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Five consecutive years from left to right starting from the top to the bottom left. Boy do you change over time. I have noticed though we have set sides when taking pictures.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Five Year Anniversary
Five years ago the most handsome man asked me to be his girlfriend. I can't believe how fast five years flies by. He's been by my side every single day since then. I cannot ask for anything else in a person. We've been through so much together, that I sure can't wait to see what the next five years bring. I love you so much Kev!
Friday, April 12, 2013
5 Months & Counting
Well the 4/8 marked 5 months. Wahooo. It's been quite the road.
Here's a little update. My mouth situation has gotten so much better. My Dentist and Primary Endo have worked diligently on trying to help figure out what has been going on with me.
My Endo asked to see some blood work and he didn't want to just prescribe me medication to mask whatever was going on. My Dentist asked me to come in so he could take a look at my mouth. Not sure if I have mentioned before but prior to my RAI treatment I went to the dentist to have my teeth checked out. The RAI treatment can cause damage to your teeth and mouth as I know have experienced. Thank god I went. I had 6 fillings and a root canal all within three days back to back. But this had to be done before my treatment because I didn't want any further damage to the mess I already had.
So anyways. Got my blood work done then off to the dentist. Its sad when they know you by name and know exactly everything about your mouth as soon as you walk in the door. Even the receptionist. I have been to that office 6 times since February. Good thing I don't hate the dentist office. So the Dr. comes in asks whats been going on etc. Feels around inside my mouth and BAM the tears come pouring down my face. All he did was touch the inside of my mouth and I was literally balling my eyes out I was in so much pain. He stopped wiped away my tears and said no wonder you are in so much pain. You have sprained muscles of the jaw. He said its just like having a sprained ankle except you are unaware that you have this add aren't treating hence why its so bad.
Ding Ding Ding. I've finally gotten an answer to my pain. It's amazing. I had another Dr. tell me its apart of my treatment take ibuprofen it could be for the rest of your life... REALLY? My stomach couldn't take much more of the ibuprofen so I stopped taking it and just dealt with the pain until my Dentist cured me. He also walked in with two boxes of samples of Sensodyne tooth paste and Biotene Mouthwash. Then said do not buy it call me when you run out I'll get you more. Hallelujah, there is someone out there that isn't just trying to collect every penny from me. I am so thankful that I have a caring, generous and passionate dentist.
For now I have to deal with sensitivity to anything cold or hot and even when the cold wind blows. Such a joy. The occasional left cheek face swelling. It's always fun it look like a chipmunk. But I am hoping over time that this gets better because it sure is a pain in the butt. I still have no feeling in my neck which is sure strange to me but I have gotten use to. I was told that this could be a long time recovery. So I guess we'll wait and see. The other day I day I discover a lump under my chin but not quite my actual neck. I am on an antibiotic and read that lymph nodes swell when you are fighting an infection so maybe this is why. I know that there were a ton of lymph nodes taken out of my neck during surgery so this could quite possibly be true. I said I will give it the weekend and we'll see Monday how it is. But other than that I still cannot complain I feel like a million dollars compared to how I felt prior to finding out I had cancer, so I'll take it.
I can't forget about the hospital bills for all the care I have received. The most concerning one is from 2009/2010 when I went to the ER twice for stomach pain and the Dr's released me and said nothing was wrong. I have been told that was the first signs that I had cancer. That's when all the issues started. Its a pretty hefty bill to me and I am still paying on it till this day. The local hospital that I went to while attending school wouldn't work with me on a payment plan that I could afford (while putting myself through college.) So they sent it off to collections. It has affected my credit and still till this day I am paying on it and trying to get rid of it. At the current time I was working as a waitress making "too much money" so I lost the health insurance I did have which was Medicaid. I think its really great that I paid into a health insurance program that I couldn't even use because I "made too much money." Absolutely mind boggling to me. I have started looking into some charities or programs that will help people pay for medical bills to see if I can get some help with this. If anyone knows of any programs like such please let me know. I could use the help.
My current health insurance is great and I cannot complain. Most of everything was covered but a few Drs visits and what was not covered at the Dentist so I am trying to slowly get those squared away. Over all health issues are a huge stressful burden and I have been dealing with this way too long. Several years with no answers, bills piling up and being sick has been enough for me.
