Monday, June 30, 2014
Following us?
I decided to check up on this blog today, and realized that we are still getting views here! Wow! While we no longer update this blog, we do have another one! Come check us out over at www.mormonjourneyoffaith.blogspot.com We'd love to "see" you over there!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
I wanted to update everyone on Stewart's condition.
As of today he has gone 18 1/2 weeks without passing out!!!
We found a doctor in town that was able to prescribe him a medication that absolutely changed our LIVES!!! He has A-Typical Narcolepsy. Who would have known that a single pill could change things so much?!
Stewart has lost 60 lbs and is now searching for a job! If any of you know of anything, let us know! We're up for anything. He's been cleared to do anything and everything!
Thank you so much for all of your help. We are forever grateful.
As of today he has gone 18 1/2 weeks without passing out!!!
We found a doctor in town that was able to prescribe him a medication that absolutely changed our LIVES!!! He has A-Typical Narcolepsy. Who would have known that a single pill could change things so much?!
Stewart has lost 60 lbs and is now searching for a job! If any of you know of anything, let us know! We're up for anything. He's been cleared to do anything and everything!
Thank you so much for all of your help. We are forever grateful.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Our Lives Post Mayo
I wish I could sit here and tell you all that we have fixed Stewart. I really wish that I could. Unfortunately, I can't. All I can tell you is that we know what is happening. How to fix it is another story.
When we were in Minnesota, none of the tests they did showed anything wrong. None of them. We were really discouraged. That's why we haven't written on here very much since. We all had such high hopes that we would be able to figure out what was going on, and when we came home we would have a plan to help. It was really hard to come home and be in the same position we were in before. Really hard.
We were told by the doctor that he didn't know how to find out what was wrong. He talked to our doctor in Salt Lake, and they decided to take his blood pressure a lot. We have a home monitor so, I started to take it when he started to feel sick. On 3 readings within 5 minutes of eachother I got these results (in order) 194/149, 80/43, 117/73. Here is a quote from The American Heart Association "Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg... is considered optimal for adults. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated (high).Optimal blood pressure with respect to cardiovascular risk is less than 120/80 mm Hg... However, unusually low readings should be evaluated to rule out medical causes."
So Stewart's range from dangerously high to dangerously low to normal. What happens is it spikes and he feels really crappy, then it drops and he passes out, then it will either spike really high again and wake him up and repeat the same thing over and over again, or it will go back to normal, leaving him with a horrible headache, but fine.
They started him on blood pressure pills to raise his blood pressure, but decided that that wasn't smart, because it already raised so much on it's own. They don't want to put him on pills to lower it because of the same reasons.
We are waiting to hear back from his doctor in Minnesota tomorrow. Hopefully he will have a plan. He said that this is really rare and they aren't sure how to treat it.
We appreciate everything that everyone has done for us, and we hope to be able to tell you better news next time!
When we were in Minnesota, none of the tests they did showed anything wrong. None of them. We were really discouraged. That's why we haven't written on here very much since. We all had such high hopes that we would be able to figure out what was going on, and when we came home we would have a plan to help. It was really hard to come home and be in the same position we were in before. Really hard.
We were told by the doctor that he didn't know how to find out what was wrong. He talked to our doctor in Salt Lake, and they decided to take his blood pressure a lot. We have a home monitor so, I started to take it when he started to feel sick. On 3 readings within 5 minutes of eachother I got these results (in order) 194/149, 80/43, 117/73. Here is a quote from The American Heart Association "Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg... is considered optimal for adults. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated (high).Optimal blood pressure with respect to cardiovascular risk is less than 120/80 mm Hg... However, unusually low readings should be evaluated to rule out medical causes."
So Stewart's range from dangerously high to dangerously low to normal. What happens is it spikes and he feels really crappy, then it drops and he passes out, then it will either spike really high again and wake him up and repeat the same thing over and over again, or it will go back to normal, leaving him with a horrible headache, but fine.
They started him on blood pressure pills to raise his blood pressure, but decided that that wasn't smart, because it already raised so much on it's own. They don't want to put him on pills to lower it because of the same reasons.
We are waiting to hear back from his doctor in Minnesota tomorrow. Hopefully he will have a plan. He said that this is really rare and they aren't sure how to treat it.
We appreciate everything that everyone has done for us, and we hope to be able to tell you better news next time!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Mayo Clinic
Well, we're back! We went out to the Mayo Clinic for 8 days, and we are finally all settled in again.
I tried to put more updates on here while we were gone, but the computer I was using didn't want to work very well.
We had a lot of tests done and we found out....
