Love/Hate/Interesting Update 3.27.17

I know it’s been ages since the last time I blogged about anything.  My personal life is going to get a lot crazier before it gets calmer.  Eventually I might write about some of the stuff going on when I feel like it’s the right time, but right now I need to deal with everything in private.  Thanks for your understanding!

Some days I have roughly the thinking capacity of a Marshmallow Peep, so I thought doing a Love/Hate update would be a good way to tiptoe back into blogging.  I’m also going to start adding an “Interesting” category to these updates for random tidbits that don’t fit into the “Love” or “Hate” categories.

Love:

-My service dog Vegas!  I just realized I haven’t written about him at all, so here’s the official announcement: I GOT MY SERVICE DOG!!!!  His name is Vegas and he’s a two-year-old English chocolate lab (so basically an American lab that looks like it shrunk in the dryer).  I’ll do a longer post about him complete with photos once I have the proverbial ducks somewhat superglued into a row.

-Chocolate. I’m female, it’s delicious.  Need I say more?

-Parks and Recreation.  There is no such thing as seeing this show too many times.  Leslie Knope would make an awesome president!

 

Hate:

-The horrifically large amount of bullshit that is out there, both on the internet and in general.  In the words of Scar from “Lion King”, I’m surrounded by idiots.  It’s getting old, to put it nicely.

 

Interesting:

So apparently eyes can get freckles!  I finally quit putting off going to the eye doc, where I learned that one of my eyes has a freckle.  I didn’t even know eyeball freckles were a thing, but apparently they are.  (Side note: Eyeballs look like Mars in photos. Just saying.)  The freckle doesn’t have any feeder vessels, so they know it’s not a tumor.  (I mention that because I totally heard “It doesn’t have any feet or vessels”! 😛 LOL)

Okay, that’s it for today!  If you have any questions about service dogs you’d like me to answer, leave them in the comments, and I’ll address them in a future blog post or vlog!

BEDS Challenge Wrap-Up and a Big Announcement!

I decided to wrap up the BEDS challenge early.  Life has been super hectic, and the weather has been craptastic and wiping me out.  Plus, I got some Big News, and once I share it, you’ll understand why I need to save my energy.

Okay, here is the Big Announcement:  I am starting service dog training on the 5th!!!  I’m getting my dog from Can Do Canines.  If you need a service dog and are in this neck of the words, I highly highly recommend them.  They are beyond fantastic.  Unlike some organizations, they will customize the training for individuals’ needs.  If your needs change during the course of your dog’s life, they will work with you to add new tasks as much as they can.  When I first applied, my primary disability was chronic pain and fibromyalgia, so I wrote on the application that I needed a mobility dog.  When I was diagnosed with POTS, CDC changed the category from mobility to seizure alert. (I do not have epilepsy, but this is the skill category they use for people with POTS.)  This way I can still get help with some mobility things, but we will also be able to work with the dog on helping with POTS episodes.

I don’t know anything about my dog other than it’s a he.  I’ve been jokingly referring to him as Eddie, because that’s the dog on “Frasier” which is one of the best shows ever.  Yep, I’m weird!

I still want to blog as much as I can about the training process and life in general, but removing the pressure of blogging every day is helping me breathe a lot easier.  Thanks for your understanding, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Long Overdue Update

Things have been rough on my end over the past several weeks.  I had the worse flare-up I’ve ever had since I’ve been diagnosed with fibro, and that made my mental health go down the toilet.  I used to kick myself whenever I shared anything that was less than positive, but then I decided that if sharing the truth will help even one person feel a little less alone in their own suffering, then it’s worth it.

The reason things got so bad was because the temperatures have been all over the place.  There was a 45-degree drop in temperature awhile ago, I don’t even remember when.  Up till that point, I was doing alright and seldom needed my narcotics.  I had managed to stretch out the bottle and it had lasted me over a year.  Then I ran out right before the 45-degree drop, which was so stressful on my body that I passed out and had non-epileptic seizures from the pain several times.  I finally got a new prescription and the drug bust commenced.  (As in, busting open the bottle and popping the much-needed drugs!)

I was extremely hesitant to share this with anyone, partly because of the stigma against narcotics and also partly because I am still recovering from being in a church community where some people were extremely opposed to all forms of western medicine.  When I have a flare-up, I still wrack my brain trying to figure out what I could have possibly done to bring it on, which does wonders for my mental health as you might imagine.  I’m learning the hard way that that kind of mental and spiritual damage does not go away overnight.

As for happier news, some of you may already know that I had been in the process of applying for a mobility service dog since last fall.  Well, I finally got it finished and my application has been accepted!  The next step is a home interview with a trainer in the next couple months.  I will share more about all this when there is more to share!

Okay, the brain fog is kicking my butt so I’m going to stop here.  Hope you’re all doing well!