HGTV Teen Host - Abigail West

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere!

Never Ending Clutter!

Help, I'm drowning....

Take a minute to CHILL....

Ahhh... Progress... finally...

And for the grand finale.... we present

Teen Room Makeover

Starring Abigail West!!!

Starring... Abigail West

Videographer... Mom

Annoying Sibling... JA

Thanks to the Awesome Painter ... Dale

More thanks to the Awesome Organizer and Decorator - Meme

Special thanks to Megan, Nana, and Aunt Kim

for the wonderful decorations and bedding.

Spring Break Fun

We had a wonderful spring break and it's only half over... we have spent a day having a picnic in the park and playing, then spent a day with family and friends playing ball and having a cookout.

The rest of the week is for cleaning out, doing some decluttering and redoing my Abigail's bedroom - painting and new decorations. Stay tuned for HGTV... My Crazy Life Style.

Now, that's attractive, Laura!!

Did you know sticking your tongue out helps you run so much faster?

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush....

Play Ball....

And she stands ready to hit a home run....

Long-Tall-Sally.... strikes a pose!

Cute sisters!

Thanks big sister for helping me get my stance just right.

Can we say future model?

Well, what can I say... he's 6 years old.

Easter Fun!

Laura had such a great time today during their Easter Celebration Party. Mrs. Dickerson, their room-mom, planned a wonderful craft, lots of fun food and games. Laura was hopping her bunny around all afternoon!
JA had a fun time making a suncatcher with bits of tissue and a black outline overlay. He is so cute, he was paying such intense attention when he was laying out those pieces of tissue.

And here is my sweet Abigail(right) along with her friend, Meranda. They did an egg drop race today and got egg on them thoroughly.

Here are all my little chickadees! That's Julie in the middle with all the little one's we teach, after they hunted eggs. I look forward to some fun with family and friends during spring break!

Redneck Fun!!!

Dale's favorite truck of the night

This Saturday, Dale and I went to watch his niece, Kerrigan, play in a softball tournament. Wow! I was so impressed at how well all of those girls played, especially Kerrigan. They played 4 games that day and it was exciting right down to the end. It was a most wonderful spring day! A nice break from all of the rain we've had lately. I can't remember a nicer day - sunny, cool, breezy - a perfect SPRING DAY!!!

Sweet Kerrigan

And as if we didn't have enough fun hanging out with family and watching softball all day (11am-7 pm).... we were on the way home and what did we pass, but a good ole' redneck Drag Race!!! YEE-HAW!!! We drove by and said "Sure, let's go watch some racin'!" I must say it was my first drag race and it was so much fun! We can't wait to take the kids back one weekend so they can see it! The boys, I know, would absolutely love it! Dale and I had a wonderful time, and even ran into a few folks we knew. What an absolutely great end to a fun day? And to top it all off - D and I went mud boggin' today - and got stuck! haha! I'd have some pictures but I was to busy helping him push, drive and get us out of the mud... needless to say - we had to do some washing of the old boots when we were done... lol! I just love being in the country!

Long Overdue Update...

Okay, here it goes! If you will please pardon my severely medicated brain… I’d like to add some recent diagnosis information, updated medicine regimens and long-term outlook.

Let’s start with some great news… the left ventricular apical thrombus (blood clot) has dissolved! Praise the Lord! When first diagnosed in November, the doctor immediately started me on heavy doses of Coumadin in hopes the clot would begin to dissolve in 6 months. It has only been 4 months and it is completely gone! Definitely a reason to be praising the Lord.

Below, I have decided to give you some information from the Merck Medical Dictionary. I will make notes in bold italics, to help you understand my specific condition.

