Fight for Air Walk 2011

Delia has struggled her whole life is asthma, not just any old asthma but allergy asthma. After her most recent hospital stay in November, the insurance has been on our backs about getting Delia more ready and prepared for recognizing her systems and treating them sooner. What they don't understand is that this is something we have been doing her whole life. Every time she goes into the hospital, its not that we didn't treat her, its that she doesn't have time to react with her asthma and everything goes downhill real fast...within a few hours. So, our insurance asked us to have Delia be more involved with the asthma community and do more to help others be more aware of the disease. She can go to an asthma camp in the spring and she has decided to do the asthma walk with the American Lung Association. We talked with her doctors at Crazy About Kids Pulmonary Services and we have decided that Delia will be team captain for the walk and work with her Pulmo doctors and get a team together to raise funds for asthma prevention.
If you are interested in joining us, the walk takes place on April 2, 2011 at 9am in Scottsdale. If you would like to donate to our cause, you can do so at http://action.lungusa.org/site/TR/LungWalk/ALASW_Southwest?company_id=10871&pg=company&fr_id=3320
We are walking under "Team Crazy" and can't wait to see how many people join us!

The Mayo Clinic

I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the Mayo Clinic and how they run their operations. A few months ago my new Primary Care Provider recommended me to go and see the doctors at the Mayo Clinic. I hadn’t really thought about it, but she did all the work and referred me there. My first visit was very nerve-racking and I didn’t know what to expect. The doctor we met with was simply amazing. He was ready and waiting to tell us exactly what is going on and why, which is something no other doctor has been able to do. All other doctors I have seen all tell me to have my thyroid removed and by not doing so I become a liability for their practice and ask me to find someone else to go to. I knew in my heart that surgery was never the answer. If they remove my thyroid then I will have to be on medication the rest of my life. So I opted out every time, fully aware of what risks I was taking with a possibility of a metastasizing cancer or potential cancer. The biopsies I have received a few years ago indicated a carcinoma nodule on my right thyroid and was growing ever so slightly but not enough to be alarmed about.
Now with Dr. Argueta’s help at the Mayo Clinic we have re-biopsied and re-dissected the slides of my cells, redone the ultrasounds, new blood workup and with great in depth discussion we now have the conclusion to all this mess. My diagnosis goes as follows…A thyroid adenoma which is a benign thyroid tumor. YES! This means that we just sit and watch it and make sure it doesn’t turn into something different. See people, not what everyone originally thought. No worries for me. I am happy with the work they put into my case. Now some ask if there is potential of it growing more or becoming something bad, of course there is always the alternative, but for now there is nothing to worry about. The only way to get it out would be surgery and that is not what I need right now. It’s not really causing harm and growth has pretty much stopped. I do have to go in once in a while and check it, but I am ok with doing that since I won’t have to be on meds the rest of my life for this one little thing. Now I can move on to bigger and better things and quite worrying about what the doctors will tell me next….well at least with my thyroid.

Every year we look for opportunities to serve the community we live in and this year, as one of our first volunteer jobs we helped out with "London’s Run". It’s a great way to meet new people and help those in need. This year one of the recipients of the proceeds went to a young 13 year old in our stake who is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We volunteered last year and had a really good time, so I thought it would be a great way to start the New Year. We had a wonderful time and the girls actually enjoyed themselves. This year there was well over 1500 runners and sure was a sight to see.
I believe it’s important to get involved and show your children that there is more to life than our little family. We are now putting a team together for the “Fight for Air Asthma Walk” to raise awareness of asthma. Since Delia has had many life challenges with her asthma, I think it would be wise to get her more involved with her own disease and open our eyes to others who deal with this as well. I am hoping to get a large group organized and look forward to posting the upcoming event. It doesn’t take place until April 2nd, but there is still a lot to do before then.
Here is a little pointer to life. If you’re feeling down in the dumps and can’t seem to get out of a rut, go out and find a way to serve others. I am sure your spirits will be lifted and your heart will be filled with the joy you bring to others!

It's Been A While....

It's amazing how life goes by so fast. I can't believe it really has been this long since I have posted anything. So I will give a quick synopsis of our lives as we see it thus far. Keith is still working at the clinic as an MA (medical assistant). He loves what he does and is a very caring person. He is looking into going back to school to further his education, but how and where that all fits into life… that is a different story. He currently is serving as the 2nd counselor in Sunday school. I am still working for the school district as a sign language interpreter. I have been freelancing on my time off and still awaiting results from my national certification test (NIC). I am serving as the ward choir director, which is actually more challenging in this ward than any other ward I have ever served in. Delia is working on her last semester as a freshman and serves as the mia maid president. She finds this time in her life very challenging put is looking to move forward. She is looking forward to getting a job, driving and dating. I remind her that all those things come as a privilege and not a right. Having 2 teens in the house can be such trial, but then again our only goal is to teach them so they can make those right decisions on their own. Kaylee is anxious to move on to junior high. She is way excited that she has managed to keep up her grades this year by getting all A's. She is learning to love being a young woman.
I recently went to the Mayo Clinic to continue treatment with a new Endocrinologist and I have absolutely been blown away by the vast knowledge this man has. When we walked into our appointment he was already in there waiting for us with charts and graphs to show us what is going on with me. I was stunned at the information he gave us, considering most of which I have never heard before. It was promising and I am very grateful to have found him. I look forward to working with the Mayo Clinic. They are a true answer to my prayers. As I learn more about what is going on, I will post and keep you updated.
Our family got together a few weeks ago to do baptisms together since it was Kaylee’s first time. It was a very neat experience to have both of my girls and Keith in the temple together. I was happy that Kaylee got to experience that time with her family. She was so nervous, but loved every minute of it.
Until I blog again…