Prayer Request

Please keep my mother, Anna and her Doctors in your prayers in the next week to 10 days. Dr. Gulec from Goshen Hospital will be performing exploratory neck surgery to correct her hyperparathyroidism problem she’s had for quite some time. In the past 10 days she has had a sestamibi scan, CT scan, and 2 nuclear tests done with 2 different dyes injected in her to try and locate the over-active parathyroid. It’s very unusual that they can’t locate it with the test they have done so far. The Dr. said the sestamibi scan showed that it might be located in with her main thyroid but didn’t show a clear image to be 100% sure. He has 6-7 different steps he will take during the surgery if need be, with each step being a little more complicated and serious. She might lose a part of her thyroid or all of it if need be. There will be a team of pathologists helping with the surgery to determine if what they find is a gland or the parathyroid. The surgery, if everything goes good could last 30 to 60 minutes, if he needs to take all the steps it could be several hours. If any of these steps aren’t successful then it will mean she will need to have major surgery which would require opening her chest and having major exploratory open chest surgery.

The surgery will be tomorrow Tuesday September 25 @ 8:30.

For those of you who don't know what Hyperparathryroidism is here you go: (provided by Web MD)

Hyperparathyroidism is over activity of the tiny glands in the neck that are next to the thyroid gland (parathyroid glands). The parathyroid glands release a substance called parathyroid hormone that helps control the amount of calcium in the bloodstream.

When the parathyroid glands produce too much hormone, the amount of calcium in the blood increases. The body removes calcium from the bones, absorbs more calcium from the intestines, and releases less calcium into the urine. This can result in constipation, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and other symptoms. It can also lead to kidney stones and weakening of the bones (osteoporosis).

This picture shows where your parathyroid is supposed to be. However, when you are developing as a fetus it is up underneath your chin with the lymph nodes and gradually gravitates down beside your thyroid. Sometimes your parathyroid doesn't make it all the way to your thyroid or it goes past your thyroid into your chest. My mom's parathyroid is not where it is supposed to be which is why they are now doing exploratory surgery.

Thanks for your prayers! I will keep you posted on her condition post-op!

Apple Festival

Sorry this a week late but I have been very busy. Too busy in fact. I have decided that I have needed to temporarily cut a few things from my weekly schedule to make time for my family, especially my adorable Harley and my beloved Ryan.

The Apple Festival did provide the opportunity to hang out with my B.F.F. Amy and my lil sis Starla. Harley of course loved it because she got to walk all over Nappanee all day long on Saturday and even a few hours on Sunday.

Starla and I bought a few scarves for all of the pets in the family. We definitely had a blast taking pictures of 4 different dogs in one picture! They actually turned out pretty good!

From Left to Right: Jasmine, Rusty, Harley, and Axel

For some reason my family thinks that I need to have a baby. I don't know why when you can have so much fun with adorable dogs!

Why nursing is such a rewarding job to have... or not

In my current location of work as a nurse I do frequent ear washes (lavage). This week was exceptionally "waxy" because the ear lavage experiences were different from you everyday ordinary ear lavage. The procedure includes a spray bottle with a 6 inch tube attached at the nozzle with a disposable attachment that you place right inside the ear. You fill the bottle with hydrogen peroxide (to help prevent ear infections) and warm water. As you spray water into the ear it creates a movement of water that goes into the ear canal and comes right back out. The water ends up in a container placed below the ear. It softens the ear wax and usually comes out in either medium size flakes (similar to fish food) or large balls of ear wax.


What the nurse hopes to see when she looks into the ear with an otoscope prior to the procedure is this...

This generally only takes a few minutes to wash out. The only protective equipment that is worn is the patient usually has a plastic cape draped over their shoulder (similar to what you wear when you get your hair cut) and maybe a towel or two to prevent getting wet. The nurse does not wear anything. Well, nurses really should start wearing shields over their faces because this week I got ear wax all over my face while cleaning a patients ear out. The patients entire ear was compacted even more so than the picture above. I go about my usual routine but as I start spraying the water into the ear, the water basically ricochets off of the ear wax (which immediately softened) and came shooting back at me and hit me in the face! Large wax chunks and all. It was like the ball exploded! It was the first time this had ever happened to me and hopefully the last!!!! It was disgusting!!!! Needless to say I was successful and her ear looked like new when I was done.

That shiny reflection is what you want to see! That is your ear drum!!!!

Isn't nursing so rewarding!

A ditzy moment

Well today was the beginning of a new bible study for me! When I read about it in the Life Line at church I thought they would be doing a study titled "Extra Grace Required" (aka EGR) with the scripture based from the book of Judges. I didn't know the study was actually just on Judges, because at the time I never really knew anything about the book of Judges except that it was a book in the bible. I thought it was going to be specifically on "Extra Grace Required" and basically all about Grace. So I call and tell Amy all about how wonderful this study is going to be and we were both really excited. We knew there was going to be a book involved and I was going to tell Amy the name and all about it! Well.... I get to the bible study tonight and the NAME of the bible study is "Extra Grace Required" and they are not actually doing a study at all on the topic itself. Well, needless to say I was pretty surprised by it all. I am going to continue going, beside the fact I now made the obligation, but also because I have been pondering the idea of starting a personal study in the book of Judges and it would be great to work through the book with a few other people.The reason I was interested was because it is a good book to read on leaders. Being that I am a SALT 3 mentor and my mentee needed to study this book intensely last year I thought it would be a good idea for me to do the same. I am still excited about the bible study and I have learned alot within just the few hours I was there tonight. For example, I learned that the book of Judges actually talks about the 12 judges in the old testament. And that after the judges did such a poor job at leading then there became Kings. It really is all starting to come together!

My very first blog entry ever!!!

I have recently learned that "Myspace" is not becoming so popular anymore. Instead of switching to the latest fad all of the time I have decided to create my own blog. I will still check my "myspace" but probably will not keep it updated. Although I do love updating photos. I wish this blog thing had a place to put a photo album.

I am devoting this blog to my thoughts and feelings on numerous events. And if you know me at all, you know that it will not be boring. One of Ryan's favorite things to do when we are riding in the car in silence is to ask what I am thinking. He usually does this to get a good laugh. Another purpose is to keep my family and friends updated on my life.

I am currently studying for the NCLEX Examination. I have already attempted this exam once but received a "Nearly Passing" with a 95%. You need greater than a 95% to pass. I do plan on taking the NCLEX during the month of September but am not telling anyone but Ryan when I am taking it. The only reason Ryan is going to know is because I need him on the day to drag me into the awful testing facility. And then after I am done taking the test he is going to hug me and tell me how smart I am. We will then spend the afternoon at the zoo. Well, I have to have something to look forward too!

I am also helping my kid sister Starla Fern learn Human Anatomy which I thoroughly enjoy. Being that Human Anatomy was permanently engraved in my brain forever, I am glad to be of some help to her.

I am also a youth sponsor at the church I have grown up in. I really love working with the youth and being a mentor to them! I have advanced from attending the Junior High bible study (last year) to attending the Senior High bible study this year! This was due to my change in work schedule. I am learning a lot through my time with the youth and would not trade it for anything! Helping people is one of my passions in life.

Another passion of mine is working with animals, which is why my second job is working at a veterinarian. I have worked there since July 30th 2002. I started work there with my best friend, Amy. I work there every other weekend (usually). People always ask me which one I prefer, people or animals. My response always depends on the mood I am in. The benefit of working with the animals is that the muzzle is always an option!