Thanksgiving Break Update

It's been a few days (or more) since I posted on my blog so I have a few things to talk about. I will number them because I like to organize my thoughts.
1. Happy (late) Thanksgiving!! I hope everyone had a wonderful day and break. My dad's side of the family came over to our house for Thanksgiving lunch. My mom's parents also came. We had a good time catching up and eating lots of food. On my dad's side, we have 5 cousins. I am the only one of the 5 that does not have a significant other. I was definitely worried about when the "boyfriend" conversion was going to take place because both of my grandmas seem to bring it up every time I talk to them. We made it all the way through lunch and dessert, even a little break before my Mawmaw asked me about getting a boyfriend. My response was "I'm glad it took you 'til 4 o'clock to ask me about this!" Much laughter ensued and then my dad said something along the lines of she doesn't have time for a boyfriend and the subject was dropped. That was the fastest I ever escaped the subject and for that I was very thankful (pun intended)!
2. Things that I am thankful for: everything. That may seem like a cop out answer but I am thankful for everything God has put in my life whether it is awful or awesome. I'm thankful for the struggles because they only make me stronger. I'm thankful for the bad days because they make the good days that much better. I'm thankful for all of the people who have come into my life over the past 20 years. I'm thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful for everything (although I don't say it as often as I should).
3. I have been back from Minnesota for 2 weeks now and I have encountered a few people who tell me that I am an inspiration to them. I am sorry if I ever seem awkward in that situation. I just don't know how to respond because I am not looking to be an inspiration, I am just trying to live the best life possible. I am happy that I can inspire people in any way, shape, or form but I am still getting used to that thought.
4. Yesterday I went fishing with my dad, my uncle, and my cousin in Pointe La Hache. I had a blast with them! Here is your shoutout, Uncle Carey!! We caught 99 speckled trout, 5 red fish, 1 bass, and Uncle Carey caught a perch! We probably caught another 50 redfish that were too small so we had to throw them back. All in all, I had a great time and caught a ton of fish! Hopefully we will go back sometime over the Christmas holidays.
5. I am starting to feel a little bit better. All of the things that I have to do make a difference. I can especially see it when I don't do something, such as not getting enough sleep or not drinking enough water. I think I will really start to see a difference over Christmas Break because I will have had about a month to adjust by then as well as I will have less on my plate. I will keep y'all updated on my progress!
6. I still have a bunch of homework and assignments to do before the end of the semester in less than 2 weeks so I should probably get on that!
Until next time,
A :)

Diversities

Today, I volunteered to talk to the new class of LSU Ambassadors about my diversity, my medical conditions, along with other seasoned (older) Ambassadors on a diversity panel. We introduced ourselves, our diversities, and how our diversity has affected either our life in general, LSU, or LSU Ambassadors then the new Ambassadors were able to ask us questions. I learned a lot about other Ambassadors that I didn't know before. One of the older Ambassadors said that whatever your diversity is, you can't compare it to someone else's diversity. I think this is something that everyone has to keep in mind, no matter how big or small your diversity may be. A lot of times, I am guilty of comparing my medical case to someone who may have cancer or a fatal illness. It helps me realize that what I am going through could be a lot worse. I also realized that this is only hurting myself because what I am going through is tough and just because I am not fighting off death right now, I am still fighting to live a life that I am proud of. Some people talked about broken and abusive households growing up and I would never change what I am going through for their situations. My family and homelife have gotten me through so many situations and for that I am eternally grateful. I guess that I just want y'all to know that if you are going through something tough or challenging, it doesn't matter how big or small it is. Do what you need to do to work your way through it.
Until next time,
A :)

I'm Still Having Fun

In the last couple of days, I have watched The Hunger Games marathon at the movie theater and went to Theta Semi. The Hunger Games marathon was spent with my Theta family (my little sisters and their little sisters and so on) and we had a ton of fun! Eight of the eleven members of my Theta family were able to make it out to the movies. I did not get my 8 and a half hours of sleep that night but I made it to Friday and that was my goal all week! I turned in my papers and projects. I got my hair done (because a girl likes to get pampered every now and then) yesterday afternoon in preparation for Semi last night. Semi was a blast! There was a band (which I am not a big fan of in general) but they were really good! This morning I was able to sleep in because I did not have any plans for once and it was amazing. I wound up waking up around 10:30 and just hung out in bed for a few hours. It was so nice not having anything to do today and just relaxing. I have already done some homework and exercised so I am declaring today as productive!
The whole point of this post is that I am not letting a new diagnosis stop me from living my life and doing what I love and having a good time. I am lessening my load and not committing to as much (which is hard for me) so that I can adjust to all of the new things that I have had to take on because of the POTS diagnosis.
Until next time,
A :)

P.S. Here are some pics from the last few days!

