From my Aunt Callie a couple of days after her surgery, performed in Provo, UT:
Just wanted to update everyone on what’s happening. I’m feeling great! Here are a few of the things I’ve noticed
1- I put my pants on without sitting down or leaning against something. I know this seems stupid, but I haven’t been able to do that for years so my balance is getting better
2- I shaved my legs without having to hold up my leg and lean against the wall of the shower as much as I used to. Again, haven’t been able to do that in years either. I was still a bit wobbly but a lot better
3- Scott and I went on our 1 ½ mile walk this morning and wore my tennis shoes and my feet didn’t hurt…again haven’t been able to do that in years. I usually wear my little $3.00 Hawaii flip flops because they are the ONLY shoes I can wear that my feet don’t feel like I have tons of rocks in my shoes. Occasionally I will wear my tennis shoes but about half way on our walk my feet are KILLING ME and they didn’t hurt at all today. I was still a bit dizzy after the walk but not as bad as it usually is so I’m hoping that it will improve too.
4-One of the best things that I forgot to say was that I went to bed at 8:30pm last night and then woke up at 6:30am this morning and didn’t even feel tired when I woke up. Usually I can sleep 10 hours and when I wake up I feel like I haven’t even been to sleep so hoping the fatigue will get better because that’s one of the worst thing about MS.
Anyway, so blessed to have this behind and hopefully things will keep improving. My hands are still numb but they said it might be a few weeks so I’ll keep hoping! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!! Can’t wait for Marcia to have it done!!!!!!!!!
Love you all!
Callie
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Truly Thankful
Today, my Aunt Callie had her venogram. She's resting right now, and they should be letting her go home in about 25 minutes. I am so overwhelmed with gratitude. Her left jugular vein was narrowed in two places, her right jugular was narrowed, as well as her azygous vein. Amazing. They were able to open them successfully and she did great. Each time they ballooned another narrowing, she wept. Understandable. I hope so much that this helps her hands and feet.
For those of you who don't know, Callie has played a huge role in my life. I didn't have a present mom growing up, and in so many ways, Callie was there to be that mother figure for me. She allowed us 4 kids to stay with her in the summers, she let me live with her when I came out to college, she planned my entire wedding, she treats my children as if they are her own grandchildren (not that she's old enough for that!!!), and helps me in every way that she can. I remember one day when I got out of bed in the morning and slammed right into the wall because I was so dizzy. I had 3 little kids and Jake couldn't be reached at work, and my sweet Aunt Callie came to my rescue. She not only watched my kids, but she cleaned my house too. When I went to have my liberation in Costa Rica, Callie watched my littlest Jonah the entire time. She is truly a saint. I could go on and on and on about how much I look up to and admire this woman. But I won't. I'll just say that I pray this surgery helps her immensely.
For those of you who don't know, Callie has played a huge role in my life. I didn't have a present mom growing up, and in so many ways, Callie was there to be that mother figure for me. She allowed us 4 kids to stay with her in the summers, she let me live with her when I came out to college, she planned my entire wedding, she treats my children as if they are her own grandchildren (not that she's old enough for that!!!), and helps me in every way that she can. I remember one day when I got out of bed in the morning and slammed right into the wall because I was so dizzy. I had 3 little kids and Jake couldn't be reached at work, and my sweet Aunt Callie came to my rescue. She not only watched my kids, but she cleaned my house too. When I went to have my liberation in Costa Rica, Callie watched my littlest Jonah the entire time. She is truly a saint. I could go on and on and on about how much I look up to and admire this woman. But I won't. I'll just say that I pray this surgery helps her immensely.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Miracles are Happening!
