I received this award from Lynn at Autism Army Mom.

Here are the rules for this meme (apologies for the original award but I changed some of the language to make it appropriate for my journal):

1. You must proudly display the absolutely disgusting graphic that I have created for these purposes.  It's so bad that not only did I use COMIC SANS, but there's even a little freaking jumping, celebrating kitten down there at the bottom.It's horrifying! But its presence in your award celebration is crucial to the memetastic process we're creating here.

2. You must list 5 things about yourself, and 4 of them must be bold-faced lies. Just make some crap up, we'll never know; one of them has to be true, though. Of course, nobody will ever know the difference, so we're just on the honor system here. I trust you. Except for the 4 that you lied about.! 

3. You must pass this award on to 5 bloggers that you either like or don't like or don't really have much of an opinion about. I don't care who you pick, and nobody needs to know why. I mean, you can give a reason if you want, but I don't really care.

4. If you fail to follow any of the above rules, I will  hunt youdown and harass you incessantly until you either block me on Twitter or ban my IP address from visiting your blog. I don't know if you can actually do that last thing, but I will become so annoying to you that you will actually go out and hire an IT professional to train you on how to ban IP addresses just so that I'll leave you alone. I'm serious. I'm going to do these things. 

**NEW** 5. This one isn't actually a rule, but once you do the above, please link up to the Memetastic Hop so that I can keep track of where this thing goes. 


My 4 lies and 1 truth:

1) I am a member of a secret society. Now I must kill you for knowing.
2) I fell while walking across the stage at my college graduation, showing everyone my underwear. 
3) I legally drank before turning 21.
4) I have a tattoo above my buttocks that says "Made in China".
5) I once made my niece clean the bathroom floor with her toothbrush.


I pass this award on to anyone who wishes to participate.

I wish I had something brilliant or hysterical to write about, but I have spent the last week since my Dysautonomic crash recovering and sleeping 16 hours per day or more. That was definitely one of my worse crashes and one I would like to avoid. The actual written protocol that I have in my medical binder of records and other pertinent information, because doesn't everyone have one of those, to treat a crash is to carefully infuse fluids until my blood pressure begins to rise to my normal, treat pain as needed, and call the neurologist with any questions or concerns. Living in a small town, the local drs have no familiarity with someone as complicated as me and thus my neuro wrote out a treatment plan. Also unfortunately triggers are not easily avoided. They include things like getting too warm or too cold, being in a loud environment for too long, bright lights, flashing/flickering lights, stress both emotional and physical, low blood sugar, forgetting to drink enough (because I have no sense of thirst), and pain. Stress can actually include positive emotions like being excited about something. Things I can no longer do because of the triggers include going to concerts (I love music), going to movies in theaters (I have about a 60/40 odds of triggering a crash if I go see a movie, not in my favor, from the rapid flickering of the film and the loud soundtrack), attending any crowded events, being outside in summer. Yet even if I avoid all triggers I can still crash for no apparent reason, seemingly out of nowhere. This is something that it took a long time for my family to understand, that I really was sick at virtually every family get together because it was so stressful, loud, and crowded. Now the stress has been reduced a LOT, and as you can see from the video of the wrapping paper fight I did fine this year.
This coming week I have two doctors appointments that I have delayed just a wee little bit. So I have been having almost daily fevers for the past, um, two months or so. Sometimes Tylenol works, sometimes throwing in an illegal Ibuprofen finally works, sometimes they are stubborn. I know dysautonomia impacts my body's ability to regulate temperature so I am going with that being the cause, but I have a feeling my internist is going to be a little unhappy that it has taken me two months to come in and mention this to him so we can eliminate other possibilities. Actually I am taking bets between the internist on Monday and the hematologist on Tuesday as to who is more angry with me for my "ignore it and it will go away" approach to medicine. Hematology is my yearly checkin since I am on Lovenox (injections of blood thinners) for Lupus Anticoagulant (blood clotting disorder) after having had a stroke (RIND) when pieces of two blood clots in my arm broke off and went through the hole in my heart (PFO - we did not know about it until afterwards) to my brain. I think I may be bounced back to the GI doctor/nutritionist since even though I have recovered the ability to swallow, my stomach seems only able to tolerate simple grains like corn flakes, bagels, toast, corn chips, and rice. If I eat anything more complicated, especially a protein, I become very nauseous (Thank God for Zofran!) and my stomach hurts. Yet I am gaining weight as if preparing for a famine.
I will try to write something much more entertaining this week. If nothing else I can write about freezing to death tomorrow when temperatures are in the single digits with negative windchills and I am waiting for a handicap accessible bus to take me to my doctor's appointment and the fun of wheeling through snow and slush. Tomorrow I will be wearing enough layers that I will be able to do a wicked imitation of the kid in A Christmas Story "I can't put my arms down!".
Thank you for reading this!! You Rock!!

