More To Consider...

Just an update about my current health concerns.

A friend who is a chiropractor took time to come over this afternoon to try to answer all of the questions that I have had since we got my MRI results back yesterday.

Good news is that we may have answers enough to make a plan. Bad news is that it is probably going to be a life-long, pain/health management plan

He got on the computer and showed me images and video of what disc degeneration looks like. From my description he thinks that the results say that I am between stage I-II. Meaning that the disc is stressed, but not perforated. He pretty much said that a damaged disc is not able to be healed, only that symptoms can be treated and managed. He said that surgery is only an option in worst-case scenarios or if the disc has actually been damaged enough to burst open.

He asked me to request a copy of the actual MRI so he can get a better look at what the concerns are. After he looks at them, he can give us some better options for care.

He said that the cortizone shots are only a quick fix to deaden nerves. He said most medical studies have shown that over long term, the cortizone actually dissolves the discs and vertebrae. Not really something to consider either since pain is manageable now. I definately dont want to add to the problems.

His best recommendation from his experience and study is that multiple helps in conjunction with each other is the best way to start healing and manage long term care. Chiropractic, PT, and acupuncture all being done at the same time will better chances of stopping degeneration and keeping pain and damage managed better. He said there is a specific technique with chiropractic that he can do in his office (vs a specialist and thousands of dollars). He said he thinks that getting back on track with PT and sticking with the acupuncture are all good things.

It means adding lots more appts to our schedule for me though. Acupuncture would be weekly. PT 1-2x/week. Chiro for me 1-2x/week. Initially, to try to assess and get things under control would be a lot to add to the schedule. After a couple of months, those appts could probably be spread out and would be to manage vs agressively combat the concerns.

I am feeling happy and sad at the same time. Happy that we have had a second opinion that I trust, happy that we have more do-able options. Sad that I really am broken, sad that we will be looking at long term, even life long care for me. I told my friend how hard it is for me to feel broken, to not be able to even think about all of this without all of the guilt heaping on top of me, of all the extra stress and worry this will cause, about all the extra $ that we will for sure not have to cover all of these appts between now and the end of the year….

I still have not had any response from my previous dr office or from the PT office. Not sure what options we are going to be able to discuss with all that has happened. I may have to go into holding pattern for awhile until we can get a look at the MRI and get more questions answered.

There is also the continuing concern that my sleep apnea is getting worse. A recent go with another sleep med ended up being thrown out. It worked exactly opposite, keeping me awake most or all of the night, and feeling drugged and extra emotional during the day. When I am sleeping, I am finding I am sometimes staying in a side position, but REM sleep is filled with intense nightmares and I wake up with my heart pounding and gasping for air. I woke again with a sore throat, and knowing even though I was a sleep, it was far from being restful. We have yet to find a help that will allow me to sleep and rest and breathe. My body continues to reject meds, and non-med helps are expensive, and still dont resolve concerns. I will be stopping by my dr office again tomorrow to give them a heads up from this week. Maybe adding more of those appts too.

Just as a side note....I had my first appt with the new acupuncture specialist today. He is Japanese, and has studied extensively. He is also alot younger than I was expecting him to be. The first set of needles that went in werent too bad, I was surprised that I only felt a couple of them. The second set of needles - literally from head to toe on my right side - was a lot more difficult. Several of the "hot" spots didnt like having the needles in and muscles were really tensed. He actually had to remove 2 in my back because they throbbed so bad. A couple of the sites where they went in are still pretty sore. My right side seems to be feeling better though. There is physical relief. It just feels different.

I really had a hard time with being there again. My legs started trembling and I was very concerned that my body was going to start shaking again like last time. It thankfully just stayed at a small tremble. This specialist seems nice, and he listened to what I shared. He kept saying "interesting" though - not sure if I have him totally stumped already too. He has asked me to come in for weekly appts for at least the next month. Thankfully we have the medical acct through preston's work, since TRICARE doesnt cover this. I am apprehensive about going back, but I promised I would try, esp after my chat with D today.

Hoping that we will continue to find more answers than questions.....

Too Many Questions...

Late yesterday afternoon I heard back from the dr office with my MRI results....

