Happy 11th Birthday Dominic!!!!!

11 Things I love about D.:

1. His smile. It's contagious.
2. His personality, he can make anyone laugh.
3. His love for cooking, he helps with dinner 2 nights a week.
4. His tea. He makes me the best hot tea. He knows how I like; even I can't make it like him.
5. His love for me, he never seems to get embarrassed about me and my O2 or having to use a scooter in the stores.
6. That he's still young enough to want to lay in bed and watch TV with me and gives kisses and hugs when I ask for them before h goes to bed.
7. That he's old enough now to carry on a conversation with.
8. That he keeps his room some what clean.
9. That he helps with the house chores with out putting up too much of a fight.
10. That he seems to be liked a lot by his peers.
11. Mostly that he is my son and I believe he is one of the best kids out there his age.

3 things I'm Happy for today:

• My son, Happy Birthday little man. May we have many more together.
• Having the house ALL to myself today while Mike and Dominic are at NASCAR.
• The weather starting to warm up a bit.

Lordy, Lordy

Lordy Lordy Look who finally hit the 130's?!?!?!


139.8 to be exact!!! Finally after all these years! I did it!! Go Me!!!


3 Things I'm happy for:

1. My health even though it's not the best.
2. My family for always being there for me.
3. My determination in losing this weight.

New Doctor, New Treatment, New Diet

So I went to see Dr. Alwa today to go over a new approach to my disease. I gave the doctor from Tibet 4 months and didn't see any improvement other than my weight lose and actually I started feeling more tired so I decided to see a new doc. She also treats with natural herbs and diet but her approach is more from China than Tibet. To me that wouldn't mean much because I thought they were all in the same when it came to Asian medicine but I guess its very different.

Anyhow to make a long story short, i really like her. She's an American and has 2 doctorates I believe she said one in pathology and one in biology. Then she sort of strayed away from traditional medicine and started studying Chinese medicine and herbal therapy. She's really cute probably 4'11 (makes me feel tall LOL) long blonde hair and real easy going.

So with a new plan means new diet and herbs. Luckily these herbs I can swallow (no,chewing rocks anymore). The diet part is much easier than I was one but now I fear that I will start gaining weight back so I will probably still stay away from some of the carbs. So I have to take about 6 different enzyme pills a day and drink a teaspoon of this other stuff right after my meals and go from there. She said she found Candida in my chest and urine, which is like a parasite I guess. This could be a lot of the reason why I cough and have chest (lung) problems. So she is hoping with proper diet and these new pills I will kill the parasites and start feeling better. She doesn't make any promises on curing me of my disease (which she shouldn't because there isn't a cure) but does believe that she can help me have a better quality of life. So I am happy with that. Like I said I will anything 3 good months (4 maybe like I did before) and see if I do feel anything change. If not all I simply have to do is quit and go back to traditional medicine which I still do any way.

So here's my new diet:

• NO sugars: all sugars except stevia.
• No Fruit or Fruit Juices: because it is loaded in sugar. This is going to be hard because I live on fruit now.
• No Veggies high in sugar: such as corn, carrots, yam/sweet potatoes, Beets (yuck wouldn't eat them anyway)
• No alcohol: man I'll miss my wine but hey I did all right before so maybe I'll still stick to a glass on Saturday's.
• No Yeast,Molds, and Fungi: no baker's yeast (bread), mushrooms (this will be hard, I'll miss my mushrooms), and molds in cheeses.
• No Dairy: but eggs are considered a poultry so I can have them. I'm getting used to the no dairy thing already. But this plan I can't have goat milk products like before.

Things that are a little different from before these things I can have:

• pork in fact all meats, and seafood and poultry
• eggs both whites and yokes
• all nuts
• beans
• peas
• rice yes even white rice again. :)
• flat breads w/out yeast added (I assume this is pita bread but I'll have to look into that one)
• Quality pasta made from semolina or whole Durham? Not to sure what this is
• all veggies other than the 4 mentioned up above.
• potatoes but not sweet or yam
• Did I mention I can't have any FRUIT AT ALL. That Blows!!!!

3 things I'm happy for:

• my parents for helping me pay for my medical expenses.
• my husband for being supportive in me trying to find relief from this disease.
• for a doctor truly trying to help me out, and not just trying to get me in and out quickly.

To you; To me

To be able to talk to a friend without getting winded
Too laugh so hard you get tears in your eyes or almost pee yourself
To be able to sing
To you this may come so easy but to me these are the things I pray and wish for

To take a shower with out sitting down
To be able to clean a house with out stopping
To walk up a flight of stairs with out having to stop
To go to the grocery store with out using a go cart
To be able to walk more than 15 feet with out getting winded
To be able to go for a walk with a dog
To you these may sound like “No Brainers” but to me these are things I pray and wish for

To exercise
To swim
To walk on a treadmill
To ride a bike
To rollerblade
To run a marathon
To you these may be things you hate to do but to me these are things I pray and wish for

To be able to dance
To enjoy sex with out worrying it may make me too winded
To enjoy the out doors
To go to an amusement park and be able to go on the rides
To you, you may take these for granted but to me these are things I pray and wish for

To be able to stand up longer than 10 minutes with out feeling light headed or winded
To not have a plastic tube coming out of my nose be part of my fashion statement
To not have an umbilical cord (nick name) attached to me and my O2 when I’m at home
To not have to plan my day outside the house around my oxygen tanks
To you these are probably things you never think about
But to me these are things I pray and wish

To be able to breathe again like a normal person
To you this may be so simple but to me it’s not and I pray and wish for it everyday.

