Important Please Read- Flu and Cold

Published on December 31, 2017 by Sandie D3 Comments

I was going to post this on my Facebook page, so hopefully people will read this. I normally only post about me having CIPD/GBS and Myastehenia on awareness weeks or months. I will go into what they are more when it is the awareness months since this is about having a little bit of respect for those who can lose their lives if they get sick. But, I am rather ticked off right now that I am sick once again with a different strain of either the cold of the flu. I get that people may not know they are coming down with something. But, for those who know they are sick, please stay away from me.

I’m on my 3rd or 4th round of the cold and flu. Not everyone realizes that I have two auto-immune diseases and while it may seem like it on the outside, but a simple cold or the flu can cause me and others like me so many problems.

I have three friends that have recently gone through cancer treatments. One friend who has a child that has cancer and his life is in the balance if he gets sick. I hate sounding rude, but when something like the cold and the flu could kill someone, then I take it pretty serious.

The first time I came down with Guillian Barre Syndrome and it was from the flu shot. I was paralyzed on a ventilator and unable to walk for almost a year. I couldn’t open or close my eyes, I was unable to speak or breath on my own. I couldn’t even lift a pencil. Prior to that, I was able to run 9-15 miles a day. After that, I couldn’t eat, drink or breath on my own.

The second time I came down with Guillian Barre Syndrome it was because someone came over to my house and starting coughing and said it wasn’t nothing major, probably just the cold or the flu. Hello! That time I spent 3 months in the hospital and another 6 weeks in a care center trying to learn to walk again.

The last time I had it, it was again because someone was coughing and not covering their mouth. Again, I was partially paralyzed and unable to breath on my own. This is very serious for those of us who have no auto-immune system. After this time in the hospital they then said that I had the CIPD variant of Guillian Barre Syndrome. Which is the chronic form. There are many who have this false idea that once someone get’s Guillian Barre Syndrome, they will be fine, that is a lie and bogus. I can hook anyone up with hundreds and hundreds of names of those who have either lost their lives or mobility.

IF YOU ARE SICK STAY HOME!

1. The flu kills children and adults with cancer and those who are auto-immune compromised systems.

2. Pneumonia kills children and adults with cancer and those who are auto-immune compromised systems.

3. Viruses kill children and adults with cancer and those who are auto-immune compromised systems.

4. Strep kills children and adults with cancer and those who are auto-immune compromised systems.

5. A fever for them means a hospital admission, port cultures, tests.

Those who have compromised immune systems can do everything right. Stay home, sanitize, etc. But, if I go the grocery store, the post office, heck, ANYWHERE. It’s incredibly easy for me to pick up your germs and bring them home.

When I was working at Lin’s Grocery Store, I was checking a costumer out that was obviously they were sick. They were coughing and looked like they were running a fever. I asked them about why was it that nobody would go to the store for them. As she was answering a friend of mine from church came into my line. Bill Cook was an amazing person. I think at the time he was fighting for his own life. But, this woman says that she could have had someone else come in but she was good enough to go. I couldn’t really say much since I was in ear shot of my manager.

roseandbill — Rose and Bill Cook- Thank you Bill

I told her that not everyone can get sick because it could kill them. As she was getting ready to fill in her check, she had the audacity to even ask to borrow my pen. Oh my gosh, Bill was my angel that day. He said what I couldn’t say. He ripped into her and anyone else in earshot about the dangers of me getting sick. Even though he didn’t know exactly what I had or how to pronounce it, he made sure to let her and everyone know that if they are sick they need to stay home. My boss listened to what Bill said and he was very impressed. I then told my boss that Bill just got diagnosis with cancer and I believe he was on hospice at the time. Bill brought tears to my eyes with what he did. I actually had to take a break. I’m pretty sure that woman and everyone else got the message that day. My heart sunk though because I knew how critical Bill was at the time and here he is going to bat for me and not even saying that he is fighting for his life too. I can totally feel Bill around me.

Special thanks to Bill Cook. You are missed by so many and I feel incredibly blessed and humble to call you not just a friend, but a true angel.

I’m not being rude, I’m being honest.! If you are sick, stay home. Wash your hands often, sanitize cart handles, never visit compromised children or the elderly, and feel better soon!

I don’t know about where you live, but I know if someone is sick here, there are a few pharmacies that will deliver medications. There are grocery stores that will shop for you and some even bring it to you.