The results showed bulged discs that are cutting off nerves which is causing all the continued pain through my lower back, hips and legs. My dr has said it is serious enough to warrant serious solutions.

His first recommend was for me to continue PT. I wont be able to continue PT, at least for now. I found out yesterday my PT specialists' baby decided to arrive early. He will be out of the office a minimum of 2-4 weeks. His one partner will be trying to work in all my specialist's clients into his own schedule. It will not even get me on his books. I may be able to still keep an office visit next week, but I am still waiting to hear. My other concern is that I have already been going to PT for several months, without results expected or needed. That was the whole reason the MRI was asked for. Not sure that continuing with PT will help resolve concerns. It may end up being added back in if other more serious measures are needed...

His second recommend is to get cortizone shots in my spine. The cortizone could possibly reduce the swelling around the disc areas. I am still trying to learn more about what this option even involves.

His third recommend is to look at surgery options. This scares me the most considering he has now left his practice. I dont have any prospects for a new dr yet. I have made calls to try to set up appts to meet one new dr possibly. The other dr. I have tried to contact will go over all my records before she will even offer me an appt to meet with her. It is horrible for me to even consider that I may be looking at surgery, and no dr that I know or would be comfortable with would be doing it. Or that knowing I now have serious concerns, will a new doctor even being willing to take me on...

We also found out late yesterday that a specialist we have been hoping to get Colton into has a 4 MONTH waiting list. We wont hear back from them until they have received and reviewed Colton's records. It will be Fall at the earliest before we can get him in.

We ended yesterday with way too many questions and not enough answers, and no answers about who to turn to for help. This week will be spent making many phone calls and hoping we will be guided to find the right answers soon.

Good News & Bad News...

It has been another week of Mondays...

Our Monday started out with a visit to the vet's office with a VERY sick Oreo...and no clue why he was so sick. I took him in and we saw Dr Archer's new partner. She was great and asked lots of questions I couldnt answer. She ended up keeping Oreo for x-rays and lab work. Ceana was NOT a happy camper when I returned without him. All we could do was wait to see what the dr said...

I came home from that appt to turn around and run down to my dr appt. It was not a good visit for me. He made some recommends about new specialists and a new sleep med he wants me to try (now that I am writing, I just realized I have that med still sitting at the pharmacy...another thing for my monster to-do list tomorrow) and then double checked with me that I had received the letter to let me know he is leaving the practice at the clinic - WHAT? I totally flipped out, while trying to keep my composure. I hadnt received a letter at all. I was mortified. I have only had him for the last several months. I had finally found someone to ask the right questions, to jump on tests, to talk and work with my other specialists....and now he is leaving...and I am going to have to start all over again.

I have an appt with a new Asian master actupuncture specialist next week. I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow. I have dropped all my PT appts until we can get results from the MRI. I have info for 2 new personal dr, and still trying to decide to make appts to at least meet each of them and try to prayerfully decide where to go from there.

It was all I could do not to cry when I left the dr office. I just cant seem to find a good dr for me. It will now mean adding more appts into our schedule again. I am already feeling extra guilty for the fuel costs and cost of time away from home, and what the cost will be to the kids' grades with me coming and going....

On my way home from my appt, I got a call from the vet clinic with results from all of Oreo's tests and that he was ready to come home. I had a pretty intense discussion with the dr. His x-rays and labs came out clean, mostly. The x-rays indicated some calcification on his neck - the disc degeneration we have already had confirmed in LJ 2x now....Also, he had some labs that were unusually off. Sometimes the numbers can be off because of high stress, but the follow up appt with Dr Archer today also indicated she is concerned about the labs. We have a follow up appt for him in 3 weeks for more labs. Depending on what those results are, we may have lots more on our plate for Oreo (and maybe LJ) as well. Can only try to wait patiently. Oreo is doing much better after the extra fluids and care he received at the clinic, which we are very thankful for.

Tonight my heart is very heavy with heartbreaking news we received about extended family members. We are so far away, and there is nothing we can do but keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and let them know we still love them.

It has already been a very long, full week - and it is only Wednesday. The rest of the week and weekend look to be VERY full of lots of adventure. I will try to keep up with posts, more coming soon....

Tie A Shoe - Win A Prize!

