Stress, Anxiety, Test Results, & A Sweet Boyfriend

Greetings readers!

I know it's been a while since my last post. I've actually been meaning to write, I just have had so much going on lately that my brain just hasn't been in the right place to post an entry. I don't even know if today's entry will be all that great, but I figured writing my thoughts out is better than nothing.

Anyway, a few weeks ago (April 18th to be exact), I had a scary episode happen. I had just gotten ready for work & was downstairs getting a drink of water to take some ibuprofen for the pain in my knee I'd been having when all of a sudden, I had a shooting pain go across my chest & into my back. I had to grab a hold of the end of the kitchen sink to keep from falling, that's how bad it hurt. Well, somehow I managed to make it back upstairs to where my boyfriend was still asleep in bed. By that time, I was having severe pains all across my chest and upper back, and was starting to get short of breath. Managing to wake him up, I told my boyfriend that I thought I may need to go to the hospital as I was having these pains. Next thing I know, he is jumping out of bed, getting dressed, & calling an ambulance. By the time we got back downstairs to meet the paramedics out on the porch, the pain had intensified from a 7 to about a 12 on a scale of 1-10. I vaguely remember the fire truck & ambulance pulling up (we literally live like 5 mins from the fire station) & the paramedics & fire fighters coming onto the porch & asking me questions. I do remember that the paramedics took by blood pressure when they first arrived (it was like 127/180 or something like that-I just remember it being VERY high), I was nauseous & very light headed, & I do remember that they hooked me up to a portable EKG machine. I remember they kept asking me what hospital I wanted to go to (I kept telling them I didn't care, just take me-finally said St. Joe's as it was the closest) & the next thing I knew, I was strapped on a gurney & loaded into the back of the ambulance, while my boyfriend rode up front. I remember getting 4 Advil (I think that's what it was) & a nitro pill right away (incase it was a heart attack). I also remember one of the paramedics trying to get an IV started in my arm, and the first place he tried (my lower left arm), my vein blew, so he ended up having to put it in the vein near my elbow on my left arm. I should've told him to just put it there in the first place as it always seems that's where the best area is for people to get a vein. LOL! Once the IV was in & we were on the way to the hospital, I do remember getting another nitro pill, and the paramedics taking my blood pressure again. By the time we arrived at the ER, my blood pressure was back down to normal (well, normal for me) & the dizziness had stopped, although my head was hurting a little bit from the nitro (normal reaction I've been told). Got wheeled into the ER & once I was in the room, the paramedics removed the leads for their EKG machine, and then of course the ER crew swooped in & started doing their stuff. Was hooked up to another EKG & blood pressure machine, and of course asked all kinds of questions about what happened & what kind of pain I was feeling, etc. Well, after a couple of hours, many tests, a CT scan, & some blood work, the ER doctor came back saying that all my tests had come back okay & after talking with my primary care physician, they were going to release me back home, but I had to follow up with my primary doctor the following Monday. I was grateful that I was able to leave & that my pain had subsided (went down to about a 2 or 3 by the time I left the hospital) & that my boyfriend had been there by my side the entire time. I don't know what I  would've done had he not been there!

I ended up spending the weekend relaxing at home (had to call off of work that Sunday) & the following Monday, went and saw my primary doctor who went over my ER test results with me & then ordered even more tests through her (echo cardiogram & treadmill/stress test)-found out the ER doctor was wanting to keep me overnight at the hospital but MY doctor actually talked him out of it-and after getting those tests set up, I was released back home & back to work. Ended up having my tests done at my Dr's office the following Monday (April 28th) & then had to wait a few days for those results to come back. When all the results came back, I was lucky. Everything looked good & the doctor is basically chalking the episode up to a severe stress induced anxiety attack, which I've been told can mimic a heart attack. So, I guess better safe than sorry & I'm glad that everything with my heart came back good, & I've just been told to try to limit my stress & anxiety as much as I can. Which, is where my boyfriend comes in to play. He has been so great with me over the last few weeks & has been watching out for me, and sees that when I'm starting to get upset or anxious, he tries to get me to calm down & focus my attention elsewhere (only once did it not work & I did end up having a small panic attack, but he sat with me through it). I think I scared him almost as much as I scared myself with this episode! He really is great & I'm so happy that he's in my life & is there for me. I don't know what I'd do if I had to go through this by myself! He might not think he's the best of boyfriends, but I certainly think he is. Especially when he's there to just hold me & tell me that everything's going to be okay as long as we have each other, when I think that the world is coming to an end & that everything is going wrong. Yeah, I'm pretty lucky. :) <3

