Wife Mother Runner kidney vasculitis Archives

Eleven Years Later

June 6, 2018

On the eve of my son’s 11th birthday (I’m choking on that number), I am having memories of where I was 11 years ago. Rewind that five more years just after Kevin and I got married. We wanted to have a family right away.

We were married four months when I was diagnosed with kidney vasculitis after many, many doctor visits with no answers and finally a kidney biopsy to confirm the damage to my small blood vessels in my kidneys.

I was ok hearing the news because it was a relief to finally know what was wrong with me. What upset me the most was when they told me I had to take a chemotherapy type of medication. As soon as they told me that my first question was whether or not we could still try to get pregnant. The answer was no. Not at that time. They needed to get my autoimmune disease under control with the medication and a high dose of steroids.

Several years went by where my disease was quieting down and less flare ups. We tried different medications and my doctor was always aware that my hope in the future was to start a family. So that was always a consideration in the type of medications we tried.

Finally, after two kidney biopsies (a more specific diagnosis of which antibody I was overproducing), weaning off of steroids, and my doctor who was always keeping up with the latest info on my disease and the medications, we were allowed to explore our options.

In June of 2006 we met with fertility specialists. We began all the tests, met with genetic counselors and a pharmaceutical counselor about the medication I was on and the risks. We were finally given the go ahead. But all the tests came back and I had unexplained infertility. It wasn’t going to be easy for us to get pregnant. We were going to need help.

We were determined to do whatever it took. We wanted this so badly. We waited four years after getting married. This wasn’t going to get in our way of our dream. Going through fertility treatments is a very emotionally challenging experience. Having had to wait four years and then coming across this challenge made me, a very impatient person, a little crazy.

Finally after a few intrauterine inseminations we had a successful pregnancy. I was watched closely through the high risk pregnancy group and everything went well for the full term. I was admitted to the hospital June 5 because of low amniotic fluid.

The night before Kevin’s birth 11 years ago today, we were sent back upstairs from the labor and delivery floor. After an entire day of being induced but no progress they had to shut off the pitocin and give my uterus a break.

Kevin and I were in our room while I was hooked up to a monitor and had a lovely Foley balloon. I wasn’t very comfortable and I was getting anxious to meet our baby and find out if they were a girl or a boy. But we remained calm, had our Liquid Mind soothing music playing and I was weirdly enough enjoying the process.

I felt like I had menstrual cramps all night. That was probably the real labor starting on its own. I barely slept and I know Kevin didn’t either. We were anxious, excited, and tired. We couldn’t wait for baby day.

Finally, the next morning I was walking around the maternity floor, I took a nice long shower and the Foley balloon fell out. That was a good sign! Not long after that when we were relaxing in bed my water broke at 10:30 a.m. It was birthday time!

Kevin Charles was born at 8:07 p.m. weighing 6 pounds 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. A lot more happened that day from the time that my water broke to the time of his birth. But I’ll save that story for another day.

I can’t believe this all happened 11 years ago. He has changed so much. I can’t help but get sad sometimes when I see how big he is getting. He still loves to snuggle with me and kiss me and spend quality time with me. He will always be my baby boy, but life has blown by me in light speed since our children were born. I try as much as I can to enrich their lives with memories and events and fun. I don’t want them to grow up too fast. I’m keeping them in the innocent bubble as long as I can.

Happy Birthday baby boy! Thank you for making my dreams of becoming a mom come true! I love you more than the universe!

Why It Is Important To Go To Your Doctor

October 29, 2014

Recently I have been having issues when I fly. I am having migraines every time I travel by plane. I finally came to the conclusion that it was from flying when I went to California and the migraine was so bad that I begged and pleaded with my stomach to keep my food down and not throw up just several minutes before we had to walk out the door to the race start. Well, sadly, it happened again when I flew to Florida for the Tower of Terror race. I was anxious before I had to get on the plane for that race because I didn’t want to be as sick as I was in Disneyland. I took Tylenol ahead of time and it helped take the edge off, but I was still a sad panda for the first 24 hours of the trip.

After the Disneyland race, I went to my kidney doctor. It had been a long time since I saw him so I figured I needed to check in with him and decide if I can go off my chemo medication. I had been feeling well, hadn’t had any issues with petechia or illnesses. When I was at this appointment I didn’t mention the migraine to him. But when the nurse took my blood pressure it was high. Then when the doctor took it, it was still high. I thought that it was high because I was in the process of interviewing for a new job and waiting for the news of that new job. My doctor and I talked and the plan was to monitor my blood pressure for a week or two and see if it goes down. It did not go down on its own, so he prescribed me some medication to help. That was successful.

