1-19-12 Dr. Visit

Hey all, Nate here.

So today was another visit with the dr. Here's a short version of what happened in our hour long visit:

My bloodwork is showing that my anemia has been taken care of. I'm not anemic anymore. So she said I can stop taking the iron pills. When she started with that right off the bat, I couldn't help but be hopeful that the good news would keep coming. That was about the end of the good news.  But I was glad to hear it.

I asked about my legs still(!) swelling every day. She said she'd have another ultrasound ordered to see if there are still clot problems in there, or something else causing it. But it is good that they aren't causing me much pain on a regular basis too.

We talked about getting back to work too. She says that she would be okay with me heading back soon but would prefer that I have the ability/option to leave if/when work becomes too much for me. [My concern is whether or not I would be able to supplement what time I may need to take off with the donated time (from what I'm being paid with now), or if that's not allowed. She wants me to have the option so I don't feel pressured to stay if it's too much on me. If I am not allowed to do that, I would prefer that I just use the remaining time in the donated bank and work even more on physical therapy for a few more weeks; I feel like it has been helping.] Not knowing what my body will do to me during a 12 hour shift makes me a little nervous. So she told us to check with HR and see what my options are regarding the paid leave and let her know.

Haven't really had a headache since this all went down; except for... maybe 5 or 6 REALLY small, minor aches. I think it has been really strange, but I've slowly realized that my headaches, for maybe about the last year or so, were probably being caused by this aneurysm in my brain. I'm not complaining about this, but it kinda creeps me out to think that so many (probably not all) of my headaches were being caused by this blood bubble inside my head- lieing silently waiting to attack. I think I've had this aneurysm for longer than I'd like to think. It's a scary thought.

Next appt will be in about a month. More bloodwork and hopefully more good news then.


CHRISTMAS

For those who are still keeping up with this blog, I want to thank you. We are mucho behind on our blog posts. We haven't forgotten that we need to post about the bake sale/fundraiser and Christmas. Which is huge. I feel bad that we haven't posted any pictures about the HUGE load Santa dropped off at our house (and how he managed to get it all in the house considering we don't have a chimney...) The kids loved it all and were so happy with everything they got. We were just happy that they were happy and taken care of. I can think of a joy no greater than seeing such happiness in my children. When they're happy, I am honestly happy for them. I am so SO grateful for everyone who made this Christmas happen for our family, because without so many anonymous Santa's helpers, we would have had a very sparse Christmas this year. So thank you to all of you for your generosity and donations to us.