Healthy and Happy

This week I am at a dialysis center and let me tell you - I am so thankful for my health and the health of my family! Honestly, I have never seen so much blood in my life. Even though I knew the process it was quit shocking to see people with huge tubes (about the size of my finger) pumping blood from their artery into a machine. Most patients have no remaining kidney function, thus making no urine, thus not clearing ANY waste or fluid from their systems.

They have to be at the center 3-4 times each week for 4 hour sessions. Since no fluid is removed via urine the average water weight gain between visits (in 2 days) is 4-7 pounds! Talk about uncomfortable. They have to completely overhaul their diet and take a dozen medications that can cost ~$2,000 each per month. Not to mention the co-morbidities most patients have such as diabetes, HIV, hypertention, congestive heart failure... you name it - the list goes on.


I'm sure I will continue to feel thankful for my health as my next rotations are at gastric bypass, diabetes, cardiovascular rehab, trauma/ICU, diabetes and liver transplant. I am learning a lot about not only the human body, but about people. I've decided that every patient needs (and more importantly, deserves) a person who see's them as a person, not a disease. It's amazing to see how much a genuine smile and a little listening can make someones day. Especially patients who beginning to feel like a number in the system.

Anyways... I just wanted to say that I am definately counting my blessings. I never want to take my health for granted again. Love you all!



JONI

Renewed

Another interesting day at church today, I think Isaac (the severely autistic kid) didn't take his meds today. It is truly a workout to keep track of him. I am getting pretty good practice with my reflexes, every time he jumps up to run away I grab him before he takes two steps and sit him back down. I am learning that you can only use one or two words to tell him what to do, but I still need to figure out the spitting and flailing arms thing. My most used words with him are "sit, reverent, sing, quiet, bad, color and Jesus" Every time I use one of them he likes to repeat it as loud as he can. I have found that when I sing the primary song in his ear he settles down long enough to try and repeat me, then he goes crazy when it is done. I wasn't the only one with troubles today, Joni and I found out that Hannah( the mentally handicapped girl in the wheelchair) is learning to walk (I never knew she could). Her mom let her out of her chair and she turned into a little monkey crawling and walking everywhere with Joni following her every move. Believe it or not we survived, Joni taught the lesson while avoiding getting her eye poked out by a marker from Isaac, and I kept the kid from sticking his fingers in the socket and harming anyone else. The funny thing is when we are done and on our way home, we feel like we need to disinfect our clothes and hands from all of the craziness and spit and boogers and whatever else we came into contact with. Isaac thought it was hilarious that he had horrible gas today too. I guess I will never understand what parents go through when raising a kid until we have some of our own. In the mean time this calling is great birth control.
Joni and I have decided on Texas A&M. When we talked about the positives and negatives it was pretty one sided except for the desire to be near everyone. Hopefully someday soon we will be in a position to choose to be closer to everyone, but until then we feel it is the smartest decision for us and most importantly the right one.
Getting accepted into A&M has been a huge boost to my confidence. I admit it is a partially a pride thing, but I have found a renewed energy to be better on all fronts. Joni thinks that we somehow switched places because I asked her if she wanted to go to the mall last night to spend some Christmas money, and I have wanted to workout more often. I bought a couple of ties and a new shirt, even though it took me almost an hour to talk myself into buying them. I couldn't help but laugh because I get totally lost in the mall, and Joni knows her way around even though she hardly goes there. But then we go outside and Joni doesn't know north from south but I know what I am doing on the roads. Hope everyone is doing well, these blogs are a great way to feel closer to everyone, keep 'em coming.

WOO HOO

You are probably wondering why this big picture of Texas A&M is on our blog...but if you know me at all or ever talk to me than you have probably already figured it out. I got accepted into the Masters of Science in Human Resource Management program at TAMU. At first it didn't seem real. Joni was jumping up and down and I was just standing there with my mouth open, but now the excitement of the whole thing has gotten to me. Joni and I will not make a decision right now, because I want to make a smart decision, not an emotional one. But to be honest, something pretty big has to happen to make us not go. If we go to College Station we will continue our adventure in Texas in a small town which will be refreshing. If you like statistics I would say 80% College Station, 20% returning to Logan, but you never know with us. We are having another "artic blast" this weekend. I am laughing because on the news right now they are interviewing people at the supermarket who are buying as much food as they can in case they get stuck in thier homes for several days. I can't get over how rediculous these "storms" are here. Actually tonight I drove home in a monsoon of rain...2 inches in 2 hours. My wipers were on high speed and I still couldn't see, and because it is so flat, you have to drive down the middle lane or get swamped by water. Anyways, I was reminded again today of how lucky I am to be where I am and to have family that I love and who support me, and also have such an awesome wife. I thought it was cool how excited Joni was for me when I opened the letter, she is so genuine. I will never forget when I proposed to her and she didn't even look at the ring. She was so excited and filled with emotion and didn't care about it until I forced her to look at it. So I guess you could say I feel pretty good today. Whatever happens, I am an Aggie for life. Now I need to eat the pumpkin pie that Joni made for me!

I had no idea

I found out two things about Joni this last week that I might never have known if I hadn't slept light for some reason. I always sleep like a log and nothing can wake me up until I am ready to wake up...unless I really have to go to the bathroom of course. Before you start worrying about me having bladder problems, I have been drinking an obscene amount of water lately as well as eating like a champ so that my mom doesn't tell me I look like I am sickly...after I had the worst flu I can remember having in years on Christmas. Anyways, so I found out that Joni sticks her ice cold feet on my back while I am asleep. While I am thinking this could be the most cruel thing I have been unaware of since we have been married, all of you women out there are probably thinking...yeah, so?. Cold hands and feet on back is a practice that needs to stop. I bought Joni these really cool instant warming packets a couple of Christmas' ago that have been used once or twice and are now in our drawer of memories and trinckets that we never open. I have learned that women experience cold hands and feet because of something to do with all of the blood flowing in or around the abdominal region so as to be ready for childbirth...don't think I didn't do research before making accustations. So naturally I feel bad for women in this sense, although I am still curious how that makes it normal to place your apendages in screaming hot water in the sink. Are women blessed with a tolerance to heat and an intolerance to cold? If I recieve 2nd degree burns from using the sink after a female uses it, am I the one with problems? Which brings me to why women have to use body heat to warm themselves up. I am definately not warmer than the water that comes out of that sink, so what is it that makes me a likely candidate to put a stop to cold hands and feet? Then if I don't succomb to the death-cicles known as my wife's cold hands and feet, should I feel bad? Are her feet emotionally cold as well? When I yelp in shock like goofy from a disney movie, is that supposed to put a smile on my wife's face or should she feel bad for the shivering and now pale body formerly known as her husband. Here is a question for all of the mom's, wives, daughters or whoever you are, why do you think you have so many little booty socks and slippers and things of that nature? hint: it has to do with men's intolerance for death-cicles. Think of what presents you have been given in the last couple of years...anyone?
On a more funny note, Joni talks and giggles in her sleep. I felt the kind of joy you feel when you figure out the meaning of life. I would have laughed harder if it wasn't 3am. For her sake, I hope that these two phenomenons are not related because if they are, then she is the devil.
Maybe that explains the realism to some of my "bone chilling" nightmares. Don't worry mom, I don't have nightmares.