We made it to Oklahoma safe and sound and had a great visit with family there.  It started out with a 14 hour drive to my sister’s house in Edmond.  Owen, my 12 month old grandson, did pretty well on the drive.  He didn’t sleep much and his mamma worked hard to keep him occupied and happy, but overall he did well.  We visited with my sister’s family that night, then the next morning my Tulsa family arrived for brunch.  My cousin, Julie, was in Tulsa and planning to fly back home to Texas that day, but changed her flight to leave from Oklahoma city (OKC) instead so she could see all of us!  What a great surprise!  We all enjoyed our visit, then headed to downtown OKC for my niece, Averi’s graduation.  It was at a convention center downtown and she was one of 38 valedictorians!  So proud of her!  It was fun to watch her graduate, then we had a celebration back at the house in her honor.  Later that night we headed to my mom’s house in Talala, about a 2 hour drive.  We loved visiting my mom’s church on Sunday – we feel like they are family to us, too!  We so enjoyed seeing friends, and had a nice bonus – we found out that a couple we knew back during our college semester in Italy are members there now!  Howard and Doris Bybee – Howard was the director of the bible school  where we lived that semester in Florence, so we were around them quite a bit.  One of our favorite stories is how Howard called Chet and I into his office one day and spoke with us quite seriously about considering team mission work (as a married couple!) after we finished school.  We had only been dating for a couple of weeks at that point, so I think we had the “deer in the headlights” look about us!  We told Howard the story at church Sunday, and he laughed and said he must have thought we were already a married couple when we arrived that semester!  Maybe he could see something we didn’t know yet! 🙂  He was tickled to know that we are planning, Lord willing, to do full-time mission work after Chet retires in less than 4 years!  It was so much fun to see them again!  That evening, we had a family dinner at a Thai restaurant in Tulsa to celebrate Kinsey’s graduation with our Oklahoma family.  We had fun there, and then headed to my brother’s house and had a little early family birthday party for me!  They all sang Happy Birthday and also signed it to me!  It really touched my heart – apparently they sent a link around with the song in sign language so they could all practice!  Kinsey and I each had a cupcake with our baby pictures on it!  Another fun night!  The rest of the week was spent visiting, playing games, and relaxing.  We had some excitement on Monday with the tornadoes in the area.  Thankfully our family was all safe, in spite of the fact that a tornado touched down only 3 miles from where we were.  We were heart-broken and inspired by the events in Moore, OK that day along with the rest of the country.  We arrived back home on Thursday evening tired, but having had a wonderful time.   Friday was a busy day trying to get ready for the big graduation party here.  I had lots of help from Kinsey and Cody around the house and that made a huge difference!  We celebrated Jessi’s birthday as a family at a favorite Indian restaurant and then had dessert at home.  Yesterday we had somewhere around 45 friends and family over to help celebrate our sweet daughter’s high school and college graduation (she completed a 2 year AA degree)!  We are so proud of her, and it was a wonderful day of fellowship and food and celebrating her accomplishments!  Now my focus shifts to laundry and packing for a trip to Florida on Wednesday!  Lots to do between now and then, but can’t wait to spend some time with the Florida family and to celebrate my 2 niece’s graduations.  

I am adjusting quite well to the CPAP, I believe.   I have found the right spot for the mask to fit comfortably and barely even notice that I have it on.  While in OK I had some pretty bad muscle pain in my back – I think it’s from sleeping in positions I’m not used to and on beds I’m not used to.  I’m hoping that will improve once I settle back into my normal routine at home.  I’m still considering which diet plan I will be implementing when I get back.  I’m leaning right now toward counting calories and working at getting the right mix of protein, healthy fats and still keeping my carbs low, although not nearly as low as Atkin’s requires.  I plan to start working out in the pool at Lifetime Fitness then as well.  I feel like walking or working out in the water are the best ways right now for me to get moving.  I have a heart rate monitor that I can wear(can be worn in the water), so it will make it easy for me to stick with the guidelines the doctor game me about my heart rate while working out.  I’m still pretty short of breath – not as bad as it was around my hospitalization, but more like it was all last year.  I’m hoping that regular workouts will dramatically improve that.   