My first choice of pharmacies is Brents Pharmacy:

Brent’s Pharmacy & Diabetes Care

Mon-Fri 10:00am – 6:00pm

Sat 11:00am – 3:00pm

Sun Closed

Website: brentspharmacy.com

Phone: (435) 674-5667

Address: 1091 N Bluff St, St George, UT 84770

Stapley Pharmacy has a number of locations. You can find out all of the locations on their website.

Phone: (435) 673-3575

Store Hours:

Monday-Friday 9am-7pm
Saturday 9am-5pm
Closed Sunday & major holidays

Website: http://www.stapleypharmacy.com/

Address: 102 East City Center St. George, UT 84770

If you need groceries and you must go to the store. Both Smiths and Lins has it where they will do the grocery shopping and they will bring it out to your car. Just go online to their website and choose what you want to buy and set up the time to pick them up. I live by Smiths, so I get my food online and then drive down the street. I got the first 3 times free. But, it is only 5.00 to have them do everything for you and they even get special items, load them and they will bring your flu and cold medications out to you. If you can’t find someone to go get your meds or food, this is a good option.

Advent Week 2- Peace

Published on December 12, 2017 by Sandie DLeave a comment

The Meaning of the Advent Wreath

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I never really paid much attention to the word “Advent” until we started going to the little church we are going to now. Pastor Ellis Keck observed most of the holidays.

The Latin world Advent comes from the word Advent comes from the word adventus which means arrival. Advent begins 4 weeks prior to Christmas. From what pastor Ellis said it is a time for us to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by coming to earth as a baby.

Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Second Week of Advent is the week of Peace. The verse above tells us that Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace. Jesus came to save us from our sin. All we need to do is trust in Jesus Christ and believe that He is the Son of God.

“The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth — the very thing the whole story has been about.” — C.S. Lewis

I was looking up what each color of the candle means or represents. The purple candle is called the Candle of Preparation /Bethlehem Candle. From what a number of websites and resources have said that when the word “preparation” is used, it means to “get ready”. People Get Ready Song by Crystal Lewis

Jesus is the light of the world, and we should always be prepared for His return. At Christmas time, people have their minds set on getting ready for the return of Christ. In reality and in my view, we should ALWAYS be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ the Messiah.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”…

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, (Micah 5:2, 4-5)

6-november-2011-for-unto-us-a-child-is-born3

Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In closing, I just want to leave you with this prayer;

Father in heaven, thank you for the gift of your son Jesus who came to be the Prince of Peace and save us from our sinfulness. You sent Your Son as a teeny tiny little baby. He inspired a new way of living in this dark world. Your Son Jesus Christ inspired an awesome way of being in this world, but not of it and I know that I am eternally grateful for His gift of life. Because of this sinless and perfect child’s gift He has become the brightest light of hope and mercy in an otherwise dark and empty world.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Advent Week One- Hope

Published on December 3, 2017 by Sandie DLeave a comment

I don’t celebrate very many holidays. Matter of fact most of them, I can totally live without. For me, the most important celebrations and observances are Christmas and Easter. This year, I did put up decorations, but we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Easter Sunday. We celebrate, the birth, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most of the other holidays are all a money thing.

Week 1-
JESUS is our HOPE.
Hope believes that the best is yet to come.
Christ, in You, is the hope of glory.
It is HE Whom we proclaim.
Colossians 1: 27

Scripture Reading

Mark 13:33-37 (NIV)

³³Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.³⁴It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servantsin charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.” —Hebrews 11:6

Advent means ‘coming’. In the Old Testament believers anticipated and was watching for the coming of the Messiah. In the New Testament believers are eagerly waiting for the second coming of Christ. I know I have been watching for and waiting for Christ to come again.

We live in fast paced world. We expect everything to happen right now. Waiting is very difficult since we are use to getting emails right away, food from the microwave and all kinds of other things. Even though I would be more than happy to have Christ come right now, I can pretty much guarantee that I will have to wait just like everyone else. But, He is going to be coming again and what a joyous time that will be.

Romans 15:13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in Him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Patience aren’t my cup of tea. Some of us aren’t very patient. People have said that elf and return home.

Many of us are waiting for the phone to ring so we can return to a job with a normal salary and benefits.

Others are waiting for an eye-opening spiritual breakthrough.

Waiting is the embodiment of faith.

