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Introduction Text Thursday, August 16, 2012 Hi, everyone! Hope everyone is having a good day... Things in Cleveland went well today. We arrived, and I was admitted on the surgical unit at 5:30. They got me in my gown and settled and let my sister Pat and her husband, Bill, and Richelle and Ken spend time with me before they took me back. I got my last pre-surgery kisses from everyone at 7:30. They took me back at 7:37 to the OR to get me draped and positioned. The actual surgery began at 9:06. Dr. Luciano called and talked to Richelle at 11:57. He let everyone know that the surgery went very well. They were not able to get all of the cyst removed. When Dr. Mark Luciano got in there the fluid inside was the consIstency of wax. He had it tested, it was definitely benign. He proceeded to remove what he could. It allowed for a portion of the center wax to be removed and part of the outer hardened capsule to be removed. He was not able to remove more because of artery involvement and the potential for causing a brain bleed. Plus, it seemed unlikely that it would help as the cavities the cerebrospinal fluid travels through were opened with what was able to be removed and fluid started draining normally. It just was not possible to safely do more with the endoscope, and it didn't seem safe or prudent to have a full craniotomy when the end result of having the fluid drain was achieved with the work already completed. I am blessed that I have a doctor who thinks about safety and best possible outcomes. I was in good hands today! God was walking with me and I had a wonderful Christian surgeon who prayed with me and for me before my surgery started. Anyway, I was moved to the PACU at 12:17. Everyone was notified that I was in stable condition at 1:45, but I wasn't allowed to see anyone. At 3:20, they let my family know that as soon as floor reports were finished and I was settled they would be allowed to visit. In the meantime, they were moving me to the Neurological step down unit. I was there by 3:45. My family was moved to the floor to visit at 3:55. They were told that it would take about 15 minutes for me to get settled and cleaned up for visitors... It was 4:48 when they finally let everyone back to see me. I was resting... Not so happily it seemed. I kept patting the shaved spot on my head and trying to scratch my nose. Maybe when I wake up I will be able to tell everyone what I was dreaming about... I know my family was just very relieved to see me!! (All from the perspective of my DD Richelle) 6/15/12 My appointment with the neurosurgeon at Cleveland Clinic went extremely well. I was very impressed with Dr. Luciano and really liked his personality. My pre-op physical and tests will be on August 9th with my brain surgery scheduled for August 16. I thank God for everything that has happened in my life, the good and the bad, for it has made me the person I am today. I am so glad that I can lean on Him and trust that He will always be there...carrying me when necessary. God is good all the time!!! 5/4/12 God is totally in control of my life. After leaving the kidney clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on March 16, DH and I were involved in an auto accident. Because I hit my head, they did a CAT scan which resulted in an MRI as they found a cyst on the brain and hydrocephalus (water on the brain). The accident was a blessing as it led to the MRI and diagnosis. I have an appointment with a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic on June 11. My medical doctor feels that this is why my blood pressure is so out of control at this time especially after such good control last year. God continues to bless me daily and He leads me in the direction He wants. I still have several health issues but I am given a new day every 24 hours to do the best I can and help others who are in need. For this and my life of many blessings and miracles, I thank God. 11/21/11 God is working harder than ever in my life but together we are doing what is necessary to get me to the healthiest I can be. I am diabetic but controlled now with a A1C of 6.0 and only on 20 units of Lantus at bedtime. My blood pressure is iffy at best and the doctor is working at changing my meds. However I am off four that I was on and now just on three. I think that is AWESOME!! Due to my recent hospitalization for chronic kidney disease, very high creatinine level and super high potassium, I am limited in potassium now also. I find that potassium like protein is in everything that lived whether it is plant or animal. The Celiac Disease eliminated wheat and flour, other than corn and rice flours (which are very limited due to high carbs), from my diet. Sure helps with controlling diabetes. Still on limited protein due to the kidney disease. I have been given several things to keep on top of, but I can and will continue to make the most of every day. I look around and truly see how blessed I am. The little problems that I have are just bumps in the road and I can slow down and take them one at a time. I am and will continue to be a winner!!! I start my morning with a prayer thanking God for my blessings and for giving me a new day to enjoy. I end my day recounting my blessing for the day...missing many of them as there are so many...but that is okay too, because God knows them all. 6/1/2011 I am getting a fresh start. I have a new doctor that I went to today. Two and a half years ago I went into complete renal failure. Praise God for bringing me through that situation. My doctor at that time took me off all my diabetes medication. Over a year later, she started me on insulins...humalog and lantus. As I continued to have reactions to the humalog and would tell her, she said no one has reactions to insulin and has kept me on it. My weight has continued to yo-yo again but consistently going up. I broke my hand and they told me I had gout. After x-rays and ten days later,they tell me it was broken. To much miscommunication and too much of the doctor not listening to me. I started a search for a new doctor and just had my first visit with her. She listened to what I had to say. First she took me off the massive amounts of humalog. I only take it this week for coverage and the lantus was cut in half. She also added 2 1/2 mg of glipizide which I took before the kidney issues. She immediately sent me for blood work as I told her my blood sugars are not being maintained or controlled with the insulin and my reaction to the humalog has been immediate and severe every time I take it. I will find the results of this on Tuesday when I have another appointment with her. She is working on one thing at a time and I am taking one day at a time. I showed her my food and exercise trackers from SP and she agrees that I should be still losing weight. I am shaking up my exercise program again also. Because of my Celiac Disease diabetes and kidney issues, my carbs and protein will remain limited as we start this new course of actions...tweaking as needed. I have reset my weight tracker as of 6/1/11 and will see what happens. My weight after not taking the insulin is steadily dropping and my blood glucose readings have dropped by half. Praise the Lord that I have found this new doctor and she will listen to what my body is telling me. I also thank Him that I have been given this chance to start once again. One day at time as I continue counting my blessings and living my healthier lifestyle. God is good and He walks with me daily as I continue my journey to the healthiest I can be. If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to let me know. I am here for you!! May God bless