Phase One: Complete

Hello Everyone! I am extremely excited to announce that this past week I finally received my official certificate for my CNA! Woohoo! I'm a CNA!

I also promised some interesting facts so here we go...

1. 60% of men and 30% of women do not wash their hands after using the bathroom (if any of you are guilty of this... that's just gross)

2. Antibacterial soap is actually no better than regular soap unless you wash your hands for at least two minutes with it.

3. There are three centers of gravity: a) from your ear to your ankle, b) the center of your body (vertically), c) the horizontal midsection.

4. Anti-inflammatory medications (Motrin, etc.) have a protective effect on the brain against Alzheimers, which, they have recently discovered, is an inflammatory disease.

5. Shock-absorbing disks between the vertebrae compress when we stand. As a result we have typically lost an inch by the end of the day and then regain it while we sleep.

So there you have it. Some interesting facts from my CNA course. There's a ton more, but I'll save those for another day.

Practice Pays Off

Okay! I went to my CNA testing yesterday as scheduled. I did the written portion first and overall I feel pretty good about it. I won't find out how I did for about a week, but I know I passed the skills portion! I even got to use my new dimensional analysis skills I have learned in my math class this term. Brownie points to my math teacher!

I actually drove down Wednesday afternoon, and took two of my siblings with me so that they could visit cousins and see our grandparents who live down there. They had a good time and so did I. Especially on the drives! I love road trips and the three of us had some good laughs. All in all, a very successful weekend.

In Other News...

I think I've told most of you, but for those of you who don't know... I spent three months in Logan, Utah working on my CNA (Certified Nurses Assistant). The course went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. There is, however, only one lady who proctors the skills test for my instructor. By the time we finished the course she was already booked through April. There was a little confusion with my test vouchers from the Utah Nursing Assistant Registry so by the time I finally got them I had to settle for June 11th as my test date. Which means... I have a huge test this Thursday! I might be a little nervous for it... And by that I mean I'm really nervous for it. But, I'll study hard and trust that I'll remember everything I learned 3+ months ago. Yikes.

I am also taking some of my prerequisite courses this summer to move on to my LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). If all goes well with timing I should be done with my LPN within two years. Here's hoping!

Next time I post I'll include some interesting facts I've learned while studying nursing. Until then, adieu!

Extra Extra!

I would like to inform you all that I just received a call from my eye doctor. He has informed me that the results of my MRI came back and I have no space occupying lesions in my eyes or head. Hooray! I am very relieved. At this point he is going to visit a little bit with my family's physician and then will turn treatment options over to him. Personally, I don't think a spinal tap will be at all necessary, for which I am very grateful. Three cheers for life! "To life! To life! L'Chaim!"

Third Time's The Charm

We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast... ;)

Alright. I went to the hospital as planned just before 8:30am. We went through the whole admission process, and then we had to wait. I think some people would qualify that as cruel and unusual punishment. I was already nervous enough as is. Not so much about the MRI, but the needle they were going to have to stick me with. We had to wait for about... forty-five minutes. Not fun. We were finally called back and of course, my mom couldn't be there when they had to stick me. Probably for the better since I actually yelled a little bit on the second try. I couldn't help it! That sucker hurt! I think it was a little louder than I intended, though, because my ears were plugged so my sense of volume was all wrong. The guy who tried the second time told me that he's never seen veins like mine. Apparently the one he tried was "clear as day" until he put the needle in and then it was nowhere to be found. Of course when he pulled the needle out it was right back where it was before. Stupid veins. So much for drinking all that water over the previous day. On the third try the gal who was helping him got it in my wrist. Thank goodness. At least it wasn't six tries (I've had that happen). After it was all done and I was free to go the technician told my mom and I that we probably wouldn't hear from the doctor until Monday. Gotta love the waiting game.

On a cool note! After being in the MRI for about... five minutes or so I noticed that the sounds it was making had patterns that, to me, developed into simple harmonies and such. It sounded a little bit like an electric guitar(s) and occasionally a weird voice. I wonder if any rock musicians have ever been inspired by an MRI...

The Reason

Sorry to leave a little bit of a cliffhanger there. But it was for a noble cause. Emma and I had a good time getting lunch while we waited for her car repairs to be completed! Cheers for the responsibilities of owning your own vehicle... ;D

Alright, now I will tell you the story of why I finally sat down and started my own blog.