I take Colton to Philomath (1 hr, 1 way) for his OT every week. He has made some huge progress in the last couple of weeks and it has been great to see him moving forward. Last week we had the fun of having a student assistant helping Colton's specialist. They played one of Colton's favorite games - blowing a puff ball across the "field" to get a goal. The exercise is the fine motor control using blowing actions. They had a great time. Colton was also successful with his handwriting (which earned him a gold star at karate) and making eye contact while talking with adults (another earned star) This week, one of his exercises was still working on tying shoes. This has been an ongoing battle and something he seems to just struggle with all around. This week he finally did it! And not only once, but 3x in a row! His specialist is so patient with him and just sticks right with him. Wish I would have kept the camera out for just one minute longer to capture the big "high 5's" and the huge smile on his face. He was so proud!

His specialist was so impressed with his successes that she got him a prize out of her special box. He thought that was really fun. We are so blessed to have such amazing medical help for Colton. I dont know where we would be without them!

Ready To Rumble....Or At Least Spar...

This has been a BIG karate weekend for us. Lots of extra work and fun. Last night the big kids and I went to our first sparring class. We were all a bit nervous because we had no idea what to expect. We had no idea how challenging and fun it would be. The first thing we did was get on all of our gear. This gear includes "boxing" gloves, boots, a monster thick vest, and a padded helmet and face shield. We keep wondering how much extra weight we added just to gear up. We spent the hour of class time learning new skills and trying to learn how to even move with all the gear on. We were sweating to death even before we got going. We were all paired up with equal age/height partners. We have met a couple of other families in our classes and so all the moms were put on a team. Kat & I had both had a rotten mom day, and we were ready to duke it out on the mats. The other mom was pretty timid, so we went easy on her, but not on each other. We learned how to do a round kick and a hook kick. We learned that the power in your leg/foot is 5x stronger than your hand. We learned alot about control and discipline and making sure you didnt hurt each other in the process. Ceana felt a bit discouraged. There were skills we tried that we have not learned in classes yet. She also didnt get the whole point of "beating" on each other. We talked about how we are constantly learning new things, and that the point of this and our black belt class is for personal self defense. I think it is going to take her awhile to warm up to it. That is ok. I wish I would have thought to grab my phone during class and gotten picts and video. Just was so involved in everything. Our instructor had everyone pair up and actually demo in front of everyone else. Part of our training is learning to be comfortable in front of others whether we are successful or not, and how to handle each one. The kids were all paired up to spar each other, and I didnt even get it captured, except in my mind's eye. I also completely forgot to have the girls get picts of me too (sorry mom, will remember for next time :)) It was great to see the kids work with each other, to see the different levels of skills, to see everyone cheering and clapping and hollering. It was quite the adventure. Ceana & I discussed on the way home about the things she is really interested in, and would like to learn about. One of those things is weapons training. Little did we know that we would get an extra surprise this morning. Class today was our normal black belt class. Except it was anything but normal. One of our instructors is a high level black belt who has specialized in weapons training. We got an extra treat today as he did mini demos with each weapon before we started class. Again, wish I would have thought to grab my camera. He was amazing. It was exactly what Ceana was hoping to ask about today, and instead she got a full on demo. She was pretty stoked about that. Something she thinks she wants to try. She was extra excited when our instructor told us about special seminars that are only offered to the black belt and leadership students this summer. I know several of us will be signing up for those! Class today was working with one of our weapons and with bare hands. It was pretty intense and a great workout. We also had a board breaking exercise. Again, we had to get up in front of others, and success or not, be willing to go through with things. That is a skill that can always be improved. For our family, esp, it is a great thing, knowing that we are somewhere safe, with awesome support and encouragement, and win or lose, we can find success. The girls gave it good tries, and our instructor was great to encourage them. I was excited to break it on my first try. Kat & I did "high 5's" over that one. We really are loving class so much. It is amazing how much it has helped our family as a whole, esp in such a short time. I will try to remember to take my camera to the next set of classes. Our next post will hopefully be about our belt testing next weekend. I will be sure that Preston has the video and regular cameras to capture everything. It will be a BIG family day!

