Life is good!

It's been over a year since my month in the hospital and the only visible sign that I have now is where I lost so much hair. As my hair grows out you can tell that I lost a ton because it is really thin and gross looking. I have been wearing a lot of pony tails. I have nothing else to complain about. For the most part I have been feeling really good. I occasionally have a fatigue day and need to lay down for an hour or so. Allen and the kids are great at allowing me to do that. From the outside, all signs say that my Ulcerative Colitis is in remission. That makes my GI doctor not concerned about my insides. He wants to wait another year for another colonoscopy.

My lupus on the other hand seems to be acting up. My joints have been killing me and my body aches ALL the time. I went in to see my rheumatoid doctor this week and he was no help. He took blood work, but doesn't want to mess with adding any new meds since he hasn't prescribed any of them. It makes me frustrated because he is my lupus doctor and should be the main doctor taking charge and working with the other doctors. My GI doctor wants me to find a more pro-active rheumatoid doctor and gave me a couple of names to call. I called one of the doctors and he wouldn't accept me and the other one on the list doesn't take our insurance. My quest continues to find the perfect Rheumatoid doctor.

I have noticed a few changes in myself this last year, all a result of my hospital stay and my time to think, a lot. I enjoy the smaller things in life more. I feel like I am more patient with my kids and I try to spend more quality time with them. I also try to live more in the moment because you never know when your last day will be. I don't let little things bother me as much and if something someone does or says bothers me I am more likely to let them know, not in a confrontational way, at least not on purpose. I think it is more important to be up front then to have bad feelings or to feel awkward around people. Allen says that I sometimes ruffle feathers, not intentionally. It's like if I had a burger on my face, I hope someone would tell me instead of making me look like an idiot until I look in the mirror.

Life is good. Allen and I have never been closer, the kids are healthy and are thriving, we live in a great house with many great memories and more to come. Allen loves his job and I love teaching preschool. We have everything that we need or want. Life really is good.