Last Day of Summer

Today was our last day of summer, although that's not quite right because Scout actually started school online today. (Bingham is doing the first two weeks of school online because of a delay in their construction project.) Baby Doll and Curly start tomorrow and it just happens to be Little Warrior's birthday tomorrow, so we decided to have a little fun and make a quick trip to Lagoon. 

We picked up the grandsons from daycare and got to the park just after it opened. The sky was overcast with smoke because of the fires, but traffic was light and the boys were excited to get on the rides. 

Curly and Baby Doll are amazing with the little ones, so my sweetie and I just got to mostly hang out and take pictures. 

We did go on a few rides. Little Warrior likes to go on OdySea with me because I know just how to hit all the water spouts and according to him, we get "just the right amount of wet." It's hard to believe he isn't already 4.

We left Lagoon around 2:30 and brought the boys back to the house with us. Little Warrior wanted to open his birthday gifts, but we told him he had to wait until his parents got here. The kids settled into a movie and I laid down for a nap. I haven't been sleeping well lately. 

When Beauty and The Beast arrived, Little Warrior could hardly wait to get his gifts open! He was so excited about everything.

You know, it's so much more fun to give gifts when the receiver appreciates them. 

Happy birthday, Little Warrior!!

My Little Secret - part 2

It was only a matter of days before I received my first call and my first round of tests. The plan was to continue with the blood thinners prescribed by the ER doc for three months. That three months was supposed to be long enough for the clots to dissolve. Scary words like CTEPH were whispered and more tests ordered.

The doc wanted to rule out genetic disorders and autoimmune issues. They took SO much blood! It took 3 nurses and 5 pokes to even draw that much blood. The blood thinners helped me bruise black and blue and still we had no real answers.

The tests results ruled out the genetic and autoimmune, so things were looking more and more like CTEPH. Our trip to Scottsdale resulted in yet another trip to the ER when my heartrate dropped down into the 30s. Could heart disease also be part of all this? They said that my heart was enlarged because of the hypertension.

Last week, the 3 months were up and the real tests started. Some of them could be done at the South Jordan University of Utah medical center, but others had to be done on the main campus downtown. More blood draws and more bruises...

Finally, we met with the doc on Friday. 

Great news! The blood thinners had kept new clots from forming, giving my body a chance to absorb the existing ones. So the clots are gone, but the reason my body started forming them after the first PE is still a mystery. My sweetie did ask the doc if COVID played a role in any of this and she said "No." My lungs are just prone to clotting and after the first one, it made the second one twice as likely and then the third one twice as likely as the 2nd and so on.

For now, we are incredibly grateful for modern medicine and the blood thinners that will keep me from forming any more clots. We are also grateful for amazing doctors and nurses. But mostly we are grateful for a merciful God who made all this possible for us.

My Little Secret

I'm afraid that I haven't been telling you everything. I know you come to my blog because it is fun and uplifting (at least I hope that is why you come), but I have something I want to tell you that isn't all fun and apricot jam. Remember back in 2017 when I had my back surgery? I ended my hospital stay and then went back hours later with a pulmonary embolism... multiple blood clots in my lungs. It was scary!! But after 6 months of blood thinners, my doc assured me that the clots were gone and I could get back to my regular life. 

Fast forward to May 2021. Grandpa wasn't feeling well, so I took him to the urgent care. My oxygen levels had been unstable all day, so I asked if they could check them. Suddenly, the doc was much more interested in my symptoms than Grandpa's. He strongly suggested a trip to the ER.

After several hours and much poking and prodding, the ER doc confirmed multiple new blood clots in my lungs and suddenly, my new doc was part of the pulmonary hypertension unit at the University of Utah Medical Center. 

More tomorrow...

Cowabunga Bay

Our amazing Girl Scout council once again provided Cowabunga Bay tickets for girls who sold more than 300 packages of cookies this year. Not only that, they gave me a ticket too as the cookie manager for our troop. Since school starts next week, we decided it was time to go.

We had so much fun swimming the lazy river and soaking in the pool.

Then it was time for lunch. We also received tickets for food and dessert, so we headed to the counter and placed our order.

After lunch, Baby Doll decided to go on every slide!!

Scout and I just watched...

I remember when I used to be young.

Excited for next year!