3 Weeks

It has been right about 3 weeks since my last trip to the hospital, which for me is a BIG thing. But, on the flip side of that it's also been 3 weeks since I sleep more that I am awake (this being due to the pain med).
I have found a pain managment Dr. that I like and another Dr/pain practice that is going to help me on a mental level and help me to learn to treat my pain other than the pain patches.
I can finally say that I haven't been in dire pain in 3 weeks. The breakthrough pain that I am having is the kind that I can handle.
My eating has been very much decreased, but I am still here.
But, the best news of all is that I found a way to go swimming without getting chlorine in my tube and keeping my tube site clean and dry. I'm excited about this because I LOVE swimming, but haven't been able to go since I got the tube put in, but since the temps have been in the low 100's here being in any water is the perfect cool off.

I do have 2 side prayer requests: one for my dad and one for my godson who is 4 yrs old is is very sick in the Children's hospital. I will update more tonight when I am more awake.

Have a safe and happy 4th!!!!

Busy & Birthday Week

This week is shaping up to be a VERY busy week. And this week is also my birthday week.
Today my mom and I went annd ran errands and went out to lunch together and went to IKEA!! I still cannot drive, so my mom is my taxi.
Tomorrow morning I have a VERY IMPORTANT Dr.'s appt. with a great pain management Dr. who uses more than meds to help a patient. His clinic uses bio-feedback theraphy, and acupuncture (thought I'm still not 100% for that). Thankfully he had a cancelation for tomorrow morning, other wise I'd have to wait till August.
Thursday morning I have an appt with MHMR to get me involved with their services they offer. Free or reduced Dr. visits for the low-income population (that's me). Getting involved with MHMR will help to get my depression and anxiety attacks under control.
Friday morning I have an appt. with MAP to get me involved with their services, also for low income patients. But, MAP allows its clients to make appts. with all different types of Dr.'s for free or reduced charges. Getting involved with MAP will help me to be able to see many types of Dr.'s and it will keep be OUT of the hospitals.

Oh, and Saturday is my 28th birthday. But, if all goes well this week, than everything that goes well will be my present to myself. We have been waiting months, if not years to get me into these programs, and it's only a total God thing that it's all happenening this week, my birthday week.

Please pray that all goes well this week, and I will update later in the week when I know more.

Stellan and update on my appt.

My appt. with the new pain management Dr. went pretty poorly today. I was not happy when I left his office and I haven't stopped crying since.
Pretty much the following is going to happen... for now. I will stay on the pain patch. They are NOT cheap. For 5 patches it was $120, I don't know how much 10 patches will be. While I am on the patches I CANNOT drive, as if something were to happen (car accident) it would be discovered that I am wearing a pain patch and would be at fault for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance.
Driving is my one last normalacy in my life. I have a birthday next week, and I feel that instead of moving toward becoming a full adult, that I am having to rely on my mom more and more know and it is turnng me back into a child.
The new Dr. wants me to see a different pain Dr, who has a 2 month waiting list, who has different therapies and techaniquies that would help me better.
The new Dr. said (and very bluntly at that) that I would never get better with pain control. I will be in pain for the rest of my life, and other than making me comfortable, there is no cure.

I used my savings to go and see this new Dr. and that money was what I used to pay for other Dr. appts, to pay for my prescriptions, and to buy my groceries and pay my bills. Now that money is gone and I don't know what is going to happen.
I will be able to start using Medicare in Aug. of this year, but I still have to pay some out-of-pocket until then. And now to go and see an different Dr. will cost more money.

There are so many"ifs" right now, and I don't know what is going to happen. I have started having daily anxiety/panic attacks, and have run out of the meds to treat them.
I am so lost right now. I feel like I am doing this all on my own, and while my mom is trying to do her best, her mom is sick too, so my mom is having to choose between staying home and taking care of me or going and taking care of my grandmother.

