SPRING!!!!!

YEAH!!! It's spring! (at least today it's acting like it) Oh man today was gorgeous! I had a break between my classes this afternoon and I just laid on the grass and caught some rays for like an hour! It was awesome!
Well I am so excited I am almost done with another semester! I will be done in like two weeks and then I have a little break before the summer semester starts! :) I also met with my advisor a few weeks ago and I applied for graduation for Spring of 2010!!! I am so excited I am getting so close to finishing. I will only need 5 credits to graduate come spring time. So that's what's going on with school. I also got everything set up to start volunteering with the Kids Crew at PCMC in a few weeks. I am super excited to do that. It is amazing how much that program has grown since I was little. It has changed so much for the better. I will be able to volunteer at least one day a week after I get off work and I'll go and visit and play games with the kids in the hospital. I hope that I will gain a lot of experience in this field by doing this.
Also speaking of the hospital I am happy to say I don't plan on going back in for quite awhile again! (not to jinx myself) Last week I called my cardiologist because my heart was a lot more irregular and I was wondering if I should up what I thought was my rhythm med. Well it turns out that the med I thought was for my rhythm was really just for my blood pressure and my doc decided that I needed to wear a holter monitor to see if what I was having was anything serious or just more of what I always have. Well I was super stoked to wear a monitor again because it was the FOURTH one I have worn in the past FIVE months! I am kind of sick of those monitors. Well anyways they said that if my monitor showed anything they were concerned about the meds that they might start me on would need me to be in the hospital to start. Well let me just tell you that I hate being sick in the hospital but I hate being in the hospital even more when I'm not sick and I'm just stuck there to be monitored! :(
Well luckily when I got my results back my doc decided that it's not something to really worry about and since it wasn't serious that they wouldn't start me on those meds. Instead she is going to start me on a supplement that will hopefully help me without all the side effects of a prescription. I was so happy to not have to go inpatient again. It has been almost a year since I was in and I am determined to make it to that year mark again. And after that I hope to make it as long as possible without having to go back in.
Well sorry for the long post but as you guys know I'm not the greatest at updating this thing very often so when I do I have to catch everyone up. Hope all is well and have a great night!
xoxo

Happy Birthday DAD!!!!!!

I just want to wish my dad a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I will post more in a few days when I am home but my sister and I were able to pull off the best surpise party for him last night!!! :) We had about 50 of his friends and family there and he had NO CLUE! :) Happy 5-0 DAD!! Love you!

Yay!!! The blog continues!!

So I'm happy that some people still read my blog. Even if it's not a lot. Although I thought about it after I wrote that last post. I believe that I will continue writing this even if no one chooses to read it. I really think it is a good way to get my thoughts out and just keep track of my life.
So I had a happy realization today....I was preparing my class schedule for next Fall and I realized if I only take 12 credit hours next Fall I will only need 5 in the Spring to graduate! I wish I could push myself an get it all done in the Fall but I have one class that I have to take to graduate and it's only offered in the Spring. So I decided to not push myself and just enjoy my last two semesters!!! :) I can't believe I am finally so close to finishing!
I also have had a not so happy relization the past few weeks. As you all know I work in the Cardiology clinic at PCMC. Although I have always known that not every heart disease is fixable it doesn't make it any easier when we lose patients. I just want to ask for a prayer request for all the families that have lost loved ones, especially children, to heart disease. As well as to those families that are still struggling to have there child's heart disease fixed or become managable.
Well I better do some studying ;) 'night

AMAZING DAY!!!!!

So yes I have to start this off like I seem to with a lot of my posts. :) I have been a total slacker ;) I really live a boring life so I don't feel like I have anything to post. Plus I'm not really sure if anyone really reads this anymore. So if you are one of the few people that still check up on me this way please leave a comment and let me know so I know I should keep this going.
So on to the AMAZING DAY :) I spent the day at the cardiology clinic but unfortunatly I wasn't getting paid :) I ended up being on the patient end of it. I had my regular check up. The day started off with a CT scan of my head and neck to make sure there weren't any dilations in my head since I have the dilation of my aorta and I it was thought I had one in my neck. It turns out that I don't have one in my neck and I don't have any in my head. :) My aorta is also the exact same as it has been for many years so it is considered stable. :)
After the CT I had labs which showed that my PT is high right now most likely because I was sick a few weeks ago and had to be on antibiotics and steriods so I will have to recheck that next week to make sure it is going back down to normal.
Next came the echo which shows that my function is great and my aortic, pulmonary, and tricusbid valves only have trace regurge/insufficency! This is fantastic considering I had the pulmonary and aortic replaced over 8 years ago! :)
After that I had my ECG and pacer check and both showed that my rhythm is stable and fairly normal. :) Over all it shows that my heart is doing really well and I don't have to go back for a year to see how my function is and I only have to check up on my rhythm in 6 months! :)
So as you can see from the numerous smiley faces it was a really good day! :-) I hope everyone is well out there! And remember to please let me know if you still check this blog so I will keep posting my new on it. :) 'night

I am a total slacker!

Wow! I can't believe how much of a slacker I have been! For anyone who has been still trying to keep up on my life and hasn't given up on my blog I am sorry and I hope I can fill you in on what you might have missed.
I guess the most important thing is that my friend Tanya is out of the hospital and doing fantastic! It is almost her 3 month anniversery of her new lungs and she is doing so well. Her PFT's are almost in the 60's! That is great! Mine are in the high 80's so she is almost as good as my lungs ( which most of the time is a good thing) :)
When it comes to the last few months of my life. Not a whole lot has changed. I am just about to finish up my semester and I can't wait to have a break. I have also found out that I will be graduating in the Spring of 2010 and I can't wait! I have had a fairly healthly semester. I am getting over a cold but luckily that is all that it turned into so far. I was worried that it would have turned into something more seeing as the weather has been so bad lately. However I am feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the week so I believe I will be able to stay out of the joint (aka the hospital). I just hope that I can stay out the whole winter.
My heart seems to be doing really well too. I have an appointment at the end of January and hopefully I will be able to get another fairly clean bill of health. I am going to go through the works this time. I have an echo, CT, device check, and all the other standard tests scheduled. It will be an all day deal. In case anyone doesn't know an Echo is an ultrasound of the heart. The doctors will be looking at my valves that they replaced and making sure that they aren't leaking too much. The CT is another picture of my blood vessels but it gives a closer picture of some areas in my body that have dilated arteries. And lastly the device check is where they test my ICD to make sure I haven't had to use it and that the battery is still good.
Well besides that not much is new and excited in my life right now. I have all of my finals next week so I guess I should get back to studying but I hope everyone has a great weekend and is enjoying the holiday season!

The vent is OUT!!!!

So I just got an update that Tanya got off the vent today! She is doing great! They also were able to take out all of her chest tubes today too! She is such an amazing girl! I know she will do great but as always she needs prayers to give her strength to keep up the great work. :)

New lungs are in and doing well so far!

Just a quick update. Thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts today. I just got word a little while ago that Tanya made it out of surgery a few hours ago and everything went well. Now it's just a matter of the drugs wearing off and having her wake up and start the recovery process. But everything has gone really smoothly up to this point which is great. Thanks again to everyone. I just ask for continued prayers for her speedy recovery.
God Bless
Tiff