Brrr

I've never been a morning person... even less so now that I have chronic pain...  Freakin' 24*?!  You have to be kidding me....  Not even my electric blanket cheered me up this morning.

Image Credit: Matt Bellassa, the fabulous! 

Prednisone Blues

For the last couple of days I've been having some major asthma issues.... I mean - extreme moments of "I cannot breathe, should I give myself a Greys-Anatomy-inspired-tracheostomy??" 

Thankfully, my other health issues went into a bit of a false remission while I was taking the steroids, especially the lupus and fibro pains.  Yet while I was taking this horrible stuff, my blood sugar was raging out of control!  That's ok though, because I would rather be able to breathe and just have to avoid certain foods while I'm on prednisone.  

The thing is, I become extremely emotional while I am taking Prednisone.  I cry easily and over things that normally I wouldn't bat an eyelash at... Then again, the exhaustion of fighting to breath every moment of every day is probably catching up with me...  I can't sleep at night and I can't get a break (of downtime) during the day.  Please keep me in your prayers, this asthma is no joke.

Waterpark Win!

 
 
Today my brother Johnny took us out to the water park for his birthday.  It was so much fun!!  Jennifer, Johnny, Missy, and myself all spent the day at Lake Winnie.  The amusement park is local and one of our best kept secrets - especially since they have opened up the water park addition!

 

The waterpark is amazing, it has slides galore and a crazy river (like a lazy river on steroids)!  That's where Jen and I stayed all day.  Don't get me wrong, I have always loved waterslides... but I was really scared that this would happen (see picture).And I didn't want Missy to see me get stuck in a waterslide... And I didn't want the evening news to witness my rescue by the local fire trucks.  But that being said, we had a blast!


Thanks to the amazing offer that Jennifer found on kick@$$ sunscreen (SPF 50, trowel not included) we were only mildly burned.  It was the first time since getting my pump that I have spent the day monitoring the time, watching my sugars, and attaching it every two hours for at least fifteen minutes to keep my sugars in range.  I have to say that it was a huge WIN


Of course the hardest part of managing my pump while swimming was keeping an eye on the time.  But I seen this case on Groupon about three weeks before and it guaranteed to keep a smartphone dry even when submerged in the water.  It works!  Thank God!  Which was awesome, because I set the alarm for two hours, locked my pump, meter, and stuff in a locker and swam my heart out until the sound of the alarm pulled me from the crazy river.  I don't remember the name of the pouch right off the top of my head, but I got it super cheap by using groupon.


Considering the last time I spent a lot of time in the sun I was completely roasted and this time I had even more insulin and medication in my system (thanks to my new diagnosis and pump) - and this time I walked away with a touch of pink.... this was a huge success!

 

Warm Without the Wheezing: Day 12

Normally, by this time of year, I would be calculating how many days of kerosene we would have and trying to figure out, according to the weather predictions, when I would need to get some more so we didn't risk running low...  The fumes of the kerosene always messed with my asthma, sinuses, gave me migraine headaches, and kept me up at night with worry that it would catch fire to everything else...  Don't get me wrong, I was thankful for the kerosene heater, because it helped Mom and I stay home as long as possible... But today, I am thankful to have central heat and air available.  

I'm so thankful today to God for providing me with a weather proof shelter, a comfortable bed, warm clothes, good food, and a loving family - that even though we fight we are still each other's family.  And that means everything!  

A deep breath of Gratitude: Day 10.

Those that know me, know that I have pretty bad asthma - which my lupus tends to aggravate.  Today I am thankful that my asthma seems to be easing up a bit.  Hallelujah!


I couldn't be happier!!

Seriously.  I'm even happier than this crazy hyped up gator. 


The thing is, today is one of the first days I've been able to breathe semi-easy (especially for this time of year)... and how do I spend the day?  Resting. lol  I have been able to actually rest and recharge my battery a bit, not being able to breath wears a girl out.  

On the topic of asthma, I really want this shirt.