It's a glorious day for a liberation!!! Wooohhooo!!!!!!!!! My sister Andrea (and my sister Brynn, her husband, our dad, and I) went into Utah Valley Regional Medical Center this morning for Andrea's venogram. Ready for the incredible news?! BOTH her left and right jugular veins were 75% closed!!! The dr. opened them up beautifully with a balloon angioplasty. Amazing that she was only diagnosed a month and a half ago and both of her jugular veins were stenosed! The dr. said he thinks they've been closed for years because the narrowed areas had a lot of built up scar tissue around them. Anways, she's doing well, still groggy from the meds they gave her, but resting comfortably at home. I can't wait to see what a difference it will make for her. We were so elated when they came in and told us the wonderful news.
Also, as if that wasn't enough excitement, when we arrived at the hospital and they took us back to our room, there was Lynda who had just come out of her second surgery! 2 veins near her legs were closed, one on the left and one on the right, and the dr. was able to open them successfully. She said she could already feel more warmth in her legs and could stand on her tippy toes like a champion! Pretty amazing.
I can't wait to see how both of these amazing women continue to progress. It has been such an exciting and emotional day. I'll keep you all posted!
Humbled and Grateful,
toby
PS, Andrea's gonna kill me for posting that picture:) You know I love you sis.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Great News!!!
Well, since last I posted, my sister Andrea, her husband Jeff, and I went to see the Dr. who did my friend's liberation at the American Fork Hospital, here in UTAH!!! He was so very kind, and if anyone wants his information I'd be happy to email it to you. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind me sharing his info publicly, but I didn't specifically ask his permission so I better not. Anyway, as of today, Andrea has her ultrasound (yes, we know they're kind of pointless) scheduled for Nov. 2, and her venogram (woooohooooooo) scheduled for November 4th!!!!!!!! We sat in his office as he told us that he would be able to do the procedure for her and couldn't help but just cry. I am so excited for her and I hope and pray that he finds something and is able to help her to feel better.
It's amazing to look at the chain of events leading up to this point. Me, not understanding why in the world I needed to go to Costa Rica to be liberated, but knowing very strongly that I did, running into my sweet friend Lynda in Alpine, her asking her vein surgeon friend about the procedure, him researching it and deciding to do it on her, and now they are taking patient after patient and even joining with my neurologist to be part of a national trial! I feel so incredibly blessed and know of a surety that God loves me and He loves you and He is so aware of our needs. Miracles happen!!! Also, my two aunts who have MS are going to see the same Dr. on November 9th and they will hopefully be liberated within the month too!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, just thinking of it overwhelms me with joy and gratitude. I'll keep you posted on how they all do. Thanks so much to each of you for all of your love and support, and please contact me if you need more info(tobybushman@gmail.com) or send my info on to anyone who I can help.
Life is good!!!!!
It's amazing to look at the chain of events leading up to this point. Me, not understanding why in the world I needed to go to Costa Rica to be liberated, but knowing very strongly that I did, running into my sweet friend Lynda in Alpine, her asking her vein surgeon friend about the procedure, him researching it and deciding to do it on her, and now they are taking patient after patient and even joining with my neurologist to be part of a national trial! I feel so incredibly blessed and know of a surety that God loves me and He loves you and He is so aware of our needs. Miracles happen!!! Also, my two aunts who have MS are going to see the same Dr. on November 9th and they will hopefully be liberated within the month too!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, just thinking of it overwhelms me with joy and gratitude. I'll keep you posted on how they all do. Thanks so much to each of you for all of your love and support, and please contact me if you need more info(tobybushman@gmail.com) or send my info on to anyone who I can help.
Life is good!!!!!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
It's Been a While...
I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last updated. Things have gotten a little bit crazy around here and I feel like I can barely keep up with it all. Chandler started first grade and also has soccer, Thomas started preschool, Anna started dance, I enrolled in three classes at BYU, and seem to have never ending other things pop up with callings, volunteering in Chan's classroom, potty training Anna, planning birthdays (we have one in July, August, September, and October), etc., etc., etc. But I can tell you honestly that, even with all of the stress in my life, I feel great. And that is such a miracle, truly it is.