I will post pictures of my Sierra (scar) and my new hair do by my sister Maria later today.
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Here's a little update. My mouth situation has gotten so much better. My Dentist and Primary Endo have worked diligently on trying to help figure out what has been going on with me.
My Endo asked to see some blood work and he didn't want to just prescribe me medication to mask whatever was going on. My Dentist asked me to come in so he could take a look at my mouth. Not sure if I have mentioned before but prior to my RAI treatment I went to the dentist to have my teeth checked out. The RAI treatment can cause damage to your teeth and mouth as I know have experienced. Thank god I went. I had 6 fillings and a root canal all within three days back to back. But this had to be done before my treatment because I didn't want any further damage to the mess I already had.
So anyways. Got my blood work done then off to the dentist. Its sad when they know you by name and know exactly everything about your mouth as soon as you walk in the door. Even the receptionist. I have been to that office 6 times since February. Good thing I don't hate the dentist office. So the Dr. comes in asks whats been going on etc. Feels around inside my mouth and BAM the tears come pouring down my face. All he did was touch the inside of my mouth and I was literally balling my eyes out I was in so much pain. He stopped wiped away my tears and said no wonder you are in so much pain. You have sprained muscles of the jaw. He said its just like having a sprained ankle except you are unaware that you have this add aren't treating hence why its so bad.
Ding Ding Ding. I've finally gotten an answer to my pain. It's amazing. I had another Dr. tell me its apart of my treatment take ibuprofen it could be for the rest of your life... REALLY? My stomach couldn't take much more of the ibuprofen so I stopped taking it and just dealt with the pain until my Dentist cured me. He also walked in with two boxes of samples of Sensodyne tooth paste and Biotene Mouthwash. Then said do not buy it call me when you run out I'll get you more. Hallelujah, there is someone out there that isn't just trying to collect every penny from me. I am so thankful that I have a caring, generous and passionate dentist.
For now I have to deal with sensitivity to anything cold or hot and even when the cold wind blows. Such a joy. The occasional left cheek face swelling. It's always fun it look like a chipmunk. But I am hoping over time that this gets better because it sure is a pain in the butt. I still have no feeling in my neck which is sure strange to me but I have gotten use to. I was told that this could be a long time recovery. So I guess we'll wait and see. The other day I day I discover a lump under my chin but not quite my actual neck. I am on an antibiotic and read that lymph nodes swell when you are fighting an infection so maybe this is why. I know that there were a ton of lymph nodes taken out of my neck during surgery so this could quite possibly be true. I said I will give it the weekend and we'll see Monday how it is. But other than that I still cannot complain I feel like a million dollars compared to how I felt prior to finding out I had cancer, so I'll take it.
I can't forget about the hospital bills for all the care I have received. The most concerning one is from 2009/2010 when I went to the ER twice for stomach pain and the Dr's released me and said nothing was wrong. I have been told that was the first signs that I had cancer. That's when all the issues started. Its a pretty hefty bill to me and I am still paying on it till this day. The local hospital that I went to while attending school wouldn't work with me on a payment plan that I could afford (while putting myself through college.) So they sent it off to collections. It has affected my credit and still till this day I am paying on it and trying to get rid of it. At the current time I was working as a waitress making "too much money" so I lost the health insurance I did have which was Medicaid. I think its really great that I paid into a health insurance program that I couldn't even use because I "made too much money." Absolutely mind boggling to me. I have started looking into some charities or programs that will help people pay for medical bills to see if I can get some help with this. If anyone knows of any programs like such please let me know. I could use the help.
My current health insurance is great and I cannot complain. Most of everything was covered but a few Drs visits and what was not covered at the Dentist so I am trying to slowly get those squared away. Over all health issues are a huge stressful burden and I have been dealing with this way too long. Several years with no answers, bills piling up and being sick has been enough for me.
I will post pictures of my Sierra (scar) and my new hair do by my sister Maria later today.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Visit to the North Country
I first have to note that on April 5th, 2013 it was snowing in the North Country on our trek there... when we left our house it was 70 degress. Goes to showing you what a difference in weather a few hours can make. Burrr was it cold!