I am feeling blessed to have the opportunity to spend so much time with family and also feeling quite blessed to have raised 3 wonderful children!  Kinsey is our “baby” so we are at the end of the phase of our life where we are raising children in our home.  Now we get to relate to them as adults and enjoy watching them move into the next phase of their lives.   It’s such a content and wonderful feeling to see them all standing strong as faithful christians and responsible hard-working adults!  We are so very blessed!

My husband keeps teasing me about looking like Darth Vader’s sister, so I figured that would be a good title for my entry today!  Yesterday was the day I went to be outfitted with my new CPAP equipment.  For the uninitiated, that involves a two hour appointment where they introduce you to the machine that provides the pressure and a humidifier that works with ti, as well as the other attachments.  I definitely need the humidifier as I am a person who is dry almost all the time – to the point that I get gaggy when I scuba dive and breathe through a regulator or if I’m already less hydrated than usual then have to exert myself (ie running for a train in Europe!).  I also get too dry from something as simple as turning the ceiling fan on medium instead of low during the night.  Anyhow, no doubt the humidifier is important on the CPAP for me.  There are a couple of different types of tubing you can get, but I got one that helps regulate the temp of the humidity coming through the system for me.  Then there were 4 different types of masks that I tried.  Any of them would work for my needs, it was just a matter of choosing one that felt most comfortable and fit my face the best.  I had one picked out that seemed pretty good, then I tried the last one just to be sure and I was shocked at how much better the last one was for me.  Suddenly, I wasn’t even sure if the machine was on (it was!) because it was so comfortable and no leaks!   It was hands down the best fit for me.  I found out that I had 103 obstructed breathing incidents per hour during my sleep study which means I am considered to have severe sleep apnea!  Wow!  That was a shocker.  Apparently I don’t generally have complete cessation of breathing, but significant obstruction.  During the study I never entered REM sleep until I had the CPAP going.  I wonder if that means I haven’t had REM sleep in years?  I don’t know how that works but it will be something to ask the doctor on my follow up.  I know REM sleep is important, so I don’t know if you can go for years without it.  I need to study up on what happens during REM sleep to find out how that could have/has affected my health.  

Last night after I got home, I made sure that I could connect all of the pieces of the CPAP machine properly and get it all working for me. The person that programmed if for me told me to put it on when I am reading in bed before I go to sleep.  There is something called ramping where it starts at a slightly lower pressure than you need, but gradually builds (in a preset amount of time) to full pressure.  They set the ramp for me at 30 minutes.  When I went to bed, I dutifully put my mask on when I was supposed to, made sure my heater for the humidity was on and at the proper setting, and waited for the auto start to begin.  Once it did, I went to put on my reading glasses and realized that I can’t wear them with the mask.  There is a plastic piece that rests on my forehead and comes down my nose!  I was reading on my Nook, so I adjusted the font to read without my glasses for the time.  I will wait to put it on until after I read tonight and change the ramp time to 15 minutes instead!  I was fairly comfortable using the machine.  It takes a little getting used to – for me it was mostly getting used to having something on your head and face and being connected with a long tube.  I was able to sleep on my back with just one pillow and also roll over onto my side during the night without any problem.  My back was sore today when I woke up, but I’m guessing that’s just because I’m not used to sleeping that way.  It’s weird, but when the machine first started I noticed significant pressure and adjusted my breathing accordingly, but as it ramped up higher and higher, it seemed to get easier rather than harder.  I know the pressure increases, so I guess you just get used to it and don’t really notice it anymore.  There was even a time or two I wondered if the machine was still on, but when I opened my mouth or moved the mask it obviously was.  It just didn’t seem like the pressure was all that much at that point.  I guess that’s part of why that mask is good for me – it’s pretty comfortable.  Chet worked a midnight shift last night, so he came home around 6am.  He told me that the he didn’t hear the machine at all.  Obviously I don’t either, so that part won’t be a problem for us.  Chet is also a little hard of hearing – not as much as me, but some, so I guess that works in our favor!  

I am not sure how much I’ll be posting over the next few days.  Tomorrow my lovely daughter graduates from college with a 2 year degree and we are gearing up for that.  We also leave for Oklahoma on Friday morning so there is much to do to get ready for that trip.  I’ll try to post from Oklahoma at least a time or two, but can’t promise.  I will be taking my CPAP along and also trying to keep my diet consistent on the trip so that my Coumadin will remain effective (oh yes, AND sporting my lovely black compression stockings! ).  Looking forward to a fun trip with Chet, Kinsey, Jessi, Nicole and Owen and to visiting with the Oklahoma family and celebrating my niece’s graduation and also Kinsey’s later in the week.  Lots to do before we leave, especially since Kinsey’s big grad party here will be the Saturday after we return and I will only have one day to get ready for that!

