Arthroscopic Synovetomy with Video:)

This is what they will be doing to me on September 9th 2011, as long as my ekg looks good. My ekg is on Aug 31st. I'm super excited but getting a little nervous. So please pray or send happy thoughts or just some extra loving my way. All is greatly appreciated and always welcome:)
The surgeon will also be looking at a possible meniscus tear and a baker's cyst.
I'm wondering if I will get a video of my surgery?!?!?

Finally an Update

Now, I'm really updating. First off, I'm bored. And tired. And tired of being bored. Just sayin.


The man-child, aka Michael, aka the monster, is doing quite well. Though he is bored too. He's super excited to start school again and that he gets to eat lunch at school now. I'm obviously nervous about him eating lunch at school because of his eating habits, or the fact that he doesn't enjoy eating, whatever you choose.


For those of you who don't know.....He got a formal diagnoses of ADHD in January and then a formal diagnoses of Asperger's in April. We've spent the last eight months getting used to a little different way of doing things. Since we've known about the Sensory Modulation Disorder for years now, we really haven't changed all that much. We're all adapting. It really helps that he is such a loving, giving child. He is sooooooo smart. he really cracks people up with how he phrases things. He said yesterday to his babysitter " this doesn't work well on rough surfaces". She got a real kick out of that. It's just not how a six year old would phrase things.

He's doing great with his reading, although he does get frustrated. He wants to do everything right the first time. When that doesn't happen, he gets mad at himself. but we're working on that:)



We've had a pretty good summer, all things considered. No camping this year though, which kinda sucks. Next year. Next year we will camp. Even if I have to spend ALL my time at the camp site and not see anything else. But we've gone to the beach alot and we've visited with friends, so it's been good. We've had to hold off on trips to St. Louis and Little Rock because of threat of surgery for me. But more about that in a moment. Here are some pics of visits and such:)

Maw Maw and Paw Paw will be coming up next week to go to the fair with us and visit the monster. They'll be here for a week and we always have a great time with them:)



Geoff is still loving his job, though summer is a very busy time for him. Lots of late nights, but we know that's temporary. He still likes being up here in the great North. We haven't sold our condo yet, but we do have an amazing renter in it, so lots of it is paid for, we're very thankful for that.


We've found a church that we like that has a great program for kids and offers buddies for kids with special needs. So we're really liking that:)


I am having an arthroscopic synovectomy on Sept. 9th at 8:45am. The doc will go in and shave the lining of my joint out. he will also be looking at a slight tear in the meniscus and a bakers cyst while he's in there, so those might get fixed too. I would much rather get a total replacement. it's been a year and a half since this right knee has worked to my normal ability. Not yours, mine. Mom will be coming up for a while after the surgery to help around the house and drive us to appointments and to play with Michael while I'm laid up. I LOVE my in-laws!!!!!!!


So, there's the scoop....Maybe I will actually write more. If I had a lap top it would be easier...

For RAWarrior and Everyone Else Who Requested That I Update Again

Ok. So I may have lied a little when I said I would start posting again. I've had a crappy year and a half and have had very little good to write about, so I chose not to write. In retrospect we also had quite a few blessings as well, but you know how it is when you're going through the crappy stuff. This here blog post is gonna be about Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and pain relief. A blogger that I greatly respect posted this blog http://http://rawarrior.com/rheumatoid-arthritis-pain-relief-what-do-you-know/ to ask about doctors and pain relief for people with RA. Since above stated crappy year was due, largely in part, to pain problems associated with my RA, I thought I should jump back on the horse, or bicycle, or whatever. I will be posting more about my wonderful boys later. Promise. Again.
RAWarrior asked a few questions about RA and pain relief in her blog. So I'm just gonna copy those questions the answer them. Sounds simple, let's see if I can do this.

1. Do people have sufficient pain relief? Are medications sufficiently prescribed? Do they work?

Those of you who know what I've been going through already know the answer to this. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. In HUGE CAPS and many exclamation points. I am in pain throughout the day and night and yet have been told I'm not in an RA flare, but a fibromyalgia flare. However, feels like both to me. I am on pain meds would feel like without anything. Have SERIOUSLY considered within the past six months, quitting everything, infusions, prednisone, methotrexate.......everything but the vitamins. But once again, if I feel this crummy on stuff, how am I gonna feel off stuff?

2. Which doctors prescribe medications for Rheumatoid Arthritis pain relief? Pain management specialists? Rheumatologist practices? General practitioners?

My Rheumatologist prescribes pain relief meds, though I'm trying to find a RELIABLE pain management specialist. The one I saw for my arm that has been numb for 4 months said the same thing I've been getting from alot of specialists lately. I shouldn't be feeling this way. The drugs and therapy I'm on should be helping, but she gave no indication as to why I am and why they're not.

