It's Official

Last week I was honored to be a part of some very special celebration. My friends Mike and Aiyana tied the knot (FINALLY!) after much anticipation and we couldn’t be happier for them!!

**Congrats you guys – we love you!

Well along with the wedding came rehearsals, a bachelorette party, a lingerie shower, and a bachelor party for the men-folk. Good times were had by all (well… mostly. Poor Mike was 7 shades of red when the guys surprised him with this embarrassing accessories for the evening) and though it all went by quickly, I’m just glad that Studly and I were able to be a part of it and celebrate with them.


But I tell that story to tell you another story… one that comes with a need for your assistance in the coming months and a willingness for you to bear with me as I prepare. *teeth chattering

And for those of you not paying attention and trying to figure out what it is. Just be patient… you’ll learn soon enough.


Thursday night was Aiyana’s bachelorette party. The ladies all met at Fuji for dinner (and entertainment. Have you seen those hibachi grill chefs? AHHmazing!) and then went back to the maid of honor’s house for a little lingerie action (oww owwww!).

Wait.

Let me rephrase.

We went back to have a lingerie shower for Aiyana. *whew That sounds MUCH better.


Back to the story… while I was there catching up with some girlfriends I hadn’t seen in a while (which is ALWAYS a ton of fun, right?!), my friend Amber gave me this amazing tidbit of information. Here’s what happened.

She had been at Atlanta Bread Company earlier in the day and came across this pamphlet. Upon further review, she discovers that the event focuses on Crohns’ and Colitis.

As most of you know, McStudly was diagnosed with Crohns’ disease last year. It was actually this time last year, actually, when he was finally diagnosed, so it’s been about a year now that we’ve been learning and trying out different medications and treatment options. Growing through the process.


So basically – to state that this hits close to home would be a total understatement. It’s not close to home, people… it IS home! I mean, you can’t get a whole whole lot closer than that, right?!


Anywho, she gave me the pamphlet (thanks, Amber. You’re such a sweetheart!) and I took it him to look it over and do a bit more research on the subject. And after talking it over with the Stud himself, we decided we were game.


It’s official. This December, the 5th to be exact, McStudly and I will be running the Rock & Roll ½ Marathon in Vegas. The proceeds go towards helping the CCFA (Crohns’ & Colitis Foundation of America) find a cure.


Fact: Did you know that chronic, and often debilitating digestive diseases impact more than 1.4 million Americans? True Story.


But I’m tired of just talking the talk. Crohn’s hit home for us. And see how it affects people in all different ways makes me wanna get off my butt and do something about it. But since I don’t have my doctorate and am certainly not a scientist, this is where I can help. So I’m going to do it, dang it!


So how can you help? I’m glad you asked.


Don’t worry, you don’t have to sign up to run it with us. In fact, you can do everything from the comfort of your couch with a big ol’ bowl of popcorn and a nice Big Gulp on the table next to you… or whatever it is you eat while you think about other people exercising. For me, it’s Chocolate Chip cookies and/or brownies with a nice big glass of milk. Yumm… I can feel myself getting fatter already. Woohoo!!


No – in fact, all we need from you is a lot of encouragement and a little bit of moolah.

Okay – I’ve already lost some of you. *sigh


Really though – let me explain. This money isn’t going to us. It’s not going to some VP’s pocket. It’s not going into the big hole that is the US Government’s “treasury” (which reminds me - doesn’t something need to be in it for us to actually consider it a “treasury”? I’m just sayin…). It’s going directly into the funding of finding a cure for Crohn’s and Colitis.

By giving us just a few bucks here and there, as you’re able, you would not only be changing my husband and I’s life by helping us run this race, but you’ll be absolutely changing the lives of over 1.4 million Americans that are impacted by these diseases. And for that, my friends, I will be in huge debt to you.