In Hebrews 11:13 we are reminded that faith involves trust in God’s promise even if the promises of God are fulfilled long after we’re gone. The writer says, “These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance …” (Emphasis added.)

Remain Faithful

Advent is about faith and waiting. What are you waiting on God for this year? Remember the years of silence as God’s people waited for the Messiah. Take time today, right now, to reflect on the fact that God’s timing is quite different from ours.

The story of Jesus’ birth gives us assurance and joy because even though the waiting lingered for decades, God broke through at just the right time.

Are you struggling with a lack of faith? That’s OK. It doesn’t take much faith to get God’s attention. Jesus encouraged his frustrated followers this way:

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

An entire nation waited centuries before their eternal king appeared.
Mary wasn’t given a full-grown son.
The Wise Men from the east didn’t see the Messiah to appear at their front door.

Are you willing to plant faith and wait upon God? Nothing seems to be appearing on the horizon today, but just wait! God always keeps his promises, even to those who have little faith. Just wait.

Today: How Waiting Affects You

Share: Share with a friend or family member something you are waiting for.

Encourage: Encourage someone you know who is weary of waiting. Remind them of God’s promises.

Evaluate: Take inventory of your relationship with God. Are you struggling with His silence?

Pray: Lord, I remember the years of waiting for a Messiah. I’m often impatient with my life. Please teach me to enjoy You and not just the blessings I see in Your hands. Fill my days with laughter and joy through hardship and uncertainty. Remind me that when I think I’m waiting for an eternity, it really isn’t. Life on this earth is infinitesimally smaller than a second in the light of true eternity.

Express: Create a decorative graffiti poster of things you have faith God will do for you, your family, and your church in the coming year. If you have kids, invite them be a part of the project. This is a great time to teach them about the concept of faith. Display it in a prominent place in your home.

First Sunday of Advent 2017
December 3, 2017 in the World

An Advent wreath with a burning candle.

The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Jesus Christ as savior and to his second coming as judge, special readings are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent. This text has been taken from www.cute-calendar.com

Video about the advent week 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj7ZEi4iMbQ

God created man and man sinned against God. Ever since then there has been no escaping the curse of the garden. We experience the effects of the fall every day and in every season.

The beauty of this Advent season is the building anticipation of our coming Hope. Jesus Christ is our only hope in life and in death. He is our Savior from the effects of sin, as well as our Redeemer from the wages of it.

I know this sounds like a lot, and it actually is. But these things have become part of the fabric of this season for our family. It all started out very simply when our children were young. As they grew older, we began branching out, but they didn’t want to stop what we were doing previously. And so it continued…

Over time, tradition has been created in our home, and now what used to be a chore has become a much anticipated precious time with our family. It changes our entire Christmas season by helping us focus our hearts on Christ. We’ve been marked by the manger.

If you’re not already, we encourage you to begin an Advent journey with your family. Make haste toward the “baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger”. (Luke 2:12) Build the excitement and awe of the Creator taking on the form of the created to redeem fallen man and call His own for His glory.

Ganglion Cysts- Smash or Drain

Published on December 1, 2017December 7, 2017 by Sandie D2 Comments

A couple of days ago, I started looking up ways to get rid of a ganglion cyst. I had a super huge one on my foot and have gone to the foot Dr and he did an ultrasound and xrays. I would not suggest this if you haven’t had it checked out by a Dr.

A ganglion cyst is basically a sac which is filled with fluid that arises from either a joint (space between two bones) or from a tendon (structure which attaches a muscle into a bone). Inside this cyst is a substance which is sticky, thick, clear, jellylike as well as colorless. Contingent on the size, cysts can feel spongy or firm.

4453-4463-5247-11781 — **This is a ganglion cyst on the wrist. But, mine was the same size, but on top of my foot.**

I guess these kinds of cysts are common when shoes are too tight. But, I haven’t been able to wear shoes for a long time because of the size of this. The Dr said they could surgically remove it or drain it. When I was in the hospital a month ago, the Dr said they are also called Bible Cysts. The reason they call them that is because it use to be common practice to hit the cyst with a Bible since it was a big book and heavy back then. I told the neuro that I am not going to hit my foot with any kind of book and for sure not a Bible. Instead of just having a huge cyst on my foot, I would need a cast when I broke it lol. Since I already knew what it was and what the Dr’s said, I was thinking draining it would be the best option. I went onto Youtube to figure out if I could do it.

