Home for Christmas...

Home for Christmas!!!

So after one long grueling year of the heart issues and not much traveling, I was blessed to be home in Californian for Christmas. I arrived at 6:15 PM on Christmas Eve, just in time for the dinner they were holding out on till 6:00 pm so I might have a chance to make it home. I love you all, thanks for suffering for me!

I was excited to get home to those I have missed and love so dearly. This Christmas could not have been better. It was truly one that gave me a gift from Heavenly Father and time with those I love. I enjoyed just visiting with the family and having a girl’s day with out kids in Temecula, CA, with Claire and Vanessa.

One of the greatest highlights was seeing Veevee getting her Pony for Christmas, from Claire and Eric. Here are some cute little pictures to highlight my time home.

Yes a little late…but hey… I finally have time to post this.

Day 10 - Done at the Mayo Clinic

Day 10 at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ and the Mayo Hospital in Phoenix, AZ. Then my trip to Carlsbad, CA., to be with family on Christmas Eve. I started my morning at 6:00 AM, getting ready and saying my goodbye’s to the Fleming family.

For the first time I was able to meet the Cardiologist there at the Mayo Hospital. He informed me that the heart is healthy for the most part and that in about 1-3 years I will need to have a pacemaker and/or ablations. He stated that the arrhythmias are caused by the slow heart rate and low blood pressure. He stated that I have autonomic deficiency, the start of autonomic neuropathy. The treatment for this is medication, problem one – allergic to the one medication, problem two – beta-blocker, which I can not take since I have one kidney, low blood pressure, and low heart rate. So, he said the best thing for me is to start my exercising back up slowly and take salt tablets (10-20 a day). He did inform me that I am still more physically fit than most my age that do not have any health problems. He gathered this from the fact I can go 12.8 minutes on a treadmill with incline. I guess most can only do 9-10 minutes. Connie, I guess those work outs and runs actually paid off. Thanks!

I then had to go to the Mayo Clinic to see Dr. Krotser, the Consultive medicine doctor. He informed me that I have a volume deficiency, just mean that I do not retain water and salt properly. This then causes me to have even lower heart rate and blood pressure. He also told me to follow up with a gastroenterologist about every 6 months to watch the esophageal spasms that I am having. One could medicate these but since they are not the cause of chest pain we are not going to do that. He feels that in the future I will have to have medication to control it so I can eat, but for now it will be done with diet.

Over all this all means I have a few things going on:
1. autonomic deficiency (ties all the following together)
2. esophageal spasms (when I eat I have spasms when swallowing food)
3. volume deficiency (not retaining water and salt properly and easy to sweat)
4. gastroparesis (this has become a lot better in the last 2 years and he was amazed that I did it with out medications)

The treatment is to follow up with the doctors (gastroenterologist and cardiologist), take a salt tablets, diet, working out, and later will come the medications. I am supposed to go back to the Mayo Clinic Monday to meet with a dietitian and the medical board, no worries if I don’t go they send it by mail. I like this a bit more and will do that instead.

Over all this was a great gift for Christmas, the diagnosis and how it can be treated. Bad part is they say it will take about 3 months to regulate and take full effect. This will also take care of the constant fatigue, since that is caused from the volume deficiency. I am so excited to have this and know what I can do to take care of it over the next few years till I have to have medication, my personal goal is to see if I can go 10 years with out medication and beat it with diet, food, and salt. I will have to watch what activities I do and elevation. I have been educated on what to do in prep for flying and I can start that again in about 1-2 months if things go well. I am excited to see what happens!! Hope and faith is what I will keep through this.

I have to say thank you to the Fleming family that welcomed me in there home and loved me as if I was one of them. I was so blessed to learn so much from them. I will always hold them close to my heart and will look forward to visiting them again soon. Thank you all for your love and help during this time, I could not have felt more at home then I did there. You are all so amazing!!!

Here is a picture of the Fleming Family!