For those who don’t know the whole story, my husband wasn’t sick hardly a day in his life until all of a sudden WHAM! He’s got an auto-immune disease that he’ll have for life. Umm.. whaaa?! That’s a lot for someone in their 20s to all of a sudden have to deal with. Not to mention how he went from not even knowing what a headache really was to having them on a consistent basis thanks to the steroids they put him on. He’s since switched treatments and now goes in for infusions every 8 weeks. If he misses one, he feels it.

That’s quite an adjustment.


Basically – we need your help. We need to raise $3,500 a piece to be able to compete in the ½ marathon and support such an amazing cause. But for those of you that are as skeptical as I am about these things, here’s where the money goes:

$2,500:
- 16 weeks of training with a professional trainer and the team of other runners in your area, to make it easier for you to be able to complete the race
- Race entry fees, which aren’t all that cheap for this one
- Hotel accommodations for race weekend
- Entry to the Pasta Party on the eve of the race, to make sure you load up on carbs before the big day
- Moolah moolah moolah going towards the whole reason for the race

$3,500:
- Airfare to and from Vegas (and I live almost as far as one can live and still be in the same continent) for the race along with your team
- Ground transportation to and from the airport, as well as throughout the weekend for the various organized activities


I know it seems like a lot of money – TRUST me… I’m worried that we won’t be able to raise enough to be able to participate. But I do know that even if something happens and we can’t raise enough to race, the money that we have raised will still go straight to the cause. And that, my friends, is music to my ears… er – McStudly’s intestines. ??


There you have it. McStudly and I will be training to run a ½ Marathon in December to benefit Crohns’ and Colitis research, and we’re stoked! Our only concern has nothing to do with training or getting there… it’s whether or not we can raise the money in time to be able to participate and support a cause that has such an effect on our lives already.


So that’s where you come in. Can you help? Any little bit will help us go a long way when combined with the other little bits we’re hoping to receive. AND come August, we’ll have a link on the side of the blog that’ll take you directly to our Team Challenge fundraising sites so you can contribute. So start setting aside money, if you can. We’d be greatly honored, probably more than you’ll ever know.




Thanks guys!!

Provision

It's been a great year... and I've been blog-M.I.A. for most of it (yeah. Sorry about that!), but it's been great, nonetheless.

With so much that's happened this year, I can't help but see God's hand and provision in our lives. Even through that crazy chaotic man-made house flood of ours, we received new carpet throughout the house, tiling in the bathroom (which we would've had to pay for ourselves), fresh new paint in various rooms... we couldn't have PLANNED that!

When McStudly was diagnosed with Crohns' disease, even after several hospital stays and medical appointments... countless pills and medicine trials... we hardly payed a dime for any of it (I actually don't think that we payed anything for any of it). We had amazing medical coverage through the military, fabulous doctors and facilities in our local area, understanding bosses and co-workers that covered for us, supportive family that checked in on us, and fabulous friends that helped make sure we felt loved and were taken care of. We couldn't have ASKED for anything better!

Even in our finances I can see him working. When bills came in higher than planned for (like when the electric company WAY overestimated our charges: think 8 months worth of bill credits) and life just... happened - cracked windshields, a sick dog, and home makeover mishaps (plenty of those in this house) - we were covered.

Just this month, Austin had quite a few dollars spent on vet bills... and by quite a few I mean the total is now over $1.2k on something as simple as ringworm (PS: much more serious on dogs, than humans, fyi). Somehow we were able to pay for (not charge) his vet bills the first time around... don't ask me how! But I thought for sure that there would be no way we could do it again. And I was right - we could not. But with God, all things are possible - and we are able to do it again. The vet said he needs one more round of meds to be sure it doesn't come back, and "somehow" we have the extra money to pay for that and his boarding expenses. I noticed last week, after doing some quick budget math (am I the only one that keeps a spreadsheet for each month that details how much goes to which bills for each paycheck, how much into savings, how much for spending, etc? Okay... call me precise and just shy of obsessive, but it works.) that we had about an extra $1k in savings that I couldn't really account for. Every bill is payed and already pulled up to date. There are no pending checks, and no pending withdrawals. We had planned to use the extra money to pay off our credit card, but when Austin needed vet visits, I knew it would be going towards that instead. But here's the cool part: we somehow didn't spend much (hardly any) of our allotted spending money over vacation... That's about $150 that we didn't use. And $269 just came in the mail as a reimbursement from our first round of vet bills (have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE having pet insurance? Cause I do.) which I had totally forgotten about.