you as he continue to bless me!!! 9/11/2010 So much has gone on since 1/1/2010...many pounds have been lost and gained but we on Marla's Miracles are getting healthier. Still many pounds to go, but each day is a new day blessed by God!! He continues to work in our lives. Ken has battled and is winning against male breast cancer... surgery is over and healing is taking place. Praise God for the Cancer Treatment Centers of American especially the one in Philadelphia where he is treating. We have made many friends there who are also winning the battle against cancer!!! I am a survivor...beating the odds against Celiac Disease, Diverticulosis, Chronic Kidney Disease, Diabetes, Caudia Equina Syndrome, High Blood Pressure (mainly due to CKD) and a host of other issues. But God is good and He walks with me daily as I continue my journey to the healthiest I can be. If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to let me know. I am here for you!! May God bless you as he continue to bless me and mine!!! 1/1/2010 I am on a new journey to getting healthy ...called MARLA'S MIRACLES. She needs to lose 50 more pounds to get the new kidney she needs to save her life. GOAL DATE: July 1, 2010 Our team is working with her...she gets her new kidney...we get healthier!!! What a win/win situation for all of us!!! WOOHOO!!! My weight loss ticker has been changed and reset to 0...ready to fight for Marla!!! HELLO 2009!!! THE WORDS HANDICAPPED AND DISABLED ARE JUST WORDS THAT DESCRIBE. I AM NOT A QUITTER AND I DON'T GIVE UP...SO DON'T COUNT ME OUT!!! There are many things in life that we at times wish we could change...but then we would not be who we are today. Everything happens for a reason. We are given choices and it is up to each of us whether to make the choices and the changes that are necessary. I joined Spark People when I received an email from My Points.com on September 23, 2007 just four days after my 54th birthday...that day was the beginning of another miracle for me. Without the tools and information this site provides and all the support and encouragement I receive daily from all our members, I would not be here today. I would not have lived to see 2009. Because of Spark, I have lost weight and reduced my numbers dramatically, i.e. blood sugars, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. I am healthier than I have been in years. Cauda equina syndrome may be caused by a ruptured disk, tumor, infection, fracture, or narrowing of the spinal canal. It may also happen because of a violent impact, such as a car crash, a fall from significant height, or a penetrating injury, such as a gunshot or stabbing injury. Mine was caused by the surgeon who did my back surgery in 1984 and cut into the spine cord covering at the L4,L5,S1 and destroyed these same nerve endings. (Same effect as the stabbing injury.) I was paralyzed in the beginning and had to learn to walk, etc. again. I still deal with lack of bowel and bladder control as I have no feeling in the area of kidneys. Therefore I had nor have any way of knowing if there is ever an infection or if anything else wrong. This can be a blessing or a major problem...in my case it has been both. I didn't know I had anything wrong because I never have pain, but at the same time I have not experienced what is supposed to be debilitating pain so I didn't know that I was having problems. When I say God has blessed me multiple times, I am very serious. I did learn to walk again, drive my car, take care of my two daughters by myself and found there are many things you can use if you are incontinent (pads, diapers, etc.). I just do what I have to and continue on with my life. My girls grew up with my problems and are much stronger women and much more sensitive to people who have problems or who are different from the "normal". Even McKenzie is aware of the problems and just accepts it because that just the way it is and has been from the word go. If I run into a problem, I deal with it. I keep clean clothes with me and I just clean up, or take a shower. and continue on. McKenzie will get towels, etc for me...whatever I need depending on the situation. But she is also very aware of other people and their handicaps or problems and works very well with them. She is very special in many ways...She is a very giving child and is nice and helpful to everyone. God has truly blessed me and no one could ever possibly know how much. I have been the recipient of several miracles from our God!!! Praise him...for what he brings me to, he always leads or carries me through!!! Never forget that: If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God. I just have to tell it like it is...without God in my life, I would truly be lost. He is my lifeline every day. I look around and see others who are so much worse off them I am and I just count my blessings one more time. But for the grace of God, I am me--the me I am today!!! I am still diabetic, suffer from renal disease, and need to control my blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. I could have been paralyzed permanently and wasn't. I retrained myself to do so many things, and I always know that in any darkness, God will bring the sun shining right back into my life and is the one doing things for me and with me. He brought me through total acute kidney failure November 25, 2008, two days before Thanksgiving (when the doctors didn't think I would live through the night) and two subsequent surgeries with flying colors. I am truly a miracle child of God and will always remember that. We are all miracle children of God and if we just look around we would realize that. Today is a new day and each day is one to remember and praise Him. Daily...not a special time of year or any certain day...but every day! He gives us a new day every 24 hours and we need to remember that and make the most of each one of them. We are still to celebrate His birth, His life, and His death but we also need to remember Him every day of the year. I will strive to live my life the way God has chosen for me. My original introduction from 2008: I am still learning...and it's something new every day!! I am a Type 2 diabetic with a great A1C of 5.3 which I owe to Spark People and all our members. I now have 50% kidney function (GFR 50ML should be 90-200) so will be looking for a team there as soon as I have a minute. I am getting my BG and BP under control but my triglicerides are at 449 down from over 1800 but still way to high. This change in lifestyle is working toward better numbers for me and I am off three of my original medications. The doctors are telling me now that some of this is just hereditary. Imagine that...good explanation...take a pill for it, they say; but they don't say what other problems these pills will cause. I am still just taking one day at a time and with God's help, everything is working out. Excess weight is coming off slowly and eating healthy and walking, etc. seem to be working for me at this time thanks to SP, although I have a long way to go. I had much further to go when I first started back in September. Update... My last blood work shows my triglycerides down to 202 high but manageable, bp 130/65 and HDL up to 39 (up from 28) and LDL down to 135 (actually a great number now), A1C is a great 5.3. So SP is working great for me and my friends here are helping me get life under control and taking better care of myself. I still have a ways to go so that I can get off of more of the meds, but that too will come. I have lost 92 pounds with Spark People and another 5 pounds of the fifty pounds I am working on with Marla's Miracle Challenge!! This healthy lifestyle change is working great for me!!!