3 day weekend

My 3 day weekend is coming too a close. Man it went too fast but I must say it was nice to do nothing. I actually take that back we did do stuff, but it wasn't cleaning like it normally is on weekends. We actually got to do some of the house work that we really have been wanting too get done but never have had a chance. It really is great that Michael has finally agreed to get help with the house cleaning. We got so much done this weekend it feels great. Plus we have been real good with trying too keep up with the keeping the house in order.

So this weekend we got the floors finally done, the spare bedroom all cleaned up and things hung on the walls, the patio and balcony cleaned up and organized, the laundry done, taught Dominic how to play cribbage and ended it all last time with a great dinner at Seneca and Candace's house. They are our neighbors that sadly we don't see enough of but finally our schedules allowed it and we went over for a great rib dinner and good wine and great conversation.

Today Michael had to work but Dominic and I have it off so we have been doing what we normally do on Sundays' which is relaxing and watching movies. Tonight we are going over to Rachel's because it is our nephew's 17Th birthday. Man, he's growing up so fast.

Speaking of Rachel her cousin Hillary is the one that helped me find my house cleaner. She cleans her house also and she also sees an alternative doctor for herself. She emailed me today after reading my last blog entry and wanted to know if I wanted to see her doctor. Hers is a little bit different than the Tibet doctor and the good news is she gives free consults so I told her I would love to see her doctor. Like I have mentioned in the past at this point in my disease I really have nothing to lose by trying other types of treatments. I'm am determined too find something that helps me. If I can't get on a transplant list yet because Dr. Yung says I'm still too "healthy" (yea right that's a joke healthy) then I will just keep trying other methods and hope that maybe there will be something out there to help me slow the process until I am put on a transplant list. Like I say all the time, I'm not leaving with out a fight and by trying different methods too deal with my disease is my fight then so be it. I'll try.

I'll keep you posted on this other alternative doctor and who knows maybe this will work for me. Going to take a nap then freshen up for my nephews little get together.

Until I can think of something else,
Carmen

3 things I'm happy about:

1. 3 day weekends.
2. neighbors that invite us over for good food, wine and friendship. Thanks Hall family you are awesome.
3. Hillary for possibly giving me a chance at slowing down this process in my lungs by giving me her doctors number. Thanks Girl!!!

R.I.P.

Rest in peace Anne Nicole. I may not have agreed on a lot of things you did in your personal life but you always seemed to make me laugh when I watched your show. My heart goes out too your new baby girl. Hopefully all your pain is gone now.

Carmen San Diego

3 things I'm happy for:

1: waking up this morning and not feeling so winded. I guess going to church and praying last night helped.

2: My mother in law, she always writes me the nicest letters.

3: The weather being warmer than 50 degrees finally.

Saw the Tibet doctor today

So I went too see the doctor from Tibet today. He said he can really see the weight loss in me and that my color looks better. I thanked him for the compliments but told him I didn't feel any difference in my breathing. I also told him I was having more headaches and cramps in my joints. He felt my pulse points for a long time and finally told me to stick to the diet but too quit the pills (herbs) for a month and then to call him and tell him how I feel after a month with no herbs. Maybe he thought that I was allergic to one of the plants that are in the herbs and that is why I wasn't feeling any better and/or feeling worse. The diet part he told me I was the most important part of the plan that he has put me on.

So, I'm sort of at a lost as to what my next plan is. I mean I'm still waiting for labs results but once those come in; what's next? I just don't see myself getting any better and so where do I go from there? I guess I can go and talk to Dr. Yung again the transplant doctor but he's just going to tell me that I'm still "to healthy" to get on the list. Maybe he wont who knows but I just seem to keep getting pushed around from doctor to doctor. I wish or hope that they find some other sort of medicine for me to try, but at this point I have tried everything so I'm just sort of stuck here, waiting. That's the hard part. The more I wait the more I think and then the more I think I more I drive myself insane with the what ifs of my so called life. It sucks. This whole disease sucks and it makes life suck.

But I stay positive for the sake of my family and I guess myself but it sure is hard at times. I mean I've been thrown a lot of curve balls and feel like I can only strike out so many times before I get kicked off the team.

Until I can think of something else to write,
Carmen
3 things I am happy for:

1. Dominic making me tea. He's so good at it.
2. Afternoons when I don't feel winded
3. American Idol because it proves that there are worse singers out there than me.

Breaking my New Years Resolution!!!

Well I have decided to break one of my New Years Resolution. The one where I said I'd write in here everyday and post 3 things I'm happy for. It just started to feel to much like a chore and I started to hate my blog. That's not me I love my blog. So I will post like I used too, when something I feel is important and I should share or when I just need to vent. So sorry I didn't last longer than a month but so far I have kept up with the rest of my resolutions with no problem. When I do post however I will write 3 things I'm happy about. That I wont give up because I feel if I end in a positive note then it'll keep me positive for the rest of the day or night depending on when I write. So stay tuned, I will write soon. I just need a bit of a break from feeling forced too write in here.

Until I can think of something else to write,
Carmen San Diego

Three things I'm happy about:

1. A good movie and a tall glass of wine.
2. A love song
3. My new house cleaners. They are great. They did a wonderful job today, although I really didn't want to get up and out of the house so early on a Saturday morning.