Been meaning to sit down and blog but life has been so busy that I haven't been able to steal away 30 minutes to do it. I suppose that busy life is better than not busy life. Though, I wouldn't know...
So, a quick catch up. First, as many of you know- thanks to the wonders of Facebook... Emma had appendicitis last week and ended up having emergency surgery to remove it. The beauty of the situation was that not only did I make her travel 12 hours by car from Maryland to Tennessee (after the initial onset of abdominal pain) but we also ended up in two different ER's 48 hours apart. The first ER visit was to StoneCrest ER in Smyrna, TN. We've been to this hospital in the past- and it has always been a good experience. However, I can tell you that based on the care (or lack there of)- we will never return to this hospital. Our second ER visit was to Vanderbilt Children's hospital- on Easter evening. Our wait was very minimal- as the triage nurse's recognized Em's tell tale signs of acute appendicitis. Needless to say, after a CT, she was admitted and she had an appendectomy the next morning at about 7:30am. I've learned quite a bit from this experience... number one: trust your instinct. number two: girls are strong! Once we moved past the diagnosis- and onto the surgery- that child did NOT complain even one time about pain. At no point did she cry- or ask for relief. The PACU nurse was shocked to find her lying on her stomach minutes after her surgery. The staff at Vandy Children's were topnotch and made sure- even though Em wasn't a typical post-op patient- that she comfortable throughout recovery. Its now been 8 days since Emma's surgery and she has done great! She went back to school yesterday. I'm still insisting she take it a bit more easy than she would like... but the incision sites look good... and she will be all healed up in no time. In the meantime, I am humbled by her ability to deal with and endure pain and recovery. She is no doubt- a rockstar!
A quick Advocare update: so, I started on the 24 day challenge because I figured- what could it hurt? I've tried everything to this point... and have had little to no change. And honestly, with my lupus- I know that I have got to figure out something before I end up in another flare. So- the way it works is the first ten days are a 'gentle cleanse' and then the following 14 days are considered the 'max phase.' I can tell you- I have been very pleased with the results. First of all, I have a ton of energy. At one point- I found myself thinking "maybe I'll just run up and down the stairs to burn off the energy." CRAZY! I find that my appetite is very controlled- I've also gone from processed, fatty, calorie high foods- to fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. I don't have cravings and I don't feel like I"m dying between meals. In fact, as I've watched my metabolism increase, so does my eating. The beauty of it all is i've lost 11 lbs and 24.5 total inches in 30 days! I feel great! and I'm finally seeing weight that I've put on through steroids and flares... coming off! THANK GOD! I am continuing on the plan... and I'll update as we go on.
The last thing I'll update on is a new direction I'm heading with my music. I've spent the past 5-6 years... some of the hardest years of my life... writing songs. Honestly, most of them I just tucked away- used them for a type of therapy in getting through the hard times. But, I realized recently that some of them are pretty decent- and in true musician style- they are all completely done- lyrics/chords/melody. So, after talking with an old friend- who is in the industry (that's music industry for those of you who may not know)- he has extended an offer and opportunity for me to have my music heard. I won't go into a lot of detail because its still very much in the prep phase... but thanks to the efforts and connections with people in the industry- I am busy recording demo's for the first 6 of my songs. These songs will eventually be 'pitched' and hopefully chosen. But for now... its a lot of tedious- but fun and creative work. I can say- thanks to my brother in law- I have connected with a very gifted co-musician who shares in my passion for creating a song into a 'music.' He is working with me- and I'm already learning tons from him. I realize now- through those few pain filled- and horribly grief ridden years that something of worth and value may be coming into fruition as a result. I'm humbled.