I am 62 years young, currently experiencing type 2 diabetes as well as CKD, Cauda Equina Syndrome, Celiac Disease, high blood pressure, diverticulosis, colloid cyst and Hydrocephalus. Praise God that it isn't worse!!! I am getting my triglycerides, cholesterol, weight and life under control. I am a Virgo...September 19...and tend to keep everything to myself. I am now sharing my feelings more and helping others as SparkPeople has helped me. Short term goal: getting under 200 pounds. Really looking forward to 199. Done! Down to 198.2 on Dec. 16. Next short term goal of 195 by New Years. Done! July 18 = 177 want to be down to 170 by Sept 19. Didn't make it, but it will happen!

I am taking one day (one step) at a time and trusting in God. With the help of Spark People I am learning to share. The encouragement and support between members has helped me tremendously and I now know more about what I am doing. But I continue trying and that is half the battle for me. I have lost 92 pounds and now changing my weight loss ticker to get a new jumpstart on losing again...a little motivation for myself!! 1/1/2010 I am on a new journey to getting healthy ...called Marla's Miracles. She needs to lose 50 more pounds to get the new kidney she needs to save her life. Our Moving It Team is working with her... she gets her new kidney...we all get healthier!!! What a win/win situation for all of us!!! WOOHOO!!! My weight loss ticker has been changed and reset to 0...ready to fight for Marla!!! She is now on a waiting list for her new kidney.

My name is Helen and I am from southwestern PA. I am the mother of two fantastic daughters, ages 40 and 35, a terrific grandson, age 19, who just celebrated his First Anniversary and is a full time Marine, a 12 year old adopted grandson, (They grow so quickly.) and a wonderful son/ son-in-law and a three month old grandson, Liam. I am also "Nanny" to a wonderful 10 year old...McKenzie, who is the "sunshine" in each day. She started kindergarten on Aug. 25, 2008, loved school from the very beginning and is excited about fifth grade this year! AWESOME!!

email = momma_bear_69@hotmail.com

Add a Link Helen/Southwestern PA Joined SP 9/23/2007 Co-leader of The Rainbow Bridge--Grieving the Loss of a Pet Spark Team "Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible." ~Mary McLeod Bethune "If you planted hope in a heart today in any hopeless heart, If someone's burden was lighter because you did your part, If you caused a laugh that chased a tear away, If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray, Then your day was well spent.
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