3. Which methods of Rheumatoid Arthritis pain relief work? Eastern medicine like acupuncture? Spiritual techniques like meditation? Traditional physical methods like heat, ice, or rest?

I have have not tried acupuncture, but am currently doing some research on it. Something has to work, right? Meditation and prayer helps my mindset about the pain, but doesn't help the pain. So, it does do something, I guess. I've been told no Heat, but heat makes it feel better for a while, but then it hurts worse. Ice actually causes me great pain (am I the only one??). Rest helps the fibromyalgia, but since I still have severe morning stiffness and soreness (yes, even after an afternoon nap), I don't think it helps with the RA. Plus, since I have a 6 yr old with special needs, rest is kinda hard to come by during the day when he's home..

OK. That's about all folks:) I have an infusion on Thursday and my arthroscopic synovectomy on my right knee will probably be on the 10th of September (waiting for Michael's first week of school).

Seriously?

So, it's been six months since I posted. I will do better this year, starting now!
I started a new infusion treatment last month. instead of Remicade, I'm now on Orencia. So far, it's working much better and I'm highly optimistic, so please keep up the prayers and good thoughts, we all know I need them:)
Michael started pre-school last fall and he LOVES it! He's learning so fast and is an extremely social creature. He goes three days a week for three hours a day. He actually cries when he doesn't get to go and doesn't want to leave when I go to pick him up. I really can't wait for him to start kindergarten!
So much more is going on, but those are the big things. Geoff still loves his job and I still hate the snow, but I do like this area of the country alot. We did some camping at the end of the summer last year, and we plan on doing alot more this year, as long as my health holds up, we're good to go.
I plan to update this blog more often with more pictures this year, so keep on looking:)

What's going on now????

Hello All!
All tests have come back great!!!!The mass on my Thymus appears to be part of the Thymus itself turning into fatty tissue (which is what it's supposed to do:). The results weren't actually inconclusive, the nurse gave me the wrong answer. the doc just wanted to see me to go over ALL the test results from the last couple months. I have to get another MRI in about 6 months, just as a followup, but all looks good!!!!!
We're going to Ocean City this weekend, so I'll come back with plenty of pics:)

Good News! I DO NOT HAVE LUNG CANCER!!!!

This will be a good news, still don't know news, and extra cute pics entry.

Seriously. I don't have Lung Cancer, that is VERY good news. The nodules on my lungs are just scar tissue. They still want a followup CT in 8 months, but nothing to worry about. When I had that bout with pleurisy so long ago, it left lots of little scars on my lungs, so that's what the unidentified objects are:)

Problem: when they did the CT on my lungs, they found a "mass" on my Thymus gland. They wanted an MRI on that. I waited on another approval from the insurance company. I had the first MRI on Tuesday (today is Friday). They called me back in for more views later on Tuesday, but because I have a son and am his sole caretaker during the day, I couldn't make it back in until yesterday. Went in yesterday for the extra views. The doc called yesterday at around four to tell me the results are "inconclusive". She wants to see me in her office and I have an appointment first thing Monday morning. After talking to a couple nurse friends of mine, they told me that she'll probably refer me to someone for a biopsy, but we can't be sure until Monday.

For those of you who don't know (I didn't until a couple weeks ago), the Thymus is a gland that helps the immune system until your out of puberty, then it does nothing but shrink until it's nothing but fat (when you're about 60). So the gland itself isn't all that important, or is it????Remember, I said helps the immune system. Does everyone remember that MY immune system has always worked AGAINST my body instead of for it? That's what Rheumatoid Arthritis does, that's its job.Anyway, people who get masses on their Thymus gland generally have, or end up with, an autoimmune disease. Yay Me!!!!! So, could be something bad, could just be nothing. If it's something bad, they'll just take out the entire thymus, they don't mess around with just removing the mass, the thymus is too small and it doesn't do anything. So, still alot of speculation right now. But I feel fine, except for the fact that I haven had a remicade infusion in about four weeks, so I feel like I have arthritis, but my "spa day" is next Thursday, and then I will feel much better:)

OK, and because these were too cute to pass up, here's a few pis of my Boy (or boy's or friend and boy....)

Michael and Geoff with a sign that says "(I'm cute, but I may have rabies" PERFECT!!

Michael and our good friend Marcia roughhousing in the tee-pee. They don't look like their very happy, Do they?(Insert sarcasm..)This was up at Mexico point, so beautiful and Marcia was an excellent tour guide!!

And last but not least. Michael has been given ALOT of Time-Outs lately. Here's one when we were on a fishing trip. He decided to run into the woods.....

