The Battle for Blood

*Begin playing "Rocky" theme music here*

In this corner...weighing in at (insert amount here), wearing typical schoolteacher clothing, Amie "Cobbie" Cobb

And in this corner...weighing in at a less than a pound, wearing a stent that doesn't work anymore...Amie's aorta.

It's become a fight to the finish, and right now, my blood vessels are losing.

Two years ago I had a stent put in my aorta, which at the time was 75% blocked. I was having severe claudication issues (cramping when walking.) The stent helped dramatically and I was doing great. I had a stent put in my left renal artery about six months later, because it was not getting enough blood flow.

About six months ago, I started noticing that my claudication issues were back. I can't walk from the band room to the football stadium without having to stop and rest my legs. They cramp up so badly. I went for a check up with my vascular surgeon who said to come back again in a couple of months. I think I talked about this in previous posts. Sorry if you're bored...

So, the prognosis wasn't good after having an ultrasound and we scheduled a "lookie-see" into what was going on with my vascular system. Turns out it's not good news...

1. My renal artery is completely blocked. The stent failed, and my artery is just plain blocked. This means my left kidney will eventually lose function and die.

2. The stent in my aorta is also failing. They did an angioplasty and blew it open a bit (with a miniature balloon) for the time being. I'm also on Plavix and asprin to thin my blood and hopefully increase the flow a bit better to my legs.

I go and see the doc again in a couple of weeks. We'll see what he has to say.

The Role of a Righteous Woman

An article I wrote for our ward newsletter:

I love being a woman. I cherish the attributes that make me different than men. I am grateful for the divine nature that is within each one of us as daughters of God. The first sentence of the Relief Society Declaration states that “We are beloved spirit daughters of God.” President James E. Faust said, “To be a daughter of God means that you are offspring of Deity, literal descendants of the Divine Father, inheriting godly attributes and potential.”

I am grateful for the examples of strong, righteous women throughout history. They have truly been—at times—the “unsung heroes” of the work of the Lord. I love reading about Eve, Sarah, Rachel, Emma Smith, Lucy Mack Smith and countless others. Their strength and courage in the face of adversity pushes me forward when I face struggles in my own life.

I also look to my own mother who raised seven children through many hardships. Growing up, we didn’t ever have a lot of money, but my mom worked very hard to see that the needs of her children were met. She would babysit, sew, and do whatever she needed to do to bring in money. She did all of this while being a great example to me of service to others.

There is no end to the influence of women. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, in April 1978 conference said this: “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.”

I pray that each one of us will recognize our divine potential. As women, we have an innate spiritual sense that allows us to trust in the Lord more fully. As we trust, we will find the joy in being a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a wife.

Gobble Gobble

I'm not going to be able to go to Utah for Thanksgiving. I'm bummed.

I went for a follow-up to my previous follow-up on my stents, and they're worse. (Funny how I knew that two months ago!!)

The doctor isn't sure until he gets in to my aorta why this is happening. Two possible reasons:
1. My aorta is squeezing the heck out of the stent because it just keeps hardening
2. The stent is getting gunked up. (This happens with stents about 25% of the time.)

It could also be a combination of the two.

Tuesday I'm going to go to the Arizona Heart Hospital (again) and have things checked out. Two possible outcomes:
1. Insert new stents
2. Roto-rooter these stents and do an angioplasty to open them up.

He's going to have to look at/fix both the stent in my aorta and in left renal artery as both showed blood flow at less than 50%. Fun, huh?

So--stent procedure Tuesday, hospital until Wednesday then at Gordon's mom's for Turkey Day. At least it will be warm! :)

Riding the Yellow Dog

Our football team has made the playoffs. This isn't really anything new--we've made the playoffs for the past few years. We usually lose in the first round, so it's not a big deal.

This year, we won the first playoff game, so our entire town is in a tizzy. Our first game was against a team we'd lost to in the regular season, so it was nice to win, and we won on their field. Very cool.

This next game is in Vail, AZ. About a five hour drive from Prescott Valley. Ouch! We played in southern Arizona two years ago and lost pretty badly. The football coach thinks it's because we took a five hour bus ride and then had to go and play right after.

This year, he's decided to "do it right." They've chartered NICE coach buses to leave today (Thursday--the game is tomorrow) and they're staying the night in Tucson. What they're doing tomorrow all day, I don't know. I do know they're eating at the Olive Garden for an early dinner before the game.

Who's paying for all of this? The football boosters, who somehow manage to raise over $20,000 a year. I can't figure out how they do this. My band boosters squeak out around $5000 a year, and that's in a good year.

This just seems like a waste to me. I'm sure that this trip is costing the boosters somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 for a ONE night trip. I understand that this is a big game, but it's ONE NIGHT! Do you know what I could do with $5000? I could buy a tuba that I desperately need...I could buy sheet music for my pathetic library...the list could go on forever.

I understand that things will NEVER be equal...I get it. I do. I'm married to the "enemy" (so to speak) who sees the other side more clearly than I do. His philosophy is that if they raise the money, they should be able to spend it how they see fit. Meanwhile, our school is in desperate need of textbooks, kids are coming to school without coats, and I need a new tuba! :)

The band is going down to support the team, but guess what we're riding in?