First a quick recap…
Dilated Cardiomyopathy is a group of heart muscle disorders in which the ventricles enlarge but are not able to pump enough blood for the body's needs, resulting in heart failure. Usually, the first symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy are becoming short of breath during exertion and tiring easily. Looking back, I have probably had this for quite sometime and just ignored it because I am a single mom, always tired, always busy, always something! They result from a weakening of the heart's pumping action, which is called heart failure (see Heart Failure). Whatever the cause of dilated cardiomyopathy, if the heart damage is severe enough, the heart rate eventually speeds up, blood pressure is normal or low, fluid is retained in the legs and abdomen, and the lungs fill with fluid.
Because the heart is enlarged, the heart valves may be unable to close normally and often leak. The valves most often affected are the mitral valve, which is positioned between the left atrium (upper heart chamber) and the left ventricle (lower heart chamber), and the tricuspid valve, which is positioned between the right atrium and the right ventricle. During my last echocardiogram, March 18, 2009, it was discovered that my mitral valve has some mild leakage. Leakage causes murmurs, which doctors can hear with a stethoscope. Damage to and stretching of the heart muscle may result in abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which may cause awareness of heartbeats (palpitations) or death. I have been noticing palpitations for over a year already, prior to diagnosis. The leakage of the valves and the abnormal heart rhythms may interfere further with the heart's pumping action. Blood pools in the enlarged heart, increasing the risk of blood clots forming on heart chamber walls. The clots can break into pieces (becoming emboli), travel from the heart to blood vessels elsewhere in the body, and block them, causing damage to the organ they supply. If the blood supply to the brain is blocked, a stroke can result. This is what has just dissolved in my heart. Because of the continued risk of a recurring blood clot, my doctor and I have decided that I will permanently be on Coumadin.

Now onto the medicine regimin:
1.Vasotec 2.5mg (2x daily)- is an ACE inhibitor. This medicine is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors help relax blood vessels. ACE inhibitors prevent an enzyme in your body from producing angiotensin II, a substance in your body that affects your cardiovascular system by narrowing your blood vessels and releasing hormones that can raise your blood pressure. This narrowing can cause high blood pressure and force your heart to work harder.

2. Coreg 3.125mg (1x daily)- is a beta-blocker. Beta-blockers reduce the workload on the heart and help it to beat more regularly. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. When you take beta blockers, the heart beats more slowly and with less force, thereby reducing blood pressure. Beta blockers also help blood vessels open up to improve blood flow.

3. Coumadin 10mg/7.5mg (1x daily) - is an anticoagulant. It is used to treat or prevent clots in the veins, arteries, lungs, or heart.

4. Spironolactone 25mg (1x daily) - is a diuretic. It helps you make more urine and to lose excess water from your body. This medicine is used to treat high blood pressure, and edema or swelling from heart, kidney, or liver disease. It is also used to treat patients who make too much aldosterone or have low potassium.

5. Asprin 81mg (1x daily) – is used to additionally thin the blood.

6. Fish Oil 1200mg (1x daily) – is used to raise the good cholesterol found in your body.

Long-term outlooks can be hard to swallow sometimes. I am already in heart failure. Eventually, I will be in complete congestive heart failure. This will require a heart transplant. The doctor has been clear that I probably have a long road to that point. But that it will be inevitable one day. Cardiomyopathy is a disease that progresses at a different rate for different people. Statistics show that 70% of people die within 5 years of their first symptoms, unless they receive a heart transplant. Because I am so young, there are not a lot of statistics on survival and long-term diagnosis. My doctor is hopeful that with medication and good health, I will have a good 10 years before any major heart failure. Of the 4 classes of heart failure, I am only in Class II. That is encouraging… coupled with the fact I have no other heart failure issues: no clogged arteries, no diabetes, no high blood pressure, no long-term alcohol or drug abuse. The longer I can stay free from other health complications, will help my heart and my chances of a heart transplant when the time comes.

Yes, all of these facts can be very hard to swallow most days. However, I know the great physician…I know the creator of my body, soul and spirit…I know the Sovereign God who ordained not only my eternal destiny, but also my physical destiny… I know that as easily as the Lord gives me life, He can heal or take my life away. Were it not for my absolute faith in My Lord and Savior, each day would be hard to live. Psalm 118:6 – “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear; what can man do unto me?”

Coming soon to a laptop near you...

Just so you don't grow weary waiting... I thought I would let you know I am planning a new blog entry... to be released in the next few days! Aren't you excited? I went back for a visit to my Cariologist this week and have some interesting things to write about... so come back ya'll for a new update on My Crazy Life!

More details...

I have had several people ask me exactly how the doctors diagnosed me and when I came to have Cardiomyopathy. So, I will spend some time explaining in more detail about the different types of Cardiomyopathy, causes and future treatment plans for me.

