Stable Layne Pt 8 #UseYourWords

Welcome to March's Use Your Words post. This is how it works: participating bloggers submit four to six words or short phrases for a fellow blogger to use to write a blog post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own unique set of words. All words are assigned randomly and nobody knows which blogger will receive the words they submitted.

My words are:

stamp ~ legal ~ suave ~ mercy ~ lost ~ wild

They were submitted by: Jenniy of https://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com (Thank you for such awesome words, and I promise to do them justice in my actual Stable Layne installment! I am sorry for the delay!)

The title of this post is false advertising, and I apologize. I knew I was going to have a crazy few weeks, and I had asked Karen for my prompt early, so I could work ahead. I had done very well with working ahead on every post, except for this one. I have been working away on it, but it is not done. I still have three words left to work into it. Murphy's Law often catches up to me. This is no exception. This post goes live in the morning, just a few hours from now, and I am not done. So, I had planned on simply finishing it up, and getting it scheduled. Then life happened.

If you follow my blog's Facebook page, you know that I have been having some health issues lately, beyond my regular health issues. I guess, in the grand scheme of things, it could definitely be worse. I think legal issues would definitely be worse. They tend to be stressful, costly, and not always easily fixed. At least with health issues, you can get to answers, with the right doctors. If there is one thing I can say, it is that I have been blessed with some magnificent doctors. In the end, I am at the mercy of fate, and that is not always a good thing, but at least I have some excellent doctors on my side.

As you probably know, several weeks ago, it was discovered that I have a rare disease wreaking havoc in my abdomen. We have been fighting it with medicines, and I will soon go for further tests, to see how well they have helped, and if I will need surgery to further my recovery from the damage it caused, while running wild throughout my abdomen. My doctor and I, are choosing to remain optimistic, that we may be able to avoid surgery altogether. This would be most excellent, since any and all surgeries are beyond risky for me, with my troubles with blood clots.

Of course, with me, nothing can ever go easy. I somehow ended up with an abscess in my abdomen, a few weeks ago, and that definitely through me for a loop. They have no clue what caused it, and though they think it could be a byproduct of the disease in my abdomen, its location does not exactly make the connection a definite. Thankfully, it seems to be healing well, and it is no longer causing much pain. However, it is definitely taking a very long time to fully heal, and the incision has not even closed yet. The good news is that there are no signs of infection, which is the most important thing. The slow healing is probably caused by my blood thinner and the steroids I am taking to treat the abdominal disease. Both of those medicines slow the body's healing capabilities, so it is not too alarming that I have an injury which is healing slowly. Mind you, it is a tad worrisome, because the longer it remains open and unhealed, the longer is remains susceptible to infection.

Then, as luck would have it, my body decided that a rare abdominal disease and a slow healing abscess was simply not enough, and my heart decided to start acting crazy. I was hospitalized in 2014, because my heart was not cooperating. I lived through a scary few days, but the fix was a pretty simple one. They put me on a different blood thinner, one that also helped with heart issues, and it seemed to get my heart right back on the correct track. I have been fine since. Now, I am having the same issues I was having then, only a bit worse this time around, and the fix isn't quite as simple. At least not yet. We are still going through the testing phase, and still working to pinpoint exactly what is wrong, and exactly where the problems are. 

For now, they have added a new heart medication to my routine, to work with the blood thinner. It seems to be working just fine. Though, my heart isn't quite back on its best behavior yet. I am certain the cardiologist will need to experiment with the dose, to find the right one, or maybe even try a different medicine entirely. I am also hooked to a heart monitor full-time, for at least a month, and I will just go on the record that I hate it. I have mostly gotten used to it, but at night, I really hate it. It is hard to sleep with these wires and boxes connected to my body. All hope is not lost though, as worse case scenario, I get fully exhausted and fall asleep. Some nights, I am lucky, and I just sort of fall asleep almost like normal. 

