Thursday, January 31, 2013
My Thursday....
Keep in mind that after this I have to go to work, go to school, then come home and do 4-6 hours of homework. Ugh. Phlebotomy at it's finest....
P.S. Thank you to my loverly sister for coming with me, keeping me company and taking these pics.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Wow What A Week....
Obviously I underestimated the whole college thing. With at least 4-6 hours of homework every night and an exam(that I totally aced! Woot!) I might be in a little over my head here.
The whole week is sort of a blur so just to give you an idea of my plight here are my Facebook statuses from the week....
"4 hours down, 1026 to go."
"5 assignments for homework? Done!"
"The best part of today? I can write in the textbooks! It still feels weird though..."
"Mmmm! Scrubs and lab coats!"
"Only four days in and already an exam tomorrow! Good luck Kylee!"
....just to name a few. But the best part?! I got a friggin' 100% in the course! AND ON THE EXAM!!
THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!
Maybe I didn't give myself enough credit in high school? Maybe I was just too sick? Whatever it was it doesn't matter. Bring on college! I can take it! Student Success Strategies was a sinch and Professional skills will be too. With marks like this there's no way I can fail!
Keep smiling! I know I sure am!
:D
The whole week is sort of a blur so just to give you an idea of my plight here are my Facebook statuses from the week....
"4 hours down, 1026 to go."
"5 assignments for homework? Done!"
"The best part of today? I can write in the textbooks! It still feels weird though..."
"Mmmm! Scrubs and lab coats!"
"Only four days in and already an exam tomorrow! Good luck Kylee!"
....just to name a few. But the best part?! I got a friggin' 100% in the course! AND ON THE EXAM!!
THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!
Maybe I didn't give myself enough credit in high school? Maybe I was just too sick? Whatever it was it doesn't matter. Bring on college! I can take it! Student Success Strategies was a sinch and Professional skills will be too. With marks like this there's no way I can fail!
Keep smiling! I know I sure am!
:D
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Catching My Breath, Letting It Go....
I was a bit hesitant to write about this because I hadn't dotted my i's and crossed my t's. But now that I know I've signed my life away and can't back out I think it's the right time.
I. Kylee. Am going to college. I know, right? How cool is that?! And I start tomorrow. EEEEKK!!!!
What am I going for? At the end I hope to become a Medical Laboratory Technician. That is to say I'll be able to draw and test blood and other bodily fluids.
What has me choosing this path for my life? Three major things have driven me to decide to go back to school.
1) I have always said I was going to post secondary education. I didn't know for what or when but I knew I would someday. And having been so sick over the past two years my inspiration sort of got thrust into my lap. Or I suppose arm. With a needle. It doesn't matter. I'm inspired!
2) My best friend is gone. If there is anything that losing my best friend has taught me it's that you can sit on your butt and dream and wish for the thing you want to magically fall into your lap or you can go and get it. I want this. And I won't stop until I get it.
3) There was a soother in my pocket. I am not even kidding you. I was shopping in late November and went to reach into my coat pocket and I pulled out a soother. I don't have a child. It was that day when I decided that I was getting out of daycare.
Those are my main three reasons for going to school. And besides daycare was never supposed to be a forever thing. It's something that I just kind of fell into after high school. And recently I've become too comfortable. It's time to shake it up. I need to grow up. I need to have grown up conversations. I need to make a difference in the world.
And that is why I'm going to college.
And I'm excited!
But I'll let you know after tomorrow's class.
;)
To end off on an optimistic note I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and I think it perfectly encompasses my newest endeavour....
Catch My Breath
By: Kelly Clarkson
"I don't wanna be left behind
Distance was a friend of mine
Catching breath in a web of lies
I've spent most of my life
Riding waves, playing acrobat
Shadowboxing the other half
Learning how to react
I've spent most of my time
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now
Addicted to the love I found
Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud
Making time for the ones that count
I'll spend the rest of my time
Laughing hard with the windows down
Leaving footprints all over town
Keeping faith kinda comes around
I'll spent the rest of my life
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now
You helped me see
The beauty in everything
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of this show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told what's supposed to be right
Catch my breath!