Not much! We are taking Stewart's blood pressure every time he passes out to see how low it drops. It's kind of an art getting the timing just right, and I'm still working on that, but hopefully we'll get some good readings in the next few days and be able to report back to the doctor in Minnesota. They are pretty sure that he has a blood pressure problem on top of some Cardiology problems.
It was a long trip. We learned a lot, and hopefully we are now one step closer to finding out what is wrong with Stewart, and to getting him better.
I tried to put more updates on here while we were gone, but the computer I was using didn't want to work very well.
We had a lot of tests done and we found out....
Not much! We are taking Stewart's blood pressure every time he passes out to see how low it drops. It's kind of an art getting the timing just right, and I'm still working on that, but hopefully we'll get some good readings in the next few days and be able to report back to the doctor in Minnesota. They are pretty sure that he has a blood pressure problem on top of some Cardiology problems.
It was a long trip. We learned a lot, and hopefully we are now one step closer to finding out what is wrong with Stewart, and to getting him better.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Minnesota
So, we've been in Minnesota since Tuesday night. It's been a crazy couple of days, so I haven't had a chance to update anyone, but here ya go! What we've done since we got here:
Tuesday:
The plane rides were good. We spent the whole day getting on and off planes. It was tiring, but Stewart was able to make it through the airports without too many problems. We got to our hotel at about 11:15 pm and decided that we were going to just go to bed, and go to the ER in the morning.
Wednesday:
We got up in the morning and went into St. Mary's Hospital's Emergency Room. (We had to do this so that we could get an appointment with the doctor faster.) We got right in and they took us back to a room. There was a sign on the wall that said that EVERY patient had to get dressed in a gown, so we were expecting someone to come give us one or something. Instead a nurse came in and asked us what was going on. While we were telling her about Stewart, the Doctor came in. We finished telling them what was going on, and they told us to just go over to the Mayo Clinic (which is a separate building) and check to see if there happened to be a missed appointment for the Cardiologist.
We went to the Clinic, got checked in, and sat and waited from 12:30 to just before 4. Stewart was in a wheelchair, because he wasn't feeling well. I had to go to the bathroom, so I asked the lady at the desk to keep an eye on him. When I came back, I found Stewart on the floor with 3 different ladies around him. He had passed out and fell out of his chair! Soon an ambulance came. We decided that since we had waited all day for an appointment and we still hadn't gotten one, that we'd go the the ER again. The ride in the ambulance was uneventful, which was good. The guy that was first on the scene after Stewart passed out, said that he felt Stewart's heart out of rhythm.
When we got to the ER, they did an EKG, chest X-Ray, and gave him an IV. Eventually they decided that they needed to keep him over night to watch him. (You wouldn't believe how HUGE this hospital is! It's seriously a 1/2 mile down a few hallways from the ER to where his room was!) Another doctor came in to talk to us, and we told him the whole story again. He scheduled a bunch of tests, and then released us! It was the shortest hospital stay ever!
Thursday:
We got up early in the morning, and Stewart got a Holter Monitor on. Then, we got blood drawn. Then he had an Echocardiogram done. Then after lunch, we waited in the waiting room at the Neurologist's office to try and get an appointment with one of them. We waited for almost 4 hours there. When they were no longer taking patients, we walked around a little street fair they do on Thursdays and went back to the hotel. You wouldn't think that waiting around is tiring, but it is.
Friday:
I am sitting in an office waiting room at St. Mary's. Stewart is having a Tilt Table Test done. It checks how his blood pressure reacts to changing angles quickly. He's going to be back there for a little bit longer, so I'm just passing the time! This afternoon at 4, we get to meet with a Cardiologist! We are so excited! I hope that we get some answers from him. We're told he's really good. He trained with one of our cardiologist's in UT! Cross your fingers for us!
Tuesday:
The plane rides were good. We spent the whole day getting on and off planes. It was tiring, but Stewart was able to make it through the airports without too many problems. We got to our hotel at about 11:15 pm and decided that we were going to just go to bed, and go to the ER in the morning.
Wednesday:
We got up in the morning and went into St. Mary's Hospital's Emergency Room. (We had to do this so that we could get an appointment with the doctor faster.) We got right in and they took us back to a room. There was a sign on the wall that said that EVERY patient had to get dressed in a gown, so we were expecting someone to come give us one or something. Instead a nurse came in and asked us what was going on. While we were telling her about Stewart, the Doctor came in. We finished telling them what was going on, and they told us to just go over to the Mayo Clinic (which is a separate building) and check to see if there happened to be a missed appointment for the Cardiologist.