After the grad party here, I will have a few days to regroup and then I will be heading to Florida for my twin nieces graduation parties.  Looking forward to visiting with everyone down there, too.  It will be a busy time, but so good to see everyone!  

It always amazes me how much even one night with Christian sisters refreshes, nourishes, relaxes and recharges.  Who would think all that could take place in a mere 24 hours?  It really can.  This year our retreat took place at one of our ladies’ grandparent’s cabin in northern Minnesota.  It was about a 5 hour drive, and the drive was part of the fun as well.  I rode up with two friends and tried to use some of my listening devices to be able to hear them (they were in front seat and I in back – I chose this arrangement thinking it might work best with microphones).  It enabled me to hear that they were talking and to understand some of it, but it also amplified the road noise a lot and didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped.  Ultimately, I put it away and just relaxed for much of the drive.  Being in the back seat by myself enabled me to put my feet up when I felt the need which helps keep them comfortable and helps avoid some swelling.  We arrived at the cabin not having any idea what to expect.  It turned out to be a beautiful house up in the Northwoods.  There was a swing outside that I loved!  There were enough beds for each of us to have our own – sheets and pillows were already there.  There was a nice kitchen and 2 living areas and even a hot tub!  Everything was very laid back and that was really nice.  There were 13 of us who attended this year.  We arrived at different times and just hung out and visited at first.  The swing outside was calling my name so I went out there and a friend joined me.  We sat and talked for nearly 2 hours!  I could actually hear just fine one-on-one in a quiet environment, so it was really great to catch up with each other.  It’s much more difficult to talk to someone in church or a restaurant for me.  When we went back inside we all visited and eventually we built a bonfire and went out and had hotdogs, grilled cheese, and s’mores and fruit pies for dessert.  I must say, I’ve always been more of a traditionalist with bonfire food and had never heard of making grilled cheese on a campfire or using bread and pie filling for pies (made the same way) or even using Reese’s pieces in s’mores!  I didn’t try all of it, but what I did was really good!  We all enjoyed hanging out by the fire, then we went inside and had a devotional.  It was really great to wind down the day sharing spiritual thoughts with each other.  Some got ready for bed after that and some went and got in the hot tub.  I wasn’t sure if I should use the hot tub with my  health issues at this point, so I didn’t.  I got into bed and read for a bit.  One perk of my hearing situation:  once I take out my hearing aid, no noise bothers me at all!  There were babies sleeping in the room next to me and the hot tub was right outside a glass door from my room and I heard nothing!  I slept well (had a king sized bed to myself – wow!) and the next morning got cleaned up and more visiting time!  A friend brought a wonderful expresso machine and made me great coffee to start the day!  How awesome is that? We spent a lot more time visiting with each other and gradually everyone got cleaned up.  We had a wonderful brunch together, then two devotional lessons.  All of our devotionals led to wonderful discussion and by the end of the morning we all felt closer to each and had a deeper love and appreciation for our God and His creation and the ties through Him that bind us together.  After that, we helped clean up and headed out.  It sounds like we didn’t do much, but that was kind of the point.  We all took some time off from the busy lives we lead to stop, focus our attention on our sisters in Christ and nurturing those relationships and to focus together on God and our love for him.  It accomplished all we would want it to – we left feeling closer to each other and feeling loved and full of love; feeling rested and renewed, and we left with a renewed appreciation for our heavenly Father and the amazing way He gave us each other and so much support and encouragement and love through His church. it was a great retreat indeed…

