Railroad Wife, Railroad Life

A week and 1 year ago today, I received my final wake up call.  Pictures from Mother's Day were posted on Facebook and I could no longer deny that I needed to do something about my weight.  My clothes were no longer fitting.  I'd actually just gone shopping for clothes for our cruise and it was so unpleasant.  I cried because clothes weren't fitting like they should unless I went up to the next size.  Even then I hated what I saw in the mirror.  I'm so thankful I had someone to help me out of my hole.  Not only has she helped me completely transform on the outside, she's also loved me where I'm at and given me some direction to grow as a person. On June 6th, it will be 1 year since I started my first 24-day challenge.  During those 24 days, I lost 12 pounds and 13 1/2 inches.  10 of those pounds alone were toxins that processed foods left in my intestines.  Since that first challenge, I've used clean eating as a guide post and contin...

Why are we so offendable?  Why are we so quick to excuse our own shortcomings, but condemn the shortcomings of others?  As a rule, almost everyone has a touch of narcissism within them.  Why wouldn't we though?  We are taught to look out for number one, all others be damned.  That's what society teaches us, but what about God?  I ask these questions for myself as much as anyone else.  Like the rest of the world, I struggle the "all about me" mentality.  However, I'm starting to realize that changing my attitude and giving a little grace is worth far more than self satisfaction or having the last word. The first time I heard the phrase "What the world needs now is grace", I didn't know what that meant.  I was 18 and thought grace was just something you said before dinner.  16 years later, I've started to realize grace is a wonderful gift God gives us every day.  It's also a wonderful gift He gives us so we may pass it on to others....

Yesterday Kennedy and I were up in Cincinnati again.  We started the day off with a renal ultrasound, followed by a VCUG and Spina Bifida Clinic.  The main purpose of the VCUG was to see if Kennedy's bladder is refluxing urine into her kidney's when her bladder is full. This was our first clinic since Kennedy's cord dethering/cyst removal and shunt surgeries.  One of the highlights was getting to see our Fetal Care Center Case Worker, Erin.  She was shadowing our Social Worker for the afternoon.  This was the first time she'd seen Kennedy with her walker.  I know I've said this before, but every single person who helped us through the decision to have fetal surgery will forever have a special place in our hearts. The urodynamics test from 2 weeks ago and the VCUG showed that Kennedy is still not completely voiding her bladder on her own.  The Urologist did say that her bladder does look much better than it did during the renal ultrasound in August ...

We've been fortunate not to have to head up to Cincinnati for anything yet this year.  However, this trip yesterday was the first of 3 that will be made in the next month.  Yesterday morning Kennedy had a sedated MRI.  After the MRI she had a urodynamics test done and a follow-up with Dr. Stevenson, her Neurosurgeon. The brain scan on the MRI showed her shunt is draining too much fluid and her ventricles went from being too big to too small.  After the MRI we went up to the Neurosugery Department to have Kennedy's shunt reset(the magnets in the MRI machine automatically shut it off).  The Resident programmed the shunt to a lower setting in hopes that it would correct the issue with Kennedy's ventricle sizes. We won't get any of the results from the Urodynamics test until March 14th, when we go back to Cincinnati for Spina Bifida clinic. Dr. Stevenson was very pleased with the images of Kennedy's spine.  This was her first MRI since she had her cord de...

Normally I don't talk a lot about my dad.  It will be 4 years on the 25th of this month since he passed away unexpectedly.  I still remember that day very vividly.  My husband had just been transferred from Chattanooga, TN to Danville, WV.  I was still in Tennessee and was spending the evening with my friend Star, her husband, and her mom.  I first got a phone call from my Aunt, my dad's sister.  She told me my Grandma, my dad's mom, had received a phone call from my little sister saying my dad was in emergency surgery at a hospital in Pueblo, CO.  My sister had received a call from our stepsister who was a surgical nurse at the hospital.  She had instructed my sister not to call anyone, but she called my Grandma anyway.  My Aunt said she'd called the hospital and all they would tell her was that he was there.  HIPPAA laws prevented them from telling her anything else.  While I was on the phone with my Aunt, my little sister called ...

Just like we were told to ask our parents where they were the Day JFK was assasinated, I anticipate the day my children come home and ask me where I was on 9/11.  While the beginnings of the day are still vague, I remember sitting in my dorm room at UNLV.  My suitemate, Julie, had told us that something had happened.  Not realizing the full meaning of what had happened, I went to my first class.  When I returned, my roommate and both suitemates were in our dorm room watching the news.  It was then that I realized exactly what had happened to our country that day. Like most Americans, I thought the World Trade Center was untouchable.  There had been bombing attempts before that failed to take the buildings down.  Watching the towers crumble, it was a harsh reality that life was we knew it was over. In the days that followed, I remember Las Vegas being a ghost town.  It used to take at least an hour to get from one end of the strip to the other. ...

As most of you all know, we were in Cincinnati two weeks ago for Spina Bifida clinic, some Urology testing, and for a consultation with a plastic surgeon.  Kennedy will be having surgery the end of September (I was told the 25th, but that could change) and the plastic surgeon will be cleaning up her fetal surgery repair site. During clinic the Physical Therapist Doctor said she wants Kennedy to have another Manual Muscle Test done before surgery.  This will be done to get a baseline on her mobility before surgery.  It's an important step to making sure the cyst removal has given her back whatever mobility has been lost due to their presence.  As of right now we have that scheduled for the 18th of September.  However that could change. Last week I received a call from the Urology Department regarding the results of Kennedy's urodynamics test and her renal ultrasound.  Unfortunately Kennedy is no longer completely voiding her bladder and is being put on a...