Genetic Test for Medication

On February 15, 2019 By WendyIn Bipolar, Chronic Illness13 Comments

When I first started seeing my new psychiatrist she asked me if I’d had genetic testing to determine which medications would work best for me, I hadn’t, so she asked if I was interested. Of course I was interested! I was then given 2 swabs to rub on the inside of my cheeks and off they went to the lab at GeneSight, within a few days the results were back.

You can read a lot more about GeneSight and see an example of what an actual test looks like on their site. To see a detailed example of test results click here. It will take you to a pdf. I was going to show you some of mine but mine are black and white copies and aren’t nearly as pretty as the actual test results, and mine has over 9 pages of information. (I think some is repeated to give more in-depth information about it, but golly, that’s a lot of information.) I will however talk about some of my results.

After receiving my results we started going though it all to see what medication therapies would be best for me. It was very surprising to me how many medications I’ve been on in the past that were listed in the “Significant Gene-Drug Interaction” category. I also found out that this test really didn’t show which drugs I would have severe side effects to. For example, all antipsychotics. There are a few that are listed as “Use As Directed” that caused me severe Akathesia (the need to constantly move) and muscle twitching, which can become permanent.

We went through all of the medications on the list for Antipsychotics, Antidepressants, Mood Stabilizers, Anxiolytics and Hypnotics, Opiods and Non-Opiods. I’m not really sure why I was tested for opioids and non-opiods but I will be taking that to the hospital the next time I have surgery. (hopefully that’s never)

I’ve been told I’m a complicated case. I’ve tried a lot of medications in the past, some worked for a while and stopped and some never worked. We started going through one that worked for a while first. Lithium. When we tried Lithium I started to show toxic signs before I got to a therapeutic dose. We tried Depakote, I felt better and got to a therapeutic dose but it caused so many side effects that I couldn’t take it. (my stomach hurt so much and caused me to have severe retching, it was most painful, and this went on while I was on antibiotics so I blamed it on the wrong drug for a long time, finally we figured out what the culprit was and I had to stop it.) So then we tried Vraylar, an Antipsychotic, almost immediately I started having symptoms of akathesia. It wasn’t as bad as it was with Latuda, but it was starting, so I was put on a drug to help control them. It did but I still had this constant hum that made me feel like it was going to start all the time and I was still a little manic. You may remember the post about me talking all the time. I saw my psychiatrist during that time and could not stop talking during that visit, it was most disturbing to me. I can’t even remember what she did to change my medication at that time, I believe she added another medication. I know at one time I was on five drugs from this one person….or was it six? I’m still on a ton, but I’m tapering off 2 so that will make it less and one of those should also take over a medication for a condition I’m being treated for by another physician, so that will take away 3 drugs all together. Score.

I’m sure I’ve completely confused you. It confuses me!

Let’s see if I can make a little more sense than I have been….yes I seriously doubt it too, but bear with me. The last visit I had, I took that gene test and was ready. I told her what I had taken before that seemed to work for a long time, Topamax, all by itself, but we got to such a high dose I has severe cognitive issues, so I’d like to add it to the Lamotrigine I’m already on, both of these are mood stabilizers, that way I don’t have to have such a high does of Topamax and shouldn’t get to the point that I have cognition problems. (I was over 400mg before now I will be at 200mg, much more doable I think) Topamax can also help my migraines and my Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertention, so that’s a great thing.

I’m also seeing another psychiatrist on the 28th for a second opinion. I’m not thrilled by how this has been handled, all the drugs just pushed on me, and at one point when I was at my worst and asked what to do if I was in crisis, I did not feel it was taken seriously. I was told to go to a certain hospital, but was not given the information. How is someone who is in the throws of a severe mixed mania episode supposed to remember what psychiatric hospital this woman spoke of to find out how to get there, and I was not in the frame of mind to ask her to write it down. I was a complete mess at the time. It’s times like that that patients really rely on their health care professionals, and too often they fail to live up to what is needed.

I’m still a lucky one. I have insurance and can actually go to a psychiatrist and get help, there are countless others out there who can’t. We often tell people to reach out when they are in pain, but if they can’t pay for help, they are simply turned away. This country treats their citizens like garbage. If it’s unsightly, throw it away.

Please support mental health facilities who treat those who can’t afford care, there are so many people who are homeless because they have no where to go for treatment. Take time to be kind.

Have you tried GeneSight? Would you if you haven’t? Do you think it’s beneficial?