I feel like I am walking down this road alone and that I don't have any support or true friends that I can turn to. I don't see that light at the end of the tunnel and don't see a way out.
I will say that there are several other factors that play into this as well, that I don't want to share, but need prayer for. But, I feel that no matter how many people pray, my life and the situations in it just keep getting worse.
I feel abandoned by my family and "so-called friends/acquaintances" and by God.
I don't know how else to ask for prayers, when I don't see them working.
==================================================================

On a different note. Stellan was taken back to the ER this afternoon and has been admitted to the PICU. His SVT is out of control and the meds are NOT working. His Dr. has been consulting with the Dr. in Boston, but a decision to be made is still up in the air. Please pray that his SVT will stop and he will not have to be in the hospital for long. You can read about this latest hospitalization and all updates on his mom's page.

Mid-Week Update

I can't believe that it is already Wed. night, this week has flown by and I haven't done much of anything this week.
The new and most powerful pain med that I'm now on has some strange side effects, and because it varies from day to day, I am no longer comfortable driving. I feel ok if I'm driving in my neighborhood, but not anything outside of it. So, my mom has been taking me places this week.
Tomorrow is a big day, as I have an appt. with a new pain management Dr. , one I hope will help me and will understand my pain better than the last one did. Since I have been on this new med, my pain has gone from hurting 24/7 to barely hurting or not hurting at all. I am having some breakthough pain, but nothing compared to what it was.
Eating no longer hurts, but I still can't eat alot of stuff, due to stomach issues. My swallowing has gotten better, but I still don't want to push it.

My grandmother has been sick this week as well. She was taken to the hospital Saturday morning by EMS because she was so dizzy and nauseous she couldn't stand up. She was kept over night for observation, but all that was discovered was she is having some issues with her equalibrum and balance being off. The Dr. wants her to start physical theraphy and that should help her get better soon.

I would appreciate extra prayers for my appt. tomorrow. I don't know what my choices are reguarding my pain treatment. Prayers that the Dr. will be able to help and work with me and my body.
I will update tomorrow night about how the appt. went and the pain plan.

Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes...

Today was another good day, but BIG in changes.

I saw a new Dr. today and spoke with (and never speak with again) a different one.

The old Dr said this: " I will see you, but not prescribe any drugs!?!?! WTF?!?!?" OK, you're a pain management Dr, I have a current prescription from you and you will not refill it and not give me any thing to help my pain.

Finding a new pain management Dr. is number one on my list for Monday morning.

I also saw a new Dr. this afternoon. He was nice, I liked him, he has this great "treatment" plan in mind, but it will takes many weeks, if not several months for the new drugs to kick in. In addition to the new meds, I can no longer have ANY of the following:
caffine (including, but not limited to CHOCOLATE, cokes, tea, chocolate chip cookies, none)
decongestants (otc cough syrup), no hydro or oxy codine (won't be a problem, I'm allergic to codine) , no ativian (my panic attack med).

But, the new drug is something that I am ALREADY on, in small doses, and we're hoping that this 1 drug (in a higher level dose) will help all 4 issues. Plus it cheap and generic, good for someone with no insurance.

In additions to starting this new drug, I am going to have some blood work done to test my thyroid and my estrogen levels. He thinks something maybe off on both of those, and seeing that both of those topics run in the family and my mom and had surgery to remove her thyroid, I can see where he is coming from.

I am really hoping that from the standpoint where I am coming from that this Dr. will help me get some of my life back on track.

On a similar, but bit different side note, I have been talking to the office manager at my GI Dr.'s place, and at this point I have about 2 options: 1- wait it out, let the pain become unbearable, to go to the ER, get admitted, and my GI will be able to do something NOW instead of having to wait 2 months to get into the office to see him, so that he might be willing to do something. Choice 2 - do nothing, let the pain rule my life, stop all eating & tube feeds, wither away and die.

Choice 2 is NOT the option I am taking, so somehow choice 1 is my ONLY option at this point. However, I have promised myself that I would NOT go to the ER this month, and there's only a few days left.

This is all becomeing very redundant to me, and I'm living last year over in my mind. The only difference is I'm NOT in the hospital and I'm NOT on pain meds!!

Oh I just want this nightmare to go away, and I want to find a DR. that knows something, anything about my conditions, and can help me.