Another thing you know, if you have followed my blog, is that due to dozes of bilateral pulmonary embolisms, back in 2010, my lungs are scarred and my breathing is sometimes affected. Plus, when I battle pneumonia, I tend to get very sick from it, because my lungs just cannot handle the stress of the sickness. Well, my cardiologist just informed me that breathing issues can impact our heart. So, I had to see a pulmonary specialist. I was shocked to discover that I have asthma. Pretty severe asthma. Which obviously explains why I often struggle to breathe. I just figured it was due to all the scar tissue, and did not think too much about it beyond that. So, now I am on daily inhalers and a daily pill. Fingers crossed they work some magic and help my lungs heal and grow strong again. I go next week for a nuclear lung test and a comprehensive breathing test. I am very curious to see what we learn from them. I especially want to see if my lungs have improved any over the last two years. I also have to go for a sleep study, which I am really not looking forward to. Sleep studies will never get my stamp of approval. I think they are one of the worst things ever. I definitely prefer to sleep without any wires attached, and in my own bed.

So, the final straw in my somewhat camel like back, that led to this post's title being false advertisement, was something that happened early this evening. One of the things that has been happening with my heart, is that I have been getting pains. They aren't the most horrible chest pains. Mostly just quick, intense pains. They often happen during or after I have a tachycardia episode. Well, earlier, I had a super terrible, and long lasting chest pain. It was awful. I felt like I was having a heart attack. My entire left arm went numb, my face went numb, my legs went numb, and I could barely breathe. It lasted for several minutes, and I hated it. Chad was very soothing and helpful. Once it was over, I just knew that I was not going to be able to finish my Stable Layne post. I actually put a lot of thought into those posts. I tend to know what is going to happen, I just don't know how it is going to translate into words. Plus, I have to make sure to use my specific words, that I am assigned. I have most of it written, but I still have two words left to use, and it just is not quite done.

So, here we are. I made the decision to turn this into a post, where I ramble about my issues  update you all on what has been going on, and apologize profusely for the delayed Stable Layne installment. I will spend time this weekend finishing it. I will edit this post, to add a link at the end, to the actual part 8 post, and I will also share the post on my Facebook page. I am sorry that you saw the title, and maybe got a bit excited to find out what was happening with sweet Layne and suave Damon, and then just got loaded down with my health drama. I just felt it would not be fair for me to simply rush to finish it, when I am not feeling my best, and not at my best mentally. I think you will get a much better product, if I finish the post this weekend.

If you could send some positive vibes my way, I would really appreciate it. I could use some goodness right now. Mostly, I just really hope they get all the answers they need, from all these tests. We know my heart is not circulating enough blood, and that my blood is not oxygenating properly. We need to find out exactly what areas of my heart are struggling, why they are struggling, and the full extent of the issues. My arms (most frequently the right), hands, legs, and feet are having major circulation issues, and often go numb and turn purple/blue and freezing cold. So obviously, circulation is an issue. It is possible that the tachycardia is just my heart trying to circulate an adequate blood supply. Why I also have bradycardia episodes is a mystery. Why there are issues is a mystery. Really, everything is a mystery. Hopefully, we solve the mysteries and fix the issues quickly. 

There are a lot of unknowns with my health, and I genuinely feel it is all linked, versus being a bunch of different issues. I just really hope they figure out the link, and we can then solve all the problems. There has to be a root cause, especially since two common things involved with most my issues are my blood/veins/arteries/circulatory system and my immune system (autoimmune issues). Sometimes, I really wish Gregory House were real, and I were under his care. I am sure he would have a lot of fun with my case, and I am certain he could figure it out. Wouldn't that be lovely?! 

Okay, enough about me. Please, tell me what has been up in your world?! 

Don't forget to go see what words my fellow bloggers were assigned, and how they used them. I will meet you there, but first I need more coffee. These days, coffee is my saving grace. Keep an eye out for the actual Stable Layne installment. I will add the link to this post, and share the post on Facebook!! I promise it will be worth the wait!!

Links to March's other “Use Your Words” posts:

Baking In A Tornado

Bookworm in the Kitchen

On the Border

Cognitive Script

Southern Belle Charm

The Blogging 911

Part-Time Working Hockey Mom

Climaxed