I do think it’s a great place to start. It’s telling me if certain drugs metabolize faster or slower than they should, and well all kinds of things. Be sure to read more at their website if your interested.

Feeling Thankful Week 6 – #TToT

On February 11, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness6 Comments

I’m taking part in the Ten Things of Thankful challenge. Simply list 10 things a week that you are thankful for, but no worries if you list less, or a bit more, the point is to get everyone to notice there is something to be thankful for. If you’d like to join in, just pop on over to TToT and add your post to the list, I hope to see you there.

This week I’m very thankful for:

Friends I have known, no matter how distantly. This week I found out a blogging friend died. She is and will continue to be missed. I can only hope she knew how many lives she touched, and how much she was cared for. This is the forth blogging friend I’ve lost. I’m so very grateful I was able to know each of these ladies no matter how briefly or how many miles away.
Hubby’s low key birthday. I’m thankful my hubby could care less about having a special birthday celebration because I wasn’t able to do much after a long appointment with the audiologist. A simple night in was all we could do. Luckily, a celebration dinner is planned at a later date. Not that he cares. 😉
Mexican Food I could eat. Since I wasn’t up for much on his birthday we called around and found a Mexican place that has enchilada sauce without onions! Yay! I’ve missed Mexican food. I haven’t found a restaurant that had onion free enchilada sauce in 5 years, this is awesome! And they delivered!! Score!!
Meeting family. On Saturday we went met my father-in-law’s cousin. She lives in Chicago and Stuart hadn’t seen her since he was 10 years old, yet he remembers that trip so fondly. We had brunch with her and a friend, the 2 ladies were delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and hope to see them again in the not too distant future. I think a trip to Chicago may be in order.
Ibuprofen. I can’t take it often, and I have to take it on a full stomach, but it sure did help on Saturday. It made the difference of me being able to go to brunch with the family and staying home. My back has been causing a lot of pain lately and a little ibuprofen saved the day. (wish I could take it more often)
A silly doggy. I turned over the other morning and was suddenly awakened by a little lick, right on my mouth! Silly dog! Missed my nose entirely! LOL Actually she doesn’t normally wake me up, she waits until I get up, but Stuart had stirred and it got her excited. Such a sweet silly dog, who loves to kiss!

Hot baths. I was cold all day, so this evening I decided to just take a bath. A nice long hot bath did the trick, I was finally warm from my nose to my toes which I promptly snuggled in fluffy socks. ummmm, cozy Wendy.
Everything Stuart does around the house. Oh my goodness this man! As I mentioned, I’ve been having a lot of back pain lately and haven’t been able to do much at all without making it much worse. Regular chores have taken a back seat these last couple of weeks, only the bare necessities have been done. Today my darling husband did so much I was amazed. He did all the laundry (not unusual really), cleaned the kitchen (okay he normally does the dishes), cleaned out the refrigerator, we went grocery shopping and he put it all away, changed the sheets on the bed….he even made dinner (I helped a little with that one). I’m so very thankful for my husband. He’s a keeper for sure!!
No appointments this week. This may change but as of right now I have no appointments this week! I can’t remember the last time I’ve had no appointments during a given week, normally I have at least 2. I am hoping to get a massage this week to see if it will help my back, but that may not happen, and that’s not a doctor’s appointment at least.
Sunglasses. I’ve been having a lot of migraines this week, my sunglasses have been my best friend.

Migraine day, sunglasses and hat are a must….now back to the dark.

How about you? What are you thankful for this week?

Disability Review Stress Relieved ….Really

On February 8, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness3 Comments

The title of my last post was “One Huge Stress Relieved”, but I didn’t tell you anywhere in the post why the stress was relieved….oops.

A few days ago I received a 2nd letter saying they were not going to further review my case. It’s all good. At least for now, they could decide to review it again, but for now, everything is as it should be. I just forgot to mention that little bit in the original post. duh.

A friend of mine said she read the post and asked the status, I was confused then realized….dangit, I rewrote that post 5 times, after that many rewrites I left the most important part out! Oh my goodness.

I’ve fixed it there now, but I wanted to tell it here for those who have already read the previous post.

So, now you know, I can get very confused very easily.

One Huge Stress Relieved

On February 8, 2019February 8, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness11 Comments

I haven’t mentioned it here, but a few months ago I received a letter and questionnaire from the Social Security Administration stating that they are reviewing my medical condition. If they decide to go to the next step I would have to see a doctor of their choosing to keep my benefits.