OK. That's it for now. Will definitely update after my appointment on Monday. Plus, I'm sure we'll make it to a fun park or something this weekend...

I'm a square

So, this is the afghan Christina and I crocheted for our wonderful Mother in Law. I'm pretty sure she liked it, though I was the first to nap with it:)

Pictures and updates

First, let me say this. It's not my fault. It is not my fault that the doctor didn't send in for the pre-approval for the chest CT when he was supposed to. It is not my fault that the pre-approval has not been received yet. So....it is not my fault that I have NOT had the chest CT yet. Still working on that, it will be a relief to get that over with..

Below are some pictures of our fishing trip to northern Arkansas. Every person in the pic was with us for our three day fishing trip. All Geoff's siblings and their significant others. Geoff's Mom, Dad, Grandfather, Aunt and Uncle and their children. Plus, the three of us and Nora (Christina's Mom). It was a HUGE cabin and we all had a great time!!!!

This was taken after the second day of fishing. Check out those fish eyes:)

While we were at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house in Little Rock, Michael decided he was ready to start using the potty for everything and made us all very proud:) As his special present, he requested a ride on Paw Paw's tractor. Ask and you shall receive:)

He actually took quite a few trips on that tractor after this. He went for rides with Alison, Jeremy and Geoff too:)

When we got home and I had the kidney stones, Geoff decided I needed some cheering up, so he planted a pretty little garden in our from patch of dirt. I think it looks lovely! The stuff in the little pots is some Yellow Moss that came home with us from Arkansas. It doesn't look very good in this pic, but it is finally starting to look alive! He also planted the two hanging plants.

We also have some tomatoes and other flowers growing in the back in some pots (more sun back there) but there's not much to see yet...

We went for a bike ride this weekend, all three of us had a great time!! There's lots of place to go bike riding around here and Michael is loving the family time outside on his bike.

We went fishing last weekend, but none of us caught anything. Hopefully we'll find someplace good to go fishing soon.

It's Tuesday and I'm back to the normal routine. Hope all is well!

Over a month?????

OK, we went to Little Rock and had a great time. Such a huge loving family all under one roof. Luckily, it's a big roof, so it wasn't too crowded. We went fishing in Northern AR on the White River and I enjoyed myself and learned to fish a little and can't wait to do some of that here!! I'll post pics of that very soon!
About four days after returning home I was taken to the emergency room. Go figure. Kidney Stones AGAIN!!!! OK, so it's been four years since the last one, but that really wasn't long enough! After 4 trips to the ER and 3 CT scans and two X-Rays and a couple ultrasounds, I am finally feeling better and able to move, That was two and a half weeks go and I just started feeling better this past weekend, which is why I've been absent.
With all those CTs we found I had more stones, they're just resting there, so I'm waiting for another Bomb to blow. They also found a number of "Pulmonary Nodules" . The bottom of my lungs showed up in the abdominal CT and showed a lot of little bumps on it. So, now I get to go in for a CT of my chest. We'll see how that goes. I thought that would be tomorrow, but now it might not be until next week. Pray.....
Other than that, we're doing well here. Geoff planted me a little garden of plants while I was sick and a couple of hanging baskets. Geoff did the housework and the cooking and most of the caring for the child. So I think he should get a good fathers day gift...
I will post pics of the trip and the garden once everything is downloaded

It's Been Awhile

Sorry about the lack of updating, been a little busy, and a little down, so I didn't feel like writing. I am back in the mood now! It's been a busy month and a half, here's the rundown:

I turned 33 on March 1st. woo-hoo. Geoff made me a nice dinner, my "new" camera was my birthday gift:)

We had snow in March, I'm pretty sure we had snow on the first day of spring. I CANNOT wait till spring REALLY starts!

We found a pre-school program for Michael to start in the fall.

Michael has been re-evaluated for speech therapy and occupational therapy, looks like he'll get both of those next year.

We had a visit from Jen-Jen and Mike. Had a wonderful time at the MOST and Michael is still talking about his "favorite cousin" (she bribes him:)
Michael turned four on April first. We made cupcakes with blue icing and had dinner at a restaurant. Fun was had by all!!

On April 3rd, I got a car!!!!!!!!It's been a year since we moved up here and we've had only one car between us, so I was a little stuck out here when Geoff was at work. I'm not anymore!!It's a 2003 Saturn L200 and it only had 33,000 miles on it.

We had a really warm day here a couple weeks ago, we were able to go to the park and climb. Then we had snow again and the deer came back, on our side of the fence this time! We have birds in each one of our birdhouses this year. I love watching them, can't wait to see babies!!

We leave for Little Rock tomorrow, we are all looking forward to it:) Will come back with more pics:)

The house hasn't sold yet, but there has been more activity on it, so keep praying!