Mid-Week Update

Well, I am not going to Dallas this weekend. I can't seem to feel better and by mid-afternoons my voice is gone completly and my coughing fits have started. If this is the way it is, I don't want to travel somewhere for 4 hrs and spend all weekend away from home and my bed.
I am still not "officially"sick, I just have a sore throat, cough, congestion, and on and off low grade fever.
This morning I went to the pain management Dr. for a med check, and those appts. usually take between 1-2 hrs, this morning took less than 20 min. Everything went fine, except that according to their scale, I've lost 6lbs in 10 days or 14lbs in 4 weeks. That's what happens when a person doesn't eat much other than baby food, pudding, and jello. According to my scale, the weight loss is more drastic.

The weather here has been in the mid 80s all week, but this weekend is suppose to be in the 70s, so I'm going to try to start a little garden or just but some plants/flowers and put them into pots. We'll see.

Surgery News

After spending almost 3 hours waiting to see the Dr. this afternoon. ( my appt. was suppose to be at 3:30pm, and I saw the Dr. at 6:15pm), he has decided to wait to do any surgery this week. I am totally bummed.
He is going to consult my Gastro Dr. first to see just how bad my gallbladder is. He doesn't know what, if anything will be done about my feeding tube.
And the surgery to fix my stomach issues is NOT done in my hometown. I will either go to Dallas or Houston to have a "gastric neurotransmitter- or pacemaker" inserted into my stomach. The pacemaker will send signals to the nerves to tell them to work again. Just like a pacemaker for the heart. This surgery is very new, and there aren't any surgeons in my hometown that do it. But, my surgeon is going to call his friends in both cities to see who wants to take my case.

Thank you for continuing to praying, and I will keep you updated about a surgery date.

Emily

No Surgery this week

Well, I had to cancel my appt. with my surgeon this morning because I was in so much pain. I have re-scheduled for next Monday. Another big problem is that I have been getting very naseauous lately and more often.
I don't think that the botox in my esophagus worked, since I am still having issues with my food going down or getting stuck.

But, this week, I am going to try and do some things that I haven't been able to do, like deliver the last of my Christmas presents, and I might even work a little too. I have a friend who had a baby last week, and is needing some help.

Please pray that the naseau will go away and that the botox will start working.

Also, my blog has been featured in the magazine called "Serious.Life.Magazine"

Thursday is getting closer

Well, Thursday is the big day... my endoscopy with botox injection. I think that I am more nervous because I am afraid that there will be complications, which means a night stay in the hospital. Then I meet with my surgeon on Monday morning. I am still getting worse everyday. Today the pain was really bad and I started throwing up again and feeling naseauous. I am hoping that we can get answers from the surgeon on Monday. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I have so much other things that i'm think about that relates to this, but can't write them down without getting to emotional.

What is the world coming to?

Today has been an OK day. I was suppose to have a class at the gym this afternoon, but didn't feel well, and cancelled.
I found out some bad news too. 1. One of my best friend's husband was laid-off from his job today. My friend is newly pregnant, and is having normal morning sickness, but please pray for this baby and for God to protect it and let it grow normally, and for the baby to join the world in 8 months. Pray that the husband will be able to find a new job.
2. I also found out that another friend of mine's uncle was killed in a tragic accident in Hawaii. After the autopsy, he or his ashes will be flown back to Texas. Please pray for the family as they deal with his sudden death.

This week and next feel like "normal" considering I am looking at having another surgery. I'm a bit nervous over my endoscopy this THURSDAY, only because I'm afraid I'll have complications like I had last time ( in July of 08). Also, if I'm facing another surgery, than that's more time in the hospital and more time recovering.
Tomorrow I have an appt. with my pain management Dr. For a week now I have been crushing my pills and adding water to turn into liquid and putting it in my tube. Tomorrow, I am hoping that he'll give me liquid pain meds.

I'm just not doing well. Please keep me in your prayers.

Also, I set up a medical acct. at my bank today for donations, all the info is in the box to the right of this.

Is there anything else that can be done?

Well, I have started to take a turn for the worse again.

