Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Week Thirty Nine - Gratitude

Saturday September 24th - Grateful for special moments and meds to help the pain so I can enjoy my time with my scrapping friends
Sunday September 25th - Grateful for a safe trip home - good to be home
Monday September 26th - Grateful for lots of time to sleep
Tuesday September 27th - Grateful that I can rest and recuperate from a busy but fun trip.
Wednesday September 28th - Grateful for my mom who just always seems to get it.
Thursday September 29th - I am grateful that everyone is working together to make our house a home
Friday September 30th - I am grateful that things are finally peaceful

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Week Thirty Eight - Gratitude

Saturday September 17th - I am grateful for great friends who I wil see in a few days.
Sunday September 18th- I am grateful for a new week
Monday September 19th - Remembering those who were injured or killed at the Air Race accident on Friday
Tuesday September 20th - Thankful for my family and friends - they are my life
Wednesday September 21st - Grateful that we made it safely to Vegas
Thursday September 22nd - Thankful that I am taking fun craft classes and just relaxing. Grateful for the special blessing during the ProvoCraft class.
Friday September 23rd - Grateful for fun times with my awesome friends.
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Monday, September 12, 2011

Week Thirty Seven - Gratitude

Saturday September 10th - I am grateful our military and all they do to protect us.
Sunday September 11th - I am grateful for times to reflect and remember those who were lost 10 years ago. Even today it still brings tears to my eyes, truly was the worst thing I have ever seen.
Monday September 12th - I am grateful for time to put things in order.
Tuesday September 13th - I am grateful that no matter what my cats can make me laugh.
Wednesday September 14th - I am grateful that I have time to work on special gifts.
Thursday September 15th - I am grateful that vacation is next week.
Friday September 16th - praying for all those affected by the plane crash.

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Journey........

In 1997, my life took a turn. How is it that I can have Lupus. Lupus was a disease that I heard about and people died from it. How is it with no family history do I have this horrible disease. It is one of those diseases that the medicines used to treat it are at times worse than the disease itself. A co-worker told me the day that I was diagnosed that her friends mom had it and it went to her mom's brain and she died. Lupus killed her. I had that in my head for so long and actually made the journey harder. It scared me, what was this thing that had violated my body and what was it going to do to me.
This disease over the last 14 years has defined me, ruled my life and kept me hostage. The ramifications of what it does to each body part at times make life so incredibly hard. In 2000, my doctor started me on steriods. These little pills do alot of good but wreak havoc on your body. Long term use causes weight gain along with a myriad of other unpleasant side effects. The dose at the beginning was 32 mg and throughout the past 11 years it has been a challenge to get me off of them. Easier said then done. At the beginning of the year I was down to 4 mg a day - it has taken me 2 years of gradual decreases to get down that far. So in April when we learned that Medrol was pulled off the market (no one knows why) I was thrown into crisis mode because I was going to have to get off of them and quickly. Well thank God my pharmacy had enough pills to take me to December but each decrease is only 1 mg at a time and every other day at that, I am finally at 1 mg daily. Each decrease brings pain, sickness and extreme fatique. Who would have thought that a little pink pill could have that much influence on your body. It is hard because it is taking me 4-6 weeks to get through each decrease. But I press on because I have to get 100% off of them. Lupus has been an enemy to me, brought things into my life that are physically, mentally and emotionally challenging.
Since being diagnosed, I have made friends with many who deal with the trials of auto immune diseases, tried to be supportive of others dealing with these issues and daily strive to not let this disease take me down. Some times are easier than others. Some days getting out of bed is a challenge and other nights the pain keeps me up. The medicines are there to help but it is tough. The journey is long, it is hard and sometimes impossible but I know with God's help each day I will make it through and my reward at the end of this life will be eternity with God and pain free. I am looking forward to that. In the past year, I have met others who are on this journey. At times I don't know what to say, I can only say that I am sorry to hear that because it is so unbelievably hard but with others walking along beside you, it somehow makes it easier. My prayer is that God allows me enough time on this earth to encourage others in their journey and let them see that life does go on and the disease is not necessarily the end of the journey but it might well be the beginning.

Week Thirty Six - Gratitude

Saturday September 3rd - I am grateful for a great sermon on Not doing it alone - it is what I needed.
Sunday September 4th- I am grateful for barbeque hamburgers and home made fries on a warm summer night - yum
Monday September 5th- I am grateful for the anticipation of seeing my scrapbooking friends in a couple weeks.
Tuesday September 6th - I am grateful that all my family and friends are safe but mourning for all those who were murdered this morning in Carson City. Very sad day for our community.
Wednesday September 7th - I am grateful that through it all God is in control but day is hard - so much sadness in our community.
Thursday Septermber 8th - Everything is focused on the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and the brutal killings in Carson City - things are so sad. I am grateful for my family and friends.
Friday September 9th- I am grateful for the Balloon Races, somehow watching the balloons is a great way to calm my soul