Asthma sucks...part 2

Please read previous post, otherwise you WILL be confused. Well, I LOVE the dentist that I'm going to. Anyways, I was telling him about having lidocaine aerosolized when I was in the hospital for my asthma(which I did NOT like and do NOT recommend). He said "you should see my wife." What does she do, you may ask? SHE'S AND ASTHMA AND ALLERGY DOCTOR. Prayers are DEFINITELY answered. So, I canceled my appointment with the annoying practice and scheduled one with her. I showed up for my first appointment, and she won me over immediately when I saw her in her PINK lab coat. How cool is that. Anyways, I explained what all was going on, and multiple times, she said "I'm so glad you came in, I think we can really make a difference in your care." How awesome is that? It felt great to be appreciated. She agreed that Xolair was a good option to try. Xolair attacks one of your body's reactions to allergens that can trigger asthma. She also wants to eventually try allergy shots, which attack another reaction, but she doesn't want to do that until the Xolair is well on board (she thinks that could be why the allergy shots didn't work the first time). Well, getting insurance on board and being approved for the med, etc is A LOT of work. BUT, I've received notice from my insurance company AND prescription plan that it is going to be covered, and notice from the drug company saying that I'm approved and that they've sent one dose to my Dr office (for free) to get me started while I get all the other approvals finalized. My first appt is next Wednesday. This should be fun. It's an injection (two for me because I need a higher dose...shocker). Apparently, people can have a reaction to this med up to 24 hours after it's given. So, I have to show my epi-pen to the nurse BEFORE she'll even give me the shot, and the first few doses, I get to stay in the office for 2 hours afterward! But hey, it's every 4 weeks and hopefully, it helps get my asthma completely under control. The dr said she has one pt that is off of ALL her other asthma/allergy meds. Let's pray for that result!!!!!

Asthma sucks...literally.

So, this has been quite the past few months. In June, (on a Sunday) I woke up and thought I had strep throat, so I called in sick. I went to urgent care, and the strep test came back negative, along with the mono. But, the PA said "your tonsils look really swollen" to which I replied "my tonsils were yanked when I was a kid" to which she responded "well, your throat is REALLY swollen then". She sent me home with antibiotics "just in case" and steroids for the inflammation. Have I mentioned this was the day before I was supposed to leave on a pioneer trek with the youth? So, I told the Dr that I was going to be on the medical team with...that I was going to see if the anti-biotics did anything before I backed out. Well, nothing changed the next morning. Day after that(tuesday), I woke up at 5 am and my throat and chest felt tight. Being the experienced asthmatic that I am, I went to do a breathing treatment...and the machine didn't work. SO, I had a decision...wait until 9 when urgent care opens (4 hours feeling like I can't breath), call an ambulance (no chance in outer darkness...I KNOW the crew that would take care of me :) )...or go to the ER. So, I drove myself to the ER. The dr (who I know from work) walked in and said "I mean this in the most loving way, but you don't look very good". Long story short, they did a treatment, x-ray (clear, of course), oral steroids, and something for my cough, but nothing had really changed. The ER doc told me "my gut is saying something else is going on, but I don't know what. I really want to admit you for observation". Just what I want to do on my 4 days off, right? Well, it was only going to be for a 23 hour hold...riiiiiiight. I'm SOOO glad she followed her gut. That night, I woke up in another attack. LOTS of tests later, I was diagnosed with tracheitis (my airway was inflamed/constricted...explains the sore throat), bronchitis, and all the coughing gave me laryngitis. I was banned from talking and given something to keep me from coughing in order to keep my vocal cords from spasming shut, warranting an emergency macgyver-esque tube in my throat via my neck (which I wanted to avoid). After LOOOOOTS of drugs, a cardiology consult (to make sure my oxygen level being low wasn't a cardiac problem...duh, I could have told you that), x-rays, CT scans, angiograms (which showed my swollen airway), echocardiograms, more tests I don't remember because of lovely drugs, and getting to know the pulmonologist VERY well, I was discharged, with an order to follow up with my primary care IMMEDIATELY. (have I mentioned that I am SOOO glad I wasn't on the pioneer trek in the middle of Oklahoma for this). So, I did as ordered and made an appointment. He told me there was a new asthma drug out in the market that you have to qualify for (certain blood levels have to be high enough, and your asthma has to be severe enough...which a hospitalization proves) called Xolair. He said "when the drug rep was telling me about it, your name popped into my head" (don't know quite how to take that.) Anyways, they ran the blood test. The nurse called me and SHOCKER, I qualified. However, my blood levels were so high, they wanted me to go see an allergy and asthma specialist. They referred me to a practice that I went to as a teenager and wasn't really impressed with. Plus, I hated doing allergy shots and I knew they were going to push those again (didn't have very much improvement with them before). BUT, I made an appointment anyways, because they're the biggest practice around.