Why are they called Bible Cysts:

I found this information on A “Nation in Motion” In the “old days,” a condition called ganglion cysts was referred to as “Bible bumps,” because doctors would tell people to “just smash them with a Bible.” I don’t recommend that because there have been instances of people breaking bones in the wrist that way (turning a little problem into a big one!).

Ganglion cysts are the most common mass in the hand and wrist. They are usually found on the back of the wrist, but also can be found in many other places on the hand and wrist. Smaller cysts can look (or feel) like bumps; the larger ones can look or feel like bubbles, balloons, or balls under the skin.

Here is the video for the book smash…… I watched this video and it was very helpful in me making the discussion to NOT hit my foot with a book, lol. But, some would be OK with that.

ganglion_cyst_wrist_dorsum_lictao_12may5_postasp_gel — **This is the liquid inside of the cyst. It is thick kind of like hand sanitizer and sticky. It will take a bigger needle because of how thick the liquid is.**

I came across a number of videos and one of them was the book way of doing things. My cyst was bigger than his though. I don’t know why I didn’t do this a long time ago. But, shoot, I have a lot of needles at my house since I’m on IV’s and use them a few times a day. Now, normally I just draw the fluid out of the viles and take the needle off. I never feel the needles going in unless it’s when my port access is changed each week. I took some of the numbing cream I use for my port access change and put it on the cyst. About 30 minutes later, I inserted the needle. With the cream, I didn’t feel a thing. It hurt much more to have it on my foot. But, about 30 minutes later, it was mostly gone and tonight when I took my bath with the hot water running on it, the rest of it is gone.

The foot Dr I went to see would have charged me over $500.00. Shoot, probably into the thousands since they consider it surgery. But, it cost me nothing and I wish I would have done it a long time ago. The fluid is really thick, and that was the hardest to do since it isn’t like water per say. It is thick like lotion.

If you have a ganglion cyst. I would recommend this video. I found it incredibly helpful. He is actually a Dr, so this isn’t some crazy person. It’s about 20 minutes long, but worth your time. Out of all of the information I found, this is the best video.

Proven Self-Help Remedies To Heal Your Ganglion Cyst – Dr. Alan Mandell, D.C.

Tonight, I finished draining it under water. I thought it would be painful, but I didn’t feel a thing with it. Now, I stubbed my little toe on the same foot last week, that hurts lol. But, now my ganglion cyst is GONE…

I have read on many sites and my Dr’s have said that there is no guarantee that the ganglion cysts won’t return, even if they are surgically removed. Since I just drained my own, I know that there is a chance it will come back. But, now I know it can be drained and it is painless. I do want to say this as a word of caution. Please be sure to see a Dr before you do this or the Bible/Book Smash. Even though it is rare, injury to tendons, blood vessels or nerves may occur. These can cause weakness, restricted motion, or numbness. I would never have done this myself if it wasn’t for going to the Dr and getting an ultrasound of the area and xrays.

Here are some home remedies for ganglion cysts. The link for Dr. Alan Mandell also discusses these on his video. I posted that a earlier in this post. I am going to try a few of these to help heal the area and hopefully prevent it from coming back.

All of the sites that I have gone to in order to figure out if there is a way to get rid of this thing without paying an arm and a leg. These are a few of the things that they have said that increase your risk of ganglion cysts include:

Your sex and age. Ganglion cysts can develop in anyone, but they most commonly occur in women between the ages of 20 and 40.
Osteoarthritis. People who have wear-and-tear arthritis in the finger joints closest to their fingernails are at higher risk of developing ganglion cysts near those joints.
Joint or tendon injury. Joints or tendons that have been injured in the past are more likely to develop ganglion cysts.
Shoes– I got my cyst on the top of my foot because when I lace my shoes, they would be to tight. I may have to change how I tie my shoes.

On Mayo Clinics Website they shared this little tidbit, which I did take into account. But, since I’m on home health and have sterile things and syringes, I ignored the part where it says to NOT drain yourself at home. I have access to sterile supplies. If I didn’t have access, then I wouldn’t have done it the way I did. I did listen about beating it with a book though lol.

Mayo Clinics Warning: An old home remedy for a ganglion cyst consisted of “thumping” the cyst with a heavy object. This isn’t a good solution because the force of the blow can damage surrounding structures in your hand or foot. Also don’t try to “pop” the cyst yourself by puncturing it with a needle. This is unlikely to be effective and can lead to infection.

Month: December 2017