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now (it's all so simple now!)
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now"
I. Kylee. Am going to college. I know, right? How cool is that?! And I start tomorrow. EEEEKK!!!!
What am I going for? At the end I hope to become a Medical Laboratory Technician. That is to say I'll be able to draw and test blood and other bodily fluids.
What has me choosing this path for my life? Three major things have driven me to decide to go back to school.
1) I have always said I was going to post secondary education. I didn't know for what or when but I knew I would someday. And having been so sick over the past two years my inspiration sort of got thrust into my lap. Or I suppose arm. With a needle. It doesn't matter. I'm inspired!
2) My best friend is gone. If there is anything that losing my best friend has taught me it's that you can sit on your butt and dream and wish for the thing you want to magically fall into your lap or you can go and get it. I want this. And I won't stop until I get it.
3) There was a soother in my pocket. I am not even kidding you. I was shopping in late November and went to reach into my coat pocket and I pulled out a soother. I don't have a child. It was that day when I decided that I was getting out of daycare.
Those are my main three reasons for going to school. And besides daycare was never supposed to be a forever thing. It's something that I just kind of fell into after high school. And recently I've become too comfortable. It's time to shake it up. I need to grow up. I need to have grown up conversations. I need to make a difference in the world.
And that is why I'm going to college.
And I'm excited!
But I'll let you know after tomorrow's class.
;)
To end off on an optimistic note I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and I think it perfectly encompasses my newest endeavour....
Catch My Breath
By: Kelly Clarkson
"I don't wanna be left behind
Distance was a friend of mine
Catching breath in a web of lies
I've spent most of my life
Riding waves, playing acrobat
Shadowboxing the other half
Learning how to react
I've spent most of my time
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now
Addicted to the love I found
Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud
Making time for the ones that count
I'll spend the rest of my time
Laughing hard with the windows down
Leaving footprints all over town
Keeping faith kinda comes around
I'll spent the rest of my life
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now
You helped me see
The beauty in everything
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of this show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told what's supposed to be right
Catch my breath!
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now (it's all so simple now!)
Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now"
Monday, January 14, 2013
Phle-butt-omy and Yay! I Still Don't Have TB!
Two part post tonight.
Part 1- Phlebotomy.
I started my Phlebotomy every week for 8 weeks course this morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought (apart from the 16 gauge needle) but let's start from the beginning....
I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am. Got in and asked where I was supposed to go for the "Outpatient Phlebotomy Clinic". The person I asked heard this as the "Blood Donation Clinic". So it takes my lovely Mama and I ten minutes to walk half way across the hospital and end up in the place where they come to pick up blood donations. We go looking for help and end up in the outpatient surgery area.
No thank you!
We ask again and there is a doctor going to where we describe so she offers to take us. Ten more minutes pass traipsing down two sets of stairs and BACK across the hospital; we finally make it. I take a number and sit down. Twenty minutes pass and I get called. "Did you sign in?" I get asked. "Um. I don't think so." I reply and go BACK OUT to the registration desk where I am #70. They are on #54 and must be related to Mountain Man from Duck Dynasty(hilarious show by the way. Highly recommended) because they are soooooo freakin' slow.
It's now 10:30am and I finally get to have this friggin' thing done. After a "small in comparison to how my morning has been so far" blip with paperwork mix up I'm sitting in a big old comfy chair with a nurse coming at me with a 16 gauge needle! AHHHH! Those suckers hurt! But whatever. Once it's in you don't feel in anyway.
Let me just take this chance to tell you that if you ever get the chance to watch 300ml. of your blood slowly drain out of your arm take it. It's such an odd yet humbling occurrence. So much so that I don't think I could describe it if I wanted to so I'm going to move on.
That's really about it. It drained out, they unhooked me. I had lemonade. And sat for ten minutes. Then went home. Where I crashed. Apparently losing that much of your blood tires you out. It definitely kicked my phle-BUTT-omy! I slept for an hour at lunch. Unheard of for me. But then I had to wake up. I had another appointment which leads me into part two....
