Wrapping up the last loose ends

Monday I'll be mailing off my immunization form. That is the last hoop I have to jump through to complete my admissions requirements. I also renewed my CPR certificate today. It isn't due until October but I wanted to get it done before summer was over so it won't conflict with classes. Anything to reduce future stress.

The class schedule is finally posted and I am going to have some very long days.
Monday 8-11 Foundation of Nursing
Tuesday 8-5 Foundation of Nursing, (Microbiology in the afternoon with lab following)
Wed, Th or Fri 8-11 Simulation wks 4,7,10 of term
Thurday 2-5(Microbiology in the afternoon with lab following)

Clinicals TBA on Wed or Friday

I also looked at the text list and it is very long. 13 books for the whole year! Fortunately the text list for years 2 and 3 is MUCH shorter so I am assuming many of the books with be used in the entire program.

All I have left to do is purchase my navy blue scrubs and lab coat, shoes and my OHSU patches and I'll have all my supplies in place. I am really happy the scrub color is navy instead of white! :)

Apt with the specialist

I drove up to Portland yesterday for my follow up apt with Dr. Morrison. On the way I stopped for lunch in Eugene and met up with a future fellow nursing student who will be going to nursing school with me. She's 39 so I won't be the only mature student :)

Dr Morrison was very pleased with my progress. I am down to 10 mg of Prednisone and from now on we will decrease it by 1 mg every 2 wks. She said I can stop taking the Prilosec, drop to 1/2 of the Tetrycicline immediately and stop taking it altogether if it doesn't cause a flare. In a few wks I can stop taking the Fosamax. I am so happy with this! I will go back to see her in 6 months. By then we will try to cut the Cellcept in half. I will have to keep taking the Cellcept for at least another 9 months. We will re-evaluate when the time comes depending on how my body reacts.

I am tired today but I feel pretty good considering I drove 10 hrs yesterday. Today I had another Statistics midterm. I think I did o.k.

Statistics

I just got the results of my Statistics midterm. I got an A to my surprise! It's fortunately not as hard as I was afraid of. We have very little homework so far, so I have been able to really relax and enjoy my summer vacation with the kids. I also went over the requirements for a BS under the nursing program, and from what I can tell without talking to my advisor I only have to take Biology, Microbiology, Technical Writing, and 2 more classes about 300 level. That means after next year I will have mostly the nursing program itself to focus on. I am very happy about that!

Just a cute pic of the kids and Aunt Katrinka

Ordered my stethescope

I am starting to gather together the things I'll need for school. One of the items is a stethescope. I ordered a Littman Classic II SE. I got it in raspberry with my name engraved on it :) Since we will be wearing navy blue scrubs I thought a little dark pink would contrast nicely and with my name on it it's less likely to go "walking" a hazard I've been warned about.... I also orderd some completely white shoes, my pen light, and watch with a second hand on a lanyard so it won't get germy on my wrist. I will buy my scrubs and lab coat soon, once I check out the ones at the bookstore to compare style and price.

I go tmy fingerprints done for my backround check, the third Hep B shot taken care of. OK because it's not a live vaccine. All I have left is my TB tests which have to be done a week apart, and the antibody titers I have to have run for Hep B and Chicken Pox. Then wait for the backround check to come back, send off all the papers and I'll be done until the drug test. Lots of little hoops to jump through but it's all coming together nicely.

In other news, Lane took off the weekend to have a mini vacation with the kids and we are going to go a BBQ at a friend's church tomorrow and watch fireworks there. Nick has made some really great little friends and we have started to make friends with the parents as well so I am looking forward to this. It is supposed to be 85 tomorrow so much cooler than it has been and it should be a wonderful 4th!

I'm IN!!!

I got a phone call today to inform me that a spot opened up and I have been admitted to OHSU Nursing School for this fall! :) I am SO thrilled!

Nick lost his first tooth!

Done with A&P

Today I took my Anatomy and Physiology Final Exam. I think I did very well. It feels good to be done with this term and enjoy two weeks off before I start Statistics. I am very tired! I plan to take a lot of quiet time to myself to just relax and read whatever I feel like. Also tackle a few projects later this summer to get the place organized again. We are still shuffling things around from our spring flooring project and I want to get my house back to normal!

The kids are enjoying their first week of summer vacation.

Next fall up in the air

I heard back from OHSU, and I will be an alternate for Nursing School in the fall. It's so much better than a no, since there is a chance I'm high enough on the list that enough spots will open up so I will get one.

If not, I will continue to progress toward my goal and apply for next year. I have registered for Statistics for the summer, and Biology with Genetics, and Microbiology for the fall. In addition I will take Psy 228 which will put me on track for my backup plan to get a BS in Psychology.

I am feeling very good physically and mentally right now. The kids just finished school so we are on SUMMER VACATION :) I have 2 weeks after my final before I am back in class, and I am going to really enjoy the break.

A special request for Emma Grace

I have been following the blog of a young mother with brain cancer. She has been very inspirational to me in the way she has coped with her illness. She is also the mother of a sweet little girl named Emma Grace who has autism and is a heart transplant recepient. Emma is in the hospital in very serious condition with a virus that is threatening her heart. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers!!!

I'm not sure why I'm having problems posting the link as clickable but here it is anyhow...

http://especiallyheather.com/

Sweet 16

My baby girl turns 16 today!!! It's amazing to me that this day is already here. She won't alow me to make a big fuss but I'm going to anyhow. I'm off to buy her art pens and canvas and other art goodies and bake a cake.

Bone Density Scan

I got the results of my bone density scan. I'm happy to report I have very good bones :)

What happened to spring?

Wow it's HOT already! We're supposed to get up to 99 today! It feels like it went straight from barely spring to summer. It will probably cool off again, but it's a indication that the summer is almost here.