I have to say, I am completely shocked and amazed by the power of the socks!  The compression stockings that were prescribed for me are the highest amount of compression.  I was warned that I should put them on first thing in the morning and that it would be hard to get them on.  I was told if I couldn’t get them on they do make devices to help!  I wore them for the first time on Wednesday.  It did take some work to get them on, but was doable.  I could see that my ankles (especially the left) did swell some during the day, but the stockings were surprisingly comfortable once they were on. They somehow help improve circulation in your legs.  I had an appointment at the U to have my hearing aids adjusted.  Since my hearing is now stable and my CI surgery is being delayed, I wanted to get them adjusted to my new hearing level and see if it would be helpful.  They actually are helping to some extent. Speech is still not as clear and distinguishable as I would like, but I can follow quite a bit of  conversation now, so that is def. an improvement.  I can also use my neckloop again with my Domino Pro which is huge!  That gives me another method of amplification and it’s so nice not to have the earbuds in my ears all day (skull candy earbuds are not as comfy as my molded earpieces lol).  There is some walking involved from the parking garage to the clinic and my audiologist’s office.  My breathing is so much better – I was able to do it without any problem.  The mistake I made was not eating regularly.  I had breakfast early, a packet of oatmeal – so no protein, then a small snack an hour or so before I left.  It was nearly 3 by the time I had lunch and by then I was feeling it.  I had a big drop in mood, felt tired, major headache, tingly hands and tongue – all of these are typical for me if I don’t eat properly.  By the time I got home my feet were also really hurting.  I sat in a lounger with my feet up and just felt terrible and exhausted.  My feet and legs began to throb.  My headache got worse.  I stayed home from church and fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I felt a lot better by morning.  I think not eating properly was the main thing, but I wonder if there was an aspect of it that had to do with my circulation and my body working hard with the change.  I don’t really know, but yesterday, there was significantly less swelling and even during the day as I did things that would have caused swelling before, it really didn’t happen much.  This morning when I woke up, I noticed that my ankles are thinner than they’ve been in a year!  There were a few days during the prednisone treatment when my ankles looked “normal” again and that’s how I knew fluid retention was still a big part of how I was feeling the rest of the time.  My ankles are even thinner  now, so I think even then there was some fluid retention.  I’m utterly amazed that after only 2 days of wearing these things I’ve seen such dramatic results!  I am now a believer in the power of the socks!!  🙂

Wednesday night when I was feeling so cruddy physically, I was also feeling weary emotionally.  I realized that so much has happened in such a short amount of time.  The most recent hearing loss episode was only  7 weeks ago.  It was discouraging to have gone through so much during the previous year in hopes stabilizing my hearing and then have it turn out not to work.  It was also discouraging to have to go back on the steroids so soon after I finally finished the long term course.  Then it was discouraging for the new efforts to fail.  There was more adjusting to be done with a new level of deafness.  There was more educating myself and research that had to be done about cochlear implants and surgery.  Then, only a short time later, being hospitalized with the blood clots and the scary experience that was. There was a minor surgical procedure done.  There was more education regarding what had happened and there is quite a lot to know and understand about taking blood thinners and getting into a routine with that. There were lots of doctor appointments and blood draws.  Then there was the physical recovery.  Then the compression stockings – another change in daily routine.  Then the sleep study and finding out that I have sleep apnea.  Another area to educate myself on and more new equipment to learn about and understand and adjust to using in my daily routine.  It’s been a lot and I think it all caught up with me a little bit.  Overall, I feel I’m handling it all and I know I will adjust fairly quickly.  I think I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t have moments whenIi felt like that, but physically I am improving and emotionally I am feeling fairly strong again.  I think it’s easy to forget sometimes how much I’ve been through over the past year.  My body really went through a lot and I am finally at a point where I can start to recover and work toward feeling healthier and strong again.  I’ve learned a lot intellectually and spiritually.  I’m really looking forward to spending some time with some of the women in my church family this weekend.  We are having an overnight retreat at a cabin in Northern Minnesota.  Ahhhhh…..just what I need 🙂  Oh yes, and now I am aware of the power of the socks!  🙂

