Physical pain... I mean therapy.

So, I started Physical Therapy this week and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it because it means my headaches might become less frequent and its excersize. I hate it because it hurts. You see the muscles from my neck to my hamstrings are extremely tight to the point we only worked on stretches this week. 

So, until my muscles are a bit looser, I'm not going to be working on strength. I have to do these stretches twice a day and let me tell you, they do not feel good. I've been close to tears a couple of times and I haven't been able to do the full amount/time for any of these.

Also, you might be curious on why it matters that my hamstrings are tight. Well, I have really crappy posture. I can't sit up straight for more than 5 seconds before it starts to hurt. This is because of my hamstrings. So, until those start to loosen up, I can't sit up straight for very long. 

One thing we are trying to work on is my posture. To help me sit up straight longer, anytime I get a text and look at it (so If you have my number, feel free to send me random texts haha), I have to check my posture and sit up straight for a couple of seconds. My favorite way to help me sit up straight is when I'm watching my favorite show "Fixer Upper" on HGTV. Anytime JoJo says Shiplap, I have to check my posture. Sometimes I hate it though because there will be times she says it like 3 times in a row and so I have to sit up longer, but in the end it will be worth it.

Today, I realized how much I didn't want to do my stretches and so I came up with a reward chart. I went and found a fun one on Pinterest and printed out 3 copies. Then, I wrote my stretches in the columns. Once I've filled a couple of the sheets, I'm going to reward myself. I'm really hoping this will keep me motivated to do them.

                         

                                                                  My chart

I'm really excited to make some progress and hopefully be able to do my stretches without pain. :)

Oh, the craziest thing happened while I was at Target with my family today. As my family was getting ready to leave, we hear somebody yell,"STOP! SECURITY!" Then, just as we turn to look, we hear this loud thud as this guy is basically thrown into the glass in the exit of the store. So, we quickly walk away from that area, but we're still close enough to see what's going on as security is trying to restrain this guy. It took them like 5 minutes or so to finally handcuff him. He tried shoplifting a couple of things and security caught him. I was terrified at first, but now looking back, it was totally cool and slightly entertaining. I hope to never be in one of those situations again though. I will honestly never look at a security guard the same again. Just because they look like they couldn't tackle someone definetly does not mean they can't. 

Holy Moly!

I haven't updated in almost two years!!! I'm going to try and update my blog more often. So, I thought I would let everyone know what happened in December and give an update.

So a couple days before thanksgiving, I got a really bad migraine. I took some ibuprofen and hoped it would go away but the next day it was still there. This process went on for 10 days. Finally on December 3rd, I couldn't take the pain anymore and had my parents take me to the ER. They started giving me valporic acid, magnesium sulfate, zofran, and Benadryl. They gave me a couple of doses and after those didn't work, the doctor decided they would try one more dose. About halfway through that dose he came in and asked me how I was feeling. I told him I felt the same which then he responded, "I figured, I've already put you on the list to be admitted." He then proceeded to tell me that once I got upstairs, they were going to try a med called DHE. I was terrified to get this med because of all the reactions I've had to meds. Once we were upstairs, the doctor came in to talk to us and reassured me by letting me know they were going to do a test dose. The test dose was a very small amount of the med. since the med was given to me through an IV, within 5 minutes, I was having almost every reaction in the book. So, instead of doing another dose, they let me go to sleep. I was exhausted and at that point sleep was more important. So the next morning the decided they were going to go back to the meds they used in the ER since my headache had gone down and the DHE dose was too small to have made a difference. They were able to get my headache down to a two on the 1-10 pain scale. I wasn't eating and drinking like I should have been, so I didn't get to go home until the 6th. 

Once I got home, I relaxed for a little while and then went to our stake's community nativity event. I really didn't feel good and I was completely drugged, but I got to do the one tradition I love the most. I don't even remember much of it to be honest. But the fact I got to go makes me happy.

