My new hobby and other stuff

Since my accident, I have not been able to participate in a hobby that doesn't give me pain in my wrist. Usually, I would cross-stitch, sew, or make scrapbook pages. I really enjoyed doing these things, but haven't been participating in any hobbies for about 2 1/2 years. I went to the Grand Canyon this summer and saw this book. At first, I didn't think about having a new hobby. I got it because I go to national parks frequently and I thought I could do something with the book and visiting parks. My mom is actually the one who suggested that I could make a new hobby with this. Even though I've visited many, I can always go back and get my sticker and cancellation stamp. Next up is the Jefferson memorial park where the arch is. Travel is a bit hindered for me, because I fall asleep pretty easily if I'm tired. So travel is a bit more difficult, now, but I do try to rest before I leave. 

School has started for the year. I'm working on figuring out what the curriculum and IEPs are dictating for the students. I think I've got it figured out for the year.  I'm in a different space this year. My co teacher and I are in different rooms. The school is under construction and I'm appreciative of the fact that I don't have to change rooms each period.  

I went to visit friends in S. Illinois for the first time in about 2 years. I had so much fun. I need to make it there again more often. 

I've been extremely tired the past few months. I usually hit a wall around 2 to 3 pm.  I've always been the one who doesn't nap, even in college. Now, I'm lucky if I can make it through the day. Sometimes I just have my eyes closed and nothing happens. I've been really struggling with sleep. Sleep is important because if I don't sleep, something can possibly happen. More sleep is usually indicative of depression and less sleep can lead to hypomania, and excess spending and overly directed activity along with racing thoughts, all of which I do not want, especially now. 

Changes

So much has happened in the past month!  Dad did get listed with UNOS and his local transplant service. We've talked about insurance... One if those sticky stubborn areas and he will be making a change in October. His next big decision is "advance directives". Dad now knows the importance of these documents after talking to friends and watching switches at birth. That has made my job easier on this front, but I've also been asking him for the past 10 years to complete something like this so I would at least know what to do in that case. I know it's hard to think about but good to have. So he will complete this soon. I tried not to influence his decision about who to give that information to; it's most likely me. 

I've been working on getting an intermittent leave of absence. I had the one form filled out and I see cps has changed vendors for fmla's. So I have a new form that needs to be changed😏😏

I started running recently. I feel great when I start but my motivation is terrible. I got a friend for that and we are meeting every week. That's nice it holds us accountable and I've been sharing with my doctor. 

I'm going to Las Vegas in the next few weeks. Summer is quickly winding down.

Abby 

Feeling like me!

Lately, for a long time, probably about 4 years or so, I haven't felt all that great.  I mean I would get up and go and do what I love, but I just wasn't feeling all that great or "feeling it".  After a long four years, I believe we have finally found the medical answer.  I take relatively few medications, but the effects are clear and effective.  Lithium and Lamictal are the only two "bipolar" medications I take.  I've tried numerous others with a variety of effects.  In fact, initially, I had told my doctor that the Lamictal was not working and I did not take it for a year.  Earlier this year, though, I was experiencing a depression that wasn't going away, even though I was taking the Lithium.  After discussion, I decided to begin taking Lamictal, again.  For Lamictal to work, you need to start at 25mg over 2 weeks to prevent any kind of rash or side effects, which means finding the effective dose can take a long time.  For me, the most effective dose was 200mg.  I had never been at 200mg.  I feel like my old self going back about 5 years ago.

Now that I know what not feeling like myself and feeling like my old self feel like in me, I don't ever want that feeling to change!

Dad

My dad has always been an independent person. He doesn't really ask for much and when he does it is truly something he needs to get done. He can be really stubborn sometimes and it does take a while to convince him of things. 

A few years ago he was sent to the hospital by his urologist. His sister had said that the last time she saw him, he looked really bad. He was bloated in his face and she was planning to talk to him. Christmas before, he came to Vegas and said that he felt chills even though the weather was mild. The day he went to the urologist though, he wasn't producing any urine. He was in icu and they told him he was in kidney failure, which is what he told me on text. I talked to his doctors and nurses almost his entire stay at the hospital; almost 3 weeks. After that, he went to a rehab facility so he could learn how to walk again because laying down for 3 weeks makes you lose muscle that quick. We argued about the rehab facility. I said he needed to be in Chicago, closer to me. He said he wanted to be closer to home. So I told the social worker to find one closer to his home. He was there for 6 weeks and hated it. 

Now, he again is faced with kidney failure stage 5. He isn't happy about it and is in quite a bit of denial, but he is learning that he doesn't always have to be independent and stubborn in everything. My dad has had 2 surgeries to move veins in preparation for dialysis. He is not needing dialysis at this point, but the time will come when he does and you want to be prepared for that time. 

He is also getting prepared for getting on the list for transplant. He will go in on June 23 and 24 to find out his best match and cross match and go from there. My sisters are interested in knowing how they can help him best, but this step has to be done before anything else. I will be going with him as well to provide support, more information, and possibly help make decisions about his care. 

Drama-just life

So, my dog tore her CCL otherwise known as an ACL in her right leg. It was completely detached. And she tore some of her meniscus. The repair cost nearly 4000 dollars to get her all put together again. She's looking great in her walking and supervised running and play but she is so ready!  The vet did a tta type of surgery where she got a 90 degree knee design. Now if she'll need a second surgery for it again for the other leg, I'll give her to the first bidder!