First off, the pain has returned with a vengenace. I am on my pain med, which is Dilaulid, and to give you an idea what kind of main med that is: it's about 10 times as strong as morphine. Morphine is what most people get after they have had surgery. I am on pills, and although I have requested liquid form from my Dr. he won't give it to me. If I had the liquid kind I could put it in my tube, and it would get entered into my blood stream and stop the pain faster. My Dr. said I could crush the pills and make it into a liquid by adding sugar and water, but didn't tell me how much of each to add, so fo now I will stay on the pills, till I go back to my Dr. in mid- Feb. for a check-up, unless I get worse. So, for that please pray that the Dr. will give me the liquid form.

I have had to cancel all my activites and other Dr. appts this week, because I can't drive on the pain meds, and I've been in to much pain to leave the house.

Second, the pain has been located in my intestines and stomach area, which means that something is wrong. I called to make an appt. with my gastro Dr. and the first available wasn't until Feb. 2nd. I was not happy, especially since I had spoken to the office manager and he said that he could get me in withing the next week. If I'm not better by Monday, I'm calling the office manager back. I had originally called the office manager because I wanted to switch Dr.'s because my GI had told me at my last visit that he doesn't know what else to do for me and that there is nothing else he can do. It's very disheartening to hear that from a Dr.
I have lost my appetite, and should be doing my tube feeds, but I can't motivate myself enough to connect myself to it again, since I have been doing so good for these past few months. I know that I will need to connect eventually to keep my nutrients up, but I just can't imagine going back to it.

Please pray that I can start wanting to do my tube feeds and pray that I can get an earlier appt. for my GI dr.

Third, the botox in my esphagus is starting to wear off, and it shouldn't be. The Dr. put double the dose in this past time, in July, and it should last 2-3 years, but it's only been 6 months. Swallowing foods is becoming increasingly difficult and more painful. My mom wants to go back to the Dr. who did it in St. Louis, but I remember him saying that if the botox didn't work, than he'd put a feeding tube in, and I already have that. So, I don't know what else he can do.

I don't know what else anyone can do. I have heard of 1 case of a person's esphagus being removed completly, and the small intestine being stretched into a new esphagus. That's very drastic, and I'm not there yet.

Please pray that my pain will either stop or something can be figured out. Pray that I can get in quicker to see my GI Dr. Pray for my body, as I being to start to relapse again, that it will stop and get better.

Still sick... wanting answers

Yesterday ( Friday) I spent 7 hours in the ER. When I went to my GP on Thursday she wanted me to go to the ER to get my very swollen feet and legs checked out to make sure I didn't have any blood clots. Thankfully I didn't. But she also wanted me to talk to a Dr. to see if I could be admitted and given prednsione to help with my asthma. I am so sensetive to prednisone that I will not take it unless I am hospitalized and kept under a very close watch. But, when I went to the ER, my lungs were very clear, so there was no need to admit me. I was not happy. Having pneoumnia last month was very odd, seeing as I had gotten the pnoumnia vaccine a few years ago, and it's good for 10 yrs. This winter season is and has already been a very hard one, and I can sense that I will be battling my asthma and being sick all season. But, I am going to make an appt. to see my pulmonoligist and hopefully get some answers concerning my asthma.
As for my swelling, I have been given a prescription for a diruetic, told to start on a low sodium diet, and stay off of and put my feet up for a few days. The only explaination for my swelling was that the veins in my lefs and feet are not getting rid of the fluid in the correct way, thus causing my swelling. No one knows what is causing my veins to not work properly, but no one knows what causes any of my medical problems.
Also, I saw my pain management Dr. on Thursday as well, and he wrote me a rx for a new and very strong pain med, but in pill form. And thinking that I would still be on liquid pain meds I bought 200 syringes last week ( 100 of the 1ml, and 100 of the 10ml). But, the med the Dr. put me on does come in liquid form, so I am calling on Monday to ask if I can be switched. Plus, the pill form takes longer to work and longer for the body to process than liquid form, and I always think that liquid form is better. I can put the liquid right into my tube and not have to worry about being able to swallow pills.
I have several Dr.'s appts to make next week, and I am hoping for not long waiting periods. Hopefully, I can start getting some answers soon.