So Monday morning I woke up and I couldn't move my head it hurt so bad. We were concerned it could be meningitis. It was the worse I have ever felt. My headache was a 10. So, my parents rushed me back to the ER. I was absolutely miserable. The lights, sounds, and smells were bugging me so much. Once I was in a room, the doctor came in and was not happy that I was 18 and at a Children's hospital. We explained to her why we were there and she determined it wasn't meningitis. She then started giving me the same meds I had last time. After awhile, she came in to tell me that they were admitting me to the downtown campus so neurology could be in charge.

I was in a stable enough state that they just had my parents transport me downtown. Once I got downtown, they decided to draw blood. They were having issues drawing blood and one of the nurses decided to go after a vein right by my elbow. This poke ended with no blood, and me screaming bloody murder and crying. At this point they decided to give me a break. Later they came in and had a successful no tears blood draw. They also decided to add prednisone to the mix at this point. The meds they gave me me my veins burn so by the 3rd day I needed a new IV. Since they ran out of veins, they had to call the vascular team in. They decided to put in a midline. A midline is like a fancy IV that goes from the middle of my arm and the tube ended in my armpit. It also goes in a bigger vein so it didn't burn anymore and it lasts for up to 30 days.

                                      Rocking my midline and crown!

The night I got my midline, a really cute boy who just happened to be a volunteer brought the craft cart to my room. I decorated a crown and he colored a butterfly mask. That was a pretty big highlight during the hospital stay. After I decorated my crown and he left, I went for a walk on my floor wearing my crown.

                                      

                                                 It was snapchat worthy!

The next day, I got to go home and my headache was completely gone. This was great since Brandon's graduation was that weekend. So, I got to sleep in my own bed one night before having to go to Manhattan. I got to spend the weekend with Brandon and I am so proud of him for graduating!

                                       

                           I had to wear a mask since I was on such a high dose of 

                                      Prednisone and I had no immune system.

So, I went to the neurologist for the first time a week ago and while I didn't get any answers other than the ones I already have with my headaches, I got some new treatment options. One of the options that I have tried is called Cefaly. It's basically a TENS unit for my head. So basically they put an electrode across my forehead and attach a headband. My headache went from a 6 to a 0 using this. I'm going to go into the clinic a couple more times to make sure it works and then I am going to buy one for home so I don't always have to go to the clinic when I have a headache. 

                             This is the Cefaly, it's kinda lame but it works wonders!

Since they believe stress and anxiety is a major cause, I'm starting counseling next week. I am also going to be starting physical therapy. They also have talked about doing acupuncture or a nerve block if needed. They also ran some blood work to make sure I don't have something like lupus. Luckily it seems to have come back normal.

So a lot of people have asked me what causes my headaches. They aren't totally sure. They think a lot of it has to do with the fact I had Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. (You can read about it here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pseudotumor-cerebri/basics/definition/con-20028792). Mine was medicine induced so I don't have it anymore. Anyways, it has cause the nerves in my brain to be extremely sensitive. Also, like I said earlier stress and anxiety don't help.

Through this experience, I've learned my health is more important than anything. I have to be careful that I don't over do it. Every week I get one to three headaches. I still get wiped out pretty easily and some days I don't even want to get out of bed. But everyday I continue to put a smile on my face and try to stay positive.

I know it's been a while

Hey guys!
It's been 2 weeks since I posted which is not how I wanted to start this blog. I would have posted last week, but I got a really nasty stomach bug on Sunday and spent most of my morning in the ER. It was the worst I have ever felt. But, anyways I'm feeling better for the most part. So I will update you guys on the last 2 weeks.

I went to a stake dance on the 29th of March and had lots of fun with my friends. Then, the next day I went to Lake Mary, which is a facility for kids and adults who have disabilities. I had lots of fun playing games with them and helping them make crafts. Then Saturday night, was the General Women's meeting for women/girls ages 8 and up. It was such a great meeting and I really enjoyed what everyone had to say. If you haven't seen it and would like to, check it out here.  Then, Sunday I was in the ER getting treated for dehydration due to the nasty stomach bug I got.

This past week was pretty boring. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday to check up after my ER visit. Then, on Saturday and Sunday was General Conference. I enjoyed listening to all the speakers. If you would like to see it, click here! During Conference, I decided to do some indexing to help me pay attention cause I'm not a very good note taker, and if I'm not doing anything, I fall asleep. I had so much fun indexing though. I had set a goal for 100 and I ended up indexing 260 records! Once you get the hang of it, it's really fun and easy.