Back to "Normal"

I have made it through 2.5 days of school since I have been back and I am getting back to "normal." I am not as stressed as I was on Sunday and that is great! I have been doing my exercise and everything else that I need to do so hopefully things will start turning around for me soon enough. It's only been four days but I am already getting used to my new normal and it doesn't seem as bad as I thought it was going to be.
I want to thank everyone for welcoming me back home. The outpouring of love and hugs I have received in the last 3 days is more than I could have ever expected. I wish I could tell all of y'all thank you over and over because it means so much to me.
Until next time,
A

Home Sweet Home

The whole family has arrived safe and sound back in Louisiana. The appointment with my doctor on Friday went as expected. She went over everything again (we basically just chit-chatted about random things that don't really concern my health haha). My dad thinks that the dysautonomia/POTS may have caused my gastroparesis so I am now Case Study #1 at the Mayo Clinic to see if there is some link between the two. My doctor did say that most people grow out of POTS between 20-23 so we will see how long it takes me. I am going to start doing everything tomorrow. The five things that I need to do are: 1) sleep 8.5-9.5 hours a night, 2) eat as much salt as I can stand without changing the flavor of foods, 3) drink 2-4 quarts of fluid a day, 4) exercise 30 minutes a day (she said it should be breathy-sweaty), and 5) I have to take the medicine she prescribed me twice a day. I thought this was going to be easy compared to other things that I have gone through but I think I am going to have a hard time. I am already stressing out about it with all of the makeup work and normal work that I have to do, especially in the next week. I am praying about it and as I like to say, "I'll survive. I always do." I think this is going to be hard just because of how involved I am and the fact that I don't have a whole lot of time to spare as it is. But I am willing to make it work because this can make me feel better. One thing I told my doctor during my first appointment was that I think I am working at about 70-80% (health wise) and I want to be at 100% or as close as I can be. Before we left my appointment on Friday, she told me this should get me working at 100% and that made me smile from ear to ear. She also gave me hug (and y'all know I'm a hugger!).
My dad came up with the idea that I should start an organization that spreads POTS/dysautonomia awareness to doctors and pediatricians in particular. If anyone has any information on how I can do this, please talk to me! I think this could be the start of something amazing, if I can just get it going.
I want to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support! It really means the world to me. Some days are really hard (like today) and to know that I have people that care for me and love me, really makes me feel...I can't even put it into words how happy and grateful it makes me feel.
I want to give a shoutout to the Mayo Brothers and Father Mayo (somewhere up in heaven) for starting one of the most phenomenal medical institutions in the world. If y'all ever get a chance to learn about the history of the Mayo Clinic, it is some pretty awesome stuff! I am going to leave y'all with a quote today from Dr. William J. Mayo (one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic), "We must not forget that happiness is a state of mind, not necessarily of body, and that life is what each person believes it to be. The sick man needs faith, faith in his physician, but there comes a time when faith in a higher power may be necessary to sustain his morale."
Until next time,
A :)
P.S. I'll be posting all of our pictures from the trip on Facebook either tonight or tomorrow!
P.P.S. My creatinine levels are down to 0.9 (which is great!) but even the Mayo kidney doctors couldn't figure out why I went into acute renal failure or what caused it.

We Have a Diagnosis

Hey y'all! I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. I wasn't feeling up for it. We have good news though! I was diagnosed with POTS/dysautonomia. This is a syndrome of the autonomic nervous system. It is what Lance has so my family is pretty well versed on it already. Today, we were supposed to meet with my doctor but she was sick so we had to push back my appointment until tomorrow at 2:45. Lance and my mom are flying home tomorrow (so Lance can go to homecoming on Saturday night) from an airport that is 1.5 hours away from here. We are bringing them to the airport and then me and my dad are driving back to Mayo for my appointment tomorrow afternoon. I had an education session with a nurse practitioner yesterday and she went over all of the things that we already know because of Lance. POTS is something that a person is supposed to grow out of when it is found in teenagers and young adults. We think that I have had POTS since I was a sophomore in high school when all of my symptoms first started to present themselves. POTS has only been diagnosed in teenagers since 1999; it is very new disease and very little is known about it. There is not very much research on it either. This is similar to my gastric stimulator in the fact that we are kind of rolling with what the doctors can do for us and seeing what happens. Things that I have to do to feel better: eat lots of salt, drink 2 to 4 quarts of fluids (mostly water) a day, exercise 30 minutes a day (I will work my way to that), sleep 8.5-9.5 hours each night, and take the medication my doctor prescribes for me. Also, no more caffeine for me. I will know more things specific to myself and my case tomorrow when we meet with my doctor.
Until next time,
A

