there seems to be a bit of confusion, since jerry doesn’t usually post on here. i asked him to post an update about his condition when we got back from the hospital the other day, since i thought he would be able to explain it better. i think he did a great job of explaining it, but he confused a few of you. it is JERRY who has AF. JERRY went to urgent care then the er. i just went to see him and be with him. always check the authored by section - if we are on top of things we usually post under the right name. this will be handy when jerry posts about bean being born in a few months too. it would be confusing if i posted about it myself right after the birth, wouldn’t it?
anyway, jerry is doing ok. the meds are messing with him a bit. he is feeling a bit out of whack from them. he doesn’t like meds at all, but he is taking them like he was told. he has taken it easy with his jobs. he hasn’t been back to fed-ex yet. tonight is his first night back. please pray for him with bumps, bruises and cuts, as there are a lot of those in that job. and the coumadin makes blood very thin.

as for me, the zofran helps with the vomiting, but not so much with the nausea, so i am constantly feeling bad. sigh. watching nate is going well tho. tho yesterday jeremiah was a little more jealous…he was kind of like, you mean that kid is BACK?! lol. poor guy.

jeremiah is a trip. he is honestly such a smart cookie. today he wanted to go downstairs to get his baby bear and get a bottle for nap. he stood in front of the gate and did a backwards ‘hi’ motion, which means come here. so we went down together and got the bear and bottle. what a cutie.
we are really going to buy him a little potty. today he took his diaper off and attempted to potty in the corner. i ran him into the bathroom and tried to get him to go in the toilet. he tinkled a bit and did a little tiny turd! LOL. so we think he’s ready to at least try it with him.

please keep us all in your prayers. blessings and hugs!

Today when I woke up I felt lightheaded and dizzy, my heart was racing and fluttering, and I was short of breath. I went to an urgent-care facility and they hooked me up to an EKG. They told me that I was experiencing some arythmia. My blood pressure was around 90 / 40 and my pulse was very erradic. They sent me, via ambulance to a nearby hospital. There I had x-rays taken, blood tests, and hooked me up to another EKG. I was seen by a cardiologist and he informed me that I had atrial fibrillation. I got the following info off the web:

Atrial fibrillation is a disorder found in about 2.2 million Americans. In it the heart’s two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead of beating effectively. Blood isn’t pumped completely out of them, so it may pool and clot. If a piece of a blood clot in the atria leaves the heart and becomes lodged in an artery in the brain, a stroke results. About 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation.

Anyway, the cardiologist isn’t sure yet what is causing my AF but he wants to monitor me closely and do further tests. For now, he put me on coumadin, a blood thinner and metoprolol, a beta blocker used to slow down rapid heart rate associated with AF. He said that I shouldn’t be worried and that I can still live to very old age with AF. He said he wants me to stay off work a few days and relax. I asked if I could just pass medicine at my nursing home and he said he doesn’t want me to work at all for at least 48 hours if not more. This will be hard on us because I may not be able to get sick pay and now we will have more bills to pay.

Please keep us in your prayers and we will keep you updated as we find out more information.

God bless!

i know this is the third post in a row today! wow. but please say a prayer for jerry. he just went to urgent care because he’s concerned with some symptoms he’s having. very fast heartrate, blurred vision, blackened vision (like when you wake up and light blinds you for a second), being out of breath just going up the stairs. he called off work AND is going to urgent care, so i KNOW it’s serious. he is usually the kind to avoid drs at all cost. please pray for him. i will have him update when he gets back, or i will update when i can, as nate will be coming at any time.

Terri Schiavo

A woman is about to be murdered, and you probably already know her name — Terri Schiavo.

Please help us rescue Terri from a horrible death by starvation! The moment her feeding tube is removed, Terri will begin a long, slow, painful death by starvation and dehydration.

We need your help NOW to rescue Terri from her cruel executioners. They’ve already tried to kill her once before, and she fought to stay alive. But this may be the last chance Terri gets. Will you help save her life?