So I've pretty much just summed up my past two weeks. :) I will post again on Sunday hopefully! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get ready to watch Dancing With The Stars. I'm really hoping Cody doesn't get voted off this week. Oh, and listen closely tonight because he's dancing to one of his songs tonight! :)

Genealogy Conference- Kansas City

I spent 2 days of my spring break (Friday and Saturday) at a Genealogy Conference in Kansas City. I had so much fun at it and learned so much! :)

Friday

I got up at about 6:30 and got ready to head to the conference. I got there around 8:30 and got signed in and ready to listen to the Keynote speaker. I honestly don't remember a lot of the keynote cause I wasn't really listening due to being in the middle of having an anxiety attack. After the keynote, I went to my first class which was "Becoming a US citizen: A look at Naturalization Records" and learned a lot but I didn't take the best of notes in. After that I went to a "Using Social Media" class and that class explained the differences between Social Media Sites and how to use them. I got a handout and will be willing to share it with anyone who wants to see it, but I don't want to post it on here cause I don't know if it's copyrighted or not. 

After that class was lunch. Which, for me consisted of a bag of potato chips and mini oreos. I know that was such a healthy lunch! But to be honest I wasn't very hungry and that sounded delicious haha! :) 

I then went to the class "Preserving Your Digital Heritage: Methods to Preserve Your Digitally Born Files". I actually learned a lot in that class on how to keep your digital files safe. I have a lot of information that I got in that class. One thing that I thought everyone might want to know from that class is when saving files, you should follow the 3-2-1 Rule. The 3-2-1 Rule is Make 3 copies, Have them on 2 different types of media and Keep 1 copy in a separate location from your hub collection. I have 2 full pages with more info if anyone wants to know more. Once again cause of the possibility of copyright, I don't want to post it on here. After that, I went to the "Digital Scrapbooking" class. I didn't really learn anything new in that class. Basically if you have ever made a photo book, you know how to do digital scrapbooking. 

I went to one of my favorite classes of the whole conference next. You can probably guess what it was since you know I'm writing a blog post. :) The class was "How to Blog your family History". I loved this class so much! Mandy Beyeler was awesome! She explained everything perfectly and got me so excited to start this blog. 

Here are my notes if anyone is interested.

I then went to my next class which was "FamilySearch Indexing: YOUth Taking the lead". I had been doing Indexing for a long time, but then something happened and I stopped Indexing. For those of you that don't know what indexing is, it's where they have the digital documents (like right now they're doing Obituaries) and you then you transcribe the information and to help them make the information available for anyone. That probably made no sense so just check out www.familysearch.com/indexing. Indexing is actually super fun and yesterday I started indexing again! 

We then had a closing (I guess you could call it) Keynote address. It was called "Leaping Over Brickwalls: 10 tips to Fast Forward". The speaker was Kathleen Brandt from a3 genealogy. If any of you have seen the show "Who do You Think You Are?" on NBC, She was on Tim McGraw's episode. She was so funny and I learned so much from her. I took a ton of notes which are saved on my computer and I will e-mail them to anyone who wants them. 

Saturday

I was most excited for Saturday because of the fireside that evening. I was there for the keynote address, but it was basic information that I already knew, so I really wasn't paying all that much attention and didn't take notes. After the Keynote address, it was time for classes. 

My first class was "Worming Your Way through Digital Books". I learned a lot of stuff in that class, but didn't take too many notes. I am going to type my notes up that I have cause they aren't the best handwriting due to having to write fast, but I would also be willing to email those if anyone wants them. I was then on to my next class which was "Indexing for Youth Part 2". Once again, the teacher got me super excited to start indexing! In this class, he showed us how to index mostly. 

It was then Lunch time which, once again I wasn't very hungry and so my lunch was once again Potato Chips and Oreos. But, I also had some Cantaloupe and grapes, so it was a little more healthy. :)

My next class was "False Teeth Cause Death- What you can learn by Indexing Obituaries". I really didn't learn anything cause it was basically the adult version of  the Indexing classes I had taken earlier. 