That's a total of: $419.00 that I had no way of accounting for beforehand. It was like surprise money... bonus cash.

So when I went to pick up Austin this morning from the vet's office, where he was boarding and had been re-checked by the vet, guess how much I had to pay?!


*drumroll please*


That would be a total of $406.68!



Isn't that amazing?! Not only are the vet bills covered out of pocket without even remotely affecting our regular monthly budget and bills, but we can also afford to pay off our credit card, now, with the extra money I "found" in savings.

Because we have been faithful to him in our finances and tithing, God has blessed us more than we could even IMAGINE through our finances.




As 2009 comes to a close, this evening, I look back and can see how God has blessed us way beyond what we could ever have planned, asked or imagined.




With this kind of provision from a truly wonderful, loving God that cares enough about me to even notice and cover the "little" things in life, I can't help but feel a peaceful confidence over whatever will be thrown our way in 2010.

May God continue to bless and care for you and yours, and may you be able to someday look back and see his hand in everything.





Happy New Year!

BRB?!

Well, I just posted about excuses and being a blog slacker, and I'm still at it, aren't I? Well, a co-worker has been out for a bit, due to family emergencies (which I may share about later, once I talk to her, it's so sad) and on top of covering for her, I've been really into sewing and being crafty.

I have a few things to show you that I'm super proud of... can't wait to see what you think!!


Other than that, just got news that the military wants to do some more tests/procedures on McStudly. Well, I should say they want to period, because they weren't the ones who did it last time, and if you know anything about the military, it's not done right unless they are the ones who did it. (Can I get an Amen form my fellow MilWives?!)


Anywho - over the next 10 days or so I may still be a bit of a slacker. Tonight I'm "babysitting" a friend's little boy, so I may phone in a pic or two, depending on his mood, but otherwise I may not have a lot to blog about...

I have SO many topics and ideas and things I want to blog about, but haven't had the chance to sit down and do it. So we'll see what happens.



So sorry, guys, and hopefully I'm not lowing friends because of my slackiness! :-( I am still reading all of your blogs (which is maybe why I don't have time to write my own?) and trying to comment, but after doing that I don't find much time to write between everything else that's going on.

Anywho - I gotta run (what else is new?!), but I will try to catch up with you guys as soon as I get the chance. Toodles!






**PS: If you get the chance, and wouldn't mind, please send up a prayer for my Grampa. My Momma Bear's Dad is getting pretty old and now in a nursing home. The three girls (mom and her two sisters) are doing what they can, but only 1 of them lives anywhere near where he is. There is more health stuff going on, and in his own words, he says he's just "ready to go see mother", which is what he called their mom, who passed several years back. God love him, he's such a sweet hearted man, but I know this is really tough for all of them. Keep them in your prayers, will you? Thanks, guys. Take care!

Excuses. Excuses.

You know how they say that "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? Well, don't go chucking rocks at us, or anything, but I wanted to give you all an inside look into what's been going on in our lives over the last month or so, mainly while I was being a major blog slacker.


Don't kill me - I've got a good excuse this time, I promise!


So McStudly's Crohns had been flaring up again not too long ago... or still... we can't really keep track, but he was finally on some medicine that seemed to be helping. And actually, the Doctor is phasing him off of it, now, so we're doing well. HOORAY!! Prayers that this will continue would be GREATly appreciated. ;-)

As most of you know, we found out a few months ago that he would be deploying in October for 6 months. Because of that, a lot of the "out processing" was taking place, which, for McStudly, also included a lot of Doctor's visits (not so much out of the norm, but for him they were a bit different). For anyone with military insurance, you know that it's not exactly like you're best friends with your doctor, or anything. Well, if you are, your military spouse is not. They're considered lucky to even see a real doctor.

