Me from A to Z

A- Age:  34

B- Bed size:  Queen

C- Chore you hate:  Vacuuming

D- Dogs:  Two Maltese, Milo & Maisy

E- Essential start to your day:  Coffee and Meds

F- Favorite color:  Pink

G- Gold or silver:  Silver

H- Height: 5' 9.5"

I- Instruments I play:  None, although I wish I knew how to play piano.
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J- Job Title:  Registered Nurse

K- Kids:  Two awesome boys, Brendan (12) and Zachary (8).

L- Live:  In Florida

M- Maiden name:  Salley

N- Nicknames:  Jess, Jessie

O- Overnight hospital stays:  Yes...many, unfortunately.

P- Pet peeve:  Nail biting...Zachary and Jesse both bite their nails and it drives me nuts!

Q- Quote:  "One day at a time".  Not exactly insightful but it's how I live my life.  That and "Medicated and Motivated!"

R- Righty or lefty:  Lefty

S- Siblings:  Two sisters, Jen and Jackie, and one brother, Tim.

U- University or college attended:  Florida College of Natural Health (Esthetician) and South College of Florida (Registered Nurse).

V- Vegetables you dislike:  Cucumbers

W- What makes you run late:  Oversleeping and Kids

X- X-rays you’ve had:  Too many to count, but lots.

Y- Yummy food:  Sushi and Italian

Z- Zoo animal favorite:  Monkeys

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I got this idea over at The Sassy Lime ...I would love for others to play along, so if you do, make sure to leave me a comment with a link to your blog so I can read your answers!!!
 
Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend.  Mine's been rough and I have alot to tell, but cannot muster the strength to do so today!  Fill ya all in later!
 
Love, Jess
 

 
P.S....See that message on my shirt..."Hot Mess"...Yup...that's me!

Perfect Babies

One of my oldest and closest friends, Kelly, moved back home this week with her precious, newest additions.  This is Kathryn and Sydney.  I was dying to get my hands on them and take some pictures.  Being babies, they did not cooperate as well as I would of liked, but I still got some great shots.

There is nothing I love more than tiny, yummy newborn babies.  They are so soft and smell so sweet.  Technically, Kathryn and Sydney are not newborn though.  They were born premature, weighing 4 lbs each.  Now they are about 7 weeks old, weighing 7 lbs each.

Perfect itty, bitty baby toes are my absolute favorite.  That, and teeny tiny baby butts!  Nothing cuter!  I am so greatful to have my friend and her family home.  Kelly is my friend I wrote about in a previous post about my panic attacks and agoraphobia.  She isn't my friend, she is another sister.

I also took some amazing photos of her two little boys as well...which I will post later.  They are so handsome and just as sweet. 

On a different note...I go for my MRI in an hour and a half.  Which really means I should be in the shower, but I just had to post some of my new pictures!



My Brain is Too Big

Turns out my brain might be too big for my skull.

Chiari Malformation was brought up as a possibility a couple of years ago by my previous neurologist.  After an MRI of my brain, he ruled it out.

I went yesterday to Dr. Feelgood's office for my 6 week check up and a medication refill.  Unbeknownst to me, Dr. Feelgood was out of town and I saw one of his associates.  I hadn't seen this dr. before, so I was asked to go through my entire medical history. 

She decided to pull up some of my MRI scans and review them for herself, right then and there.

After going over them for what seemed like forever....she is of the opinion that my MRI is definately abnormal with the cerebellar tonsils extending into the foramen magnum, possibly compressing the brainstem.

In layman's terms...my brain is too big for my skull.

No wonder my head feels like it is about to explode.

I do not want to get my hopes up, thinking I found an answer.

I am also nervous that this might be the right answer.  Which will most likely mean that brain surgery will be in my future.

I am scheduled for 2 more MRI's. 

In the meantime, I have weaned myself off of one of my pain meds as I felt it was not helping, and the dr. added Baclofen to take three times a day.

I do not know if it is the Baclofen, or the weather...but my head has been killing me these past two days, more than normal.  Not a migraine...just a more severe pounding.

I know some of you out there are currently taking Baclofen...does it cause you to have headaches?

Click here for more information on Chiari Malformation

Quick Question

Anyone ever tried Stadol NS for their head? I've read mixed reviews and was thinking maybe I should ask my Neuro to try it. I give Stadol IV frequently to my laboring patients, but don't know anyone personally who has used it for Migraine.