Part 2- TB Skin Test
I had to go and see Dr. S and get him to sign some *AHEM* very important papers. More on that in an upcoming separate post. Anyway, I'm in Dr. S's office to get him to sign some papers and part of these papers is that I need to get a TB Skin Test. I wasn't worried because I had one in March of 2010 as a part of my pre-Remicade screening.
I hopped up on that exam table with such vigor, rolled up my sleeve and took that shot to the forearm like a champ! "I just got a butt load of blood taken out this morning. This is nothing." I brag to the nurse. Easy peasy right? Wrong! Apparently there is something in the stuff that they inject just under your skin that I'm allergic to. Whoops! One minute I'm fine and talking to the nurse next thing I know I'm just conscious enough to lay myself down before I black out. I never fully lost consciousness but it was touch and go for about a half hour. I would feel fine so I would try to sit up only to fall back over. This happened three times before I could actually hold my own self up.
The nurse figures since I didn't get hives or anything that it was the type of allergy that makes your blood pressure fall super low? Whatever that means. But if I ever have to have one again she said I should make sure to be in a place where they have epipens just in case? That's an "in case" that I don't ever want to encounter.
Anywho I got home and slept for another hour and here I sit. Feelin' icky and light-headed when I move my head. What better time to write an extremely long blog post, eh? I'm going to have something to eat and go to bed because despite all of the naps I've had today my body is feeling it.
Keep smiling!
:)
Part 1- Phlebotomy.
I started my Phlebotomy every week for 8 weeks course this morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought (apart from the 16 gauge needle) but let's start from the beginning....
I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am. Got in and asked where I was supposed to go for the "Outpatient Phlebotomy Clinic". The person I asked heard this as the "Blood Donation Clinic". So it takes my lovely Mama and I ten minutes to walk half way across the hospital and end up in the place where they come to pick up blood donations. We go looking for help and end up in the outpatient surgery area.
No thank you!
We ask again and there is a doctor going to where we describe so she offers to take us. Ten more minutes pass traipsing down two sets of stairs and BACK across the hospital; we finally make it. I take a number and sit down. Twenty minutes pass and I get called. "Did you sign in?" I get asked. "Um. I don't think so." I reply and go BACK OUT to the registration desk where I am #70. They are on #54 and must be related to Mountain Man from Duck Dynasty(hilarious show by the way. Highly recommended) because they are soooooo freakin' slow.
It's now 10:30am and I finally get to have this friggin' thing done. After a "small in comparison to how my morning has been so far" blip with paperwork mix up I'm sitting in a big old comfy chair with a nurse coming at me with a 16 gauge needle! AHHHH! Those suckers hurt! But whatever. Once it's in you don't feel in anyway.
Let me just take this chance to tell you that if you ever get the chance to watch 300ml. of your blood slowly drain out of your arm take it. It's such an odd yet humbling occurrence. So much so that I don't think I could describe it if I wanted to so I'm going to move on.
That's really about it. It drained out, they unhooked me. I had lemonade. And sat for ten minutes. Then went home. Where I crashed. Apparently losing that much of your blood tires you out. It definitely kicked my phle-BUTT-omy! I slept for an hour at lunch. Unheard of for me. But then I had to wake up. I had another appointment which leads me into part two....
Part 2- TB Skin Test
I had to go and see Dr. S and get him to sign some *AHEM* very important papers. More on that in an upcoming separate post. Anyway, I'm in Dr. S's office to get him to sign some papers and part of these papers is that I need to get a TB Skin Test. I wasn't worried because I had one in March of 2010 as a part of my pre-Remicade screening.
I hopped up on that exam table with such vigor, rolled up my sleeve and took that shot to the forearm like a champ! "I just got a butt load of blood taken out this morning. This is nothing." I brag to the nurse. Easy peasy right? Wrong! Apparently there is something in the stuff that they inject just under your skin that I'm allergic to. Whoops! One minute I'm fine and talking to the nurse next thing I know I'm just conscious enough to lay myself down before I black out. I never fully lost consciousness but it was touch and go for about a half hour. I would feel fine so I would try to sit up only to fall back over. This happened three times before I could actually hold my own self up.