Well, it finally came time for the vaccinations, which is all fine and well, accept - that medicine that he's been taking? Yeah. It's an immuno-supressant, which basically means just that: it suppresses his immune system. The whole reason you get vaccines at all is to build up your immune system to be able to fight off the sickness you could be exposed to, right? But if you're on immuno-supressants, this isn't really a smart thing to do. I mean - your body isn't able to build up that immunity, so you'll more than likely just get whatever it is that shot (or series of scratches) was for. AND that's not so much what we're going for, is it?!

So, McStudy had to get a "deferment" for the smallpox vaccine. That's the one where they make like an obscene number of scratches in one spot on your shoulder with a "live" portion of the virus. ??? Comforting, no? AND just to help you sleep real well at night for those of you unaware, they have to keep it bandaged 24/7 until the scab falls off, or something like that. AND if somehow I ended up being pregnant, I, apparently, can't even sleep in the same bed as him or possibly the same room... and I cannot, whatsoever, come into contact with said scabby-goodness.

Awesome.


Well... needless to say, he was granted a deferment by the not-too-bright doctor. Then 15 minutes later, he had to meet with her again about the remaining vaccines.

To a normal (and I use that term relatively loosely, these days) person, you would assume he'd walk into her office... again... and she's sign a deferment for these as well. But apparently, homegirl's memory didn't serve her past the previous 10 minutes. Yep - For real. So he had to go over everything with her A-gain.

*sigh

And she, half an hour later, signed another deferment.


Then a few days later, he gets notified that he'll have to be taken before the AF Medical Evaluation Board and have his health reviewed for possible medical discharge.


Awesome. Again.


We were informed (HA! Yeah right - I mean we researched the crap out of this) that this is standard for anyone in the military that is diagnosed with Crohns' after enlistment. It's mandatory, and they were slacking up until this point. We were informed that it could take up to a year for this MedEvalBoard to happen because they were backlogged, he was like 16th on the list, and each case takes several weeks+ to process.


Upon further research, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't make sense for them to discharge him. Not that anyone gives a flying rat's hoot (whatever that is) of my opinion, but nevertheless, it doesn't seem to make sense. He hasn't missed a single day of work. When medicated, he has everything managed. And he hasn't really been outside of a flare-up, yet, to see how he can handle things then. And seeing as how medical discharge is based on your office, ability to carry-out duties as assigned, ability to perform necessary PT (PS: he scored an 84 on the last test - mid flare-up - which is 1 single point under getting out of all organized PT session requirements... I'mjustsayin'), and the amount of work missed. They talk to our flight chief, your commander, co-workers, blah blah blah, and I don't even think most of them know he's got Crohns' disease, much less that it effects his work.


So... like was saying before, I can't imagine them having reason enough to medically discharge him, but we shall see what happens.


In the mean time, and the reason I'm writing, he has been labelled "ineligible" to deploy. They did not push his deployment back. They did not reschedule his deployment. They did not pass go. No $200 collected (that's for sure!). He's just currently not allowed to go. End. Of. Discussion.

I gotta be honest - I didn't exactly weep in a fetal position over in the corner when I found out that little tid-bit of awesomey goodness. Who would?!


But I do know that McStudly hopes, upon evaluation, that he'll be allowed to deploy in the future. He really wants to do it. He feels like it's part of what he does and that he's not being fair to all of the other guys that have to go if he doesn't. And he thinks it'd be a wicked cool experience to boot.

...not the leaving me for 6 months part... the playing G.I. Joe in the desert part. With a big gun. and a Helmet, of course (I insisted). It's like any boys dream... ish.

And while we're still just... us and no kids (minus our furry one, of course, who'll protect me while he's gone), I think I'm okay with that. It won't be easy, but I'll manage. And I'll get to have that homecoming experience that most can't even imagine.



But for now, he'll be home. With me. And I couldn't be happier. I'm so grateful that I have a little more time to prepare myself for a deployment, because I just realized that it's September 1st, and there's no WAY I'd be ready to say goodbye to him in October.





