Wedding, Arthritis Walk, and More!

Hello blog friends!

I am so sorry I haven't been blogging, from what I can see here, it looks like the last time I posted was back in March!

The reason for not posting is because Phil and I moved back into Queen Creek and where we are at, I haven't been able to pick up a wireless Internet signal. So the only chance I get right now to come online is when I am over at my parent's house. But within the next month I will be getting Internet at the house, so I will be up and running and back to normal blogging.

Things have been going well for Phil and I. We are coming up on our one year anniversary and we decided what better way to celebrate the day then to get married on the day we met a year ago. So he called up the Justice of the Peace on Friday and scheduled Friday, May 9th as the big day. Even though we had thought about saving up and having a bigger affair, but in the end we could really use the money we can save for other things in our life, and we want just a simple ceremony to celebrate our love and new life together.

We also are finally getting the chance to start the business we've been wanting to start. Phil has been wanting to become a licensed contractor and work for either Lowe's or Home Depot installing doors and windows, which are his speciality. So he has been taking study classes so he can pass the business license test and then after he passes that he will be filing the papers to get the LLC and to get bonded. There is a lot of money that can be made in being a licensed contractor and doing the type of work he will be doing, and I am looking forward to being the office manager and running the business, getting the work in and scheduling appointments and doing the bookkeeping. I have always loved doing office work and this is going to be so great having work to do again.

Phil and I are also excited about participating in the 2008 Arthritis Walk this Saturday, May 3rd, at the Phoenix Zoo. So far we have raised $250! Thank you to everyone who has donated, it really means a lot that you have supported a cause that is very near and dear to my heart.

As soon as I get full time Internet, I will let you all know and I will be back to regular blogging. I hope this blog finds you all well!

Where in the world is Kimbo??

Don't worry guys...Kimbo is still here!!

I STILL can not pick up WiFi at home, which means no Internet access for me unless I come over to my parents house, which is where I am today. I can't tell you how much I miss the Internet and blogging and chatting with all my friends. I hope this gets fixed soon so I can get back to my regular online schedule :)

Nothing new has been going on really. I've been feeling a lot better since seeing the specialist who advised that the pain in my side was no longer the kidney infection, but just back pain. I have been off the antibiotics for three weeks now and am doing fine, just occasional pain in my side that feels better with Tylenol. Then again, after sitting in a wheelchair for three years, I guess your back would start hurting lol.

I did do something that I love this past weekend, and that was go to the Renaissance Festival with Mindy. Her and I go at least once every year and we love it each time. The Renaissance Period has always been my favorite and the festival each year is like a shire, with lots of food and artisan vendors who make jewelry and wood-working, and other beautiful things. I had so much fun and since Phil has never been to the festival before, I am hoping that I can take him the weekend after next, which is the last weekend that it is here.

Phil and I have been thinking about getting married on our one-year anniversary, which is May 9th. We've had to postpone our wedding twice, both times because I had that stupid kidney infection and had ended up back in the hospital. Now that I have a clean bill of health and our anniversary is coming up, we thought that might be the perfect day. But nothing is set in stone yet, I am just so looking forward to getting married.

Well, that's about all that's going on around here, I will blog again either when I get my Internet back working, or next time I am over at my parent's house. And a reminder, Phil and I are still participating in the Arthritis Walk on May 3rd at the Phoenix Zoo and right now we have raised $225!!! Thank you to everyone so far who has donated and if you are able to donate to our cause, then please check out the blog that is underneath this one titled "Phoenix Arthritis Walk 2008" to find the link to my team site.

Until next time!!

2008 Phoenix Arthritis Walk

(Sorry I haven't been blogging as much, but for some reason I can't pick up WiFi at home, so my internet access right now is very intermittent).

These year Phil and I are going to be participating in the 2008 Phoenix Arthritis Walk on May 3rd, at the Phoenix Zoo. Thousands of people across the nation are joining together this Spring in a quest for a cure. The Arthritis Walk will be led by inspirational men, women and children who have arthritis. They'll be leading the way wearing special blue honoree hats to show that they are taking control of their arthritis.

I have had Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis since I was two. It has been something that has changed my life in so many ways. There have been so many struggles and medicines and therapies I have been apart of over the years, and it seems each year my arthritis has gotten more and more debiliating, to the point where I have been unable to walk for the past three years and now use a powerchair. Through it all though I have always kept a positive attidude and am so glad for the opprotunity to be able to give back to the Arthritis Foundation and raise money for new medicines, and hopefully, a cure.

Phil and I have started a team called "Kimbo's Commando's". We would love to get more people to join our team and walk with us. The walk in one-mile around the Phoenix Zoo, and will be a fun -filled day of fun, food, festivites, health information, and the best...a free day at the zoo!!

If you would like to join our team, please follow the link at the bottom of this blog and click on Join Our Team. You can also email me for more information.

If you are not able to walk, but wish to donate to our cause, you can click on the website and donate. We are trying to raise at least $100.

Thank you so much for your support!!

Kimbo's Commando's 2008 Phoenix Arthritis Walk Team Site:
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=248730&supid=205514693

For Event Information:
http://phoenixarthritiswalk.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=248730&lis=1&kntae248730=0BE6CC65D6AC48FCA1E0FE6A56B895F3&login=t

My email:
PhxCoyotesFan38@aol.com

Puppy Loves

When the chips are down, your struggling through life, your down on your luck, and all you want to do is curl up in bed, there is nothing better and nothing that will brighten your day and make everything your going through worthwhile then seeing the happy wag of a puppy tail as she comes over for loves.

