Beginning 2013

So far 2013 has been fairly uneventful. I am keeping busy with work in OB, which I love. It is a good combination of adults and babies :) If you would have asked me last year if this is what I would be doing. I would have told you NO WAY!!! The Lord has a funny way of changing life's directions. This year, I am praying for several things:
1. That the Lord would work in my life and allow me to do His will whatever that may be and wherever He may lead me.
2. For good health.
3. To draw closer to the Lord each day.

I am sure I will come up with more things, but for now those are my top 3. The Lord has brought me through some amazing trials and I am looking forward to what else He will bring into my life in 2013.

I hope and pray that all of my wonderful friends throughout the world have a wonderful 2013.

UPDATE!!!

So....I know that I have not taken the time to keep people updated. I have been super busy. I started back to work in May and worked at Jones Memorial Hospital on Med-Surg.

June was full of birthdays and fun with the kids. I also was able to go to my mom's family reunion this year which was the first time in a long time. I had a great time seeing and spending time with family.

July I was busy working quite a bit.

August included a week of amazing Vacation Bible School at my church. It was tiring but worth every minute of it.

September brought on some interesting changes in my life. I had been dealing with what I thought was a cyst on my stomach. I went to the surgeon and he decided to remove it. The week after surgery I went back and he told me that I had Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). He said that it was a malignant tumor and that I needed to go to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo for further follow-up. This was a real trial of my faith, because I was doing so well and now a wrench was thrown in it all. I did not get to go to Roswell for follow-up until the beginning of October at that time the doctor told me that I have a locally aggressive tumor....IT IS NOT CANCER....what a relief. However, I would probably have to go through surgery again depending on the pathology reports.

In the meantime, my sister, Erin, had her beautiful twin girls. I was able to go in with her for the c-section. Two amazing miracles were born, Elishia and Isabella. Elishia ended up in the NICU for several days with Pneumonia. I was able to spend that time with Erin and be supportive during that time. Praise the Lord they are both doing amazing :)

In October, I went on a job search because my current job was causing a lot of stress and things were only getting worse. I interviewed at Charles Cole Memorial in the Obstetrics Unit. I started work there in the middle of November. I absolutely love the staff and the doctors.

It seems as though the year has just flown by, Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to reflect back on the year and be thankful for all that the Lord has brought me through. I found out in the middle of November that I would have to have surgery again, but it should be a minor procedure and I would be back to work without difficulty.

December 4 I went to Buffalo for my "minor" surgery. It turned into a 2 night hospital stay because my pain was out of control. They said that I still had some of the tumor left and they had to go wider and deeper than expected. So....I have been off of work since. I am hopefully going to be going back on the 31st.  CHRISTMAS this year was absolutely amazing. All of the kids were so excited and a little overwhelmed. I could care less if I receive anything for Christmas watching the kids is so much better. The year had to end with a bang, yesterday I went day after Christmas shopping for the amazing deals. It had started to snow and I slipped on the ice in the grocery store parking lot and landed flat on my back :) I am very sore today....headed to the chiropractor. We also got 12-13 inches of snow from 1pm until about midnight. Beautiful, but it is a lot of snow.

I am looking forward to what the Lord brings in my path this year. I hope that everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and that the NEW YEAR is full of blessings!!!

Back to Work

Hey all, so I have recently returned to work. I started back on May 9th, so I have officially been employed for over 2 weeks. I have been feeling great so far. I am actually really enjoying the job too. I am working Medical-Surgical which is quite a bit different from Pediatrics, but I am learning quickly. I absolutely adore the older people, they can be so cute and funny, kind of like the kids. Looking back over the past year, I have so many things to be thankful for. I would have never imagined returning to work the way things went last year, but the Lord is good and I have recovered almost back to my normal self.

Praising the Lord

The Lord has been good over the last several years. I am praising Him for the improvement that I have seen over the last several months. My migraines are becoming less frequent (only about 1 a week). I am also thankful that most days my heart rate is almost normal, at least for me. I was also able to stop one of my medications completely. Praise the LORD. I was on this for decreased blood pressure and due to the exercise I have been able to maintain a steady blood pressure. I am still on something for my heart rate, but for right now I am not going to mess with a good thing. I have a potential job and look forward to returning to the work force. I have really enjoyed getting to spend time with my nieces and nephews. They are such a joy and a true blessing. I am continuing to teach Children's Church and that is really a wonderful opportunity. The kids often teach me more than I teach them :) In April, I will be teaching the Ladies Bible Study due to our pastor's wife surgery. I am looking forward to this opportunity and how the Lord will work in my life through this.

Update

I know that it has been a little while since I have posted anything :( I just wanted to let everyone out there know that I am doing GREAT!!! The Lord has been so good. I have been able to maintain my heart rate with disciplined exercise. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a much needed vacation and spend time with old friends. Even while on vacation and not being as disciplined as I should have been my health has been great. I am planning on returning to work soon, Lord willing. I have an interview this week, so we will see. Thank you all for your much needed prayers over the last several years. The Lord allowed everything to happen for a reason and it is only through His sufficient grace that I have come through this all.

Somethings working...praise the LORD

So I have officially been working out at the gym for over 5 weeks. So far I am able to walk 45 min on the treadmill and the highest that my heart rate has gone is 160. I have a goal of being able to return to work in April. I am still on all of my medication, but hopefully will be able to get off of that. Oh, and my migraines have been less frequent since I started working out. I am very hopeful that one day I will be free from all of this... maybe on the other side of glory.

New Game Plan

I just realized that it has been almost a month since I have posted anything so I thought I would write a quick update. Over the last month, I have been continuing to deal with migraines and the same old POTS issues. The last time that I went to the doctor we discussed a couple of studies that are taking place concerning POTS patients and exercise. We discussed how that if you start out increasing exercise in the sitting position and then gradually add walking exercise usually POTS patients are able to increase their activity level back to normal. I have already been riding a bike at home, but knew that I needed to do more, so this week I decided that I needed to start out at the wellness center. So far, I have been able to tolerate the increase in activity without any difficulty. I am doing 30 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes rowing, and 10 minutes on the treadmill. I am going to gradually increase my standing activity, of course I have to do my exercise in the afternoon as this is when my heart rate is at its slowest. Praise the Lord that I am able to do this much. I am praying that with some conditioning that I will be able to return to work early next year. The doctors say that this is what my heart needs is to be conditioned :) I am willing to give it a try.

I am looking forward to celebrating the Christ's birth and spending time with family and friends this holiday season. I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year.

All my beautiful nieces and nephews.