Last night I spent the night in the sleep lab for a sleep study!  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I’m sure some of you have done it and you would attest to that fact.  I arrived at 8pm as scheduled and was taken directly to a hotel like room.  There was a full size (maybe queen?) bed with a nice comforter and a nightstand and desk.  My sleep technician was a very nice woman and she told me to go ahead and put on my pjs and get comfy.  It’s a slightly odd situation to be in your pjs with a total stranger and to know that they will be observing you all night and also filming you while you sleep!  She was really great about it all and made me feel as comfortable as possible.  After I changed we went into a room across the hall to “set up”. The set up involved attaching many wires to my body.  First she cleaned the spots where they attach, then used liquid sandpaper to take a little skin off and make a good contact.  Next the electrodes were attached with a paste.  There were 2 elastic bands – one around my chest and one around my waist, and 3 electrodes were attached to spots on my head.  I don’t even know how many or where the others were.  There were some on my legs.  After it was all done, she made a “ponytail” of all the wires and hooked placed them on me in a way that they would not get tangled before I actually went to sleep.  After that, I went back to my room and was told just to relax.  I normally don’t go to bed for the night until around midnight.  She asked if I thought I could fall asleep a little earlier than that.  Since I was up at 6am that day, I was pretty sure I could.  She asked a couple of questions that weren’t on the paperwork I filled out.  One was if I remember my dreams.  The answer is no.  I rarely remember dreaming at all.  Based on my answers, she was pretty sure I had sleep apnea even before the study.  I relaxed in bed and read and did things on my phone until I got sleepy.  Then she hooked me up to all of the equipment.  She added an oxygen sensor to my finger and two different things in my nose and a microphone on my neck to record any snoring!  Wow!  She also told me that I could sleep on my back or side.  I am used to sleeping on a wedge at home.  Years ago I had some reflux issues, so I started propping up on pillows a little to sleep.  The reflux went away, but when I lie flat on my back I feel like I can’t breathe, so I slept for years propped up on pillows.  My friends and family fondly call it my “pillow palace.”  Before I bought the wedge last year, I would typically have  3 or 4 pillows behind my back and head and one under each arm as an armrest.  I still use 3 with the wedge.  When I saw that the bed wasn’t adjustable like other hospital beds, I asked for some extra pillows.  She told me that I could use some, but that she needed me to sleep fairly flat for the test.  I started out on my back with 2 fairly thin pillows and one under each arm.  It took a bit to fall asleep, but eventually I did.  I remember rolling over to my side for a bit, but it was a little tricky with all the wires and I don’t think I stayed that way too long.  When I rolled back over on my back, at some point she told me she needed me to take away another pillow, so I ended up with one pillow under my head and didn’t really need or want any others at that point.  Before I went to sleep, she also fitted a CPAP mask on me and let me see what it was like.  The one I had only fit over the nose.  She turned it on so I could feel the air pressure and at one point had me open my mouth.  Air that had come in through my nose shot out my mouth!  It was funny!  She explained to me that if I did have abnormal breathing during the night, she would at some point come in and put the mask on me and then determine what pressure was appropriate for me.  Because of my hearing, she stayed in the room with me to calibrate some of the equipment and told me what to do (look to left, right, hold breath, wiggle stomach, etc!) and she told another person in the control room what was going on.  I had a fairly typical night’s sleep for me.  It was a little harder to rest than normal, but I often wake up in the night at home, too, so it really wasn’t that different.  Eventually, she came in during the night and put the mask on me.  I had not problem at all falling back to sleep with it on.  To tell you the truth, it was the first time in years I have slept flat on my back and it was so comfortable!  I liked it!  I woke up eventually and she came in and told me it was morning.  She also told me that I had just been dreaming!  That was weird.  I didn’t remember it at all.  She helped me set up an appointment to be fitted and taught how to use CPAP and left some paperwork for me that basically said “You had abnormal breathing during the night and should use the CPAP for sleep apnea until you follow up with your doctor.”  My appointment for follow up is in June.  I have an appointment to get the CPAP started next week.  

Today I picked up my new stockings.  I also bought some shoes to wear with them.  The poor shoes I have worn constantly for the past year are about to dissintegrate!  They are the main ones I’ve worn because they are easy to slip on and off and can accommodate my swelling feet. I need to throw them away!  Now that I have to wear these stockings, I needed some shoes that would have some flex for the changing size of my feet during the day (although hopefully that will be less with the compressioin) and also still look ok with black stockings.  It took several stops, but I finally found 2 pair at Schuler’s.  

I got several errands run today and then got to pick up my lovely daughter from the airport!  She’s finally home!!!  Big day today!!!!

Seems like things just get more interesting every day! I touched base with my hearing specialist today to let him know that the cochlear implant surgery will have to be delayed and why. I also asked him if he thinks there is a chance that my hearing loss is related to the clotting situation (especially with the things that happened back in 2010 that I mentioned in my last post). He told me that he is suspicious that the D Dimer, the clots and the hearing loss are related. I will be talking with the doctor treating me for clots about this at our next appointment (in 3 months). He also told me that everyone is more prone to clots as they get older.

