I started in Southern California with my 2-year-old twin nieces. I watched them all by myself for a week and a half while their parents went on a cruise. I had a blast with them...they have SOOOOO much energy. They call me aunt "caca" because they can't say "Caitlin", which my sister (their mother) and her husband find quite funny and highly encourage. They are so much fun to watch and listen to...the twins, not my sister and her husband, although they can be quite funny too. While I was there, the girls showed signs of being ready to be potty trained. I heard the diaper drawer open and went to check on them. That is when I discovered that Tessa took off all her clothes and diaper, and Natalie was attempting to put a new diaper on Tessa. It was so funny! I REALLY enjoyed spending time with them, and also spending time with my sister and her hubby. They are such great examples to me, and so much fun. I admit, I may have bawled my eyes out on the plane from Cali to my next stop, Virginia, when I realized that I had said goodbye to them for almost 2 years! While still in Cali, I got to go through the LA temple, which was GORGEOUS. One of my dearest friends, Courtney was able to fly out for it. We went to Disneyland together, also (it's a lot different now that I'm an adult. I don't remember my feet hurting quite as much when I went as a kid.) I was in California for about a month.

I got my call!...again

So, today, I got a call from my stake president. After calling Salt Lake and letting them know ALL the family members that live in or on the border of my mission, the decision was made to reassign my mission. I will now be serving in the Washington Seattle mission. I will still be Spanish speaking. YAHOO!!!!!!!! I report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT on September 30, 2009 and I will be serving for 18 months. I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life.

Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time

This was a really touching message that I saw on www.lds.org. So true, and so uplifting. I'm so grateful for the modern day guidance we receive from the leaders of the church. You'll have to go to the bottom of this page and pause the music to hear it, though. There are plenty more of these at www.mormon.org. Or, you can youtube "Mormon Messages." Every single one of them will brighten your day.

My mission call

So, on Saturday, May 16th, I got my big white envelope in the mail. After waiting half the day so I could reach everyone on the phone, I FINALLY got to open it. And to what to my wondering eyes appeared? Anaheim, Ca mission, Spanish speaking. That's right, I'm going back to my old "hood." I definitely had mixed feelings initially, as I'm sure lots do...I was confused because that's where I grew up (i thought it was a joke initially, because my sister and I had been joking that I would go there). I was excited, too...SPANISH SPEAKING...I wanted to learn a "new" language and that would be SOOOO valuable for the rest of my life. There is a reason that I'm needed wherever I end up and I will serve happily. I guess my face was priceless when I actually realized where I was going...I'll have video soon, thanks to my friend Courtney. I'll post pictures soon, also. So Jocelyn, you win! You're prize...I'll stay with your kids while you go on your cruise.

Pseudo mom

Sorry, I haven't blogged in a while. But I've been SUPER busy. I was taking it easy after the surgery, then jumped into real life feet first (or maybe head first...). I watched 4 kids from church for 4 whole days while their parents went out of town to a reunion. While babysitting, I received my mission call...see the next post for details. THEN, I flew to Cali and visited with my sister and her hubby and my ADORABLE nieces. My sister and her hubby left for a cruise Saturday night, and now I have their twins for 9 days! I've been a "pseudo mom" more than I have a "single gal" recently, but I LOVE it. I'm totally soaking up every minute I get to spend with my nieces. My mission is going to kill me, not being around them (possibly). I put them in bed tonight and an hour later, I missed them already! Maybe I'm just being a goober, but I love them SOOOOO much, even if they have given me a nickname that I'm afraid I will never live down according to my sis and her hubby...they call me Aunt Caca (like the poo). Of course, Jocelyn calls me that now...I thoroughly enjoyed the couple days I got to spend with my sister and brother-in-law also. They are such great examples to me, I'm so grateful for them. More to be posted soon.

