Praise God!

For those of you that frequent The Zoo Crew you may remember, I lost 100% of my hearing in my right ear back in September and was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease. Something pretty cool happened today. While I was grocery shopping I noticed something peculiar. I'm not sure how it happened, but when I moved the grocery list by my ear I could hear the paper crinkle. I'm sure I was a sight walking through Costco crinkling my grocery list over and over by my ear! I just couldn't be sure if I was hearing it or not.

When I left the store I still wasn't certain if I was hearing, so I did other things to test it out. I called a number on my cell phone that I knew for sure was a recording and turned the volume up on the earpiece all the way. I turned the music up loud in the truck, and covered my left ear. It's for certain. I have regained some of my hearing, not all. It is muffled, but I CAN hear a little bit in my right ear.

I know many have prayed for my healing. I am grateful to everyone. Praise God, and thank you for your love and prayers! I'll be sure to let you know of any new developments.

The Silver Lining of Sickness

Pat and the boys left this past Friday for their first-ever, week-long deer hunting trip. This means that I am pretty much on my own this whole entire week. My "girl", as the oldest grandbaby calls her, is the only one here. She's nineteen and in college, so that will tell you just how much she's around.

I have been looking forward to this special treat of a week for over two months. I had a girl's night planned with my two best friends. I was going to hang out with my mom for two days. I was going to shop for the supplies that I need to make my Christmas presents and spend time making them. I was going to enjoy the peace and quiet. As a mother of seven children, quiet is a new found joy since four of them are on their own. This is honestly the first time ever that I have been here with no one to cater to; no one to teach; no one to cook for; no one to pick up after; no one to cart around; no one to butt heads with.

As I mentioned, the guys left on Friday. Fate would have it that I got sick Saturday morning. I knew it was coming on, but I thought it was just your standard cold. No way! I felt so terrible by Saturday night that I was near ready to cancel the girl's night. I decided to wait to see how I felt in the morning after some rest, tea, and remedies. I felt a little better, so I went through with it despite the fact that I had none of the prep work done on the food. The girls didn't mind, and we still had a fine time.

All the way through today, however, I canceled my plans. No hanging out with mom as to not get her sick. No trip to Karmanos for my first ever appointment with the nurse practitioner and maybe a mammogram. No trip to Sandusky for my appointment I made over a month ago with my friend for some alternative therapy in relation to my Meniere's Disease. No trip to the antique mall with my mom. No browsing the cute, little shops in Lexinton with my mom. No overnights at her house or mine. No crazy cleaning and organizing and moving of furniture like I planned. Basically, nothing like I planned.

Then, it took my good friend to point out that there was indeed a blessing in the timing of my illness. I get to be sick by myself with no demands or expectations. I get to lay on the couch and watch movie after movie. I get to soak in the tub for two-and-half hours. I get to read a novel cover to cover without interruption. I get to go to bed and get up when I want. I do not have to do anything for anyone other than myself. For those of you that are mothers you certainly know that this is a RARE treat. It seems a little strange to say, but I am happy I was sick while they were gone, and I got to just be sick. Now, my goal is to be well by Thanksgiving so that my family can still come over for dinner.

Back to Meniere's Disease!

Well, I visited my ENT doctor for a follow-up after the MRI. He rechecked my ear by looking in it and re-doing the hearing test. Everything was the same, of course, and the MRI showed no tumors or nerve damage.

So, guess what he diagnosed it as? You got it, smart one! Meniere's Disease, just like I already knew. Of course, he prescribed diuretics and a low-salt diet. Well, I don't plan to get the prescription filled, and I already eat a low-salt diet. Oh well. At least I know for 100% certainty that I do not have tumors, and I do not have nerve damage. I have the $800 test to prove it, too!

Monday, I am going to follow up with my chiropractor and go over the MRI report with them. There are some things listed that I have questions about, so I'll see what they have to say on the subject. I also will be having the anointing done by the church elders very soon. Should it not be God's timing or will for my ear to be healed I am perfectly okay with that and ready to accept the fact that I cannot hear out of one ear.

However, as a responsible caregiver for my body I plan to pursue alternative care to reestablish wellness and harmony within my body. Obviously something is out of whack. Even if I do not regain my hearing, I can improve my overall health. I'll be sure to share what I learn through this process so that it may inform and educate those of you that may benefit from my experiences.

Meniere's Disease?

Well, due to my symptoms and the recommendation of my chiropractor, a naturopath, and a doctor's assistant we attend church with, I have made an appointment to see an ear, nose and throat doctor on Monday. I am a little nervous based on the research I have done in regard to my symptoms. It appears I could have Meniere's Disease. No, I'm not jumping to any conclusions, but the description of the symptoms fits me to a 'T'.

This started about two or more months ago with mild vertigo that progressed greatly in intensity. With the vertigo I would experience nausea and sweating, or clamminess. It would only be relieved by my laying down and relaxing. It didn't take it away, but it helped me deal with it while waiting for it to pass. Even with my eyes closed I would experience the vertigo. These episodes would REALLY wear me out. I mean total exhaustion here, folks.

Then, I started having ringing in my right ear. On Friday, September 12th, the ringing got SO bad that I was about to go batty. So, I called my chiropractor, and they had me come in. On my way there I had the worst attack of vertigo I'd ever experienced. Yes, I was driving, and it was the worst trip ever. It was SO terrifying! After a time I made it to the office. I had to be helped into the office and to the table. Talk about awkward. I am a VERY independent person, and you know it's bad if I'm asking for help to walk. I don't know why, but I cried a lot. I just felt so out of control. It didn't hurt or anything. It was just REAL bad.

So, I've not had one full-blown episode of vertigo since. However, the week that I had that bad episode was also when I started having trouble with my hearing. After that bad attack of vertigo it went out completely. This Friday will make a full month that I've not been able to hear out of my right ear. I am still experiencing strange things with vertigo type symptoms that never fully emerge into a full-blown vertigo attack, and I have "white noise" in my right ear. That is it. I can hear the occasional vibration from certain sounds, and it's hard to filter through a lot of environmental noise to focus on one thing.

I really appreciate my hearing. The most aggravating thing is when I am driving in my car. My "bad" ear faces my passenger, and I SO cannot hear hardly anything they are saying. It's even worse when the windows are down, and we are on the expressway. It's VERY frustrating. I am beginning to relate to a whole segment of society that lives with something that I never could have imagined I would experience in my lifetime.

I am confident that God has a plan for me with or without my hearing. I am doing my best to see it as a blessing and look for the ways that I will better be able to do His will. Don't get me wrong. It is frightening. I am just looking at the bright side and keeping my mind focused in the right spot. Every so often that means I have to real myself back in. No matter what, God can use me. It is very likely that our next language study will be sign language. :-)