It completely freaked my shit out.

This happened right after I bought my car and I’d been feeling as if I were in a remission of sorts for the past 9 months or so. The vertigo had not hit hard in close to a year and when it did I had warning signs so I knew when it was going to happen, so driving was once again possible. I was able to clean my house, go on short grocery shopping trips alone, go to some appointments by myself….I felt a new sense of independence. (as long as I wasn’t having debilitating migraines but that’s not what I was found disabled for) We had just recently moved to Tucson and I had a number of stressors that came with that move, add on this worry and I crashed! Not only did I crash physically, I crashed mentally, and I wasn’t even sure if I should get better if that meant I’d loose my disability and Medicare.

This past month I simply stopped thinking about it, well mostly, and I focused on getting back to a good normal level for me. I want to get into that remission state again, but if that doesn’t happen, I’m hoping for a better normal than I have right now, and I think I’m headed that way. I’d like to say I’d just accept how I am and be okay with it if that’s how it turned out, but I think I’d have to go through the whole process of grieving again to get there. Mindfulness is hard, that’s why we must be gentle with ourselves.

Do I blame the Social Security Administration for my flare, in part, yes! I believe this flare was caused by an accumulation of the stress I’ve been under over the past many months. The review of my disability benefits pushed that stress even higher. I felt like I shouldn’t be better, that I might have to prove I’m still as sick as I was at the time of my hearing to a doctor of their choosing. How is that fair?

I won’t defend why I deserve disability assistance here, I did that to a judge and a room full of people who were all trying to find a reason that I was not disabled. This post is simply to point out just how broken this system is.

I get letters saying they have good news that I can possibly get training to work and I may still be able to keep my benefits after I am employed. That sounds great doesn’t it? But then when I took the time to read it in it’s entirety I found out that if I make over a certain amount I would not only get my benefits cut I would also lose Medicare even if I could not get healthcare. I’d also have to see that doctor they chose to make sure I’m still disabled before I could start training for a job. There’s some great incentive for people to actually do that isn’t it? I’d love to try to learn something new and work some, but only if I could keep my healthcare, and I do not want to see their doctor first. That’s just scary. I should not have to do that over and over. If they want to review my case, they should ask MY doctor. That is the only voice that should be allowed to say if my condition has changed. Not a doctor of their choosing.

When I’m not flaring I don’t feel as ill as I did during the time I applied for SSDI, however, there is no way I could hold down a job. Not that I don’t want to. I’d love to be able to work. My hearing, or lack there of, and my physical limitations do not allow me to hold a job of any sort that I am at all qualified for, or any other that I know of. Now, why do I feel I need to defend myself even to you, my friends who know what my life is like, and know that holding a job would put me at risk of always being in a flare? Why do I feel ashamed that I have to depend on the government to help me? For anyone to help me? I believe working helped stabilize my moods. When my mind and body are more engaged then my mental health is more stable. Of course, I’d like to work again, who wouldn’t given the circumstances?

I do wish I’d seen this; 10 Facts About Disability Review, before I got so very stressed out. I would have still been stressed, but not quite as much.

I’d love to know….Are you on disability? Has your case been reviewed? What happened?

Thankful Week 5 – #TToT

On February 4, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gratitude, Thankful7 Comments

10 things I’m thankful for the 5th week of 2019 are:

Possibilities – Just as I started to write this post I received a message that I may be able to see a specialist in San Diego I’ve been wanting to see for a long time. A special thank you K for making this possibility happen.
My new therapist – I saw her for the first time on Wednesday and if first visits are a clue as to how things are going to go, I’m going to love going through this process with her.
Vertigo that doesn’t last long – Last night I bent over and the world started to spin, I sat down and waited but it kept going. Stuart helped me to my chair and shortly afterward the spinning stopped. Yay! I still felt like I was moving for a while after, but the visual spins had stopped and that’s something to really be thankful for! Plus the meds gave me a good night’s sleep. 😉
My slow cooker – Organic chickens were on sale so we bought 2 and I was able to cut one up and use some of the bones to make stock in the slow cooker. For the other, I roasted the whole bird in the slow cooker, comes out like rotisserie chicken, so good, so easy, and something to eat on for days. Something to really be grateful for when I’m not feeling my best.
Imodium – need I say more? I ate way too many grapes and the next day I paid the price. Thank goodness there’s an over the counter drug to help stop me from running to the bathroom all day. ew.
Shoe strings – I have a pair of yellow high-top Converse that I wore during the reception of my wedding, almost 15 years ago. For years I haven’t had shoe strings for them. I don’t remember what happened to the first pair, the shoes look almost new, so I can’t imagine they just wore out. hmmm? I’ve bought numerous shoe strings that were supposed to fit and they were always either too short or way too long. Well this week I was wearing another pair of sneakers and the strings were wayyyyy too long, so I thought I’d try them in my “wedding” shoes….voila! I can now where my yellow high-tops with joy!
Dinner date set – Finally we have a date set for a dinner party we are throwing at our house. This dinner was originally supposed to be Christmas dinner on December 22nd, it has been rescheduled many times, for different reasons, mostly because of me. I am determined that no matter what it will go on this time! And celebrate my husband’s birthday at the same time!
Another possibility – My therapist recommended me for a study about chronic pain that I don’t qualify for…darn it…but I decided to ask some questions and the group gave me some good information. Now I have the name of a massage therapist who treats chronic pain, he is actually helping with the study, and I have a chronic pain support group in the area I can check out. Good things happen sometimes if you just ask.
Rover.com – we have been needing to find a pet sitter in the area, not that we are going on a trip soon, but if something comes up we need to have a sitter all set up, and our little girl is very picky about who takes care of her. After getting in touch with at least 5 sitters through Rover and meeting up with 3 so far, we know we’ve found at least one that Kiki will adore, and she just lives around the corner! I’m so thankful that we found her and so thankful there is a site like Rover that makes searching for a pet sitter so much easier.
My heating pad – Something as simple as a heating pad, which I’m using right now, can bring such comfort to me. I’m so very thankful that the heat relieves part of the pain in my back and hip recently.

That’s my 10 for the week.

Extra – I’m thankful my Lantanas are blooming. So are the butterflies.

How about you? What are you thankful for this week?

My Doctor Treats Me Different – Mental Health Stigma

On February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 By WendyIn Bipolar, Bipolar, Chronic Illness13 Comments

For the first time since my diagnosis in 1996 I’ve felt that I’ve been treated completely differently because of my mental illness. Perhaps it was because I mostly stable for so long and my few people have ever seen me have an episode, but this came from my doctor.

Since we moved to Tucson 8 months ago I had to get a new PCP (Primary Care Physician), I initially wasn’t sure about her, she seemed a little too friendly, and one of the first things she said was that she wouldn’t write a prescription for diazipam. (I didn’t ask, I’d get that from my ENT anyway), but I gave her a chance. I admit I went in there not expecting much so I felt that’s what I got. The second visit was much better. Every time I’ve seen her she hugged me, until I told her about my mixed mania episode. Now things are different.

I saw her on Friday for back pain. I felt like she dismissed things I said. I tried to talk about the back pain and she asked what I wanted to do about it. I said, “fix it”. “How do you want to do that?” I jokingly said, “I want you to fix it.” and I laughted. She said, “I can’t do that”, in a very abrupt way. She immediately said she would refer me to PT. I tried to say that I wasn’t sure it was muscular, I was concerned it may be arthritis. “No. You need PT”. She normally talks well so I can understand and is friendly, on Friday I had to turn my cochlear implants DOWN because she was so LOUD. She didn’t even want to look at my back, when I said where it was, she said she thought it was my lower back….”well bitch if you had asked you’d know!”, I thought to myself. She touched me and said, “I expected it to be tighter”, in a much lower voice to my husband. I tried to tell her that it feels different, but she dismissed me. I needed to go to PT. Fine, I’ll go to PT and I’ll find a new PCP! (you’d think she thought I was seeking drugs but I’m allergic to opioids, and she knows that, so WTF? I just wanted a discussion and maybe an xray)

I may have made the grave mistake of telling her about my episode, but when my drug list started to change, that would be a pretty obvious clue things were changing. I also mentioned I had back pain as a side effect from akathesia due to a side effect form Latuda 2 years prior, I should not have said that…..WAIT!……………

What am I saying?? I should have been able to say all of that!! My general doctor should be able to be aware of my mental health issues and not start treating me like I’m not able to think for myself.

I will be firing her soon and I will make sure that she and the office know why I am doing so. This is crazy, I’m not!

Thankful Tuesday #TToT 1.29.19

On January 29, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gratitude4 Comments

I enjoyed participating in the Ten Things of Thankful challenge last week I thought I’d try to make it an ongoing post.