Well readers, I think that's going to be it for now. Just wanted to pop on & give you an update on things, and I'm hopefully (cross your fingers) going to post more often...I know, I keep saying that! LOL! :) Anyway, I hope this post finds you all well, and I'll post again soon. Until next time, take care & stay safe!!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Just checking in...

Greetings readers!

I just wanted to check in real quick & let y'all know that I'm still alive & well. Just have been busy getting things situated at my new place of residence, & getting used to being a permanent employee at my job! :) YUP! I got the job offer to become a permanent employee of Cox Communications back in February, so I've been adjusting to that! I'm having fun & enjoying my job, so that makes it easier. Plus, my coworkers are pretty awesome, as is my supervisor! :)

I hope this entry finds you all well, and I will post again soon...hopefully I'll have even more to write about then. LOL! Until then, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Separation & Move

Greetings my readers!

I am so sorry I've been MIA for a while now! I've had a lot of changes in my personal life in the last month & just haven't been in the blogger state of mind! Hopefully that'll change soon though!

Anyway, as you can guess from the title of this post, I have recently gone through a separation in my marriage. Matter of fact, it happened around the 1st/2nd week of January, & I'm still trying to get things straightened out over it. I don't blame anyone else, as it was my decision to leave, & I have been dealing with the repercussions since then. Luckily, I was able to find somewhere to move to & have slowly been moving my stuff out of the apt & to my new place. Hopefully I'll finish moving everything else I have left over there next week, as I won't be able to get to the rest of it til then, but have to have everything moved out by the end of February as that's when the lease at the apt is up & when Travis & I told the office we'd vacate the apt by. Luckily, I got my fur babies (Mittens & Shiloh) yesterday, so they are now with me again & I can start to feel a bit more like myself again. I know it'll take them a little while to get used to living in a new place again, but at least I know they are near me. :) So yeah, that's basically what I've been dealing with for the last month. I'm not going to get into WHY I left the marriage, but I do know it was for the best, & I know that in time, both Travis & I will heal & be able to move on past the hurt. I just hope he can see that...

Anyhow, I just wanted to pop on here & give y'all a quick update & let ya know that I'm still alive & kicking, just been quite busy lately. Again, I hope to start posting on here at a regular basis again soon, but until then, I hope y'all are doing well & I hope you'll continue to come back! :) Thanks for all the support! Take care & stay safe!!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays...however you celebrate this day, may it bring you love, peace, happiness, & joy! Love you all!

*Jolene*

Welcome December!

Greetings everyone! I'm sorry it's been a little while since I posted, just haven't thought about it. I'm such a terrible blogger. LOL! Anyway, can y'all believe it's December already!? Where the heck did 2013 go!? This year seems to have just flown by! I can't believe that in just a little over 29 days, we'll be welcoming in 2014...and hopefully I'll also be celebrating a permanent position at my job! I will actually find out this month if I get an offer or not for the new year, and I'm crossing my fingers that I do! Work's actually been going pretty well for me so far! I'm still learning new things every day, but a lot of stuff is getting easier to troubleshoot & hopefully one day down the line, I'll be able to do it without thinking at all! LOL! We'll see!

