MJ Update - 21, Pneumonia, & Missed Memos

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone:

I’m back and have survived my 21st

birthday.  So, to answer all your

questions, do I feel different, no! 

Although I ache more, but I do have pneumonia, so either I aged a lot

over night or the pneumonia is wearing me down. 

And to answer your second question, no, I did not take a drink of

anything except iced tea, extra sweet of course.  LOL!

So, going back to the beginning of the

week, classes are going okay, but a big loopy, missing the memo sort of

week.  Tuesday was infuriating.  My Honor’s class is okay, thankfully, we

only

have to read two of the three books.  Of

course, I started the one we don’t have to read, sigh.  It should be an

interesting class.  We have to write 2 papers and do 1

project.  I am probably going to do it on

“The Right to Die vs. The Right to Live†and how it has to do with our first

amendment rights.  Interesting, huh?  It meets twice a week so not too bad. 

So, now, onto the infuriating part.  My honor class was done about an hour

early

so I went to the bank and then off to get my books.  One class had no books

yet.  So I got some lunch and proceeded to wait for

2+ hours until my next class (Principles of Rehab Counseling).  and I

headed over and went into the

class room and arrived at 3:45pm (class starts at 4:00pm.  By the time 4pm

rolled around, it was

and I, one other girl,

and two C-print staff members.  We all sat there waiting and waiting and no

one else arrived.  I finally went to the

front office and found out that class was cancelled and I missed the memo

telling me that.  UGH!  I sat on campus doing nothing, waiting for

nothing.

Wednesday was my doctor day…I had

pulmo at 10am and GI at 1pm.  Wednesday

appointments were interesting. Headed to the first appointment (PULMO) and

there was no one there...they cancelled last week and forgot to call and let us

know (can you see the steam coming out our ears and (#$(%%#($# out of ’s

mouth as she called them).

Next, it was on to GI appointment. I have pneumonia ... diagnosed by my GI doc.

He was listening to my belly and said I was very noisy in the lung dept. So he

ran a sputum sample, blood work, and an Xray of my abdomen. My digestion has

been weird lately...several times a day, I start backing up into my farrell bag

and nothing will work to make it go in, so we have to turn off my food and wait

for it to start flowing again. My blood work came back okay. My iron,

phosphorus, and sodium are marginally low. Nothing on the sputum yet. My sputum

is still thick and sticky, blood tinged at times, otherwise, is pink (pretty),

brown, green, yellow, or white. The pulmo appt. is now on Monday at 10am and

they did call to confirm yesterday. 

So, Wednesday’s class was my Happy

Class!!!  I had class from 4 to 7pm again

with my no

t so favorite teacher…the one who hates that I do not mind referring

to myself as disabled.  I am disabled and

am not afraid to say it, but she hates that I say it…whatever!!! Anyway, I

have

to volunteer 25 hours this quarter (rewind exactly one year to this same class

with a different teacher, but bad results – the flu and hospital).  I had

approached the Center for Courageous

Kids Camp about volunteering and I was asked to do some fundraising and

volunteer recruitment for them, so I wouldn’t have to be exposed to various

illnesses and could do a lot from here. 

I wasn’t sure how the professor would respond to the request and after a

little begging, reminding her of my 79 day hospital stay, the need for a trach,

she relented.  I quietly said thank you

and left the room silently cheering!!!! 

HOORAY!!

So, onto my birthday.  I woke up to a ‘bright’ computer.  got me

present shaped lights that

connect to my USB port and light up. 

They are very cool, although she made me attach them to my chair for

class.  Nobody noticed in class but

walking to the union, everyone noticed. 

Getting ready was tough between phone calls, emails, and

deliveries.  Class was scary.  There is a girl in my class, who kept hacking

up her lungs (it seemed) and towards the end of class informed the teacher and

all of us who were coughed on, that she has the flu.  (Now, just picture

doing the horrifie

d

and angry face all at once, while grabbing her phone and quickly calling the GP

doc begging for TamiFlu).  So, I am now

on TamiFlu along with everything else. 

After class I went to get the rest of my books, thankfully, they are all

in.  Then I had to go get my abdominal

x-ray.  When we arrived I asked for April

and was told that she was busy, but they paged her from the other side of the

hospital and got April!!!  Am I spoiled

or what?!?! took me out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  I so love those

rolls…I think I could eat a

meal of that.  I did have a baked potato

and a few bites of ’s steak.  A

lovely couple sitting next to us, gave us their gift card.  They had $8 left

and said that they would

never use it, so gave it to us to use. 

How nice is that.  Came home after

dinner and opened  my  birthday gifts.  You can see the birthday gifts at my

shutterfly account at:  http://b4sma.shutterfly.com/. 

Friday, I got to sleep in, first time

in a few weeks, and boy did it feel good. 

I did get up to go to the grocery store and get packages but that was

it.  Today we both slept in and I stayed

down all day, because I can!!  Tomorrow,

if the weather is good, we are going up to GJ’s to celebrate my birthday, once

again.  My lungs are quieter than they

were but I am coughing and coughing. 

Sometimes, it feels as if I am drowning, but thank=2

0goodness for my cough

assist. Until next week, please remember to visit my favorite sites:

It is not too late to buy an SMA

Calendar, we have sold 160 and still going, so please help support all SMA kids

by visiting http://www.cafepress.com/b4sma/1826918

If you haven’t yet, please take the time to visit the Petition to Cure SMA And

please sign it. It will help petition Congress to help us find a cure for SMA

before it takes any more of my friend’s lives or my own:

http://petitiontocuresma.com/

Lastly, please visit my prayer page and pray for all of my friends who are

under the weather. Please pray for them this week and leave a comment if you

want. http://www.our-sma-angels.com/b4sma/prayers.htm

Love MJ

Birthday

thought of the week: 

New Me: A new me is emerging this year,

and today is the beginning of a journey of discovery. Along the way, I am

discovering skills and strengths, pursuing dreams and desires, completing

projects and goals.

Everything old is in the past. No limiting conditions are

left over. All has become new. Previously untried experiences stimulate my mind

and creativity. This is a year of renewal of mind and body, of

healing--physically and emotionally.

I joyfully reunite with people and places that have held

meaning in my life. New acquaintances enrich my everyday experiences and

inspire my progress forward.

I am not the same person I was last year or even yesterday.

Through the renewing spirit of Christ

within, I am a new creation.

Ask me about B4SMA – Blankets for SMA kids, Our-SMA-Angels websites, and

Personalized Merchandise!

www.our-sma-angels.com/b4sma - B4SMA, My organization

www.our-sma-angels.com/Margaret - My website

www.cafepress.com/b4sma - My Shop