MEDIA LIES

If you’ve heard about Terri only through the news media, you’ve probably been led to believe things like this:

* Terri is brain dead.

* She is in a coma.

* She’s a vegetable.

* Extraordinary means are being used to keep her alive.

* She wants to die but her parents stubbornly won’t let it happen.

None of these things are true!

Terri is NOT brain dead. She is NOT in a coma. She is NOT in a “persistent vegetative state.” And she is not on ANY life-support system.

THE FACTS THE MEDIA HIDES FROM YOU

When her parents visit her, Terri laughs, she cries, she moves, and she makes child-like attempts at speech with her mother and father. Sometimes she will say “Mom” or “Dad” or “yeah” when they ask her a question. And when they kiss her hello or goodbye, she looks at them and “puckers up” her lips.

She’s able to sit in a chair, she loves to listen to her favorite music, and she recognizes her brother and sister when they come to visit.

Board-certified neurologist Dr. Jacob Green of Jacksonville, Florida, who examined Terri, said unequivocally: “She is not in a vegetative state.” When asked if it would be ethical to remove her feeding tube, he said, “I’d call it murder.”

Terri receives food and liquid through a feeding tube because she can’t swallow. In other words, Terri depends on food and water to stay alive-just like everybody else!

But her husband, Michael, wants to disconnect her only means of food so that she will slowly starve to death.

Medical experts all agree that death by starvation and dehydration is perhaps the most painful, the most tortuous, and the most agonizing way to die.

Yes, Terri’s injury left her disabled. But there are tens of thousands of disabled people who depend on gastro feeding tubes every day, and they live otherwise normal lives.

Terri can breathe for herself. She is not on a ventilator. Her vital organs are working fine, which means she is not hooked up to a machine. Furthermore, she is NOT dying or being “kept alive” by artificial means. She does not have a terminal disease, and she will be able to feel pain if she is starved to death.

And that could start to happen in the next few days.

THE IMMEDIATE CRISIS

Time is running out for Terri. Her feeding tube could be removed THIS WEEK!!!

There is one last court procedure that is being tried to save Terri’s life, but if it fails her feeding tube could be removed Wednesday.

If that happens then only thing that may save her might be action by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Governor Bush has already fought to save Terri’s life. The last time her feeding tube was removed he stepped in and snatched her back from the brink of death. The Florida legislature even passed a special law — “Terri’s Law” — to give him the authority to keep her alive.

But then the law was struck down by a judge, putting Terri’s life on the line once again.

If the courts continue their anti-life crusade against Terri and others like her, the only thing that may save her would be action by Governor Bush.

WHERE YOU COME IN

The attorneys who are fighting for Terri’s life have a few more possible ways to prevent Terri’s murder. But these are last-ditch efforts that may or may not work. The courts are decidedly on Michael’s side — not Terri’s.

So that means we have to come to Terri’s aid-especially through the amazing power of prayer and sacrifice — but also by sharing this story with everybody you know, and encouraging Governor Jeb Bush to do everything he can to rescue Terri once again.

Here’s what you can do . . .

1. First, PRAY for Terri — harder than ever before! Not enough people are praying for Terri right now. And she needs our prayers now more than ever.

2. Second, FAST along with Terri if and when her feeding tube gets removed — and then offer up your sacrifices for her.

3. Third, please ENCOURAGE Governor Bush to do everything he can to rescue Terri. Since time is of the essence, we recommend that you send him an e-mail by clicking this link: jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Or, if you prefer, you can call his office at the Florida State Capitol at (850) 488-4441.

4. And finally, please FORWARD this e-mail to everyone on your e-mail list. The more people who know the true story about Terri Schiavo and how she is in imminent danger of being murdered, the greater our chances of achieving a victory in this life-or-death struggle between good and evil.

