When I'm in Florida, especially in Florida behind the lens(es) of my camera, I notice things more so then what I do when we are back home in Indiana. My camera always causes me to notice things at home too but Florida brings out even the most mundane of items. Florida has a way of magnifying beauty and that is one of the things I love about being here. I spotted this bush flower yesterday while poolside and right by it was the spider you see below. Yes, I almost laid out all day right next to Miss Charlotte's web. And let me just say, had I raised up and seen that next to me - unexpectedly - I wouldn't have been happy. However, I noticed the flowers and the spider together. I broke out the macro lens and snapped away. What a funky bloom before it actual flowers, eh? Funky, interesting, and oh so colorful.
Check out the hairy things on her legs below. Ewwwww.....!!!
Now do you see why I wouldn't have been happy to lay down beside her? I'm sure she didn't want my big head in the way anyhow.
Then, I managed to find one bloom coming in on one of the branches of the flowering bush...
When they are all finished blooming, it looks something like this stunning bunch below...
Fun, huh? And I say again...why don't we have these kinds of colors in Indiana?
On a side note, I know many of you were awaiting my test results from last week right along with me. I cannot begin to thank you enough for all of the prayers, facebook messages, emails, blog comments, etc. regarding this round of testing for me. I have some good news and some not so good news. I'm not going to call it bad news because I refuse to take a negative approach with it from the get go. The good news is that my MRI (yes, the test from H.E.Double Hockey Sticks) came back normal. I'm so glad about this and am praising God for a normal outcome with that test. These migraines really had me worried so I'm thankful that the MRI didn't show anything at all whatsoever wrong with my brain. (other than I'm totally crazy) HA~! The not so good news is that the test I had done at the cardiologist on Friday morning revealed a small hole in my heart. Hold tight...it sounds worse than it is I think. I knew they fond something because I saw it happen on the Ultrasound that they did. They were looking for bubbles to shoot out from my heart anywhere - indicating pin hole size holes in the wall of my heart. Well, I saw the bubbles and the technician knew it. She was honest with me and told me what she had seen as well but also told me that my cardiologist would need to review the test and give me her findings "officially" later in the day.
I left the doctor's office nervous but again refused to dwell on it. I knew I had a flight that afternoon and wanted to remain excited about the trip rather than let the enemy take over my thoughts and flood my brain with negative assumptions. I started to mention it on the blog Friday and ask for prayers but I decided to wait until I talked to my cardiologist first before jumping the gun. Unfortunately, like I knew she would because God just loves to test my patience, my cardiologist called my cell as we were in flight on the plane Friday afternoon. By the time we landed and I got her voicemail, their office was closed for the weekend. Yes, I had to sit all weekend long and wait until this morning to call her back. Talk about torture. Long story even longer, I left her a message this morning and she called me back right away. In a nutshell, the findings of the test proved that I have what is called Patent Foramen Ovale. (PFO) You can read about PFO, what it entails, its symptoms, etc. by clicking HERE and HERE. My cardiologist told me that I needed to run out and grab some aspirin and begin taking 325mg's of it every day. The aspirin is a stroke preventative. I know, I know...gasp. I've done a few gasps but I'm also telling the good Lord above that I'm done with the gasps. I've turned this over to him and am leaving it all in his hands. Sometimes PFO's are treated with open heart surgery. The positive is that my doc didn't feel that the hole I have needs that invasive measure and that the aspirin regimen is good for now. I'm happy with that. Very happy with that. I'm also happy that this finding is a good explanation for the headaches I've battled and more so lately than before. The cardiologist worried when I mentioned my eye drooping from the one episode because she said that a PFO can lead to strokes or mini-strokes. I guess the fact that I had the drooping happen alarmed her and thus why she ordered that test. In the end, I'm glad she did. She said most people go thru life and don't realize that they have PFO until something happens and it is discovered then. I'm grateful for an incredible doctor who errs on the side of caution and who ran every test that came to mind until God finally lead us to this point. I'm glad to be aware of it and "preventing" any future issue as much as I possibly can.