Another thing I asked about is sleep apnea. When I was in the hospital, they requested a consult with a lung specialist to help decide whether I needed the IVC filter or not. She told me that she felt a sleep study was warranted. There are sleep problems that can cause blood clots. I also read an article once that said that SSHL could be associated with sleep apnea (lack of oxygen). I am having the sleep study done tonight. When I asked my hearing specialist about his thoughts on that, he said that he would appreciate it if they would do whatever they feel is right to increase the O2 level. He said that anything that sends O2 down will increase the chance of clots and hearing loss. He also said that if they have any other ideas about this that we should talk. Sounds interesting to me.

Other than that, my stockings are in! I’ll be picking them up tomorrow and soon sporting my new look! My breathing is nearly back to normal. I still have a lot of swelling in my ankles (particularly the left) but that is to be expected at this point. My mom left today. We had a great visit. I am looking forward to seeing her again and the rest of the Oklahoma family in a couple of weeks. Today I have spent most of the day catching up on paperwork and things that needed to get done! It’s harder to keep up when you are recovering and also have someone visiting. Tomorrow is a big day in our household. Kinsey will be home! We haven’t seen her since New Year’s Eve, so we’re ready! She’ll be here until the end of the month.

I guess that’s the news for now. Tonight should be interesting. I spend the night in the sleep study lab hooked up to all kinds of electrodes, and will be video taped and observed while I sleep. Hmmmmm…hard to imagine being able to sleep in those conditions, but I’m sure I will eventually. I’m actually kind of glad I’m having this done. There are enough factors that point to the possibility of sleep apnea that I think it’s time to check it out. I’ll fill you in on how it goes!

I had a follow-up with a new specialist yesterday. He explained in a little more detail exactly what happens with clots and recovery. He told me that I am NOT a walking time bomb and should not feel that way. He said that most people who die from a clot, die within the first 30 minutes, so the fact that I made it to the hospital meant that I already had survived the clots I had. He said that my life expectancy is not shortened by this and that although my weight is a factor, several things have to come together for this to happen. It’s not about my weight alone, according to him.

He told me that the clots in the lungs dissolve quickly because there is much more and better circulation there. The ones in the legs take more time. I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my breathing over the last couple of days. I’m still a little more out of breath than usual, but not anywhere near where I was last week. Because clots in the legs can take a lot of time to dissolve, I now have a pair of compression stockings on order! Lovely, I’m sure, but necessary. I went for the “stylish” black ones over the “fake beige” ones. Just in time for summer. I will have to wear them from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed for 3 months. I will have another echocardiogram and ultrasound of my legs in three months also, and a follow-up with this specialist again. I cannot have the cochlear implant surgery until he clears me for it, hopefully at that appointment. I told him about an episode I had 3 years ago where I also had an elevated D dimer and was checked for clots, but they didn’t find any back then. My hearing specialist sent me to a hematologist at that time to investigate if there was a chance that something was going on with my circulatory system that could have caused my hearing loss. That doctor basically said there were too many things that could elevate the D dimer to narrow it down and that the numbers would have been much more elevated if I had any sort of true clotting disorder. Nothing more was pursued at that time. I asked this doctor if this new episode might indicate anything along those lines. I’m not sure if my Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease diagnosis is what my hearing doctor considered the most likely thing (but it could still be something else) or if he is certain that’s what it is. The doctor I saw yesterday told me I need to fill in my hearing specialist on what has happened and asked to see the records from the previous hematologist and wanted to know if there was anything specific my hearing doctor thought might be a possibility in this realm. I was glad he was interested, although my hearing is already damaged to this point, I guess it would be nice to know and especially if there could be any other health implications for me.

I also asked about diet and exercise. It can be tricky to change your diet while on Coumadin. It can affect your dosing and the effectiveness, so if I make a change, I have to let my anticoagulation team know and they will work with me to try to adjust. As far as exercise goes, he told me that first I need a period of recovery (a couple of weeks or so) and then I can start working out. I have to keep my heart rate between 100-130 when exercising. He doesn’t want it to go over that. He said at first it won’t seem like I’m doing anything at all, but I need to be consistent and eventually it will take more to get my heart rate there… and more….and so on…. It is good for me to have a specific guideline like that to follow.

I have received several notes and also some ideas for diets to look at. I really appreciate the info. Please keep praying for me as I recover and as I try to finally find a way to lose some weight and get as healthy as I can. Please also keep in mind the situation with the insurance company for the cochlear implants.