The medical troubles continue

Looks like I just can't win when it comes to trying to get better.

I know I haven't been blogging as much as I used to, and it's not because I don't want to, but because I have just been dealing with so much around here that at the end of the day I forgot about coming on here and updating everyone on what's going on.

So last time I wrote I told you how my doctor did a CT scan and found that my kidney was no longer swollen and looked back to normal, and he thought I wouldn't have any more problems with the infection coming back. Fast forward to a few days ago, and I am calling the doctor again because I started getting pain and tenderness in my right side, and something just told me to get it checked out. I went in and did a urine analysis (I have peed in a cup some many times these past few months it is ridicoulous), and he said the infection is definitely back. So he put me back on the antibiotics and gave me a referral to see a urologist. He said it is not normal to have recurring UTI's like this, and it is baffling because I drink nothing but water during the day, maybe a soda or two a day and that's it, and there is nothing else I am doing that would cause this to keep coming back, unless it is just my low immune system from my arthritis not being able to fight this. So I go in March to the urologist and they will put a camera in my bladder (sounds fun, eh?) and see if they can find a reason why it won't go away.

I alo went two days ago and say my gyno, to get my newest round of my Depo birth control shot, and get the results of my pap smear. She said she found abnormal cells, which most likely could be pre-cancerous cells, and in a few weeks I go back to have done a colposcopy, which is where she will put in a camera and check my cervix and take a bioposy and send it to a pathologist, where they will determine what is going on, and from there I might also need what is called a LEEP procedure, where they will cut out the part of my cervix where the lesion is. So not very good news there, but I have talked to a few people now who have gone through it, including my best friend, and they are all fine, so I have good thoughts.

Things have been crazy around here aside from all this medical drama. Phil's dad has been staying with us the past few weeks while he tries to get settled down here in the Valley again. Money issues never seem to go away. But despite all these, Phil and I are just trying to get by as best we can. We've been talking about getting married soon, we have been a little hesitant because the last two times we picked a day, I ended up in the hospital. But I have a great doctor now and these meds I am seem to be helping, so I don't think I will need to be rushed to the hospital again anytime soon.

So wish me luck on getting better soon, I feel so run down from all of this, it takes a lot of out you. But I am not as sick as I was and that is something to be grateful for. I also promise to write on here more now that I have more time again to do so.

Doctor Month

It seems that this month is turning out to be doctor month.

I had my appointment with my Primary Care Physician after having another urine analysis and CT scan, and he said that the urine showed a little bacteria which means I just needed a little more antibiotic, which I have already finished, and he said my kidney looks back to normal, no more of it being swollen. So he thinks that I should be all better from everything and that is wonderful news, because it has been way too long that I have been dealing with this.

I also went to see my Rheumatologist and he said I am doing well, but I had to get labs done yesterday because my iron levels were low and they aren't sure if it is because of the miscarriage or if I am more anemic that I have been. I have been taking iron pills and if my blood works comes back Monday and my iron is still low, I will just continue taking the iron, if not, then no more of that pill.

I also saw my OB/GYN the other day and she said there is no scarring from the miscarriage and the D&C I had, and the only thing she found was a few cysts in each breast, which she isn't too concerned about, especially since my mom has them too and so do my grandma's, but she is sending me to get an ultrasound just to make sure. I have had them for years, so I am not too worried about it, but it is really good that she is taking the safe approach to make sure. So I will be going back to her next month to get the results since I couldn't get into an ultrasound until next month, but I will be back at her office at the end of the month to get another shot of my Depo birth control shot.

So that has been my exciting doctor news. I am quite tired of doctors, but it is good to finally be getting checked out and getting a clean bill of health after all this is over. After being sick for so long, it is so nice to be feeling well again and going about life as normal.

Doctor Time

I had an appointment this afternoon with my new primary care physcian, to have him look over the medical records the hospital sent over regarding my kidney infection, and to get checked to see how I am doing. I was nervous going into the appointment, I had never met him before and was hoping he was not only a nice doctor with a good bedside manner, but also one who was going to be knowledgeable and help me with my situation.

The doctor's office was very nice and clean, which was good, and the reception staff was friendly, which I took as a good sign. After filling out the new patient paperwork, I was taken back into the room right away and the doctor came in soon after that. He was dressed very professionally, in a black suit, nice shoes, hair done nice. He was very nice, and took the time to really read through my medical records, and input my information into his computer himself, instead of having a nurse to do. He asked me questions and answered mine, and wasn't in a rush to get the appointment over with.

In regards to my kidney infection, he put me back on the antibiotics that I was on when I came home from the hospital. I've been having a little more pain then usually in my right side starting on Sunday, and he said that it seems this infection may still be there a bit. He had me do a urine test and said it takes two days for him to get the results back, and he'd rather me be on meds and then have me stop them because the infection is gone, rather then have me really sick and back in the hospital before getting the results back. I really appreciated that, because I do not want to go through what I went through before, and I really would like to have this year be free of hosptial stays. He also gave me orders to go get a catscan so he can see the differences between the one I had in the hospital when I was sick, and now. Then I go back next Thursday to get the results. He said I probably got this infection because I passed a stone, and the residual effects of passing the stone irritated the kidney and caused the infection. He did say that I probably am not going to have a problem with stones in the future, which is very good.

So overall the appointment went really well and I was so glad that he is a good doctor and is taking the time to run the neccesary tests to make sure I am ok. I feel confident that I am getting the treatment I need and can finally be on the mend.