Anywho, I hope everyone had a wonderful beginning to their holiday season. I actually worked on Thanksgiving, but that's okay as it was pretty dang slow, so it was an easy shift. :) Travis & I put up our Christmas tree & decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I've been in the Christmas spirit for a couple of weeks now. I just love looking at our tree at night with it's sparkling lights & decorations & seeing our new balcony icicle lights blinking away. Makes everything just so darn peaceful. Which I'm sure we all could use at this time of the year! LOL! I actually can't wait until the first snowfall of the season, which we may actually get later this week, but I just hope I'm over my cold by then! I got hit hard with a head/chest cold the other day (seems to be going around work at the moment), so right now I'm pretty doped up on cold medicine...which might explain my babbling. LOL! :) I've also been drinking green tea w/ lemon & ginseng like nobody's business. Hoping the combo of everything will kick this cold in the butt quickly! Yesterday absolutely sucked when I was on the phone & taking calls for work, as I could hardly breathe & kept coughing or sneezing during the calls. Those poor customers had to have been so sick of hearing me sniffle in their ears. LOL! Oh well, tis the season, right!? Haha!

Well, I just wanted to come on here & post a quick little note letting y'all know I'm still here & alive & kicking, just been busy with work & planning for the holidays! I hope everyone is having a great week so far & may December be your best month yet! :) Talk to y'all soon! Take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Happy Veteran's day everyone!! I just wanted to take some time out of celebrating my birthday (yup! you read that right! I'm now officially 34 years old!) to say THANK YOU to all our armed forces veterans that have served or are serving to keep us all free! Without your bravery & sacrifices, we wouldn't be where we are today! Thank you & God Bless!!!



*Jolene*

Birthday month

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are doing well on this lovely Fall November day! :) My day's going pretty well, even though my dog decided I needed a dang workout & I had to chase him the equivalent of about 5 blocks before I was able to catch up to him. Yeah, he made a break for it (leash included) & all I have to say is OUCH!! My poor lungs were burning by the time I grabbed that leash & brought him back to the apartment. He's now chilling in the kennel & will probably be in there for another hour or so. He is just SO lucky he wasn't hit by a car on his little run! Scared the freaking crap out of me when he crossed the street from my apartment complex (luckily it wasn't the REALLY busy street)! Ugh, I love him, but sometimes!!!! GAH!

Anyway, it is November...which means it's my birthday month. As a matter of fact, we are exactly ONE week away from my 34th birthday! Not that I have too much planned for that day. I'll probably spend it watching my shows on Netflix, as my hubby has to work & with it being at the beginning of the week, all my other friends are either working or in class. Oh well! Sometimes, spending your special day alone can be a good thing...right? :) Not only is it my birthday month, but my sisters' as well! Her birthday is actually 5 days after mine, but she's 4 years older than me, & lives in Florida, so sadly I won't be able to spend it with her, but I'll definitely be thinking about her! :) I also have quite a few other friends that have birthdays or anniversarys this month, so yes, November is quite busy for me. Not only that, but it's Thanksgiving month too! :) I actually have to work on Thanksgiving, but that's okay. I don't mind! I'm just so dang excited because the holidays are really upon us now...matter of fact, just the other day, I *almost* pulled out my Christmas cd's to listen to! I know, I know...it's a bit early for that, but I'm sure in the next couple of weeks I'll probably be pulling them out! It is also NaNoWriMo month too! What is that, you may ask? It stands for: National Novel Writing Month. It is supposed to help you write a novel in a month (or at least get started on one) by giving you daily goals of how many words you should have written, as well as support from other writers. I haven't joined in, but I am working on writing a book...three of them actually. I just have so many ideas in my head, that when a story comes to me, I start to write it, even if I'm not finished with my other one(s) first! I always know I can go back to my others when I get a chance. I just feel like if I don't get the ideas/story out of my head right away, I'll lose it & you never know, that idea could be novel idea! ;) Haha! Get what I did there? Okay, yes, it was cheesy, but at least it made me chuckle! Hopefully one of these days I'll actually get one of those stories finished & can have one of my friends (who is a published author) look over it & edit it & help me make it good enough to actually send it to an editor/publisher. Guess I'll find out one day! LOL! :)

Anyhow, I hope everyone is having a good start to their November so far & I hope that it continues to treat you well! Now, I'm off to relax on our new couch & watch some "Supernatural" on Netflix! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*