I'm bored

Okay, so this stupid, bed-rest "take it easy" for at least 1-2 weeks is driving me crazy. I feel pretty dang good, considering my "adventures" last week. Today marks my week anniversary of losing my evil gallbladder. I think the week mark was a great point. I woke up today and really, only the incisions are tender. My ab muscles seem to be back to normal. I so far have only had problems eating custard...it didn't really agree with me. But I've had no problems with pizza, a DQ Chocolate Truffle Blizzard (which I highly recommend), or chicken enchiladas (don't worry, I've also eaten some bland, healthy, low-fat foods in there too, some day's you just gotta splurge, though). I really haven't had any problems recovery. I still get pretty tired fairly quickly, though. That COULD be from fighting all this for almost a month, plus the surgery...but that's just my opinion. I'm still trying to take it fairly easy (don't want to overdo it and screw something up). Really the only complaint I have now is I'm bored. This week, I was supposed to work 60-72 hours (it kept changing) which was going to be great to distract me from waiting for my mission call. The application is in Salt Lake, not all I can do is wait. It should be here within the next 1-2 weeks. Perfect timing...now all I'm allowed to do really is sit and wait...not a whole lot of other activities...ugh! This whole learn patience thing sucks!

It takes a fever...

I had my appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday, and she made the decision that I needed my gallbladder out. We scheduled the surgery on Thursday, May 7. But apparently, the secret to making doctors move quickly is to develop a fever of almost 101....And I don't ever run fevers. So Wednesday night, I ate about 2-3 ounces of blah grilled chicken and started having the belly pain again. Only this time, I developed a fever also. Well, that was on my instructions was if you get a fever, to go back to the ER. So, back I went. This time, the ER doctor came in (before the nurse had even done anything because the doctor recognized me but couldn't figure out where from...me bringing in patients at work...again gotta love the perks of being a paramedic, you get the doctor's attention when you come in AS the patient) and almost immediately said "you've bought yourself a bed upstairs." Not only did I have a fever, but my pulse was 130 (normally supposed to be at least below 100) and my potassium was low again...still don't know what caused that. So...Thursday morning at about 1:15 am, I was admitted upstairs at at about 4 in the afternoon, they yanked my gallbladder. Other than coming out of the anesthesia needing a breathing treatment, I felt a billion times better...then the pain meds wore off. I no longer had the pain I'd been having for the past month, but my abs are sore (I feel like I've done a billion sit-ups). Other than sore abs, I feel great! I was sent home Friday evening. I'm not moving as fast as I'd like to, but hey, that will come. The only "downside" so to speak is I don't get to work again until I get back from my mission. I feel like I've been shortchanged in that way, but at least I'm feeling better. More about leaving work in a later post. Just thought I'd update y'all. Well, the pain meds don't allow for long periods of awake time yet, so I'm gonna go take a nap. I appreciate all the prayers from everyone.

Wow

So last night I made it back to the ER with the same type pain. They did the usual labs and found that my potassium was pretty low. They made me swallow horse pills that replenished that potassium and I had to go back in today to get my blood redrawn (to make sure the ER gave me enough.) My potassium is back up, but I have been told I have to drink Gatorade (to keep my electrolytes up) and have my blood drawn AGAIN tomorrow. They're still not quite sure what caused the low potassium (it's been normal throughout this whole ordeal.) The ER doctor yesterday wanted to admit me, but the on-call admitting doctor said no because my surgeon wouldn't be in until Thursday and the on-call doctor "didn't have room in her schedule to see me." So, the ER doctor said "I feel horrible about sending you home, because they are more than likely going to admit you by the end of the week. If it's any consolation, I will make sure you are comfortable before you leave (i.e. more Morphine) and I'll send you home with a prescription for strong pain killers and an anti-nausea med to get you through until you meet with your surgeon." So, tomorrow, I meet with the surgeon and get my "sentence" so to speak. We'll see how that goes.