The nurse figures since I didn't get hives or anything that it was the type of allergy that makes your blood pressure fall super low? Whatever that means. But if I ever have to have one again she said I should make sure to be in a place where they have epipens just in case? That's an "in case" that I don't ever want to encounter.
Anywho I got home and slept for another hour and here I sit. Feelin' icky and light-headed when I move my head. What better time to write an extremely long blog post, eh? I'm going to have something to eat and go to bed because despite all of the naps I've had today my body is feeling it.
Keep smiling!
:)
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Bu- Bu- But! I Haven't Even Had A Chance to Drink My Tea Yet!
I got a call from Dr. P's office today. My iron levels have now reached unsafe levels. I have to start Phlebotomy. Ugh. More needles. For those of you that don't know what Phlebotomy is here is a quick explanation....
Phlebotomy is the process by which one takes out a portion of their blood. Usually about 500ml. or the amount in a standard everyday run of the mill water bottle. By doing this the body is forced to pull extra iron stores out of vital organs to replenish the blood that has just been lost. An easier way to understand it is basically I have to go and donate blood. It's the same procedure, the same amount, the only difference is people without Hemachromatosis, that only have the iron their body needs, need 8 weeks to replenish their blood and can only donate this often. I have to go every week.
So all in all I think the "tea with heavy iron meals" idea is out the window. I'm going next Monday. and I'm a little scared. I'll be fine. Can't be worse than a three hour Remicade infusion, can it?
Keep worrying?
:S
Phlebotomy is the process by which one takes out a portion of their blood. Usually about 500ml. or the amount in a standard everyday run of the mill water bottle. By doing this the body is forced to pull extra iron stores out of vital organs to replenish the blood that has just been lost. An easier way to understand it is basically I have to go and donate blood. It's the same procedure, the same amount, the only difference is people without Hemachromatosis, that only have the iron their body needs, need 8 weeks to replenish their blood and can only donate this often. I have to go every week.
So all in all I think the "tea with heavy iron meals" idea is out the window. I'm going next Monday. and I'm a little scared. I'll be fine. Can't be worse than a three hour Remicade infusion, can it?
Keep worrying?
:S
Monday, January 7, 2013
Why I'm Now Going British....
And no it's not because of Hugh Laurie, David Beckham OR *SHUDDER* One Direction. Although the first two options run a close second and third. But no. The reason why I'm going British is because I saw the dietician today and apparently I need to drink more tea.
Ughhhhh.
I HATE tea. With a passion. Almost as much as I hate coffee. Tea is still better than coffee. But I still don't like it. At all. Ever. Except the occasional Timmie's Apple Cinnamon Tea. That's the absolute only exception to the "no tea shall cross Kylee's lips" rule.
UNFORTUNATELY my dietician told me today that I need to drink it. Ugh again. She said that if you drink tea with high iron containing foods it helps to inhibit iron absorption.
........
It couldn't be OJ that helps with the iron issue? Nope! Au contraire! It actually goes the opposite way. Orange juice (due to the high Vitamin C concentration) helps to absorb iron. Which, due to my Hemachromatosis, I don't need.
Bloody Hell....
My health is a bloomin' mess....
P.S. A big update is coming. My life is so crazy right now. Ugh. Again.
Ughhhhh.
I HATE tea. With a passion. Almost as much as I hate coffee. Tea is still better than coffee. But I still don't like it. At all. Ever. Except the occasional Timmie's Apple Cinnamon Tea. That's the absolute only exception to the "no tea shall cross Kylee's lips" rule.
UNFORTUNATELY my dietician told me today that I need to drink it. Ugh again. She said that if you drink tea with high iron containing foods it helps to inhibit iron absorption.
........
It couldn't be OJ that helps with the iron issue? Nope! Au contraire! It actually goes the opposite way. Orange juice (due to the high Vitamin C concentration) helps to absorb iron. Which, due to my Hemachromatosis, I don't need.
Bloody Hell....
My health is a bloomin' mess....
P.S. A big update is coming. My life is so crazy right now. Ugh. Again.
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