Whoa, two in one day!

Okay, so I forgot to finish the shoulder saga. I woke up Sunday, went to put on my jumpsuit for work (picture the movement of putting both arms in a jacket once and pulling it up that way). Something HURT. Normally, I sleep with a pager on my right hip or arrange the pillows so I don't roll over and sleep on my right side...i.e. shoulder. Well, I forgot. Something HURT. I was pretty sure it was subluxated (not in it's normal place but not fully dislocated). Funny, before my surgery, it would do this all the time and I wouldn't even feel it, but now it hurts like you know what-seems a little backwards to me, but I guess your body is supposed to tell you when something has slipped out of place... Using my mad skills, I moved it until I felt it pop back where it should be. Normally it takes a day and it feels normal. Well, Tuesday came around, and I was still feeling it. When I would move certain ways it felt like someone had their thumb in my shoulder and I would have to use the other arm to manually move the right one out of that position. It was constantly spasming and all the muscles tightened down on the shoulder. I know I just went to vo-tech, but they taught us that wasn't normal. So, I was going to go in to urgent care, but lucked out because the PA at my ortho's office had an opening. Well, I was told I put it back "beautifully". I was given a prescription for Mobic and also given a warning. I was told I will more than likely have more "flare-ups" like this until I get it fixed. We're still on board with waiting until October, but this just solidified the fact that it needs to be fixed. Sounds like it will be a rough road. Prayers will be appreciated. Back to the Mobic. It is a prescription NSAID (like advil, tylenol, aleve, etc but different chemical compound). It is a MIRACLE drug. It's to decrease the inflammation and help with the pain without being a narcotic or any other keep-you-off-of-work medicine. I took it Tuesday and woke up Wednesday feeling like a whole new person. I could move my shoulder and barely felt the fact that it was inflamed. Hopefully, this makes the next 7 months a little easier to handle.

So, it's been a long time since summer

Kansas just isn't as exciting as visiting my sister and her family in California/EFY. BUT a lot has happened. I made a huge decision. All summer, my plans were to go back on my mission at the end of the summer. I prayed about it and did some serious pondering and was SHOCKED at the answer that I received. Stay. Hours of tears (they still sneak up occasionally) later, I knew that was right. I got the okay from my surgeon saying my left shoulder was totally healed. I went straight from the dr to work's office because I needed to renew some certifications. Well, as I walked out of the office, I realized I hadn't talked to who I needed to talk to about the certification, but I had walked into the chief's office and told him I was ready to go back to work. WHAT!?!? There was definitely some divine intervention going on there. I was still trying to figure out how to go back on my mission. ANYWAYS, I got an interview (they opened up a hiring process so I could legally get my job back) and I got the job. After some disappointment over my pay and schedule, etc, I was back as an employee of Johnson County. I passed the physical test with no problems (yay!) I was also blessed to be put back at the station I worked at when I left, even though it was on a different shift. I was put with an amazing partner whom I get along with and enjoy working with...I also babysit for the guy:) Next step...transportation. I finally bit the bullet and got a car...and in 56 months it will be mine. Carmax is the way to go people. I had no problems with them at all. I am now the proud car loan owner of a 2002 Nissan Xterra and I LOVE it!!! Next step...housing. I moved into my apartment on March 12. It is so nice to have my own place. I am in the same complex that I lived before, just across the street. It is slowly becoming a home. I have also realized why I was prompted to stay home. In November, my right shoulder (the one that was operated on while I was still on my mission started bugging me. I went to Dr Gurley (the one who operated on the left shoulder). I decided to stay with him because I was so pleased with the result of my left one. He agreed that it was still very weak. I got a cortisone shot (that was fun) and he sent me to PT (Again). PT was going great. I was making a lot of progress. Then I plateaued. Then I started to go backwards. Luckily, the physical therapist noticed and immediately sent me back to the dr. Well, I knew in my heart what he was going to say before I was even in there. I need another surgery. The first (and second) surgery isn't holding and my shoulder is becoming more and more unstable. I got another cortisone shot. I'm hoping to hold off until end of October so I have sick time and vacation built up. He agreed that it may be possible. After discussing with him, we decided to hold off on the MRI until September. He knows me so well. He said he wants to hold off so he can see all the damage I do between now and then and see which repair will be best. I feel so blessed to have been led to a surgeon that is one of the top specialists in the repair that I need. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Seattle and what it would have been like if I had made it out there. I regret not working even harder in those 9 weeks I was privileged to a have as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I miss the feeling I had when I was a missionary. I miss studying and speaking Spanish daily and I wonder how much I would know if I had stayed a missionary. No matter what matters, I will always miss my mission. I may never understand why I was placed in all these trials and struggles, but I've grown and learned. I know my father in Heaven knows. And all this happened for a reason. Everything always happens for a reason.