My week has been filled with ups and downs, but there are always things to be thankful for:

The first thing I’m thankful for is that my ultrasound I had last week showed that the hydronephrosis is clearing on it’s own. A severe UTI can really cause some major issues, I was shocked. Now I’m thrilled it’s all working out with no further treatment. (you can read more about all of this at these 2 post: My Plumbing Doesn’t work and Unblocked!
My cousin from NC was able to drop by for an impromptu visit while in town for work. That was super cool! I’ve been a little homesick and that made things much better.
The weather has been awesome this week. Sitting in the sun soaking up some Vitamin D has been a regular event. I’m so thankful for sunshine in the winter. (helps that I live in the desert)
Our fireplace works. I know I just said how amazing the weather is but we had a cold night and it was nice to have a fire built to take the chill off. Here in Tucson the nights can dip in the 30’sF then the days can hit in the 70’sF. 30F nights are not that common though and most days are in the 60’sF.
I’m grateful I found a new therapist, I see her for the fist time tomorrow. Wish me luck. We’ve emailed a bit so I feel comfortable going in already.
As with every week, I’m grateful for my husband. He has been putting in some long hours at work. I’ve been in pain this week and I haven’t been able to do much, Stuart has done so much, and takes care of me too.
I’m grateful we have a TV, when I’m laid up it’s a comfort to just sit and veg in front of the idiot box. 🙂
For running water. I really thought about this this week. As I mentioned I live in the desert, I feel it is such a luxury to have water all the time. It makes me want to conserve it as much as possible.
I found out we can recycle more than we thought we could. Yay! Less garbage. Also, the sanitation department asks that we simply throw our food scraps in the trash can and rinse it out a little instead of putting it in bags, much less plastic in the landfill. This one is a bit harder to do though, but we are going to try.
My friends. One sent me an awesome surprise! One is now able to text me almost everyday, that makes it so much easier to keep up with each other. One is my chosen sister. One keeps me sane and teaches me so much every time we talk. All the wonderful friends who check on me and comment on my blog, and simply make me feel loved. I hope I do the same for you.

What are you thankful for this week?

If you’d like to particiapate in TToT here’s what you do:

If you are interested in participating here’s the link to it. Ten Things of Thankful
“The blog hop opens every Friday morning at 1:00 a.m. Mountain time, and closes the following Tuesday at 11:55 p.m. Mountain time.”

“Every week, bloggers from all over the world gather together here online to share with each other the things that they have been thankful for during the past week. Although the number ten is in the title, that is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.”

Unblocked!!

On January 28, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness14 Comments

I’m happy to report that my ultrasound showed that my ureter (my kidney plumbing that was not working right) is going back to normal and I will be fine without further action, no more hydronephrosis!! Yay! Happy Dance!! If you missed the post about all of this, you can find it here: My Plumbing Doesn’t Work

However, they found that I have a kidney stone on both sides. Bummer. They are small enough to pass, but they will probably hurt….a lot. Bigger bummer. I now have to do a 24 hour urine collection. Yes, I have to pee in a “hat”, (that is actually what they call the collection container that fits in the toilet) then I put it in a jug and keep it in my refrigerator the whole time. It’s not so much the eww factor, my refrigerator is small! and the jug is a 2 liter. Since I drink so much water I’ve been given 2 jugs, just in case. That was kinda funny. I actually hope I do have to use both just to shock the ladies in the lab, they were very surprised when they were told to give me 2! LOL. But there will be nothing in the refrigerator to eat, just pee. Okay a little Eww factor. When I take the urine back, I have to get labs done, they are checking for risk factors for kidney stones (what I eat, drink, medications, genes….).

I’ll keep posting as we find out more, but I don’t have another appointment with her until April. That’s a very good sign that I’m doing well.

Feeling Old

On January 26, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness35 Comments

I just want to talk about something kind of silly today.

I was looking at my wedding pictures the other day and realized, I don’t look like that any more. It it will be 15 years in September, so go figure I don’t look the same, but golly, I sure was disappointed. Does the gray hair really age me? I actually like my gray, I think I have pretty streaks, I think it’s kinda cool. Looking close in the mirror at the new wrinkles is not such a welcome site. Suddenly, when I wasn’t looking, I got older.

Photo taken June 20, 2018
A good hair day….a little wet.

