Three Strikes, You’re Out! Part 2

Like I mentioned… it's been a really rough couple of months…  The last week of May, I received another last minute e-mail requesting me to attend a meeting that afternoon with my boss, Jackie*. In this meeting, I received my third and final write up. This time I was written up for being a minute …

Three Strikes, You’re Out!: Part 1

The university that I work for is in the process of making A LOT of changes. Once these changes are completely put into action, no one at the university will be able to purchase their own travel or process their own travel reimbursement request. It will all flow through a center that specializes in travel.  …

It’s a heart attack! It’s a dislocation! No, wait! It’s a birth defect!

This week has been rough to say the least...  Tuesday morning I woke up feeling my "normal" self… (what I would consider normal pain levels, what I would consider normal nausea levels, etc... no alarm bells were sounding.) I took my morning steroids and sleepily snuggled my kitty while they kicked in. I dozed off …

Recipe: Instant Pot Beef Stew

This weekend I tried out a new recipe (a twist on beef stew) and it was a huge hit. It even had vegetables in it any my brothers didn't pick them out or take several hours to eat their dinner! An even bigger shock? After dinner, Branden came up to me and asked if we …

“100 out of 100 relationships involving care giving fail”

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in our community surrounding a quote by Dr. Phil McGraw. I have never been a very big fan of Mr. McGraw but I will admit that I was a little surprised to hear that he said something even remotely close because his show airs during the middle …

The Day My Mom Died: March 15th, 2011

March 15th, 2011 started like any other day. I woke up after having slept in, and like most teens on spring break, I immediately picked up my cell to see I had texts and various other notifications awaiting my response. One of those texts was from my best friend, Ryann, who was home from college …

Rare Disease Day 2019

Today, February 28th, is International Rare Disease Day.  What is a rare disease? The answer to this question varies depending on where in the world you live. If you live in the United States like I do, in order for a disease to qualify as rare, less than 200,000 people are affected by the illness …

Changes to the Blog

As some of you may have noticed, I decided to change the page names and URLs on the Medical History section of my blog. Instead of labeling the page according to a diagnosis, I've decided to list them according to the medical specialty that treats that diagnosis. There are several reasons for this but the …

Blogmas Day 12: Christmas in Review

I am going to be blatantly honest… I don’t even know how to start this blog post which is why it is so late. We have talked a lot this blogmas about the new tradition my family tested out in place of exchanging material gifts for Christmas. And considering how much I spoke about it …

Blogmas Day 11: Favorite Christmas Movies

I don’t think it is a secret that I HATE the cold with a passion. But one benefit of cold, crappy weather is getting to curl up with a nice cozy blanket and enjoy your favorite Christmas movies! Charlie Brown’s Christmas The Muppet’s Christmas Carol Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of the Misfit …