Monday, June 27, 2011

Welcome to Cranberry Tea Time!


Hello Friends,

Welcome to http://www.cranberryteatime.com/!  Thank you, Will, for giving me my very own domain name!

Four years ago when I started my website, Cranberry Tea Time, the purpose was to share a little information about dysautonomia, how it affects my life, and the hope and joy that I have despite the difficulties of living with a chronic illness.

Two years ago I started a blog, One Day at a Time, as a way to keep people updated and as a creative outlet.  Back then blogger didn't offer the option of having pages on blogs, and freewebs didn't offer a very good blog page option for their websites.  For that reason I maintained two sites.  Now that Blogger offers an easy way to make pages, I have moved the popular pages from my old Cranberry Tea Time website onto my blog here.

I am no longer calling my blog One Day at a Time.  Instead I am going back to my original website name of Cranberry Tea Time.  I named my site Cranberry Tea Time because to me it is a symbol of heart to heart talks. Back in college my closest friends and I would often share cups of hot cranberry tea until the late hours of the night (or wee hours of the morning!). While sipping cranberry tea together we would talk and talk, sharing our hearts. It was a comfortable, warm, welcoming, and enjoyable time. That is how I want you to feel when you’re reading on my blog. I want you to feel welcomed into my world, and I want to share what is going on in my life, and the joy that I have despite life's circumstances.

I have added a "subscribe" page above.  You can now subscribe to my blog posts through a reader or through email.

For those of you who like buttons, here is the new Cranberry Tea Time button:


CranberryTeaTime
 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for joining me on this journey!

Blessings,
Rachel

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Merry Christmas to a Little Girl in Ecuador

I wanted to write this post 6 months ago, but was never able to complete it.  I have now finally finished writing the story. This one is so special to me that I just have to share it even if it is 6 months late.  Pretend that it is still December, okay?  Thanks. :)

This past Christmas I participated in the Christmas card drive for unsponsored Compassion children in Ecuador.  I made three different Christmas cards online that were printed and delivered along with many others.  Participating in this project was such a blessing to me.  At a time in my life when I was mostly bedridden, I was so excited to have the opportunity to reach out to a few children in a small, tangible way.  Though I didn't know names or faces, I prayed for the three children who would receive the cards I made. 

A few weeks later I read this post by Brianne Mullins announcing that our Christmas cards had made it to the children in Ecuador.  I carefully looked at all of the pictures to see if I could find a child holding one of my cards, and I was disappointed to not find one.  Then I watched this video that was embedded in Brianne's post:




About halfway through I realized that the little girl was reading a card that I had created!  Not only did I get to see the face of a little girl who received my card, I got to hear her voice.  It was such a special gift to me, and I had tears of joy streaming down my face as I laid in bed watching this beautiful little girl read my letter to her.  What a special Christmas gift the Lord gave me when He sovereignly ordained that my card would be read by this little girl and posted on YouTube for me to see.  At a time in my life when I was bedridden, home bound, and feeling very cut off from the world, this touched me deeply.

Merry Christmas, dear little girl in Ecuador.  I still think of you and pray for you.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Encouragement Is a Powerful Thing

Because I am primarily homebound now I often don't have the opportunity to reach out and encourage others in the way I would like.  I can't cook a meal for a new neighbor.  I can't babysit a friend's children.  I can't drive to visit a friend in the hospital.  However, I can type up an email.  I can post a message on a facebook wall.  I can send a text message.  And I can mail a card.

If you are like me, you love to receive a card in the mail.  It is encouraging to know that someone thought of you and cared enough to send a handwritten note.  It is a bright spot in your day, reminding you that you are loved, you are remembered, and your life matters to someone.  Encouragement is a powerful thing.  It helps you to keep going when life gets hard.



DaySpring sent me the Sassy and Sophisticated card pack.  These cards are fun, uplifting, sweet, and encouraging.  This card pack includes 4 birthday cards, 2 encouragement cards, 2 praying for you cards, and 2 friendship cards.  All of these cards are intended for women. 

One of the cards I especially like says, "Hey girlfriend, you're on my heart.... and in my prayers."  It is colorful, simple, and a sweet reminder that someone cares and is praying for you.

My favorite card in the pack is the one on the top of the stack pictured above.  It reads:

We laugh at the same things,
see life the same way,
and usually have to go
to the bathroom at the same time.
How divinely ordered can one friendship be?
I appreciate you.

Teehee!  How fun is that?  After reading this card I'm not sure I would call the card pack "Sassy and Sophisticated."  Maybe "Sassy and Fun" or "Sassy and Sweet," but not sophisticated. I think that a greeting card that is talking about having to pee probably isn't the most sophisticated card out there!  But fun and sassy?  Totally. :)

And now for a giveaway!  One reader will win a $20 coupon to use at DaySpring.com (shipping costs not included in coupon).  To enter, just leave a comment.  The giveaway will close on Friday at noon.  Winner will be chosen using random.org.  I hope you win!