So, as I'm here in Florida observing the most mundane things in an overly beautiful way - behind my lenses...I'm also thanking God for the beauty of impeccable doctors, an extraordinary nursing staff and overly intelligent ultrasound technicians who know the heart like nobodies business and whom are also honest with their patient when they realize the patient has seen what 'they' just saw. Yes, let's just leave it at the fact that Angie is smarter than the average bear. I know shooting bubbles from the heart wall when I see them. Ha ha!
Life will undoubtedly be different from here on out for me. I've been keenly aware of my body and it's normal and not so normal issues lately and now I'll be even more keenly aware of them than ever before. The good part is that all of these medical issues make a bit more sense now. Most importantly though, I'm so humbled by the BIG God that I serve who takes care of me and looks out for me. I'm so humbled by the fact that months and months worth of testing lead to an answer and that it is through his Grace that I arrived there. It is via his peace that kept me sane up to this point and assured me that I was not going crazy. It is via his love which will carry me thru the future years with comfort and faith that he is always ultimately in TOTAL control.
PS...One of my best friends from highschool recently found out that her Mom has bladder cancer. Her Mother is undergoing surgery today to remove that cancer and make sure it hasn't spread to her liver or lymphnodes. Please pray for her and her family in general. My heart has been aching for all of them since I found out. I grew up with her Mom and have always loved her dearly. Such a trendy, spunky, fun woman. It is yet another confirmation that we are getting older, our parents are falling ill, we are experiencing our own medical problems, and that we NEED OUR GIRLFRIENDS! Praying for you guys today K...please call or text me ASAP once the surgery is over. Big hugs...love you, Ang
The human heart. What an amazing, fascinating, muscle we own within our bodies. I had 80 something images taken today of my heart. As most of you know, I had a visit with the cardiologist today regarding the problems I've been having in the past week. What a visit it was. I think my heart raced faster than an Indy 500 car most of the visit. We arrived at 7:50am and didn't leave the hospital until after noon sometime. Brent, my Mom, and myself then had lunch together and reflected on the day. WHEW! I'm still coming down from the events that left me praying like I've never prayed before.
In a nutshell, I have sinus tachycardia. (again) This is the same problem I experienced 10 years ago while pregnant with Brennen - just worse - way more intense. Tachycardia is basically where your heart races above normal. A normal persons pulse remains under 100. My pulse after my stress test today was 178. A resting pulse for me - when not exercising, is around 115. The cardiologist said she wanted me back on heart medication for the issue and had high hopes that it will calm my heart down and allow me to feel easy again. On top of that finding, it turns out that my blood work from the ER the other night showed that my blood sugar levels were high. This is a sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes. They did more blood work while I was there today in order to investigate this further. I hope to get more info on those test results in the next day or two. I'm praying it is a fluke thing. Unfortunately, diabetes runs heavily on both my Mother and Father's side of the family. And lastly, the cardiologist thinks that the flutter or jump I feel in my heart each day is a possible "extra beat." She is still awaiting the results from my holter monitor to confirm this but she said that what I'm experiencing and what she has seen leads her to believe that this extra beat might be the culprit of the fluttering.
I definitely scared the doc, ultrasound tech, and the stress test guy today when they couldn't get my heart rate down after the stress test. They had me trying breathing techniques, imagining I was somewhere else (yeah right) and basically telling me that I had to get that number down or I wasn't allowed to leave that room. I joked with them and tried to make light of it during the event all while telling them that I thought they'd have a much better success rate with something like this if they performed stress tests and echo's (ultrasound of the heart) on a beach somewhere. They all laughed. Inside...I was a nervous wreck and moments away from a verbal prayer aloud - real loud if the situation didn't turn around. Ironically, while at the appt., my Mom noticed that the cardiologist was wearing a ring with a heart and a cross inside it. Mom complimented her on the ring and asked her where she got it. When she told her, I knew the designers name (James Avery) immediately. I love his pieces and expressed how much I loved his work to the doctor. She then proceeded to ask me if we were Christians. We replied with an immediate yes. It was at that moment that tears welled up in my eyes and I felt a real sense of comfort come over me. My cardiologist explained that she was a Christian as well and that she considered God the big healer and she was just his little helper here on earth. It was a very emotional moment for Mom and I. We were thrilled to know that I was in the hands of another fellow believer - another Christian sista' to put it in my terms. It was like an imaginary wall had been taken down and peace just overflowed. Well, until the echo and the stress test began anyhow. HA HA!