Super Ky

This has been a big week of success for Ky. He set goals, worked hard to meet them, and got BIG rewards today for achieving them. This top pict is of Ky and his KFK instructor. Ky earned both blue AND red stars for setting goals to stay dry all week and for achieving his goals. I really love that all of the instructors get so excited for the kids when they work on ATA goals and values at home. They always make a big to-do about the kids successes. Ky loves his class and his instructor and that helps make all the difference here at home. (this pict is a little grainy because I took it on my phone)

Ky & I set goals last week and he started working on a star chart. If he could stay dry all week, including overnight, then he & I would go shopping and let him pick out his own special underwear. Each block of time he stayed dry, and used the bathroom, he earned stars and cookies (his potty treat of choice). I think that seeing all the stars on his chart got him extra excited. Having the support and encouragement of his preschool teacher has also been a big help. As you can see, he reached his goals. He even exceeded them by remembering to ask, and use the bathroom when we have been away from home. That has been a huge thing. He was very excited to see underwear with many of his favorite characters - Spiderman, Transformers, and Disney! The minute we got home he ran in the bathroom and put on his "Woody" underwear. It is fun to see him so excited. Now that he has met his goals, we have talked about the plan from now on. No more cookies, but a new pair of undies every single day. He is pretty happy with that deal. We are so proud of you, Ky! You really are a big boy now!

Trying To Figure It Out...

Kelsianne has decided to try to get in on the whole potty thing. She sees Ky getting cookies and stars every day, so she tells me she wants cookies too. I keep telling her she doesnt get cookies or stars unless she goes potty. Today she told me she HAD to go...so I let her....I remembered that I had a kiddo potty seat that we had used with the big kids. I had to run to an appt so I put Kaeli in charge of her while I was gone... Kaeli got the camera out to document this big event. Kels sat in the bathroom for more than 30 minutes, happily reading her books and making faces at Kaeli for the camera.... I'd like to say we had a big "ah hah" moment today, but we didnt. She has the right ideas, just not the awareness quite yet of the "before", only the after. She is making progress. We'll keep at it, who knows, maybe by Summer we can say "good-bye" to diapers for good!

How To....Maybe Not...

Want to know how to add a little zing to your temple date night?

Try locking, not one but TWO, sets of keys in your vehicle and not figure it out until you try to leave....

We had extra blessings that night:

1) great session

2) NOT raining for once

3) Having roadside assistance on our insurance plan (have used it 2x in the last couple of weeks)

4) Having locksmith be really close to where we were. We were back on the road within 30 min of the initial call

5) Having Cold Stone be really close by too...after locking the keys in and adding a bit of stress to our life, the yummy ice cream added the de-stress....:)

PS - this date night started out with a very spontaneous detour off the freeway to a little dive restaurant we found online on the phone. It was Polynesian food, and for it being a little tiny place in a strip mall, the food was actually really good. It was also inexpensive. We got a combo plate to share, and it was enough for both of us. Somewhere we will for sure try again.

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day I

After an extra early start to our day, and a couple of needed stops, we were finally on the road - just a big girls outing. The girls were very excited to know we would be spending 4 wonderful days with our friends the Seables. The mapquest thing we ran said it would take us several hours to arrive in Grants Pass, and the GPS on my phone wouldnt work. It ended up taking us HALF the time we planned on to arrive. We surprised Grandpa Seable by arriving so extra early. The girls and I helped him tidy their cute little house before Grandma Seable arrived home. We had a wonderful time just visiting with them both. We found out from Holly that Keenan had a track meet, and since we had arrived so early, we decided to surprise him at the meet. This pict isnt the best since the sun was behind Keenan, but you can see by the look on his face that he was very happy to see us there, and that it was a surprise. We all thought it was funny that Keenan ran the warm up with his shoes in his hands vs on his feet....

Keenan tried the javelin for the first time at this meet. He didnt do too bad for a first attempt, and I think he learned alot too. This was only the first official meet of the season, so lots of time for lots more success.

Keenan ran both a long distance and a short distance race. He was happy that he beat his own records.

Keenan's Jarvis cousins also competed in the track meet. One of the boys is state champion in his event and both the boys rocked with their scores. It was great to be able to be there and support all 3 of the boys. Not something we ever get to do. After the meet Keenan went with us to Grandma & Grandpa Seable's house. We got treated to the first of many wonderfully, amazing meals and then got to sit in on a temple prep class they were teaching. I know I learned alot from that class time. The kids had a great time just visiting. It was the first day of fabulous memories that would be made over the long weekend.