Then again... are you ever "ready"? I can't imagine so.

What Was I Thinking?!

With everything that McStudly and I have been dealing with lately... between the house snafu, the hospital visits, job hunting, etc etc... we've been learning a lot.

The best part about it is that with his recently being diagnosed with Crohns' Disease, we've grown SO much with God and together, even. It's been amazing. Last night we had the BEST pillow talk. It was just perfect. We are lifting each other up and encouraging each other - being open with each other in our walk with God and what we're learning through all of this.

To be honest, I've been thinking about a song. (what else is new, right?!) I'm one of those people who totally loses herself in music. I believe there is a song (or will be soon) for every mood, every situation, everything! And It's kind've neat how this worked out...


Tuesday nights we have practice for the worship sets we'll be doing the following Wednesday and Sunday at church. So the night before McStudly went back into the hospital, I was there... practice practice practice... blah blah blah... it was over. Well, our Worship Pastor had mentioned he wanted me to learn a few new songs for us to be able to sing in the near future. So I followed him back to his office and he played/burned me a CD of 3 songs. All different artists, writers, performers, etc. They were awesome. The songs were 1 - "All I Want" by Kristy Starling (no clue if that's the actual title, but I'm guessing), 2 - "You Are God Alone" by another chick (a song we've all heard, and there's about 50 million versions of... but we plan to make our own), and 3 - "Desert Song (I Will Bring Praise" by Hillsong United.

Uh. Maze. Ing.


Seriously. Desert Song is SO stinking powerful. It starts off a little different then your typical worship song, but I could NOT get enough of it this week. Call me crazy, but I don't think it's a coincidence that I was given this CD to "practice" the night before McStudly went back into the hospital. I listened to it all week driving back and forth, and all over creation. This song was just SO encouraging and almost became an anthem (which sounds SO unbelievably cheesy, I know).

Let me put the lyrics in here for you, and I'll add emphasis on what really caught me every time I listened to it:


"This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow"


It's just been SO amazing listening and singing that song. I've been declaring and singing it just driving down the road and cannot be more at peace about everything.

I don't preach a lot on here (or maybe I do more than I realize?), but this is just something I really felt like I should share. "All of my life, in EVERY season, YOU ARE STILL GOD, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship."


I need to praise him through everything, because no matter what my circumstances are, He is STILL God and that alone is reason enough to praise him and give him the Glory that he deserves.

I don't have a clue what his plan will be that it should involve all of this, but I know that he is the one that is All-Knowing, and I am not. He is the one that created us. So I will praise him even still.


PS: Google the song - you won't regret it. and I hear there's an awesome video out ther esomewhere about how the song came about - I'll definitely be checking that out when I get the chance!!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Well... that's what I've been thinking about. What about you guys? Anything at all... what has been on your mind lately? It can be about switching cereals or finding a new job, or just trying to make it though day-to-day life, but I'd love to hear it.

So spill! :-D

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

SO we're finally home. McStudly was discharged yesterday from the hospital and was super excited to finally sleep in his own bed, last night, next to his wonderful, amazing, totally awesome wife *cough cough*. And he missed his dog a little bit, too (understatement of the century). It was a very happy reunion, folks.


So the Doc "feels strongly" that it's Crohns' Disease. The biopsies from Friday's Colonoscopy came back "inconclusive", but she said that's not uncommon for Crohns' patients. There's one final test they are waiting on, and here's the thing: if it's negative, it won't rule out Crohns', but if it's positive, it'll pretty much point all fingers in that direction. Let's hope we just get some more answers. We don't like getting a "probably" diagnosis. We aren't the kind of people that just want "a" diagnosis... we'd rather get "the" diagnosis, even if it's "we don't have a clue", though that would totally suck.

I'm exhausted. I can hardly say he's exhausted, but he is tired of all the drama of this past week. Poor guy's got thoughts flying a mile-a-minute in that gorgeous skull of his... and so many questions.