Timless Thursday

First off, I want to say HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to Gwyneth Rose !!! She's come a long way this past year and it's is only be God's grace and all of the prayers that HE answered that she is here today! Please visit her page to wish her a happy birthday and don't forget to wear pink and/or brown today in honor of her. Also, her mom Tricia, is having minor surgery this morning, so please keep her in your prayers as well.

Today I have 2 Dr. appts. The first is for my pain management, which I need to see because the meds that I were on have stopped working. But, when I was in the hospital 2 weeks ago we found out that a med that we thought I was allergic to, I'm, not anymore, so that opens quite a few doors in that direction.
The 2nd appt. is with my primary dr. and I was suppose to have it on Monday, but I had a migrane Monday and didn't get out of bed. I have alot of issues going on right now, but my 2 biggest is my asthma is not under control, making breathing very difficult for me. And 2ndly, my feet are very swollen. So swollen that I can't wear shoes. This has happened before, but it had never taken this long for the swelling to go down. They've been swollen for a week, and I have been walking as much as I can, but to no avail. I am hoping that she can give me some meds that will make the swelling go down.

I am doing OK, considering. I don't know what time, if ever I went to sleep last night, but I've been up since 5:30am, cleaning my rooms. I re-arranged my bedroom last night, in order to make room for a 26" flat screen tv, and a huge table for it to sit on. So, everyting that was in my room is now in the computer room, so I have been going through all the junk and sorting: 1 pile for trash, 1 pile for recycling, and 1 pile for Goodwill.

That's all for this morning, I'll update as soon as I get home from the Dr.'s.

News of all Sorts

I have so much to write, but not enough awake time, it's already past 1am. So, just the basics, then a full post in the morning.
I found a pain management Dr. and have an appt. for next Tursday. Which means, that I can continue taking my mega- pain meds, and know that I will get re-fills next week.
I picked up my prescription for my liquid anti-naseau med tonight and took some of it through my tube, and then got the worse taste in my mouth. It tasted like I had eaten a green marker. The liquid was green, so go figure.
I called my therapist to make an appt. for this week and she had an opening for this afternoon. So, I spent a hour in theraphy, and had a little meltdown, but started crying, because have been hurt from so many things pertaining church issues ( will go into more detail in next post), and haven't dealt with the hurt, not knowng how to or wanting to.
I got my 1st check for disability today. I wasn't suppose to get one till the last week in Nov., so this check was a welcome surprise.
All for now, off to bed.
More in morning.

Busy Thursday

Today my mom and I were supposed to go to the movies to see "The Secret Lives of Bees". Instead we went to Carino's for lunch, and Rooms to Go to look at Loveseats. We didn't go to the movies, because I didn't feel well after eating a big lunch. I came home, and played my Wii for a little while and worked on my suduko puzzles.
I did however make many phone calls:
I made an appt. to have a dental exam, x-rays, and a cleaning next week. The first one in 4-5 years. Then I played phone tag with the dentist office trying to get a liquid anti-biotic to take 1 hr before my appt. to prevent any infections near my tube site or the clips in my heart which can occur during a dental cleaning/exam due to bacteria being stirred up and travel to any weak areas in the body.
I called my GP to try to find a pain management Dr, and to get a RX for liquid anti-naseau medicine.
I called my surgeon's office to see if I need to get back on my anti-biotics from a few weeks ago for my tube site which was, and looks infected.

I then went to Target to pick up mine and my mom's RX's and to get play-doh for the trick-or-treaters tomorrow. Yea, I said play-doh. We do have candy, and the toys from McDonalds happy meals, but I have been seeing commericals for play-doh for Halloween, and I think that it is better than giving out candy, and it was certainly cheaper than buying a huge bag of candy.

