Ten Fingers for God

This book has been on the bookshelf since I could remember.  Mom and dad have told me how good it is but I've never picked it up to read it.  Wednesday night, while I was waiting to go to work, I grabbed it off the shelf and started reading it.  With the first page I was hooked!! Dr. Paul Brand was a son to two missionary doctors in the mountains of India. At the age of five he and his sister were sent to England where they would get a better education. Later on after college he married a doctor and they moved to India. It was here that his passion for leprosy patients grew.  He became a skilled surgeon in this field and his painstaking research and surgical trial and error led to amazing discoverys.  It is one of those books you do not want to put down!!

Here are some other books about him and his family:
Granny Brand, Her story  By Dorothy Clarke Wilson  (the story of his mother)
The Gift of Pain  By Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made By Brand and Philip Yancey
In His Image By Brand and Philip Yancey
Vision For God: The Story of Dr. Margaret Brand By Margaret Brand and James L. Jost

Here are a few links to read more about Dr. Paul Brand and his work.
The leprosy mission and about Dr. Paul Brand
John Mark Ministries talks about Dr. Paul Brand who died in 2003
My Hero.com Dr. Paul Brand

A Peek into POTS

Along with EDS, I am dealing with POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.   It is found in approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of those with EDS, hypermobility and classic types.  I just found this great (but long) video from DINET.org on POTS.  No one can see the challenges with EDS unless there is a visual cue.  When I wear my elbow or knee brace, I get questions like "did you hurt yourself playing volleyball?"  ".....basketball?"  Well, no.  Either of those would probably do damage to me!  (But I don't say that.)  POTS is even more "invisible".   There are no braces or ice packs to give anyone a clue that I'm in the midst of a very real challenge during a flare up.  I think this video gives a good glimpse into the hows, whys and the what-it's-like of POTS.

Bad day

Having a really bad day.  I'm not really feeling well.  POTS is giving me a fit :(  Just need to keep drinking fluid and rest in the arms of the One who holds the world in His hands.  Hope ya'll enjoy the song!! Crank it up! :-)

Outdoor fun and horses

Today we went to Montpelier with some friends and had a blast.  Lunch first and then the horses!!

Lookin' kinda long in the tooth!!

Dogwood

What I like about spring and summer.  GREEN grass, SHADE, COLORFUL flowers, BLUE sky and WARM weather!!

This horse did this about five or six times in a span of like ten minutes!!  It was so funny!!

The horses were really friendly and had to sniff and lick everything!

Gone hiking

Bloodroot

The root of Bloodroot!  I just read that Bloodroot has a lot of anti-infective properties. Its been used for gangrene among other things.  Learn something new every day, I guess!

The barn cat

Home now.  I had a lot of fun today!! Achy and a loose shoulder but it was worth it all!! I'm going to sleep well tonight :-)

Gu Brew

My mom heard of a electrolyte tablet called Nunn and after looking around and finding some, we realized it wouldn't have nearly as much sodium as a 32 oz. Powerade and would cost a lot more.  A week or so later someone told us about GU Brew.  Most bike stores should carry it.  We found some at Dicks Sporting Goods.  I can say I definitely like it a LOT better than Powerade. First off, I get more sodium per fluid ounce from it than I would with a Powerade.  And most of all, it tastes better and is more refreshing, probably because it doesn't have all the dye and artificial flavoring.  The kitchen isn't cluttered with 32oz bottles of Powerade.  I just pop a tablet into my water bottle and I'm good to go!

 As far as PT and all that stuff, it’s going well.  I started hurting Monday evening.  I thought it was from sitting in the car all day to go to a doctor’s appointment.  I now think (since I'm still hurting) that it was also due to the weather.  I leave for PT in just a little while.  My hip and ankle are still the two main concerns. The outer part of my knee has gotten really tender again, so I'll talk to him about that.  My physical therapist started doing a new exercise on my shoulders since my left one seemed to have slipped out of place inside the socket two weeks ago. But, all in all, things seem to be ok.