I went home this weekend to see my family. Yes, the 4 hour trek. I made late dinner plans to meet up with some college friends in Albany for a bite to eat to break the trip up and of course see their beautiful faces. It was so great to see Hannah, Mike and Emily. Caught up on our lives and reminisced about the days at Plattsburgh State. All while Emily was choking because the guy sitting next to her smelt like B.O. so bad, we were the only people in the restaurant under the age of 55. But they did have wonderful food and great drinks. The best part was the company! Since we didn't take any pictures at dinner I grabbed some of our finest pictures from Facebook.
Other great news is Hannah & Mike got engaged. They also asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding! I am so excited to celebrate this happy time with these two love bugs. Already looking forward to next Memorial Day weekend!
Jason, Mikey & Maria
The Boys- Jake, Andy, Jason & Little Mikey
Anna, Jenna & Siena (Mikey Photo-bombing)
I went home this weekend to see my family. Yes, the 4 hour trek. I made late dinner plans to meet up with some college friends in Albany for a bite to eat to break the trip up and of course see their beautiful faces. It was so great to see Hannah, Mike and Emily. Caught up on our lives and reminisced about the days at Plattsburgh State. All while Emily was choking because the guy sitting next to her smelt like B.O. so bad, we were the only people in the restaurant under the age of 55. But they did have wonderful food and great drinks. The best part was the company! Since we didn't take any pictures at dinner I grabbed some of our finest pictures from Facebook.
Other great news is Hannah & Mike got engaged. They also asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding! I am so excited to celebrate this happy time with these two love bugs. Already looking forward to next Memorial Day weekend!
Mike & Emily loving it (old pic)
Kevin, Hannah and I at our Spring Fest
One of my good friends also leaves sorta in the sticks.. Well let's call it the sticks anyways. We are so lucky to have Carissa to let us stay at her house when we're in town. It's great to catch up and have a few drinks. She's currently in the middle of remodeling her kitchen so her house was in looking a little rough from all the demolition but thankfully she has a nice big memory foam bed that we all hung out in.
Here she is... We're at the bar called Stockdales around the corner from her house. Syracuse made it to the final four and shes a die hard fan needless to say that was her face the entire game as her Alumni lost. Oh Carissa!
I got my hair did by my beautiful talented sister Maria. She wanted me to go Ombre so I did. I also got my usual hair cut and of course I can't leave without getting the Brazilian Blowout. I think I would die without the BB from now on until I die (no joke.) I absolutely love my hair and am so thankful I have a talented little sister who can do just great hair dos. I'll post a picture later I haven't taken one of the final work.
I visited with my godmother and her kiddos for a few hours to catch up. I haven't seen her in a very long time, almost a year. So it was nice to stop in and chat with her. I also went to see my sister Sandy, who was studying away on a lovely Saturday. So I am sure she was glad I stopped in to break that studying up. I hung out with her for several hours and then it was time to figure something out for dinner with the rest of the gang.
I decided well let's go somewhere we can all sit down and eat.... Yupp table for 20 please. So, I called my only place of employment back in 2008/2009 and ask to sit in the "Pig Room." For those of you who are locals of the sticks that'll be Babe's in Utica, the big room in the back. There's plenty of room for a table of 20 there and food/prices are pretty reasonable. So off to Babes we went. It was so great to see all the kiddos and hear about what they are up to. They are all just the most adorable bunch on the planet I have to say. Before I knew it their tummy's were full and it was time for the Syracuse game to start (they are all HUGE 'Cuse fans) I on the other hand am not so I was like okay what to do now... (I just made a bracket to win a $50 gift card at work.)
Pig Anna & Ginger
Miss Siena
Maria & Mom
Sandy & Jake
KK & I
Marc, Dan & Maria (Lawd knows what she's doing)
Billy & Ally
Myself & Miss Jennalynn
The next morning it was off to meet my handsome nephew for the very first time and visit with my brother Brian & sister Megan. He is just the most adorable little boy in the world. He has the brightest blue eyes and has the biggest happiest smile ( I just loved it) Unfortunately, I showed up close to nap time and I didn't snap any pictures with him. I am really sad about this. I will make sure to get some next time, for sure.
There he is the bright eyed, smiling little Irishman Declan!
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