Stress was my worst enemy before. Things got stressful and my body would shut down. My neck would hurt, my head would pound, my left leg got weaker, my energy was sucked out of me. My vision would distort things and make them look like they were moving when they weren't, my balance went out the window, and the dizziness would worsen. And I still had to push through and complete my daily tasks, and try not to let anyone know how I was feeling because I didn't want anybody worrying. Now, I have all of these stresses, and I get stressed out like any normal human being would, but I don't have this terrible disease dragging me down, and for that, I am so incredibly grateful.
It's been almost 4 months since my liberation and I am literally symptom free. I am stronger and healthier than I have ever been and I am trying really hard to take great care of this body I've been given, because I truly feel like I've been given a second chance.
A lot has happened in the past little while. I ran into a friend recently in Alpine who also has MS and I told her about my liberation. She was very excited and contacted her good friend who just happens to be a vein surgeon. Long story short, her vein surgeon friend took her into a local hospital a few weeks ago and looked at her veins. One of her jugular veins was refluxing blood and another vein near her left ovary (her left leg is her trouble leg) was closed. They weren't able to get the lower vein open because it was spasming so they'll have to do that in the near future, but he did open up her jugular and she has seen amazing results!!! Right here in UTAH!!!!!!!!! Very exciting.
In some not so exciting news, my dear, sweet, amazing sister Andrea was diagnosed with MS. Andrea is the sister who played a HUGE part in making it possible for me to go to Costa Rica and be liberated. She has been such an incredible support to me and is one of the closest friends that I have. Anyway, I am determined to figure out how to get her veins looked at and fixed. My hope is that we can possibly get her into my friends' vein surgeon friend, but we don't know if that is going to work out. But I just don't want her to suffer with this stupid disease like I have. It breaks my heart. It's more difficult to find out that someone you love so dearly has MS than it is to find out the same for yourself. I want her to be able to get liberated and look back on it as a difficult few months, not years. We WILL get her in. It's just a matter of figuring out when and how.
Anyway, so that's where I'm at. Feeling great, sad that my sister is not, and wanting desperately to help her. I've been feeling very overwhelmed the past few weeks though, like I'm stretching myself a little to thin. Gotta figure out how to lighten my load a little bit, but in the meantime, I'm just thankful to not have symptoms on top of it all.
Stress was my worst enemy before. Things got stressful and my body would shut down. My neck would hurt, my head would pound, my left leg got weaker, my energy was sucked out of me. My vision would distort things and make them look like they were moving when they weren't, my balance went out the window, and the dizziness would worsen. And I still had to push through and complete my daily tasks, and try not to let anyone know how I was feeling because I didn't want anybody worrying. Now, I have all of these stresses, and I get stressed out like any normal human being would, but I don't have this terrible disease dragging me down, and for that, I am so incredibly grateful.
It's been almost 4 months since my liberation and I am literally symptom free. I am stronger and healthier than I have ever been and I am trying really hard to take great care of this body I've been given, because I truly feel like I've been given a second chance.
A lot has happened in the past little while. I ran into a friend recently in Alpine who also has MS and I told her about my liberation. She was very excited and contacted her good friend who just happens to be a vein surgeon. Long story short, her vein surgeon friend took her into a local hospital a few weeks ago and looked at her veins. One of her jugular veins was refluxing blood and another vein near her left ovary (her left leg is her trouble leg) was closed. They weren't able to get the lower vein open because it was spasming so they'll have to do that in the near future, but he did open up her jugular and she has seen amazing results!!! Right here in UTAH!!!!!!!!! Very exciting.
In some not so exciting news, my dear, sweet, amazing sister Andrea was diagnosed with MS. Andrea is the sister who played a HUGE part in making it possible for me to go to Costa Rica and be liberated. She has been such an incredible support to me and is one of the closest friends that I have. Anyway, I am determined to figure out how to get her veins looked at and fixed. My hope is that we can possibly get her into my friends' vein surgeon friend, but we don't know if that is going to work out. But I just don't want her to suffer with this stupid disease like I have. It breaks my heart. It's more difficult to find out that someone you love so dearly has MS than it is to find out the same for yourself. I want her to be able to get liberated and look back on it as a difficult few months, not years. We WILL get her in. It's just a matter of figuring out when and how.