I have come to a resoultion for my feeding tube. : Even though I don't use it much anymore, and am eating real food, I will keep it for several years. Mainly for 2 reasons: if I have a relapse and can't eat again, I will have it and not have to go through the hassle of another surgery. and if/when my botox in my esophagus wears off and I won't be able to swallow anymore, I'll be able to use the tube for feeds.
But, that means that I will have an open-wound for 2 years, which I'll have to be extra careful, and I'll probably be have stitches on/off again for 2 years to keep the tube in place. But anything will do if I don't have to have another abdominal surgery again. I've had the same scar used 3 different times, and I don't think it is usable again.

I have been thinking of the verse" My God is Mighty to Save" alot today. Baby Stellan is doing amazing. He has NO signs of a heart defect, and is completly healthy. A big change from 4 months ago when the Dr.'s told his parents that he had several severe heart defects and would certainly die before or a short time after birth. God preformed a miracle on that baby, and God is still preforming miracles all around me.

Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

My body is not working today

I went to the GP dr. this morning because I feel horrible. I woke up feeling poorly this morning, and have just gotten worse all day. She thinks that I have the flu, even though I got my flu shot last week. There is a 12-14 day wait period while the shot is still kicking in to work. If I got exposed to the flu before my shot, I will still get sick because my body hasn't accepted the flu shot yet. But, on top of having the flu, I am also having respiratory problems. My peak flow meteres have been low and I have been taking breathing treatments with my nebulizer, but it does not seem to be working. And on top of all this, my feel and ankles are swollen to the size of softballs. My dr. doesn't know why, but it could be a reaction to my salt intake. I will cut back my salt usage for the next few days and see if that works.
I have been falling asleep, but not remembering I've been asleep or fall asleep while doing things. We are trying to get most of my meds in liquid form, so we can just use the medicince port on my tube to take my meds.
Please pray that I can get better soon and that the swelling in my feet will go down and stay down.

Everything that can go bad has gone bad today

Today has been a very crappy day. My swelling is increasing, and has now spread to both my ankles and feet. My ankles are the size of baseballs and hurting. My last stitch came out, thus allowing the complete tube to fall out, and my mom had to push it back in. I just feel bad all around.
Tomorrow I will be on complete bed rest with both feet propped up, and only on tube feeds. If that does not make things better than I will go to the ER on Sunday or the DR. on Monday. I haven't decided yet, but it just depends on what happens tomorrow.
I started having an asthma attack tonight, and had to take my resuce inhaler which makes me very shaky. I had to take my pain patch off because I started having mood swings, which means I will go back to my morphine every 4-6 hours.
I had another meltdown tonight and when my mom asked how she could help I told her that she could put me out of my misery. I just don't know how long I can keep going like this. I HATE that the Dr.s don't know what is going on or how to fix it. I HATE that my life has come to where it is. I'm 27 years old, have a feeding tube, and have several undiagonised medical condtions that may never be fully revealed, and there is no Dr. in Austin that can tell me what is wrong, because they have never had a patient like me that has so many disfunctions at the same time.

I am afraid to go to sleep tonight because I can just sense that something is not right and I am afraid that I will not wake up in the morning. My mom really thinks that staying on bedrest tomorrow might "fix" me. I HATE that she keeps coming up with "lets try this or that" when she herslef has no idea what is going on or how to fix it. She knows that I should go to the ER tonight, but because she hates the hospital and I've been in it for 7 weeks this summer, she can't stand to go back.
Can't anyone just admit that they don't know what is going on with me instead of guessing?
Please pray that I will make it through the night and that I will either be able to go to the ER tomorrow or that I will be better.

Also, my friend Tricia is sick, please pray that she will get better soon. She already has a weakened immune system from her transplant and now her chemo.

So much for today

So much has happened today, and I know I have alot of writing for today.


I went to the GI doctor this afternoon and played stump the Doctor and Nurse Practioner. The NP had never heard of VATERS syndrome and when she went to look it up in her medical enclyopedia it wasn't in there. I tried to tell her that but she didn't listen to me. I told her to look it up on google, and she found it. She then proceeded to tell me about a very new surgery that is supposedly being done at one of the hospitals in Austin, but couldn't remember the Dr.'s name that is doing it. Then the Dr. comes and and proceeds to tell me that he has no idea why I am having my symptoms/ problems and doesn't know what to do about them. How frustrating is that! I asked him for a prescrption for Percott, and he said that he doesn't have a license to write narcotic pain meds, and to find a pain management Dr. to write the script. WTH!!