Update

So yesterday, I went in for my EGD (camera down my throat). I found out a few things. 1-I DO NOT like the drug Versed...it's what they give you so you don't remember the procedure. I woke up this morning so jittery and anxious because I could not remember almost 24 hours of my life...weird feeling. But apparently, this is a not rare, but not "common" side effect because apparently it took quite a bit of the drug to sedate me enough to do the procedure. 2-The surgeon is almost positive that I will need to have my gallbladder out. 3-They had to take a few biopsies...don't remember of what or why (because of the lovely drug Versed). I have my follow-up to go over all the results and my options with the surgeon next Wednesday.

You'd think I'd learn after 10 or so times...

So, yesterday, I realized that I had failed to learn a lesson from SEVERAL previous incidents...FYI, it is a good idea to find your glasses BEFORE you take out your contacts. Take it from me...it can be very difficult to find your glasses when all you see is a blurry mess.

Just tell me already!

So, my doctor's office called with the results from the gallbladder scan. They "want me to come in to discuss the results" UGH! Just tell me already! So, my appointment for that is on Thursday. ANYWAYS...mission update. I got my picture taken by Teresa Willnauer to send in with my mission application, and I LOVE it. Now all my paperwork is DONE. So, all I have left is a meeting with the bishop (the pastor of my congregation), which is scheduled on Thursday; and then meet with the Stake President (the leader over several local congregations.) Once I have their stamps of approval, my application will be sent to Salt Lake where the general authorities (big wigs of the church, so to speak) review it and decide where I am going to serve for 18 months. I'm almost there! Anyways, I'm curious where people think I'm going to be sent. So, leave a response to this post telling me where you think I'll go...leave 2 guesses, one for if I stay in the states, and one if I go foreign...and the language you think I'll be speaking (i.e. San Antonio, Texas on a Filipino speaking mission...) If anyone guesses it, they might get a prize!

Ugh!

So I had my follow up appt with my family doctor (after having one more "episode" on Sunday. Luckily, that one was handled with the pain meds the ER sent me home with.) Before he was even in the room for 2 seconds (he had just read about my ER adventure), he said "you need a pipita scan." Since there were no stones in the ultrasound, my doctor is playing with the possibility that my gallbladder just isn't functioning properly. So, this scan is where they get die into the bile in the gallbladder and watch how the gallbladder gets rid of it. If this scan shows that it isn't working, that means that I get to have it out. FUN! At least this is happening now, when I am NOT on my mission, and have a job that will support me having the surgery. (I have accrued so much sick time that I could take a month off if I needed it.) So, that's the latest...this mission prep is killing me!

I hate long blogs, so I broke this one up..at the ER

So, when the nurse came out to triage and asks "are YOU my patient" with a smirk on his face, it makes you feel really good...I love being known in all the ERs. This time I was VERY grateful that I hadn't delivered a difficult patient to them that day. The nurse saw me writhing in pain, and my blood pressure of 140/100 and decided that something was up. They took me back to a room (the room that we always put our really sick patients, by the way...I didn't think I was that sick). I saw the doctor that was working and recognized him from when I did my clinicals in school. I loved this guy, he was just a generally good guy. Well, they told me that one of the P.A.'s would be seeing me, more than likely. So, my supervisor went and talked to Dr. Goldenburg who then said "oh, yeah, I'll see her right now." The doctor came in (much to my relief), poked around on my belly, asked me the usual questions, and then said "how about you get and IV and some pain meds, then we'll talk." YES!!!! I knew I loved this guy. So, to sum up, one IV, two narcotics, and one anti-puke drug later, I felt pretty dang good. They did an ultrasound and saw no gallstones, but said my gallbladder was a little enlarged. Dr. Goldenburg said "well, the tests were pretty much inconclusive, but my gut (no pun intended) is telling me that it was your gallbladder. You presented as a classic case. You could have had a single stone that passed before we could catch it on the ultrasound." So, they sent me home with a prescription for Prevacid and Lortab and told me to follow up with my primary care doctor. My supervisor was amazing, staying with my up until 10 minutes before I was discharged, seeing to it that I got the care I needed, and even offering to drive me across the county, to my home afterwards. My very close friend, when she heard I was in the ER, dropped what she was doing, and came up to stay with me and drive me home. While initially, I thought that the urgent cares being closed was a "curse", later I realized it was truly a blessing. No way would I have gotten all the tests done so quickly (or the pain meds, either) if I hadn't been in an ER. Just goes to prove that "someone" is watching out for our best interest, even if we don't know it at the time.