Cardiomyopathy means "heart muscle disease." My heart may not be pumping as well as it should. There are three different types of Cardiomyopathy:

1. Dilated Cardiomyopathy - The heart muscle is damaged and cannot move as much blood as before. The heart muscle stretches so it can hold more fluid, thus enlarging and thinning the heart muscle itself. Basically, over time, it becomes stretched-out and gets weaker and tires out.
2. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - I have this form of Cardiomyopathy... the heart muscle grow thicker and stiffer than normal, especially in the wall of the left ventricle and septum. This is why the doctors thought I had a heart attack initially, because on the echo cardiogram it appeared the left front wall of my heart was paralyzed - typical symptoms of a heart attack. After the Heart Catheterization, it was concluded I did not have a heart attack, but instead had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. My stiff heart muscle can't relax between pumps the way it should, so less blood moves with each pump. An average person's heart pumps out approximately 50-70% of the blood that is pulled into the heart. No one's heart pumps out 100% of the blood in every pump. My heart only pumps out 25% of the blood in any given pump. This is called an ejection fraction. An irregular heart beat is also normal for this condition... that was all the fluttering and jumping I was feeling in my chest over the past few weeks. Those sensations may or may not go away.

Causes of Cardiomyopathy: Causes 1 and 2 are my diagnosis.

1. Coronary artery disease: a narrowing of the heart's blood vessels, because of the thickening in the heart muscle itself. Also known as ischemic cardiomyopthy. This is one of my diagnosis.
2. Problems for a women during or after multiple childbirths. This is the second diagnosis - post par tum cardiomyopathy.
3. Heavy alcohol use over a long period of time.
4. Infection or inflammation of the heart muscle.
5. Use of certain cancer medications
6. High blood pressure.

Blood Clot: I have also been diagnosed with a Thrombus, for the layman it is called a blood clot. This is located in the lower left ventricle of my heart and has formed over time, since my heart has not been pumping strongly enough. It has allowed the blood to pool in the bottom of my heart and become clotted and sticky. The doctor's have given me Coumadin and Lovenox shots for the near future until the clot is dissolved. The length of time I will be on these particular drugs will not be known until later.

Drugs: The doctor's have also given me several others medicines to begin taking long term. Coreg and Enalapril are blood pressure medications. No, I do not have high blood pressure, but these two drugs work with my heart to make it easier for it to pump blood everyday. Thus, allowing my heart to work a little less with each pump and not tire so easily. I am also taking 81 mg aspirin and 1200 mg of fish oil. The fish oil is for my good cholesterol - which apparently is not high enough - though my other readings were perfectly fine.

Treatment plan for the future: This is a work in progress, obviously, because I do not truly know how what my body can handle until I get back into a normal routine. But here are the initial guidelines I have been given:

1. Medications: as described above. At a later time, when I have researched more about my medicines exact benefit to my body, I will blog on them each individually. Because if you know me.... I am very picky about medications! Which makes this very ironic... you should have seen me in the hospital, I think I asked more questions than the doctors. Finally, about the 3rd day one of my nurses brought me in printed paper work of detailing all of the medications I was taking and information pertaining to everything the doctor's were using. She told me that this is usually for the doctor's, but I seemed to need this information for myself! We laughed! At least somebody understand me! HAHA!
2. Salt intake: My daily salt intake must be between 1800-2000mg. The perfect diet from the government says 2400mg daily, so a bit less than that is acceptable for me.
3. Liquid intake: I have learned that the amount of liquid I put in my body has a direct correlation to how hard my heart works. Therefore, I can have the average 6 cups of liquid (48oz.) per day or less. This includes liquid in foods such as fruits and vegetable, anything frozen that turns to liquid such as ice cream, frozen mocha cappuccinos (we all know how much i love those from sonic!)... This will take a little adjustment.
4. Exercise and rest: The doctor's explained that stress, overworking and anxiety would not directly affect my heart, however it could indirectly cause problems. If stress, overworking or anxiety is causing me to not get adequate rest, exercise and eat properly, then that would begin to cause further damage to my heart. The doctors were thrilled at my weight loss of 75 lbs. this past year and have encouraged me as I feel better, to continue with that weight loss, because it will take even more pressure off my heart. So a normal work week (40hours) is doable, give or take a little.

So, if you've made it to the end of this blog.... congratulations... you now know most everything I know, to date, on my condition. If you have questions or comments, please ask them and I will gladly post further clarifications. As a side note, my good friend, Jamie Lee Allen (you can link to her blog from my list on the right side) wrote a few post about concerning me. I do not deserve any of the accolades she gives to me and want God to receive all the glory... but it is encouraging to me that God can use me to be a testimony to others through my trials. Go check her out! You won't be disappointed! She's so much funnier than I am! God Bless you Jamie!

Okay, folks, time for me to get some rest... until next time...