Yesterday I experienced one of my more severe, most dreaded Dysautonomic crashes (also known as crises but I prefer the term crash as it is very much like suddenly slamming into a brick wall doing 60 mph and crumpling to the ground). I had simply gone to the pharmacy to pick up three much needed medications and this act resulted in my body being unable to process the input it was receiving and I went from functioning to slamming into that brick wall in about 10 seconds flat. The typical crash goes like this - my blood pressure peers over the edge, contemplates the alternatives, and then plummets. It is secretively a sadomasichistic entity that loves to torture itself and the body in which it dwells by climbing peaks and throwing itself off of them, never knowing where it will land. I develop a headache that makes my migraines look appealing and that is impervious to pain medicine. Laying absolutely flat - no pillows, no incline at all- in a pitch dark room and not moving a muscle can take a little of the edge off of the headache. I am dizzy and if I try to move into an upright position frequently tap dance very close to passing out. Nausea follows the headache, and last night I ended up vomiting. Impressively, I vomited in the dark into a trash bag lined garbage can and did not miss a drop - nothing on the bed, nothing on me. I am a professional. My heart rate does weird things during these crashes and it frequently alternates between skipping beats and throwing extra ones in for the fun of it. This started at about 4pm yesterday and the fun did not end until sometime around 6am. I finally fell asleep around 3:30am after being able to slip some meds into my stomach and convincing it to keep them down, but at that point I still had the massive headache.
Today I am in the "hangover" phase in which it feels very much like I have done 10 rounds in a boxing ring, then gotten run over by a semi truck as I crawled home. I slept basically all day today as my body tried to reset itself, and I have been having to try to push fluids to make up all the ones I lost out on. If I am going to feel this hungover, I at least want the night of drinking before hand and the embarrassing stories to go along with it. Preferrably with pictures and or video. I have never even been near drunk, but I know what a hangover must feel like, including the little man who pranced in a field of manure and then danced a jig in my mouth while I slept last night. Evil little creature!  The frustrating thing is that, while I can avoid known triggers of these crashes, they still happen out of nowhere and slam me hard and fast and viciously. All that seeking ER treatment would do would establish IV fluids, there is no other treatment plan for these crashes as any medication administered has a risk of triggering another extreme reaction. I do have access to zofran, pain medication, and reglan at home but they only do so much. This is a part of living with Dysautonomia that few people see, that few people understand, and that does not neatly fit on a checklist of daily living skills for assessment.

According to the government of this great country, I do not qualify as being disabled. I have been denied Social Security Disability and now must begin the oh so fun process of appealing. Looking at my alphabet soup of medical conditions and the severity of the dysautonomia and dystonia I would really hate to see how ill they would like me to be for me to qualify on the first go round. I am working with a company that deals with Social Security Disability, courtesy of my Long Term Insurance company, and so today we began the additional reams of paperwork over the phone. I think I am now responsible for killing an entire acre of the Amazon Rainforest for all of the paperwork completed. My medical records may be responsible for half of the deforestation. So as she is asking me questions we have the following conversation.
Her: Could you do your previous job today?
Me: **Laughter** Oh wait, you are serious? Lets see, I can't hold my arms over my head to blow dry my hair but sure I can pick up and position children weighing 50+ pounds. It was full contact teaching, not sitting at a desk and reading aloud to students.
Her: Could you work for 8 hours?
Me: **Laughter** In one day? Or across a week? There are days my blood pressure is so low I can not sit upright, and I take two strong antinarcoleptic medications and still sleep 16+ hours a day most days. Plus I don't have the ability to sit upright that long without severe pain.
Her: If you could work would you?
Me: **Indignant snort** Do you really think that at 29 I would rather spend most of my days stuck in this house or doing the job that I got the best education in the world to prepare for and loved more than anything?

I think one big issue with my application  is that even with all of the diagnositc testing and specialists we have yet to arrive at a clear cut diagnosis. We can diagnose the symptoms, we can treat symptoms, but we can not identify the main disease or disorder that is causing all of the damage. It is believed to be something genetic but beyond that we have eliminated but not identified.

My biggest fear, or concern, is that I had been praying to qualify for Medicare before my COBRA insurance coverage runs out. Michigan is a "skip state" which means something like we skip the first appeal and go straight to the second and more comprehensive appeal. This translates to a process that generally takes 7-34 months. Without access to health insurance, it will be a mute point to determine if I am disabled or not. I am holding on as hard as I can to God's promise to provide for all of our needs in His perfect timing.