I went to see my POTS doctor and he seemed fairly pleased with things - as far as blood pressure and all goes.  He did put me on another medication and is confident that it will help improve other POTS related issues I have been having.  School has become really hard due to problems with concentration and fatigue.  I'll start the meds in a day or so.

No significant shifts....hmmm....well....

THAT'S what I said Monday.  Tuesday, my SI joint came out of place and since then, its been hurting really bad.  Most of the time its difficult to move.  I have an appointment with the doc for tomorrow to see if he can't put it back in place.  I don't see my physical therapist until next week and he's more than an hour away so we'll see how the doctor appointment goes.  I did manage to get my hair cut and go to Chemistry class this afternoon!

Perspective is everything.  This would be the first time its been out of whack for a month or more.  Glad for that!  It seems like the more you feel better, the more you seem to forget the things that hurt you and the things you weren't suppose to do and you PAY FOR IT!!!!  Oh well.  Now all I have to do is a bunch of Chemistry homework and take my test, yay.

Spring Flowers

Well, for those who don't really know, Spring has come early for Virginia.  At least where I live.  The tree outside my bedroom window already has most of its leaves and the tree across the road is already fully leafed.  It came SO fast!!! Today, after working on some school work, I took a break and went on a short walk into the woods to pick some flowers. 

Daffodils

Red bud

Time to make bouquets!

I put some forsythia in it, too

The scraps went into an ink well I found at Smithfield Plantation a few years ago!

As far as an update as to how I am feeling...........I'm much better :- )  PT is doing great.  No problems.  I have noticed that I don't feel as unstable in my joints.  I can move around more freely without as much pain or any real significant joint shifts.  I still have everyday aches and pains and occasional separations; it won't ALL go away, I know, but I'm SO thankful how far I've come.  I've been more hydrated lately (120 fluid oz. is not exactly easy to consume, so my targets are usually somewhere between 90-120oz.).  Hopefully I'll be able to beat back the POTS flare-up.  When I get sick, like I did in February from the flu, I tend to feel it for a while (POTS-wise).  It'll just take some time, but it could definitely be much worse :-)

Oatmeal Cookies

 I finally used Gumbo Lily's recipe for Oatmeal cookies!! They are SO good :-)

The outcome of getting distracted

This wasn't on my to do list for today, but when I noticed my picture poster on my wall and how chaotic and messy it was, I got distracted and redid it.  This is what I came up with.

When I made it a few years ago, I used a sheet of cardboard and paintings from Norman Rockwell for the back ground.  You can see all the thumbtacks on it.   

I didn't have enough ribbon so I found some 'wrapping kind' ribbon

 After a while, I realized the paper and ribbon wouldn't really help the picture stick....duh..so a change of plans led me to weave strips of leftover fabric through the ribbon for a background.  I was too lazy to start all over again. 

sorry about the angle.

 Once I made silver strips of ribbon one way, I wove white strips through the silver.

Its almost finished

The finish product

It may not look new or anything and it may only last a little while, but for now or at least until I try making one with a kit or directions, it'll do!!  It was fun making :-)

Now its back to my list!  Got some cleaning and odds and ends to finish :-) Maybe making some oatmeal cookies too!!  As for tomorrow, I'm gonna go hiking!!!!

No Time for Sergeants

When I was younger, my parents would try and find all the old TV shows and movies that they watched growing up.  They used to joke that it part of my education in cultural literacy. I guess I've kinda picked up on finding old movies, because I still love to look for them.  I found this one while on Netflix and it became another one of my favorites.  Especially since it had Andy Griffith and Don Knotts from the Andy Griffith shows !!

Here are a few links

http://www.answers.com/topic/no-time-for-sergeants  (this one does have a VERY through description of the plot for those who do not want the story to be given away :)
IMDb

"Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."   Isaiah 41:10