I never thought it would happen but I’m completely out of touch with today’s main stream society; by that I mean, fashion, popular TV, movies, and music. I was watching TV last night and there were so many commercials in which I had no idea who the people were. My TV watching normally includes cooking shows, cartoons, and British mysteries…with a little science fiction mixed in, last night we were watching The Good Place (not live, on DVR). I know very, very little about the new music and their artist, and most of the newer actors. Some I know by site, but I don’t know their names. Some I’ve heard of, but I don’t know anything they’ve done. Okay, the music is understandable since I can’t hear most music anymore, but it still makes me feel so out of touch. Even before I lost my hearing I wasn’t a fan of a lot of rap music. I often feel like it’s is yelling at me, if I wanted to hear someone yelling at me all the time, I’d have lived with my father.

Fashion these days? I simply do not understand leggings being used as pants. I once saw a billboard that said, “Leggings Are Not Pants”. They were advertising a store that sells office work clothes but, I just squealed! Exactly! I think they have their place, under a long shirt or tunic (that’s how I wear them), at the gym…but wearing them all the time out in public? I don’t think it looks good on anyone. I do wear nice yoga pants out in public, but they look like normal pants. Well, not normal pants that you see now a days, they are all “skinny”. Why does everyone desire to wear something called “skinny”? I think of “skinny” as someone who is underweight, no one needs to be skinny, sometimes it’s not a choice, but skinny is not something one should strive for, in my opinion,. Okay, I admit I tried on a pair of skinny jeans, eww, just ewww. Yeah, I’m not skinny and that’s okay. I’d rather be comfortable and look good. I probably just look like an old lady now, but I think that’s better than looking like my clothes are spray painted on.

It’s also very evident that I’m older because I found myself saying, “In my day….”, and calling a 30+ year old a kid. Also because I don’t have a tattoo. I like many that I see, but I do get a bit confused when I see so many on one person that I can’t tell what any are, and when someone gets one on their face, I have to wonder if they are going to regret that one. When I was younger I always said that I wouldn’t get one because I don’t know what it might look like when I’m old. Will it be stretched out, saggy, all faded and ugly? I guess now that I’m older I can get one and not worry about those things. Biggest problem there, not only do I not have any idea what I’d get or where I’d get it, the idea of being hurt intentionally for it, makes me run the other way, and I don’t really like the idea of having anything on my body permanently. But I do play with temporary tattoos. See…..

This is a Manifestation tattoo from Conscious Ink
“Let Go” is something I am trying to remember.

Remember all opinions expressed here are my own.

Today I’m feeling old.

Tomorrow maybe I’ll feel young again.

*all photos are the sole property of W. Holcombe.

Ten Things of Thankful – Mid January

On January 22, 2019 By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Thankful16 Comments

Today I’m taking part in the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) challenge.
“Every week, bloggers from all over the world gather together here online to share with each other the things that they have been thankful for during the past week. Although the number ten is in the title, that is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.” If you are interested in participating here’s the link to it. Ten Things of Thankful
“The blog hop opens every Friday morning at 1:00 a.m. Mountain time, and closes the following Tuesday at 11:55 p.m. Mountain time.?”

This week I’m thankful for:

feeling better mentally and starting to get back to being me.
my dog always being there for a cuddle, support, and listening to me when I need to talk. 🙂
being able to drive this past Thursday, only 1 mile to the store, but it was glorious. (I haven’t been able to drive in the past few months)
the weather was so nice when I drove I was able to take the top down on my car.
my father-in-law’s wife appears to be okay after a fainting spell and a fall.
I was able to go to my nephew’s birthday party and got to play with the sweetest child I think I’ve ever met. Such joy was emanating for her, I didn’t care I was hurting, she said she wanted to play with me instead of the other kids, that warmed my heart.
I have the ultrasound on my kidney’s tomorrow to see if my ureter is still causing my urine to stay in my kidney’s too long.
I have the love of my blogging friends and family. One in particular is going though a very challenging time, I’m grateful she can talk to me.
I was able to just throw together a soup yesterday with mainly just pantry ingredients.
last but certainly not least, I’m very grateful my friends who live where the blizzard has occurred are safe.
extra…I’m grateful we had a few 70F degree days this week, it was a joy, and I’m grateful we have a fireplace for the cold night we’re getting tonight. (the warm weather will be back on the weekend…Yay!)

I think I could have gone on, there are so many things I’m thankful for this week. Some weeks I really have to struggle, but I’m so thankful for so many things. Like this challenge, I needed it to show me how thankful I am for so much!

What are you thankful for this week?

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