Once I was done I had a wonderful lunch with Angel and had a sad moment when I realized that short formed friendship will be at a distance now. I was very blessed to have met her and hope that we will see each other again one day. It is amazing how we are blessed to cross paths with some and have it change our lives forever. After that I was on the road to California for Christmas dinner and being with family!

Day 9 - Last testing day...so we hope!!!

Day 9 at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, today was amazing! I know I was at a clinic all day so how could it ever be so amazing. Well let me tell you. First of the test today were so easy, one was turning in the monitor, and the other was just eating a sick egg sandwich, milk, and radio active stuff.

Second, I was able to talk with some amazing people at the Mayo Clinic, one to be AC. She has to be one of the funniest girls ever met and she reminds me a lot of me when I was her age. She is way past her year in age socially and with maturity, something about her pulled me to her to open up and talk with her. I am glad I did, I may not ever see or talk with her again after tomorrow since it is suppose to be my last day, but she has touched my life forever and I will always look back and wonder how she is doing and what she decided to do in her life. I can only pray she follows her dreams always and never looks back with regret or hid behind her size. She is one amazing woman with many talents from what I have seen in such a short time. She has truly touched my heart.

Third, I am done with testing (at least this is the hope)! If not I will have to be back on Monday, but I will not know that till tomorrow.

Forth, the gastroenterologist called and she feels that it is not gastro that is causing the pain and arrhythmia. She feels that from today’s test she will see better and then went over with me how to better manage the gastroparesis. She is very nice and was helpful in making sure I was taking care of me properly. She supports taking care of this with diet and not pills, she also feels it is more effective and you know when things are happening and can fix it with out a doctor. I was very happy for that. So as of now Gastro is ruled out as the cause. I will know for sure tomorrow when I speak to the Cardiologist and Internal Medicine Doctors.

They prayer is that tomorrow I get the best Christmas present ever, a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

As for what I am up to tonight… well I am blogging now since I just want to spend time with this great family, pack, and be ready for tomorrow.

Here is a picture from today’s food eating…LOL… I know you will all want to go out and eat this now!

Day 8 - Worst test of them ALL!!!!

Day 8 at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ today started out with a very easy test, ECT Holter Monitor being hooked up. Then off for a bit of a break and back for the great test of the Esophageal Monometry. This test by far has been and will be the worst one yet. With out sedation and very little numbing, if any, I had a tube stuck in my nose and to my stomach. I still have burning in the nose and throat. I laughed at one point just after vomiting, because what the nurse said and a conversation JG and I just had a few days prior on dumb things nurses will say. “Ok now don’t move, just breath, you can not breath while you are gagging, take deep breaths, and swallow” “would you like a little drink of water to coat your throat with?” “ok now don’t move, just relax your shoulders and drop your chin (all while gagging).” “It is ok just let it come up it is just mucus (hello I am gagging and vomiting what do you think I am going to do, swallow it?). Please can someone tell me how this sounds to someone that was sitting straight up on a gurney with a wall to her left and the nurse and machine to her right? Where was I really going to go and why in the world would I move just to experience even more pain? I don’t know but tonight I had some great laughs about it with a friend. No worries I took pictures of the beast that tortured me for all of you to have to see as well. No, I did not take the chance of ever having a picture with the tube in, since I just wanted it out as fast as possible.

After completing the day at the Mayo Clinic I met up with the Fleming Family at there brothers for a BBQ (yes on a rainy day) and games. It was a lot of fun, I laughed so hard I was crying. With a bunch of competitive people playing “catch phrase” it gets a little loud and out of control. I will say the best part was the winning team had to do a dance; oh that team happened to do the can-can and had two guys on it. I would pay just to see that again. The evening was very fun and it made my stay here even better. I have had a blast with the Fleming family. It has been great just being treated as part of there family and feeling so welcome. I don’t know what I would have done with out them. I have wonderful memories I will always cherish. Thank you Fleming family, you guys are amazing!!!!

The upcoming week!

The upcoming week does have some testing and such, so for everyone that is wondering what is next, here is my itinerary.

