Swimming Against The Current

October came sooner than I had expected. I was having my surgery at Children's Hospital in Boston and there were so many sick children around me. I felt so sorry for all of them and all their families. When I saw the little girls with no hair and the little boys so weak they couldn't walk, I realized my situation wasn't that bad. I thought in my head, I can do this if these kids can. I had to go a few weeks before my surgery to have my pre-op. They did blood work and made sure I was healthy enough to go through with the surgery. Everything seemed to be okay except that I had had my period for several weeks straight. I also had to go a few weeks before to get fitted for a brace that I "might" have to wear, depending on what the doctor found after he cut me open. The day of surgery came. I couldn't eat after midnight the night before so I was so hungry that morning! They brought me right in when I got there to get me all settled. They told me to change,...

After visiting Mickey, the physical therapist in Boston twice, I realized I could continue the exercises at home or with someone a lot closer. My doctor was ok with that and sent me to someone who used to work with him. She was very nice and helped me a lot. During all of these visits, I continued to cheer. I was hoping the physical therapy would take away a lot of the pain and make me stronger so I could be a cheerleader in high school. I had a few more visits with my doctor before school started and he didn't see that much improvement. I didn't have good range of motion, my shoulder "popped" all the time and I was in pain 24/7. The physical therapy wasn't working and he didn't want me to cheer anymore. The next step was surgery. We scheduled the operating room for my first surgery in October 2000. I was never so scared in my life.

I'm getting very scared my dystonia is moving to my right side. I have had spasms in my right foot a few times, but now my right hand is very sore. Although I haven't had any spasms in my hand, it is very weak and my wrist and fingers hurt a lot. I'm not sure if this is from using it more because of my left hand or what but I hope it goes away soon!! Other than this, things seem to be going well. I'm getting a big belly and going tomorrow for a 3-D ultrasound! I can't wait. Today I'm bringing Ryan to a baseball game for Father's Day! He's going to be a great Daddy!!

The most amazing thing happened. Last night I was staring at my belly and could see miss Hailey dancing. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen/felt. I cannot wait to meet my little girl. I also had a good day at work today. I have been working in the infant room at the YMCA and lifting them is becoming impossible. I was originally hired as a receptionist but have not been at the desk at all. Today I finally got the news that I will be working in the office instead of the classroom. Now maybe I won't break my back since the past couple days I couldn't even walk by the time I got home, from lifting the kids. Everything is looking good with the pregnancy, only 15 weeks to go!

The day came quicker than I expected to see the specialist at Children's Hospital in Boston. I was looking forward to meeting someone new and heard that he was a great doctor. He not only is an orthopedic doctor but has also written several books and teaches classes at Harvard Medical School. I was very hopeful that this doctor was going to help me. He did an exam on me and took several x-rays. It didn't take him long at all to tell me that I had multi-directional instability in my left shoulder. Most people develop this from a traumatic injury to the shoulder such as playing football or another sport. I guess I developed it just from overuse. The patients that have atraumatic onset usually have loose joints to begin with, which is what he told me I had. Multi-directional instability is basically when your shoulder dislocates in every direction possible from doing simple things such as doing your hair. This was exactly what was happening to me so I was happy to finally ...

Hi Everyone. I hurt my shoulder once again. Every time I lift anything it pops and I am getting so frustrated. It's so hard to work but I can't not work either. I feel like everyone is just getting annoyed with me because it happens so often but its annoying to me too and I can't help it. I don't know what to do anymore, if anyone has any suggestions let me know. =(

So, I was going into high school and wanted to cheer more than anything. I went to the tryouts to be on the Junior Varsity cheerleading squad even though I was still having problems with my shoulder. There was no way I was letting pain get in the way. Tryouts were all week and I went in there with a smile and pretending nothing was bothering me. By the next week I had received a call from the coach that I made the team. I was so excited! We started practices the summer before I started ninth grade. It was so much fun going to pool parties and cookouts while we practiced. My shoulder was throbbing but I ignored the pain until my next doctor's appointment. The next visit with the doctor was when I found out that my first doctor was giving up on me. I guess this was a good thing since he didn't know what was wrong or how to fix it. He sent me to Children's Hospital in Boston to see a specialist. I continued to cheer until the day came when my new doctor would give me...

So Ryan and I are finally all moved in to our new condo. It is a beautiful place and much bigger than our last apartment. Last week Ryan had off from school so his parents came to visit. They helped us move and we got to spend some time with them, it was a lot of fun. My pregnancy is going well. My baby girl moves all over the place now and my belly is growing and growing. We ordered her crib yesterday so I am very excited to get her room all set up! I have been getting a lot of spasms in my foot lately and my hand is still infected. Hopefully it clears up soon and my foot doesn't get stuck permanently like my hand. Well off to watch the celtics and get ready for bed.. Since my internet is working now I will be updating this more often :)