Never ask 'what else?'

So the title of my last blog was 'What Else?' I would like to retract that statement...I don't want to know the answer. Yesterday, I was at work having a blast with my partner. Between her trying to combine the word 'fit' with the word 'tuck' and accidentally dropping the f-bomb on scene in front of a patient (don't worry, the patient was gorked, so she didn't notice), and my partner almost yelling at the entire county by talking into the radio mic instead of the P.A. mic on the ambulance while she was pretending to yell at the drivers that wouldn't pull to the right. It was a great shift. Then we ran a basic diabetic call. This guy's blood sugar was low, but he was awake, so we were watching him eat and patiently waiting for his blood sugar to raise. I started having what I thought was really bad heartburn. I wiggled around enough to tolerate it, but towards the end of the call I was just thinking "would this guy hurry up and get better already!" So, we finish that call, and go back to the station. That's when it hit. I couldn't sit still because the pain was so bad. My partner, watching me wiggle and rock in the office chair said "that's it, I'm sending you home." Well, after calling all the urgent cares and finding that they were all closed (convenient, huh), we decided (well, my partner and supervisor decided) that I needed to go to the ER. So, the ambulance went out of service until someone else showed up at the station, and my supervisor drove me to the ER....

Geez, what else?

So, I was working on a snowy, slushy day. People were getting into little (and big) car accidents left and right. My partner and I just finished getting fuel in the ambulance when we get another 911 call. Okay, no big deal right? Well, on my way to the call, all of a sudden another car collides with the ambulance. Luckily, no one was hurt, except another ambulance had to be called to handle the 911 call we were supposed to be running, and the bumper of the car that collided with us was no longer attached to the car...Well, it is county policy that the driver of the ambulance has to immediately go and do a pee drug test and a breath-a-lizer. Well, I had already gone to the bathroom an hour or so before. Those of you that know me...know that this posed a problem. My camel-sized bladder caused me to have to down 24 oz of Dr Pepper and almost empty the hospital of apple juice...all in about 20 minutes. You will be happy to know that my breath-a-lizer test came back at 0.000. The company that does the testing will probably call me and say "your drug screen was negative, but we think you may be diabetic." I ALMOST made it to my mission without wrecking an ambulance (even though, I didn't wreck it...there wasn't even that much damage, just a minuscule dent in the wheel cover.) I have to admit, there is never a dull day in my life.

Mission update...part 3

So, I have officially given my notice at work. May 9 is the last shift I will work. While I am really sad to leave a job that I LOVE, I am excited for this next step in my life. I am SOOOO grateful for all the support I've gotten at work. I am really surprised at how excited everyone is that I'm leaving (I don't know if that is a good thing.) I have luckily been told by several people that I should be able to come back after my mission (i.e. I haven't burned any major bridges yet.) So, I am in the process of finalizing everything at work...getting someone to cover prom crashes/presentations next season. I am REALLY grateful that I am going to be able to move back to my old station for my last month. I have been at different stations for the past 2 months. While I like the station I'm at now, I really feel at home at my old one. The fire crew there just feels like family and we've really "bonded" (that's a whole other blog...hehe). So I anticipate that it will be hard, but a smooth transition out of paramedic life. Give my notice to work...check!

Mission update...part 2

I hate having one post that takes up the whole screen, so I'm breaking it down...
I scheduled my dentist appt for last monday. Well, I got a call from work before that asking if I wanted to pick up some overtime for Sunday night. More money? Do you really have to ask? Well, thanks to a last minute 911 call, having to cover someone elses district after that, then ANOTHER 911 call, I missed my dentist appt...I was not happy, but what are you gonna do? I rescheduled and went in today. My mouth feels like it is going to explode from the throbbing! I had to have a crown put on. Well, in the process of drilling, apparently they exposed my nerve. Talk about pain! I want a permanent shot of novacaine until tomorrow when I get the pleasure of having a root canal. FUN!!!! My dentist won't sign off on my mission papers until after all that is finished, so that won't be until my follow-up appt on April 8. Dental papers...in the process.