The kicker? We have to decide by Friday is he's going to re-enlist. You see - he's been working tons of job leads for the past two months. Some have fallen, some have re-appeared, and some have been going strong. But a few of them needed him to get some information to him this past week... and then this happened. So we're kind've in limbo as to where they sit, and also if it even matters.

The thing we've learned about Crohns' is that it's pretty unpredictable, at best. You can have a mild to severe case, but it can change. So you may have a mild case this year and then next year it's severe. Or, you can go into remission and not have a relapse for 30 years. So... we're still learning. Our biggest concern is it's impact on employment. We've read that it can make a difference in some areas. Depending on how severe of a case it is, of course. And the 10 pills he's currently taking a day (which is supposed to be 18, if they can figure out how he can take this other medicine... we'll get to that later) for a mild case of Crohns' disease would be WAY expensive without Tri-Care covering it. Not to mention what could happen in a normal job if he has a flare-up like this one, where he was in the hospital for 5 days.

It seems that re-enlisting is the most reasonable option. And it's not awful, just not necessarily what McStudly wanted to do. And I want him to be happy - cause when McStudly's happy, I'm happy... and Austin McDog is pretty easy to please either way, but it still helps.


The worst part, at least for the next 3 weeks, is the pills. McStudly has NEVER been able to take pills. NE-VER! Since he was a child. His father even put him in the bathroom, once, and told him he couldn't come out until he swallowed them. He sat in there for hours. It didn't happen. McStudly was sad. But that means that now - we have to buy everything in Chewable or liquid form. And I guess they don't make Flagyl in an orange flavored, chewable tablet... or any of his other meds, for that matter. So we have to crush them all up in applesauce or Chocolate pudding. We may try oatmeal, too, but that's still up in the air.

The Doctor prescribed something called Pentasa, which is a common Crohns' medication. The problem? It's an Extended Release (ER) tablet and, well, he can't take pills! Crushing an ER tablet just makes the whole "timed release" aspect null and void. In all fairness to the Doc, she didn't know he can't take pills. In all fairness to us, if she had given us more than a split-friggin-second of her TIME then we could've TOLD her!! (different rant for a different post, I suppose...) So we talked to the Physicians' Assistant (PA) - who was AWESOME,by the way - and she did what she could, but wasn't able to find another form of the medicine. So she recommended we talk to the Pharmacist about similar meds that may work. Well, he came up with another ER tablet (super helpful, sir!) and one non-ER tablet (hooray!) which we called the PA back about... etc, etc.

So the Doc just decided she wanted to call the people who make Pentasa and see if it would be alright for McStudly to just spill the contents of the pill and take it that way... obviously making it no-longer ER, but still giving him the meds. Once we hear back on that one, we'll be adding at least 8 more pills to the daily mix, and possibly more - because he has to take 1000mg 4 times a day, so it'll just depend on what dosage they give him.


Whew! That's a lot! We're still considering getting a second opinion, but that would be the military, so it may not even be worth it... then again, the guy he saw last time was pretty good, so it may not be bad after-all.


So - question for all you mil-wives out there: any idea how/if Crohns' can affect eligibility for enlistment? Or if he'll be deployable? We're pretty sure an auto-immune disease would make some kind of impact, but we're hoping not, if it's under control by meds, etc.

Anywho, prayers are greatly appreciated. Thoughts are pretty much just as good, and encouragement would be wonderful! McStudly went from being completely healthy - never sick a day in his LIFE (literally, I believe) to now having a disease that will be with him for the rest of his life. It's life-changing, for him. Not that he felt invincible before, but it's kind've a wake-up call to someone who's taken advantage of their health for so long... maybe even a reminder to those of you who are doing the same?



Well, I want to thank all of you for your warm encouraging comments and your help (Kristin - THANKS for the advice about the C. Diff diagnosis!!). You've been so great to us and we appreciate all of your support. Now - hopefully we'll be able to have some more upbeat posts in the near future, instead of this depressing medical drama.