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day I

Kaeli is really becoming quite the photographer herself. She has such a good eye, and is already mastering techniques it took me ages to learn. She took several of me, but I still keep coming back to this one of my fave. Anyone who knows me knows how much I extremely dislike being in front of the camera. The last pict of me I was willing to post was clear back in November...I keep thinking I want to delete all of them of me, but then I remember what someone told me once about regrets about not ever being in picts with their kids because they were always behind the camera. That same person also told me how important it is for kids to have picts of me and Preston too. So, I let one or two of me get posted. I am sure Ceana & Kaeli will want to post more... It was just fun to take turns with the camera. These are the most recent picts I have of the girls. The weather was just too beautiful to not take advantage of lots of photo opps...

Keenan got some time to just hang out with us between his events. Of course, the kids just love goofing around. He always knows how to make Ceana laugh hysterically...

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day II

Day 2 of our mini vacation was spent mostly without my camera. We hung out at Gma & Gpa Seable's house for the AM. Our big "April Fool's" surprise was first thing in the morning, hatched by the kids' cousins. One of the boys came down to tell us that he had wrecked his truck that morning, and that his brother had broken his leg. Several of us let out big gasps, and then with a total straight face still, he said "April Fools". Boy, were we relieved. Apparently April Fools Day is quite a big to do with the Jarvis family. The boys couldnt wait to pull the same trick on their track coach. One of the boys is state champion, and they knew it would totally drive the coach to craziness. Big meanies...(we heard the big story after, and they totally tricked their coach, he totally flipped out because he was so upset...) It was actually Sabrina's birthday, so we got to join the Seables and extended family for a "big girls only" lunch at a Mexican BBQ place. Seems funny to say Mexican and BBQ in the same breath, but it was GOOD. Holly ordered loaded nachos that had all the trimmings including shredded BBQ beef (or chkn) and it was way yummy. After lunch Holly and I took all of our girls shopping and everyone found what they were looking for! That doesnt happen often. We went back to Seable's house to just hang out and try to stay calm before the big surprise of the night. The other little surprises had gotten slipped, so Holly was hoping the biggest surprise would still be a go. Just when it was time to go to where the surprise was, Holly gathered all the big girls with the pretense of picking up other girls to come to Sabrina's house...except she didnt know that the surprise was on her, and waiting for her at the other girls' house. The biggest fun of the night was having Sabrina be totally shocked and surprised to see a dozen+girls yelling "surprise" at her and then spending a wonderful overnighter with lots of food, fun, and laughter. I think that it was everything Holly hoped it would be, and I think Sabrina was extremely happy. It was a fun way to spend Sabrina's birthday.

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III

Between conference sessions we all piled into different cars and headed for a favorite Seable family outing place. All the little kids were SO excited, and we couldnt figure out why - until we got there (after our not so fun parallel parking experience) We ended up in this darling, old fashioned soda fountain shop. Every inch of it was antique and darling. It was pretty busy when we first got there, but eventually, all the girls ended up at the counter. The menu was incredible, so many choices, it was really hard to decide. I think everyone ordered something different just so they could share. The really incredible thing was that these old fashioned sodas are still only 25 CENTS. None of us could believe it, but it was true! What an amazing place, and an amazing price (esp for families that are big like ours and Seables). We had a wonderful time and we know we will look forward to going with the Seables again on our next visit! Love this cute pict of all of the girls. I tried to keep everyone in focus, but it didnt quite work with them all spread down the counter. That is ceana way in the back. It is a fun memory anyway...

These little cuties are more of Keenan and Sabrina's little sisters. They were bouncing off the walls when they found out where we were going. They love this family outing.

Of course, we go to this amazing shop with tons of things to choose from, and what did Kaeli choose - a cup of vanilla ice cream...I guess when you know what you like, you know what you like...

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III

This is just a fun shot of my drink and the menu. I ended up trying a chocolate cherry soda. We dont usually drink soda, at all, so I had forgotten what it tastes like and how much I dont like the bubbles in my nose. The drink was a great combo though. It will be fun to go back again and try some of the other flavors! Thanx for Allie for being my hand model...