We went to the Clinic, got checked in, and sat and waited from 12:30 to just before 4. Stewart was in a wheelchair, because he wasn't feeling well. I had to go to the bathroom, so I asked the lady at the desk to keep an eye on him. When I came back, I found Stewart on the floor with 3 different ladies around him. He had passed out and fell out of his chair! Soon an ambulance came. We decided that since we had waited all day for an appointment and we still hadn't gotten one, that we'd go the the ER again. The ride in the ambulance was uneventful, which was good. The guy that was first on the scene after Stewart passed out, said that he felt Stewart's heart out of rhythm.
When we got to the ER, they did an EKG, chest X-Ray, and gave him an IV. Eventually they decided that they needed to keep him over night to watch him. (You wouldn't believe how HUGE this hospital is! It's seriously a 1/2 mile down a few hallways from the ER to where his room was!) Another doctor came in to talk to us, and we told him the whole story again. He scheduled a bunch of tests, and then released us! It was the shortest hospital stay ever!
Thursday:
We got up early in the morning, and Stewart got a Holter Monitor on. Then, we got blood drawn. Then he had an Echocardiogram done. Then after lunch, we waited in the waiting room at the Neurologist's office to try and get an appointment with one of them. We waited for almost 4 hours there. When they were no longer taking patients, we walked around a little street fair they do on Thursdays and went back to the hotel. You wouldn't think that waiting around is tiring, but it is.
Friday:
I am sitting in an office waiting room at St. Mary's. Stewart is having a Tilt Table Test done. It checks how his blood pressure reacts to changing angles quickly. He's going to be back there for a little bit longer, so I'm just passing the time! This afternoon at 4, we get to meet with a Cardiologist! We are so excited! I hope that we get some answers from him. We're told he's really good. He trained with one of our cardiologist's in UT! Cross your fingers for us!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Graditude
So I have been thinking a lot about all of the nice things that everyone has done for us. I am so grateful for everyone of you and all you have done we have the best friends and family. I was thinking about it the other day and I was telling Ciera how amazing it is that right now our economy is screwed up, but everyone has gone out of their ways to help us and give us the hope and money that we need to go out to the Mayo Clinic and do everything that we can to fix me. Thank you all so much.
In the past few months, we have had people that we don't know, people that we barely know, and people that we consider family and that are family step up to the plate to help us. The news doesn't show much goodness, but they should. I know that there are more people out there like those around us, and those people deserve some recognition! If the news took one day to tell only uplifting stories, the world would be a better place. I think that we all get caught up in looking at the negative, but everyone that has helped us has showed us all of the positive that surrounds us.
Thank you so much for your prayers, your support, and everything else! We truly love you all!
In the past few months, we have had people that we don't know, people that we barely know, and people that we consider family and that are family step up to the plate to help us. The news doesn't show much goodness, but they should. I know that there are more people out there like those around us, and those people deserve some recognition! If the news took one day to tell only uplifting stories, the world would be a better place. I think that we all get caught up in looking at the negative, but everyone that has helped us has showed us all of the positive that surrounds us.
Thank you so much for your prayers, your support, and everything else! We truly love you all!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Booked Our Stuff!
Minnesota is getting closer! We're going to go in about a week. (I don't know everyone that reads this, so I'm not going to put dates... Our house is going to be watched though!)
It seems surreal that we are going to go so soon! Stewart could get better soon! We have hope. Something that we haven't had in a long time. Our lives right now are surrounded by anticipation. That anticipation brings A LOT of stress with it! I have to wean the baby, because there are too many unknown illnesses at the Mayo Clinic. Stewart called them today to make sure that we could get into see a doctor before we got tickets and everything, and the lady he talked to said that there were three cases of leprosy just recently!
So, we've had a productive day. Stewart is still passing out a lot, it's weird because he just keeps getting worse. We keep hoping that we'll just wake up and he'll be better, but so far the opposite has happened.
I just know that he will get better. We've been through too much for him to not get better!
It seems surreal that we are going to go so soon! Stewart could get better soon! We have hope. Something that we haven't had in a long time. Our lives right now are surrounded by anticipation. That anticipation brings A LOT of stress with it! I have to wean the baby, because there are too many unknown illnesses at the Mayo Clinic. Stewart called them today to make sure that we could get into see a doctor before we got tickets and everything, and the lady he talked to said that there were three cases of leprosy just recently!
So, we've had a productive day. Stewart is still passing out a lot, it's weird because he just keeps getting worse. We keep hoping that we'll just wake up and he'll be better, but so far the opposite has happened.
I just know that he will get better. We've been through too much for him to not get better!
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