I'll leave you with the lyrics to a very well-known song that's been in my head for the past week. I think it sums up an aspect marriage the that it's supposed to be, and I love it - so far every version I've heard is great, but the version I like right now is actually Mandy Moore's mellow-er version (hang in there... it gets good in the middle). Check it out if you get the chance - it's NOT the original, not even close, but it's pretty awesome. Anyways, here are the lyrics:


"You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby cause in the dark
Who can see shiny cars
That's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'd always be your friend
Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we'll still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella eh eh)

These fancy things
Will never come in between
You're my entity
Here for Infinity
When the war has took it's part
When the world has dealt it's cards
If the hand is hard
Together we'll mend your heart
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'd always be your friend
Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we'll still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella

You can run into my Arms
That's okay don't be alarmed
Come into Me
There's no distance in between our love
Gonna let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more ooohh
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
I Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)

It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining (raining)
Come into me
Come into me
It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining (raining)
Come into me
Come into me"



I love you, baby! Forever and ever. 143

Toodles!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: I really am going to send out those Pay-It-Forward gifts. Things have been a tad-bit crazy, lately. I hope you can understand!!

The Skinny

McStudy's been in the hospital since early Wednesday afternoon. He hasn't had anything to eat since the apple he ate late Tuesday night and he's been given fluids and antibiotics to treat his symptoms.

They believe and are treating it like Crohns' Disease. However, this morning we were thrown a curve-ball. (if you're squeamish or don't like talking about intestines... stop reading. kthanksbye)


The Physicians' Assistant came in this morning (the same uber helpful girl we had last time we were here - she's seriously amazing, folks!) and told us that the stool sample that McStudly gave Thursday morning (it was not easy... but he finally did it) tested positive for C. Diff (click the link to read more about it - it's kind've creepy and anyone can get it).

They want to make sure that it's just C. Diff, and not a combination of things, so they moved forward with his Colonoscopy, scheduled for 1300 today. So... as I type they should be finishing that up. But, the thing about C. Diff is that it can cause spores to develop in the intestines, which can prevent them from being able to do the procedure. Hopefully that wasn't the case and they were able to do what they needed to do.


The strange thing about C. Diff is what causes it. Now, read up on it, via the link above, because it's something that can be easily spread from person to person, meaning anyone can get it at any time... but the original cause is usually antibiotics. Weird, right?! When you take certain antibiotics (like Flagyl), it kills the bacteria in your intestines. The problem? It kills both the good AND the bad bacteria types. This allows C. Diff - a common every day intestinal bacteria - to actually start running rampid in your intestines. It kind've takes over and make itself at home, so to speak. Puts down some nice roots and sits back to enjoy the havoc is wreaking on the body it's living in.

It presents itself through diarrhea, fever up to 105, and abdominal cramping... so pretty much the same as bad Mexican food, so most people write it off for the first little bit, until it gets so bad that you can't stand it anymore - which is what happened with Mcstudly.


The reason this is all strange to me is this: if C. Diff happens when your body's bacteria levels are off kilter and you can't fight it off on your own, the how did McStudly get it in the first place? I ask for this reason - McStudly isn't working, right now (thank to his military terminal leave) so he doesn't have contact with anyone at work. We are at church only 2 days a week and we both come in contact with all the same people. So that leaves me - and I've never had C. Diff before. If this is the case, then where did he get it? Up until the first "episode" (which you can read about here and here), he wasn't on any antibiotics. And he hasn't even so much as thrown up in about 7 years... up until this past Wednesday, that is. So how did he get it in the first place?


The Doctors are all wondering the same thing. Which is why they went ahead with the Colonoscopy. Something had to cause the first "episode", at which point they put him on antibiotics... and then the antibiotics worked their magic and over time allowed C. Diff to run rampid and screw with McStudly's emotions.



The bottom line is that we don't know anything yet. Scratch that - I don't know anything yet. Looking at the time, his Colonoscopy should be finished and they have hopefully learned the cause of everything at this point.

Either way, I'm ready for this to be over (and I'm sure McStudly, if he wasn't heavily medicated and loopy at the moment, would be throwing in a hefty "Amen!" at that) and life to be back to normal... whatever that means.