This past Friday I went to the optometrist. It seemed like a pretty good idea since I haven't been in for about five or six years and my prescription had definitely changed. I got to go through the "fun" tests they have when you first get there. My absolute favorite (sarcasm) is that puff of air they have to shoot into your eye to check the pressure. So I finished those and then they did one I don't recall ever having done before. They took a picture of each of my eyes. As in the inside of my eyes. I thought it was pretty cool. So after all of that they took me into the room where the doctor has you look through a series of lenses and asks repeatedly, as Brian Regan would say, "Do you like it better like this? Or like this?" After all was said and done and the doctor looked at my eyes he wrote down some things, talked to me for a minute, and then showed me the pictures they had just taken of my eyes... Apparently my optical nerves are swollen. In addition to that I had also told him that I'd been having some minor headaches over the previous few days. Even though they were really mild, the frequency was unusual for me because I rarely get headaches. He told me that both the swollen optical nerves and the headaches are signs of a brain tumor. Or, possibly, a pseudo tumor. A pseudo tumor is when the body produces too much cerebral spinal fluid, which puts increased pressure on the brain. This creates tumor-like symptoms without a tumor actually being present. I kept my composure in the office (I was kind of impressed, actually)... and then I got home. As soon as I started talking to my mom I lost it. I won't deny that I was scared. I was scared of pain and I was scared of dying. My mom called my dad and we went to my grandpa's house so they could give me a blessing. On the way there I had the thought "I've had some really neat spiritual experiences in my life. And I know that if it's God's will, I'll be fine." I immediately felt more calm. I was given a blessing, which gave me more comfort, and I am certain that it is not yet my time to leave this Earth.


I went back to the office on Tuesday and did the visual field tests and lazer scans for each eye. Let me tell you, having your eyes dilated feels really weird. The tests came back mostly normal. But they did confirm that my optical nerves are definitely and very swollen. The headaches had also continued (except for Monday). I went back the next day to do the visual fields one more time for comparison purposes and at that point the doctor told my mom and I that he is pretty sure it's a pseudo tumor for several reasons that I won't get into here. So. I am now scheduled for an MRI tomorrow morning as a precaution just to make sure it isn't a tumor. Normally the next step would be a spinal tap (*gagging and shuddering*), but I have been informed that it may not have to come to that (*cheering*). I'll let you know how it goes.

Now, my reason for writing this is not to get a bunch of pity and freaked out phone calls. I wrote this because I'd rather people just know instead of trying to keep it a secret. I know I'll be okay so there's nothing to lose sleep over (except maybe the IV they have to put in me tomorrow. Why am I going into nursing again?).

So there you go. That is the reason that I decided to finally start a blog. Not because I'm going to die, but because in that brief time that dying seemed like a possibility for the near future I was reminded forcibly of the quote "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today." Or, as Professor Harold Hill would say: "You pile up too many tomorrows and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays." I think that's how he says it.

There you have it, folks! I'll update again tomorrow. For now, Guten Abend.

And So It Begins...

Yes, dear friends and family, I have finally taken the leap into the blogging world ;). I've been thinking about it for quite some time now and last night I decided to go for it. My hope is that as I continue to grow up, no matter where I go you can all keep track of me, should you so choose. And I'll be keeping track of all of you as best I can.

I've found myself thinking back to high school a lot lately, as my friends get married one by one (or two by two, as the case may be ;D). It's interesting to remember how, when I first moved out of the house that first semester in college, it felt like my group of friends would always be as close as we were when we graduated. It made sense to feel that way since so many of us stayed in Rexburg, and those who were elsewhere would be home for holidays a lot of the time. But my roommate Deanna gave me some insightful information. She said that as we all began to get deeper into our intended fields/careers, got married, moved away and so on that we would slowly grow apart. We'd make new friends, be given different priorities and for most of us those high school friendships would not be the same. Needless to say, I doubted. Boy, has she been proven right! Ah, the ironies of life, right?

If you haven't already noticed, my posts in this blog will not always flow so well. Sorry if this bothers some people but... that's just the way it is. Anyway. There is my main reason for starting a blog in the first place. As for what actually made me sit down and do it, well... that's an interesting story. Aaaaaand , it will have to wait until later because Emma is stuck at Les Schwab and I am off to rescue her! ;)