Monday Dec. 22nd
The day starts in the afternoon at 1:15 PM at the Scottsdale Campus. I will have a 24 hour ECG hooked up, yet once again. From there I will head to the Gastro department for a Gastro MOT test. This is where I will have a tube down the nose into the stomach for a little over an hour. They will measure a bunch of stuff and how it is working. From thee I will be off to a BBQ at the Flemings’ Brothers’ home and then the Temple lights all together. They have invited me and I would love to have some Christmas times with them since I can not be with my own family at this time.

Tuesday Dec. 23rd
Today will start at 7:30 AM again at the Scottsdale Campus. I will have to report to the Radiology Department for a Gastro emptying test. This is where we will have to eat some radio active food consisting of an egg sandwich and milk. This will be about 4-12 hours depending on what happens with the food moving on. After that I will report at 2:30 PM to turn in my ECG holter monitor.

Wednesday Dec. 24th
This is the LAST DAY…so is the hope and prayer. I will start at the Pheonix Mayo Clinic at 8:00 AM, to meet with the Cardiologist, Dr. Luis Scott. Then I will head to the Scottsdale Campus to meet with Dr. Steven Krotzer, Consultive Medicine, at 10:30AM, to see what the diagnosis and treatment plan will be. No, worries guys after Friday it is a good chance I will be back here and right now I am not allowing for this to play in to the picture. AS SOON AS I AM DONE, I AM OFF TO CALIFORNIA!!!

Day 7 Sabbeth in Durango Ward

Day 7 the Sabbath in Gilbert, AZ. This morning started out a little ruff, I did not sleep well, and I passed out. No worries, I made it through all of church! It was a first in a long time. I really enjoyed the Durango ward. They are very nice and welcoming and so many love and miss the Shelton family. All of them wanted me to say hello for them and honestly I can not say I remember one name. Today was a day that I was able to relax and just enjoy life, not feeling like I was being held down by this “illness thing”.

After church we all returned to have a nice dinner and Emily and I had some laughs while making some brownies. I can not say enough how grateful I am to have the chance to get to know this family. It has been a huge blessing to me and has allotted me the chance to relax and less stress while getting the medical care I am in need of. I am amazed at how humble they are and willing to help everyone. I thank you again RS for your help in getting me in touch with this family and ward. THANK YOU!!!!

We will watch “Errand of Angels” and other then that, I will just relax, and call friends and family back. Thank you everyone that has kept me in your prayers and helped me so much, supported me, and loved me through these trials over the last 9 months. Today I have pondered this much and can not come up with words on how grateful I am and humbled by all of your love. I have truly learned who my real friends are and how to be a better friend to those around me. I can only hope I can be half the woman many of you are! Thank you for teaching me and being the hope when I could not hold on to any.

Day 6 Enjoying a day off!!!

Day 6 today was spent enjoying the Phoenix, AZ area. I was able to sleep in and relax this morning, get caught up on some work emails, and meet up with Kristal Guison (mission companion in Nashville, TN.). It was great to visit with her for the first time since the mission! Her mother was with her and it was great to see her as well, since I met her on the mission. Guison was here in the Phoenix area passing through to move back to Springville, MO. Best part was that I was so blessed to see her and spend some time with her. We met up in a town called Guadalupe, AZ. Nickname, “little Mexico” and was very fitting. We were able to speak in Spanish again, eat some great food, and buy a piece of jewelry. We watched in the marcado some Spanish dancing, people just enjoying one another’s company, and having fun. We spent about 4 hours together in this town and felt so great to be with people who just loved life and wanted to share with you there culture. I truly enjoyed that time. Below are some photos of our time together.

After Guison got back on the road I headed over to Fleming’s brothers home, to watch the BYU vs. AZ game. Can I just say BYU can now be bumped down to high school level on the playing field? I am not so sure they even brought there team! I thought for sure they would have had that game…but no! The Fleming families have been great and I am so grateful for them opening there home to me and treating me like family. I have enjoyed the time here and will look forward to having them as life long friends.