I'll keep you in the loop as we learn things. Check out my twitter for updates as I get them (and it's posted on the right column for those of you who aren't cool, yet, and don't do twitter).

Toodles!





PS: If you are able, go get some sleep for me. I'm running on about 6 hours total since Wednesday morning and it's NOOOOTTT cool. Just ask my co-worker... she'll tell you. ;-)

Oh yeah - Another PS: Anyone living in the MD area want to watch my over sized cuddle-pup this weekend? Poor thing hasn't had any time out of his crate except to eat, poop, and pee, and then he's back in again. :-(

You Can't Call Me A Slacker - the ER Saga, Pt I

I know I haven't blogged yet this week, but you aren't allowed to call me a slacker.

I'm pooped, and I have a good reason (not an excuse. There's a difference - right Cory?).


McStudly started having some stomach issues around Wednesday last week. We assumed it was gas. Haven't you ever had those gas pains that really play tricks on you? The ones that feel like they're just going to blow a hole through your stomach, they hurt so bad (sorry if you can't handle the imagery... my bad). Well, we wrote it off as gas.

Friday night, he was still pretty uncomfortable, but if any of you have a man in your life, you know how anti-doctor they can be. You'd think he was going to see Dr. Bin Laden, or something. And the Airman in him just coulc not approve of that.

We both tossed and turned all night - if you share a bed with someone, you know it's nearly impossible for only ONE of you to toss and turn. It's practically contageous! Until he got up to go to the bathroom early Saturday morning.

He came back into the bedroom grabbing at his stomach and before he said anything, I knew... call it intuition, or call it just plain luck, but I knew it was pretty bad. So he started to say it "Babe... it really hurts." I need to take you to the hospital, don't I? Come on. Get dressed. Let's go.


He didn't even fight it. I think we were both concerned for the same thing. The pain was on the right side of his stomach/abdomen. Who wouldn't think it was his appendix? So we went in to the hospital. I let McDog out before we left, but didn't feed him since it was only 5 am. Even Austin was confused that we were awake!


We arrived at the hospital and it was DEAD! So we were taken right back and put in a room. After a few questions and a few different people asking the same ones over and over, the staff came to the same conclusion - the appendix. So McStudly was given to bottles of Barium to drink (Banana flavored, in fact) and I was given apple juice and a chocolate chocolate chip muffin (life's not always fair, is it?!).

It took him 4 hours to drink the barium. 4 HOURS!! The best part was his response to the whole thing (backstory - I had to drink the stuff when I was 14, back before they flavored the stuff). He said "You're a better person than me, babe. You could drink the stuff, but I just can't." Ha ha. Priceless.


But honestly, there was something that topped it off EVEN more! He had such a hard time with the barium, that he was getting more and more nauseous. The pain wasn't helping with that, so they started giving him pain meds (Delodit - sp?) and something for the nausea (Zefran - sp?), yet there was a man riiiiight outside our room that puking his GUTS out! Seriously... somehow the man managed to sound like chewbacca and it was making things even HARDER for McStudly. So we shut the door and the meds started really kicking in.

And then it happened - he got loopy! ha ha ha. OH boy was it entertaining. I almost wish I could've gotten it on camera. I was on the phone with his mom during part of it and she was even laughing. He was telling me that I smelled like Heaven. He was humnming along with his new favorite channel on the television... the Calming and Relaxation channel - you know, the one with the scenic, unending video montage of quiet streams and sunset, accompanied by some kind of soothing asian-esque music? Yeah. He hummed along with it. HYSTERICAL!!

While he was in la-la-land, I was practically force-feeding him the barium and he was just drinking it up! We had some friends come visit while we were there and unfortunately, he was back to his normal self by the time they got there. Major bummer! But it was nice to have friends around for a change.


Well it was a long Saturday in the ER. He finally went for a CT scan and as it turned out... we were wrong. It wasn't his appendix at all. According to the ER doctor, it looked to be Crohn's Disease.




... more to come...