It’s hard to believe, but there are many hard-hearted people out there who believe that, due to Terri’s condition, she is “better off dead.” Words cannot describe the pain and anger such sentiments cause Terri’s family.

This is their daughter, their little girl. And even in her disabled condition, she still has the right to life and the right to be loved and cared for by her family.

Terri doesn’t have to die. If you’ll carry out the steps above, we can win this battle and save Terri’s life.

Please do your part — immediately — because tomorrow may be too late.

Sincerely,

Catholic Answers
http://www.catholic.com

doesn’t four months sound a lot more impressive than 16 weeks?!
“You’re now four months pregnant. Your baby is more than 4 inches long and covered with a layer of fine, downy hair called lanugo. If you have an ultrasound this month, you’ll probably be able to find out whether you’re having a boy or a girl.”
the zofran is helping my vomiting, but the nausea is still pretty overwhelming. still it’s nice to be able to eat something and not vomit it!
my sciatic nerve has also been giving me fits. probably from sitting and lying so much. sigh. i need to find some way to do some simple exercises!!
i don’t have long today, because i’ve been chatting away with manda and cheryl on my computer time. that time has not been wasted, because i have missed them both like crazy lately!!!
i did fine with nate yesterday, and most importantly, jeremiah did wonderfully. he is going to be a wonderful big brother! he was such a great helper to me, bringing me things for nate, or putting the bottle in nate’s mouth when nate was crying. LOL. the cutest thing was when jeremiah came down from nap, i pointed a sleeping nate out to him, and he got the biggest smile on his face, and instantly wanted to wake nate up to play. it was so adorable.
well lots of love and hugs. i am praying for so many of you on a regular basis. i don’t get to visit everyone’s site as often as i’d like. if you have a big prayer request or praise mentioned on your site, please put a note in my comments for me to go check it out, ok?? God bless. and thanks for all the prayers.

i have zofran in me once again. feeling much better.
try this game and guess for real, not by what you know!! the age project.
also, if you haven’t done the expectnet game for bean yet, please do. once march 8 comes around (if bean cooperates) it will be closed. game name is baby-bean.
i am thinking of making a pw protected entry about my sis jannelle and her situation. for only prayer-warrier friends to read, so you can have details and everything to pray more specifically for her and the situation. i just don’t feel right about airing all her dirty laundry. especially since i have been getting more and more lurkers lately.
well i need to shower and nap. today is nate’s first 4 hour day and i want to be ready for him!
thanks for the continued prayers.

just got news that my sister is expecting TWIN BOYS. yes, the girl who we wondered how she will take care of one child is now due with twins.
take it however you want. i am praying like crazy for the poor babies.

i hate it when i don’t feel well. i start getting all sorry-for-myself feeling and thinking everyone hates me. why? i don’t know. just my tiny bit of self-esteem i guess. i am such a loser!
i am feeling horrible. i am unable to get more zofran until monday. yeah, monday. so i have been vomiting everything i eat this morning. sigh.
please pray for me. i don’t know how i’ll last until monday.
someone just hit me. i am such a whiny baby!!!!!!

today, at 15 weeks, i am feeling AWFUL. i am barely able to sit up so this will be short.
our $26 meal cost us $6. we had a gift certificate thing. our $13 movie cost nothing. again, we had gift cards. so we paid out $6 the whole night. not bad!
unfortunately, phantom was only on the evening show so we weren’t able to see it. we saw hitch instead. i liked it but it wasn’t awesome. there were parts i would definitely leave out to make it a better movie.
gotta go. pray for me. hard.

i wanted to wish everyone a very happy valentines day.
as for our v-day, my mom is watching jeremiah for us! jerry and i are going out to eat and to a movie. hopefully phantom of the opera! yes, i’m one of those kind of people who like musicals. thankfully i married one too!
both of us are not feeling the best, so pray it goes well!
check back to see how it went, and how much money we saved. we’re doing a cheapie date. the best kind, imo.
God bless.