We don’t know what is causing the pressure to be high so the next step is to watch my pressure and urine protein levels and make sure nothing crazy is going on with those little kidneys of mine. It’s important to go to your doctor, especially if you have a condition like mine. I tend to neglect my doctor visits because I am busy with the kids and work and don’t want to take more time off for my own visits to the doctor. But now that I have seen the pattern with flying and migraines I am making it a point to figure out what is going on with that. I made an appointment with my GP and she is sending me for a heart bubble test. What the heck is that? Well, she told me you get an IV in your arm and then saline is inserted into your vein and they watch your heart to see if there is a tiny hole where the oxygen may not be getting from one side to the other. Strange…. but I don’t want to deal with these headaches ruining my trips. I mentioned the test to my kidney doctor and said he never heard of it before. He looked it up on his computer and said it’s actually a legit test and to go for it. So I’ll see what comes up of it. I don’t know if I will have my answers before my next trip but I will be proactive again and load up on Tylenol and rest prior to leaving and when I land I’m going to make sure to eat well and get sufficient rest.

I figured that since I train often and run marathons that I am “healthy”, but you never know! Lately I have been hearing about runners who collapse during or just after they finish their races, and sadly I saw it happen at that Happy Haunted 5K race during the Tower of Terror weekend. I saw the medics surround someone at the finish line and they were administering CPS and shocking the runner’s heart. It wasn’t a good scene and really made me realize that I have to take care of myself. My family needs me and I have to be sure all is well, especially when I travel and run these races. Sure I believe that when your time comes that’s it; but if I can do the right thing to take care of my body then I need to do that. So if you have issues you have been ignoring, go see your doctor!

Why Mother’s Day Is Special To Me

May 11, 2014

Mother’s Day is a special holiday for me. I couldn’t wait to be a mother, but that wasn’t easy for me. When my husband and I got married in 2002, I got sick. It took a long time to figure out what was wrong with me. Eventually, when we learned that I had kidney vasculitis, I had to take chemo-type medication and was told that our dream of trying to get pregnant had to be put on hold. I was devastated.

After many years of trying to get my disease under control, different medications, steroids, 2 kidney biopsies and lots of prednisone, my disease quieted down. Five years later, I pursued my quest to start our family. But that wasn’t easy either. We couldn’t get pregnant. So with the help of the UCONN Fertility Center, I was able to become a mother, twice!

So I love Mother’s Day. Especially now that my son, age 6 and daughter, age 5 make projects at school and secretly share with my husband that they have a surprise for me and can’t wait to give them to me. That is so precious and these are the gifts that are priceless! Everyday, I use the jewelry box that Adrienne made me last year.

This year I was able to enjoy the Mother’s Day Tea at Adrienne’s school (we are usually in Florida on Mother’s Day) and enjoy her little singing presentation and gift. Once again I received a priceless trinket box that Adrienne proudly presented to me at her school.

I also love that Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the grandmothers. I am so happy that I was able to make my mother a grandmother. I remember the day when I told her I was pregnant. I couldn’t wait to tell her! I had wanted that for sooo long! She loves her grandbabies and my kids LOVE spending time with her! My mother-in-law is also happy to have more grandbabies from her youngest son. It’s so awesome to give my kids the memories of time spent with their grandparents. I remember and cherish my memories of my grandparents. They are special memories.

I love being a mom! Some days it isn’t easy and some days there is no effort at all, but I love all the days that I have with my children. I remember vividly when I came home from the hospital with my son and my milk came in and my body was doing things I never knew it was going to do. What an overwhelming time that was! But with the help of my mom and my husband I got through it.

After my daughter was born, I struggled with postpartum depression. I didn’t really know I had it at the time, I thought I was just overwhelmed and hormonal with a newborn and a 16-month old very active little boy. But I got help and now I see the change in me and I feel that I am a much better mother. I was a good mother at the time, but I really struggled. I am feeling more confident as a parent now that they are getting older. I am seeing them maturing and making wise choices. I love how people comment on how much my son and daughter love each other. It makes me proud to know that we are raising them right!

I can’t imagine life without them now. I vaguely remember what life was like before them, but I would much rather live with these little amazing kids in my life who teach me something every day. They make me very proud. There is no manual that comes with being a mom. I call out to my mom often for advice and recommendations, and I use her model from raising us as part of how I raise my children.

My cousin sent me this awesome card the other day and I was so touched. I guess I am doing something right!

I try every day to be a good role model to my children. Many times I will hear them say something and it is a carbon copy of something I say to them! (Sometimes good, sometimes not! lol). When I go out for a run, my daughter likes to put on her “workout clothes” and sneakers and pretend she is going out for a run. I tried taking them for a run with me once. We will need to work on that. I enjoy seeing them watching me and seeing my positive habits as something that is part of my lifestyle and will help them live a healthier lifestyle also.

They also enjoy when I go away on race trips with my friends. They mostly like it because they get an exclusive weekend with their dad who they don’t get to see as much as me. I hope I am teaching them about friendships and how it is good to have friends and support friends and how friends can support you with your goals and endeavors. When I did the Walt Disney World marathon this year I explained to them that I was helping a friend reach a goal and sometimes it isn’t about getting your best race finish time, but helping someone else achieve something they worked hard for. Then for the Providence marathon, a friend helped me achieve my best race time. I like how I can take my personal experiences and turn them into life lessons for them.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Tag: kidney vasculitis

Eleven Years Later

Why It Is Important To Go To Your Doctor

Why Mother’s Day Is Special To Me