Test Day 1 - Done

Today I was running tests from 8am until about 11am. I did blood work, a urine sample, EKG, chest x-ray, breathing test, and an exercise test. I was blown away by how efficient the Mayo Clinic was. An itinerary was sent to us a few months ago when we first booked the appointment. When we met with our doctor yesterday a new one was printed for each Lance and I. Each patient here gets their own barcode that is printed out on their itinerary. My itinerary is 13 pages long (and we are only scheduled to be here for 4 days!). At each different desk that you check in to, the receptionist scans your barcode and all of your information pulls up. I don't have any of the results of the tests I did today. We will probably find everything out on Thursday when we meet with our doctor again. Tomorrow, I have to do a tilt table test at 8:45am and then I will meet with one of my doctor's nurse practitioners in the afternoon.
It snowed last night and during the day. Although it was below freezing outside, I woke up sweating and was just super hot this morning. I knew I would have to do lots of walking around and exercise today, so I decided to just wear nike shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt. The looks I got were hysterical! We decided to take a walk around downtown this afternoon when it was 26 degrees with a wind chill of 12 degrees, just to say that we did it. We found a few cool shops on our walk and were able to warm up for a little while. We went into a Barnes and Noble that used to be a theater and it still had the original front/outside as well as the inside walls and ceiling. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Although, we are sick "kids," we still like to have some fun when we have to go to the doctor.
Both of my parents just told me that I had typo in my blog post yesterday. I apologize for any past mistakes and any future mistakes because I am no J.K. Rowling.
Until next time,
A

1 Day Down, 3 To Go

Day 1 at the Mayo Clinic is over. Both Lance (my little brother) and I each had an appointment with our doctor. Mine was at 12:30 and his was at 2:45. We were in the appointments from 12:30-5:30 straight but they were very productive. The doctor did an exam and looked at all my symptoms and she is pretty sure that I have POTS/dysautonomia. But multiple tests have to be run to confirm the diagnosis and to decide which medications I should be put on. I have a good bit of tests to do tomorrow starting at 8am and going until about 12pm. I have to get blood work done, a urine sample, an EKG, an exercise test (I have to ride a bike for 10 ten minutes), and something else that I can't think of right now.
This morning we had about 4 inches of snow and it was 29 degrees in Minneapolis. We left Minneapolis and drove to Rochester. Rochester doesn't have any snow yet but it is supposed to snow overnight and tomorrow. We are staying at a hotel that has this "SkyWalk" thing which are just tunnels above ground that connect a bunch of buildings. So we can walk to the Mayo Clinic without ever having to walk outside, which is really nice when the high for the week doesn't get above 30.
I wanted to keep y'all informed although we don't really know anything or have any results yet!
Until next time,
A

We Made it to Minnesota

My family arrived in Minnesota yesterday afternoon. Both of our flights went smoothly. We were able to watch the LSU Bama game. We watched the first quarter at a restaurant named Dick's Last Resort and their slogan is "Service with Sarcasm." I was very skeptical at first but had a great time. I was/still am so sad that we lost the game last night but I am always proud to be a Tiger and I know our boys went out there and gave it their all.
Today, we went to the Basilica of St. Mary for church in Minneapolis. It was the first basilica in the United States and it was beautiful. After, we went to the University of Minnesota's Theta house. This was so much fun. I got to go inside and talk to the girls. I also got a the tour of the house. It was awesome getting to meet and connect with new sisters (I think this word is super cliche and I don't typically use it but it fits in this situation). We spent the afternoon at the Mall of America, which was a blast!
The weather here has been ridiculous compared to what we are used to in South Louisiana. The high for the whole week is 39 degrees. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow (yayy). We are headed to Rochester tomorrow to go to the Mayo Clinic. We have about an hour and half drive to get there. My first appointment is at 12:30. I will hopefully update y'all tomorrow night!
Until next time,
A

I'm Back...But Only for a Little While

I am back in school but only until Friday hahah. I went to class yesterday, too. My teacher decided that I would take my make-up exam from last week this morning, which I wasn't too happy about because I hadn't looked at any material. But, I just took it and got a 90, so I am happy!!
I had my blood tested on Monday morning and my creatinine level is down to 1.4. This is good news but it stills needs to go down a significant amount. I am not having my blood tested anymore because we will leave for Mayo this weekend and I will have a full blood work up done when I get there next week. I am continuing to down water and Sprite (because it has no caffeine) like it's my job. I am feeling better. My back pain and nausea/stomach yucky-ness has gone down incredibly. Although, I am pretty sure I have a sinus infection now (if it's not one thing, it's another).
My parents and I decided that it is best if I fly out with them on Saturday rather than Sunday after the Bama game. This is mainly because they don't want me flying alone because all this kidney drama that has happened in the last week. With tears in my eyes and a crack in my heart, I sold my Bama ticket yesterday. But believe me when I say I will be wearing purple and gold on Saturday and yelling "Tiger Bait" in every airport I set foot in. We will be in Minnesota in time for the game, so we will be able to watch it live...just a few states away.
Hopefully my next update will come from Minnesota!
Until next time,
A