Little miss still wasnt very warmed up to me even by Saturday. I think this profile turned out great.

Darling little soda fountain shop. Could've stayed there LOTS longer finding things to take picts of...

It was really fun to watch how each of the sodas was made.

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III

The girls talked Keenan into climbing their big tree out back. They kind of changed their minds when he went all the way to the top branches....It was a bit too late by then. I dont think they were happy until he was safely on the ground.... I think ALL th kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline. I was laughing so hard at some of their poses it was hard to take the picts....

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III

More of the kids having fun outside....

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III

I promised I would put ONE pict of me in the post. Not sure how the kids ever talked me into getting onto that trampoline. Something I havent done for decades...My old body paid the price though. I could share a couple of things that are funny now, but werent so funny then. Maybe someday.... The kids thought it was hysterical though, so I guess that was the fun part for me.

This cute little miss is Keenan & Sabrina's youngest sister. Isnt she a doll? Grandpa Seable had this monster sized apple (I'm not kidding, it was HUGE) and Adam thought it would be awesome to take little miss' pict with it. I was thrilled to finally get a smile from her. She finally warmed up to me on the last night together. Isnt that the way it goes with little people. I was so happy to get some cute shots of her that will always help us remember how little and cute she was and how big that apple was :)

We had a fun night to play games with all of the cousins. This was a "girls against guys" game of TRIBOND. I think the kids enjoyed trying a new game, and there were lots of laughs. Esp with Grandma Seable swapping teams :)

Grants Pass Mini Vacation Day III & IV

This is Ceana and a couple of the Jarvis cousins. They got quite the monster (literally) game going Sat night. The girls loved every minute of being in the fray of TONS of cousins running around, and esp having cousins that are their same ages. This game took all of us to set it up, and I think they only got a couple of rounds finished (apparently it can take HOURS to play). It is similar to the old "Dungeons & Dragons" with all the little pieces (some of the monsters were quite hideous) representing armies and stuff. The kids were all so enthralled with it. The girls are hoping to get a chance to play again next time we get together with them. It was a grand time for all the big kids to get so much time to spend together!

This is a pict with the kids and Grandpa & Grandpa Seable (Adam's parents). They were so wonderful and gracious to let us stay with them for the long weekend. They opened their home, and their hearts, and their fridge! Grandma Seable fed us non-stop when we were there! I am sure I gained at least 5lbs :) She made the most wonderful meals, and all big enough to feed an army (which I guess we kind of were) :) It was so amazing listening to all of their stories, being in constant awe of all of their life experiences, being taught gospel principles, having gospel discussions, laughing, and just enjoying every minute. The kids all worked so hard to help with meals, and clean up, and anything they could do to show their gratitude to Gma & Gpa Seable. They were just so happy to be there. We made wonderful memories together. A favorite memory for Kaeli will always be our last dinner at the house. I had been praising her often for keeping her belching (which gets rave reviews and fist pumps at our house from her dad) under wraps. We had a yummy spaghetti dinner and homemade bread for dinner, and I guess all those starches got to her. She did a pretty big belch, though thankfully kept her mouth closed. It was still heard by everyone at the table. I scolded her, while everyone else just stared at her. Then all of sudden Grandpa Seable said "You're the man!" which made everyone laugh hysterically and then a whole conversation ensued about belching at meals, including stories from Grandma & Grandpa Seable's missions....

Conference Sunday at their house was so special, and is now filled with so many amazing and sweet memories - of sharing in the joy of the gospel, and time together, and all the extra yummy meals and treats (thank you again to Aunt Heidi Jarvis for the mouth-watering, delectable caramel rolls!)

I had fun taking picts of the big kids together. As always, the best picts are of them goofing around and just having fun together.

This is Grandpa Seable in his workshop. He is an exquisite artist. We got the rare privilege to get a tour of his workshop and to see some of his beautiful works of art, some in process, and some finished. He loved to tell us all of the stories behind his work, and each one was unique and fascinating. Ceana loved walking around, slowly, so she could try to take in every corner. There were works of art everywhere, even hanging from the ceiling! It was amazing.