Anyway, so that's where I'm at. Feeling great, sad that my sister is not, and wanting desperately to help her. I've been feeling very overwhelmed the past few weeks though, like I'm stretching myself a little to thin. Gotta figure out how to lighten my load a little bit, but in the meantime, I'm just thankful to not have symptoms on top of it all.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
So it Wasn't Just in my Head!!!
I feel like I immediately saw incredible improvements after my angioplasty. Those improvements were more than I had ever hoped for, and I didn't expect to see anything more. And I didn't feel like there was much more improvement to make. But about a week ago, I started improving even more. I feel like I'm feeling stronger, more balanced, and more energized every day, and it FEELS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!
Before I went to Costa Rica, I wanted so badly to run a 5K race. I trained and trained, and as hard as I tried and as badly as I wanted it, my body just couldn't do it. The highest distance I ever reached was 2.8 miles, but that was only once, and it was because my friend would not let me quit. I was weak, dizzy, and felt like I was literally going to vomit. I just figured I was a wimp, and that if I was tougher mentally, I'd be able to push through. I told Jake to run the race for me, and he did great. I'll admit, as happy as I was for my friends and hubby, I wanted so badly to be able to run that race with them.
I started exercising again 2 weeks ago, and I can't believe how much stronger I feel. This morning, I got up before the kids and Jake and turned on a Biggest Loser episode, and started jogging on the treadmill. I covered up the distance screen so that I didn't psyche myself out and ran until they finished their "weigh in" on the episode. I finally looked down and I had run 3.6 miles!!!! My jaw literally dropped. I was shocked! I didn't feel dizzy at all! I didn't feel like I was going to pass out at all! I didn't feel the least bit nauseated! Sure, my legs were tired and I was drenched in sweat, but I felt GREAT! "This is what everyone was talking about!" I thought. Before, I just couldn't understand the "high" that people got from running. I literally felt horrible after running. And now I feel fantastic. I'm so very thankful for this procedure. I feel like it's literally given me a second chance at life, and I want to take full advantage at this chance I've been given. I want to take good care of this body, because I realize now how fragile it is.
Before I went to Costa Rica, I wanted so badly to run a 5K race. I trained and trained, and as hard as I tried and as badly as I wanted it, my body just couldn't do it. The highest distance I ever reached was 2.8 miles, but that was only once, and it was because my friend would not let me quit. I was weak, dizzy, and felt like I was literally going to vomit. I just figured I was a wimp, and that if I was tougher mentally, I'd be able to push through. I told Jake to run the race for me, and he did great. I'll admit, as happy as I was for my friends and hubby, I wanted so badly to be able to run that race with them.
I started exercising again 2 weeks ago, and I can't believe how much stronger I feel. This morning, I got up before the kids and Jake and turned on a Biggest Loser episode, and started jogging on the treadmill. I covered up the distance screen so that I didn't psyche myself out and ran until they finished their "weigh in" on the episode. I finally looked down and I had run 3.6 miles!!!! My jaw literally dropped. I was shocked! I didn't feel dizzy at all! I didn't feel like I was going to pass out at all! I didn't feel the least bit nauseated! Sure, my legs were tired and I was drenched in sweat, but I felt GREAT! "This is what everyone was talking about!" I thought. Before, I just couldn't understand the "high" that people got from running. I literally felt horrible after running. And now I feel fantastic. I'm so very thankful for this procedure. I feel like it's literally given me a second chance at life, and I want to take full advantage at this chance I've been given. I want to take good care of this body, because I realize now how fragile it is.
Because I don't like blogs without pictures, here is a random picture of some puppets we made the other day. The kids had such a blast, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun too:)
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