Unlike the world's cutest now eight year old pictured above, I can only fall asleep sitting up on the rarest of occasions. In fact, tonight I can not sleep period. I feel like a character in a bad Dr. Seuss book on sleep.
"I can not got to sleep tonight
My sleeping thing is just not right.
I could not, would not in the bed
Not with a fancy pillow for my head
I could not, would not on the couch
That left me feeling like a grouch
I could not, would not on the floor
I can't get down there anymore
I could not, would not with my iPod
Not even after I politely asked God
I could not, would not with a guy
Well only cause none showed up for me to try
I could not, would not count the sheep
They went on strike with Little Bo Peep
I could not, would not with the prescription drugs
At maximum dosage I am not even buzzed
I just can not go to sleep tonight
And by now I am quite a fright
Please sleep let me try you out for a while
Insomnia is not my style!"

As if bad rhyming ala Dr. Seuss was not enough, you now get the priceless opportunity to read whatever comes floatng from the muck and the mire to the front of my addled brain and out my fingers. I probably should not have internet access when dealing with insomnia!


Randomimity

* I actually had to speak the phrase "Excuse me ma'am but could you please retrieve your dog from my leg" this week in the elevator. Apparently her dog did not have a banana in his pocket but was in fact very excited to see me and hopped right up on my foot rests and decided my leg made a hot afternoon date. I just thank God it was a miniature something and not a Great Dane!

* When picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy, the pharmacy tech sees me and automatically goes over to the spot for my last name and searches through it. We hit the motherload as he returned with a sack of meds. The sad part was when he asked me if ten sounded right for the number of prescriptions, not only did I have no idea if that was correct (God Bless Automatic Refills) but I also knew I would be back in a week or so for more.

*According to Social Security I am not considered Disabled. This sucks Ostrich Eggs and means we have to go through an appeal. It also makes me wonder how much more screwed up I need to be to qualify! I honestly think the problem is the lack of a cut and dry diagnosis. That and they are all could use some preparation H in a jumbo tub.

* While at the mall last week, I politely informed a man who kept stepping in front of me that I would not hesitate to run him over. He said I needed a horn, to which I replied he needed a rearview mirror to check before lane changes.

* I am such a total geek/nerd. With the iTunes gift cards I received for Christmas I have been downloading documentaries that I never get to see in a theater because I live in The Middle of Nowhere, Michigan. Just like I prefer nonfiction books to fiction books, I prefer documentaries to regular movies.

* I scared and confused the crap out of a small child while shopping at the mall. There was an item hanging from a high rack that I wanted and no one anywhere to be found willing to help me. However, there was a child about three or four years old staring at me intently from the child seat of a shopping cart. So I did my "Amazing Standing Cripple" act and unbuckled my feet, undid my seatbelt and held on to the rack while I stood up long enough to grab what I needed. When I looked over at the poor child she had a look of pure confusion and shock on her tiny features that in all honesty was hilarious to me. I want to hear how her mommy explained that one to her!

I am not a fan of New Year's Resolutions because they are generally unrealistic changes that result in a sense of failure by the end of the month. Besides, if something in my life needs a change why should I wait until a specific day of the year to change it? I do like the idea of an entire year spreading before me untouched, unwritten, unformed, rich in possibilities and hopes and dreams. I like beginnings and fresh starts, but really we get those every morning when the sun rises and we are given another day.
Things I would like to accomplish in the new year are a renewed sense of appreciation for everything in my life. I have recently (starting sporadically last year and consistently in October) begun listing 5 things every day that I am thankful for that are specific or connected to that day. It makes me recognize the multitude of little blessings as well as the big ones. So that is my "resolution". I could add that I would love to try my wheelchair out at a skate park and see how much air I can catch before I (fail to) land, or that I really would like a diagnosis - even a custom made one just to humor me would be appreciated like "yurskreewid disease", or that I would love to watch the weight I have added from taking steroids and other meds to increase my blood pressure combined with limited activity melt away but really I first need to learn to love myself however I am. Besides, failling to launch myself into hang time or getting a diagnosis or lose weight are in a lot of ways out of my hands, but gratitude is within my control.
And so for the record, today I am thankful for all of you who are reading this, for tylenol to bring down my daily fevers (yes, I know I need to call the doctor as these have been going on for over a month), for every step I am still able to take even though they require assistance, for the escape in music and audiobooks, and for hope and dreams.