I had my second lecture test today. I think I did o.k. I had to miss two lectures last week for a Dr apt and waiting to sign for UPs to deliver my medication...so we'll see how I did.

I was able to successfully lower my Prednisone dose to 80 mg this week, so that is progress :) My blood work from the edicrinologist came back and I have borderline low normal vitamin D levels despite taking 2000mg daily, so they are going to supplement me with a prescription. I suspect my kidneys are not turning it into the active form of D. Vit D isn't really a vitamin, it's really a hormone so it isn't like other vitamins. I've been totally out of the sun too trying to avoid the medication effects of being oversensitve to sun so that might be part of it too. My THS thyroid level was low as well and we will get another blood test in 3 months to recheck that. I am feeling really good overall though!

Spring Music Program

Jake and Nick had their Spring Music Program today. It was so nice to go to the school and hear all the kids sing. Nick was so cute when his class did their songs. He knew all the hand motions. I wish I'd remembered to charge the video camera battery but it will be in my memory :)

It's been so lovely here the last few days! And I am continuing to feel really strong and healthy so I am very happy with the way life is going right now!

Feeling so great!

The last 2 days I have felt totally normal! I stepped my prednisone down another 10 mg so I'm at 80 mg now. No new blistering. I was able to totally drop the sleep/itch med as well.

The painting/flooring/household maintenence phase is finished and now I am sorting through everything and getting it put away. I had the closet doors replaced so now my hallway looks so tidy with doors on my pantry. I also had the handyman add a shelf over my laundry area for more storage, fix the broken hinge on the kitchen cabinet and the broken drawer all for $375 including the supplies! Quite a bargain for the work and he did a very nice job. I am really happy to have found someone who is prompt, polite and does good work for a reasonable rate for household repairs. This will really reduce my stress level!

I also got an A on my lecture exam. Lab exam is on thursday and I feel really good about this term so far.

What a difference a month makes!

One month ago my arms were covered with huge blisters. Here is what they look like today!


I still have more rash in other places that is healing, but oh my what a relief. Barely any itching, only a few hot spots and the medicine is clearly working. My potassium level tested in the normal range at the second blood draw so I just have to watch to make sure I get enough in my diet and I should be fine.

In other news I got an A on my 1st lecture exam, and the lab exam is on thursday. I feel very confident about that exam as well.

The new flooring is all in and we are moving our furniture back in today. Life is feeling almost back to normal :)

Adjusted meds

I lowered my Prednisone dose down 10 mg on Tuesday. So far only a few tiny tiny blisters behind my ear and one in my mouth. About the same amt of blistering I was getting on the 100 mg, so I am sticking with the lower dose. My Derm called and left a msg saying something about my labs having a value that she didn't like but she hasn't called me back yet. Overall my body is healing and I really hope I can stay on the Cellcept because it is working and I want to get the Prednisone lower. There is another med we can try if I can't tolerate the Cellcept for some reason.

Amazing Grace

I went to Accupuncture today, and as usual it was just what I needed. Kara Miller at Jade Mountain Medicine is my Accupuncturist and she is just so talented and intuitive. Today the music playing was Native American and on the CD was the most beautiful version of Amazing Grace in a Native Language (Not sure which tribe) accompained with Irish Music. Interesting combo that really resonated with me. I had some pretty bad edema on Monday and Tuesday and the treatment I had on tues took care of it almost completely! It helped today as well with everything. I am healing very fast. Still on 100 mg Prednisone, trying to reduce it was too soon earlier this week. I have NO new blisters today, and the others are fading. My forearms look SO much better. Hard to believe I had huge blisters there only a few weeks ago. I will take a pic and post so you can see how much better I look.

I feel almost normal today! :)

In the Clear

Today I had my follow up U/S for my rt breast. It went fine. The area they wanted a closer look at they pretty much came to the conclusion what they saw is normal lymph tissue. So I can relax on that front.

I also had an apt with the opthomologist today and he won't rule our MMP for now. He says we will wait and watch and he's fairly certain its just BP but he thinks it bears watching closely due to the mouth/throat involvement. I will continue with the eye drops. He feels the Cellcept and Prednisone will help with the eye enough I should be able to wean off the drops eventually. He also warned me I will most likely end up with Cataracts from the Prednisone and eye drops, but not to worry about that for now as that is a long way off. I also found out my optic nerves are at a funny angle. Nothing to worry about, just the way my eyes were made. I go back to see him in 2 months.

As for the rest, tomorrow I have class and an apt with the disability services office. I want to get in the system just in case I need a note taker or something later in the term.

It's working!

Since I have started the Cellcept I have only gotten a few new blisters. Overall in the last week I have noticed a dramatic downturn in new rash and blisters. Today I got a few behind my ears, and they are all very small. The rash itself is still there, but only "hot" in a few places. The only side effect I have noticed is my ankles and feet are quite swollen. So I've elevated them as much as possible.

Friday I had an IEP meeting for Jacob. It was a very positive meeting. He has made a lot of progress this year. He will be going to the 5th grade at the middle school with the same teacher Max has had this year. She has been able to help Max so I feel confident Jake will be in good hands. He is excited about it as well.

I also had an apt with my dermatologist in Medford. I'll see her again in 6 wks. I will see Dr. Morrison at OHSU in June.

We finished up the painting in Max's room and will be moving the furniture today so he can move in! Then I have to put the office things back into the desks and tidy up the kitchen and LR where all of it has been waiting. Next week the flooring goes in the bedroom so those things will need a place to be moved before the end of the week. It feels like a sliding puzzle where you have to rearrange the pieces! And of course I have a bit of studying to do today as well.