Disclosure: DaySpring gave me the card pack for free in exchange for a review on my blog. All opinions are my own.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Past 8 Months: The Medical Stuff

These past 8 months I have been continuing to work on recovering from my crash last August.  It has been a long, slow road.  A normal day for me this past fall wasn't even as good as a bad day was two years ago.  Bad days had become the new good days.


Christmas 2010
I am so tired that tired doesn't even describe it.  And this was on a good day!

As I look back on the fall and winter it is mostly a blur.  I can remember some things because of pictures.  Other things I remember only because I wrote them down.  Life is still hard now, and my health is still bad, and I still fight my body each day to make it move.  Yet it was so much worse last fall.  I forget how bad it was until I stop and think about it, and even then it seems unreal.  Was I really sleeping 15 hours a day?  Did I really have to be in bed for 21 hours or more a day because I couldn't even sit up in my recliner?  Could I really not carry on a detailed conversation?  Was rolling over in bed really that exhausting?  Were normal sounds really so painful to my ears?  Yes.  Last fall getting adequate food, sleep, and rest was about all my body could do.

This winter was a little easier.  I still needed to be in bed about 18 hours a day, but I was able to be with my family in the afternoons, and I was usually able to eat supper with them in the evening (in my recliner, not at the table).  I was able to play quietly on the floor with my children. I was even able to go out sometimes in my wheelchair.

This spring has brought slow and steady improvement.  Looking back week to week I don't usually notice a change, but as I look back month to month I can tell that my health has been slowly improving.  I am pleased to say that I am feeling better this month than I have for the past  approximately 10 months.  Although I still have a ways to go before I am back to where I was last summer, I can see that significant improvements have been made in the past 8 months, and I am hopeful that I might even be able to get back to my baseline a month before the crash.



I am continuing the IV saline infusions that my doctor started me on last fall.  I did try to come off of them a few months ago, but my body didn't handle that well, so for now I am still receiving IV saline three times a week.  A nurse comes out to my house to start a new peripheral line each time.  I had the option of getting a permanent line, but I chose to wait on that option because it comes with risks that I don't want to take yet. 



For the first few weeks of IV treatment I had one of those great big IV poles at home.  I requested a smaller pump, and home health sent over this portable battery operated IV pump.  Don't I have the cutest little IV pump? :)  It is so convenient too.  The black bag holds the pump and a bag of saline.  I can go anywhere with my IV now.  This little pump has travelled with me to Georgia, to doctors appointments, on a medical trip to Ohio, to the zoo, out to eat, and over to friend's houses.

One problem with travelling is that I can't take my nurse with me to start a new IV line each time.  Lucky me, Will has learned how to start IVs!  He has started my line for me probably more than a dozen times now.  I'm so blessed to have a husband who will do that for me.

Last month we travelled to Ohio to see my dysautonomia specialist, Dr. Grubb.  It was really good to talk with him and hear his opinions.  Dr. Grubb believes that I have a mitochondrial disease.  He said that the severity of my symptoms goes beyond just purely dysautonomia, and indicates that something much more serious is causing my dysautonomia.  He wants to treat me for mitochondrial disease even though I haven't been officially diagnosed with it yet.  There is no cure for mitochondrial disease, but there are some treatments that can help to slow the progression of the disease.  The treatments taken for mitochondrial disease are often referred to as a "mito cocktail."



This is my current mito cocktail.  These supplements assist the body with things like muscle movement, cellular growth, and energy production at the cellular level.  They aren't a cure, but they have been helping!

There were many days last fall that I didn't think recovery to my previous baseline would be even remotely possible.  I'm still not doing as well as I was last summer, but I am happy to say that I am seeing some improvements, and I am hopeful that there are still some improvements to come.

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Past 8 Months: The Fun Stuff

Hello Friends,

How I have missed blogging these past 8 months!  Because of my health I had to take a break from blogging for a while.  It wasn't something I could physically or mentally keep up with on most days.  I have been recovering from my crash last fall and on most days have felt too drained to even consider composing a blog post.  I knew I wanted to come back to blogging again at some point, though I wasn't sure when or how. 

At this point in time I think I am finally feeling up to blogging again, but after so many months away, where do I even start?  I think I will start by giving a brief update of the past 8 months.  In this post I will share the fun stuff.  Later on I hope to share the medical side of things.  After that I hope to be able to keep up with regular blogging again.

Here are some picture highlights from the past 8 months.


We wore our Hawkeye gear for football season.



I turned 30!  As a very special present my family bought a ticket for my friend, Dorina, to come down to visit me.



William turned 5 years old.



Adelaide turned 1 year old.




Adelaide learned to pose for pictures.




The St. Patrick's Day hat came out for one last time.




William and Adelaide had an Easter egg hunt.



Will and William rode a camel.




Adelaide was all smiles and squeals at the petting zoo.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...