The doc explained that the ultrasound left her with one wall of my heart leaving her a bit concerned. However, after reviewing several more pictures that the technician had captured, she said she felt that all would be OK. I will begin the heart medication tonight and pray that I get a full nights rest for the first time in a week. I've been a basket case and have bottled much of this up inside - trying not to talk about it much. Therefore, today's appointment left me exhausted and tonight I hope that I'll drop like a fly and catch up on my much needed rest. I'm faithful that this gal (the cardiologist) was a master at her job and that she was very thorough. Although we still have some tests to get back and have her review, for the most part the findings so far are all things I can live with and adapt to if necessary. It's scary to think that my heart doesn't beat at a normal pace like the rest of most the world. The stress test technician encouraged exercise but cautioned me to be careful when exercising. He told me that I did not want my heart to run like this if on a treadmill or when exercising for 30 minutes straight, etc. Therefore, I walked away with confirmation that I don't handle exercise well. I've always suspicioned this when I feel my heart wanting to explode out of my chest when running or lifting weights. I even looked at all of them and said to the doc at one point..."Now do you see why I'm scared to get on a treadmill?" HA! It's no laughing matter but again, I was trying to make light of it.
So...for now...I'll take the heart medication and pray that it keeps the palpitations, racing pulse, chest pains, etc. at bay. Then, I'll also be praying that there are no serious new findings on the holter monitor results when they come back tomorrow or Thursday. I don't like the idea of the extra heart beat but the diagnosis could be way worse. And lastly, I'm praying that the blood sugar results do not confirm diabetes. That isn't something I want in my life right now. Or ever for that matter.
Please continue to pray over the coming days as we await these next few results. Again, I cannot express to you how much your thoughts and prayers have meant to me and my family. I was getting text messages, facebook messages, and emails all day long while at the doctor while those of you were awaiting the word on my results. I'm so very thankful for your love and support even though most of you do not know me personally. I think Satan has tried really hard to slow me down or knock me out in this past week. However, with the help of all of your prayers, scriptures you gave me to meditate on, and just your support overall, we once again are winning the battle with God by our side and praising him during this storm. The glory always goes to God. I mean how ironic is it that you end up getting to talk to your doc about being a Christian??? It's awesome if you ask me and it is definitely no coincidence. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God paired me up with this cardiologist for a reason. She was referred to me by my ER doc that night and I had no idea who she was or what she was about until today. By the time I left there, her staff had squeezed in an impromptu echo as well as an impromptu stress test. They also read the results right there in my presence with the doc which almost NEVER happens. I didn't have an appt. for all that today but I think God knew I needed answers and I needed them QUICK for my peace of mind. The doc did some begging and managed to get the ultrasound technician to squeeze me in as well as the stress test technician. All in all, their entire office and the staff within it was nothing short of incredible. I am forever grateful and truly humbled by their gracious - willing spirits.
I've said it before but I'll say it again...GOD DOESN'T WASTE pain. He has my attention. He has slowed me down. It is a shame that it took my health to do it but I'm listening. I'm slllooowwwwinnnnngggg wwaaayyyy down. I even turned down a nomination to the 2009-10' PTO board at the kids school today. (Thanks again for nominating me Alison! You are so sweet!) Me saying No to something never happens. However, I knew I didn't have a choice this time. I have to give up somethings and make my health a bigger priority. I intend to enjoy the coming weeks at the beach as well as while we spend our summer there again this year. The beach always does a body good. My toes in that sand cannot come soon enough. 18 days and counting.
And before I sign off...let me say this one more time too...GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME - GOD IS GOOD! In his grip, Angie