He did write me a script for an anti-spasmatic drug, and when I took it to the pharmacy the pharmastist tells me that that drug had been pulled off the market years ago, and just recently put back on, but it was pulled because of the number of bad reactions from it, and the drug is about 100% more expensive than before it was pulled. Great! I have no insurance and am now in search of an extremly expensive and potential dangerous drug. I'm calling my Dr. back Monday morning to inform him of this change.

Now to Ike stuff. It is very depressing reading about the conditions on the coast and seeing the pics. I have some very amazing pics that I have fpund and will post, but first some info.

The city officals of Galveston and the Bolivar Pennisula are now saying that they think that some of their residents were washed out to sea and may never be found. And there have been survivors that have told them that they were riding out the storm with their friend(s) and the storm surge cam into/ up the house and pulled their friend(s) out to sea. How sad. There maybe hundreds of missing people that may never be found because they floated away. I hope and pray that this is not the case, but we may never know.


You may have heard about the lion that took refuge with her owner inside of a church. If you haven't here is the lion, Shackles:

Shackle, an 11-year-old African lioness lays on an alter at the First Baptist Church, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, in Crystal Beach, Texas. The lion and her owner waded through Hurricane Ike flood waters to the church after they were unable to make it off Bolivar Peninsula prior to Ike's landfall. (AP)

Alot of animals have been displaced because of Ike. One example, a gator walking down the middle of a road:

What is one thing that can stop the clean-up process?

A pelican:

A brown pelican rests near the debris pile on Seawall Boulevard and 23rd Street in Galveston on Thursday. Volunteers with the Houston SPCA were called to catch the bird, which had halted the debris cleanup. Galveston County Daily News.

Below is a very powerful before and after picture from Crystal Beach, TX.

Some other before and after pics:

After

Before

Ike will go down as being a very destructive storm and I hope that his name will be retired in memory of the 50+ (so far) people who have lost their lives because of him.

If you want to help, but don't know how, please check out the following websites of organzations that I support and doing things to help the survivors ( humans and animals) and evacuees of this storm and it's aftermath.

http://www.southaustincares.org - Austin New Church

www.mlfnow.org - Mobile Loaves and Fishes

http://www.centex.redcross.org - Austin RedCross Chapter

http://www.austinfoodbank.org - Capital Area Food Bank

http://www.houstonspca.org - Houston SPCA

Eating, Feeding, and Life

Well, I am finally getting better. After a trip to the ER on Monday for extreme abdominal pain (again), I have made a full rebound this week, and was even well enough to have Starbucks with a friend this morning.
I am able to eat again. I'm suppose to be on a bland diet, but that's not happening. Yesterday, I thought that I was going to eat everything in sight. Today, I woke and prayed that God will take away my appetite because I know that is the only for me to stop eating junk food. So far it has worked.
I got a new feeding pump on Thursday. My last one was big and heavy, but this one is small and I can put it and my bag of forumla in a backpack and carry it with me while I am out of the house. It will give me much more mobility and freedom.
I am having minor surgery Monday afternoon to rotate and re-stitch my tube. One of the stitches came out this week and my tube site has been bleeding and hurting all day. I have a feeling that it is infected and abscessed, but we will see on Monday. I am kinda of scared about the part of feeling him stitch me up, but I know he will numb me first, but still.
I am really hoping to make it to church tomorrow. We are having a welcome back picnic/ get involved thing. I am looking for a new community group, so I hope to find info about one.

Please be in prayer for a friend of mine. Her name is Kenzie and her baby girl is Faith Claire. Kenzie is 6 months pregant, and started having intense contractions on Wednesday night. Last night the meds stopped working, but she is still holding out. Pray that the Dr.'s can stop the contractions, and the Faith will remain inside as long as possible. They have a 2 year old, and had a baby die at birth this past January.