I then had my "Finding the Stories" class. In that class I learned about how to find out stories about your family and how to start creating your own family history.

Here are the notes I took for anyone who is interested.

 I then had my last class of the day which was "Arise Up and Call Me Blessed - One Descendant's Journey to find Emma Smith". I didn't take any notes in this class, but it was so good! I learned so much about Emma Smith! She is such a strong person and I honestly look up to her. :)

So since I did the conference and took classes, I had the chance to go to a meet and mingle with Sister Elaine S. Dalton and her husband. I was so excited! So, after the last class, the youth who got to participate in the meet and mingle got sent to the Cultural Hall (Gym) and waited until we were able to go to the High council room for the meet and mingle. Once I got into the high council room, I went right over to Sister Dalton because I had brought my own dinner due to the fact that they were having Pizza and I no longer can have dairy. I was so excited I could barely talk at first. At first it was me and a group of girls, and we all talked to her, then the girls walked away. At that point, I told her that I had her book and I then asked her to sign it. She was more than glad to.

My book that She Signed!

Then, My mom and new friend Emily walked over and we all started talking to her. She told my mom that she thought my mom and I were sisters which made my mom's day. We talked for a little while and then my mom and Emily went to get their food. I just stood there awkwardly cause I was all alone and waited for them. After that, I went and ate my dinner. Don't worry it was a ham sandwich and cantaloupe with grapes. :)

 After I was done eating my mom told me to go back to the high council room and try to get a picture with Sister Dalton. I stood there for about 10 minutes and there were girls in front of  me that were getting ready to get a picture with her and Sister Dalton said,"Let's let this girl (Me) get a picture first, she's been waiting for quite awhile." So then, I went and stood next to Sister Dalton forgetting that I had my camera in my hand and one of the moms that were in the room was like, "Do you have a camera?" I was like,"Oh yeah! Duh! haha." The mom was getting ready to take the picture and Sister Dalton saw my dad and asked him if he was my dad. He said yes and Sister Dalton told him to get in the picture right next to me so he did.

Here's the picture of us.

So after the picture, Sister Dalton told my dad to add the caption to the bottom "Good Job Dad". For those of you who are confused about why she said to do that. In the October 2011 General Conference she gave a talk called "Love Her Mother". You Can check out the talk here. So here is the picture with the caption. :)

After I got the picture with my dad, I asked her if I could get a selfie with her. She said sure! After my selfie, I told her thanks. She then told me," You are so cute!" That is one thing I will never forget!

It was honestly one of the best nights of my life. It is up at the top with the Cultural Celebration for my favorite nights. I didn't take any notes cause I just wanted to enjoy the fireside. Brother Dalton spoke about Family History and Temple work. It was an amazing talk. He showed us a clip of Elder Bednar's talk "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn". You can check out that talk here. In that talk Elder Bednar listed the blessing you will receive if you do Family history.

Here is a list of the blessings.

Sister Dalton talked about anything and everything. One thing that stuck out to me was that she said,"In school, I was the Unpopular nerd." That line meant so much to me cause not so much now that I do online school, but when I went to a public school, I was that girl. So to know that she was that girl really made me smile. She also kept reminding us that we are never alone. Another thing that she mentioned was how it's never to late to repent on mistakes we have/are making. She mentioned how if she was running a marathon and she made a wrong turn, she wouldn't keep going the wrong way wasting all her training and time. She would turn around as quickly as she could and make her way back to the race path. I enjoyed that fireside so much and I am so glad I was able to go. I promise my posts won't always be this long but, I wanted to cover everything that happened. :)

My First Post!! :D

Hey guys!
So I finally started a blog! I've been wanting to start one for a while but I've never really made time for it. I went to a Genealogy Conference on Friday and Saturday (More about that in another post tomorrow). But, while at that conference, I went to a class about blogging taught by Mandy Beyeler from Sugarbeecrafts.com. She was so awesome and got me really motivated to start a blog. I am really excited and can't wait to post about all the exciting things happening in my life! :)