Mission Update

Okay, so here is an update for all you that are interested. I had my physical two weeks ago and had my mission forms filled out by my doctor. Well, while I was there, my doctor and I discovered that I have never had my Hepatitis A shot...WHAT?!?!?! Well, this is one of the shots that you get one, then another in 6 months. My physical was on March 2. 6 months from then is Sept 2...right when my availability date for my mission is. THAT was close. Also, the doctor walked in and this was our conversation
Dr. Graham: "Do you normally wear contacts or glasses"
Me: "I have my contacts in right now."
Dr. Graham: "Really? When was your last eye exam?"
Me: "Five months ago."
Dr. Graham "Well, I can sign off on everything, but your vision tested at 20/30 with your contacts in...You need to get another eye exam before you leave."

SOOOO, thanks to my amazing friend, Stephanie, who works at an optometrist's office, I got my vision checked. It has changed 2 steps in 5 months...whatever that means. So, I have new contacts ordered for that. Medical clearance...check!

Job Security...

Oh goodness...some days you just wonder. Today I was working and got a call for a "choking infant." This makes anyone's stomach drop, but so far, in my 3 years on an ambulance, each time the baby has been screaming by the time we got there and it's been no big deal. Here is a tip for all of you parents out there. Don't feed your 7-month-old taquitos. That's right this mom had given her 7-month old little girl fried, crispy-shelled, shredded beef taquitos. Seriously...what do some people think? Just FYI, it didn't work too well. The little girl was fine and laughing at us all by the time we got there. So, at least it had a happy ending. Just thought I'd share that bit of wisdom with you. Generally, they should have teeth BEFORE they eat fried food with shredded meat.

I have to be able to do what?!?!?!?!?!?!

Okay...so kind of a funny story. While filling out my mission papers, one of the questions asks if I would be able to "work 12 to 15 hours per day, walk 6 to 8 miles per day, ride a bicycle 10 to 15 miles per day, and climb stairs daily". Well, "work 12-15 hours a day" piece of cake! Walk 6-8 miles per day...according to the pedometer I wear, that is nothing! Climb stairs daily...already do. Ride a bicycle 10-15 miles per day...well, that could be a problem. See, I, being a freak of nature apparently, never learned how to ride a bicycle...so guess what I am going to have to do before April? AND, I better get "experienced" at it too. If I get assigned to a mission with bikes, I'll not only have to figure out how to ride...but in a SKIRT!!! YIKES!!! SO, wish me luck...and hope/pray/fast that I live to submit my papers!

I am still alive...depite my blog temporarily dying

Okay, so seeing as how my last entry was LAST YEAR and my sister has had 3 blog entries in 3 days, I can't be out done. So here is an update on Caitlin's life. Work is still work...I no longer have a permanent station...I'm a "rotator" as they call it. Basically, each shift, I work at whatever station has an opening. While this is a royal pain in the behind...my new year's resolution (or so I tell myself) is to look at the brighter side of things. I get to work with a variety of people and hey, if I'm at a station I don't particularly like...just wait a shift and I'll probably be moved. ANYWAYS...I've been keeping busy with the mission prep. So much work. I sometimes want the good ol days when you said "I want to go on a mission" and they said "okay." But I know that the bar has been raised and I am going to meet it. I've been filling out all the medical forms. There are so many appointments!: dr's for a physical, dentist, passport photo, "mission photo" for the application (I realized that I don't have any recent pictures of me being "normal"), meet with the bishop, stake president...AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! But each step gets me more and more excited. Well, that's about it for now...I'll try not to fall off the face of this planet for quite so long...P.S. 91 more days until I see my neices and I'm in Cali!!!!!!! (but who's counting?)