The weather report had us getting MORE SNOW today. I am so glad that after 10 feet of snow we got a break and they were wrong. I think the panic has set in locally as we are all afraid of what havoc Mother nature will once again bring upon us. I don't even think the ever so infamous groundhog could have predicted all of the weather we have recieved and certainly could have prepared the DC region in how to handle it all. Thus why many side streets are still not plowed.

Today I was reminded of this as I headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for an upper GI for Carter. I am always amazed on how Carter handles everything. He was so good. No tears, just smiles....

This of course was all fine and good until we headed to NNMC for his monthly synagist shots. This unfortunately did include tears but they were short lived and the smiles prevailed.

So I am sitting here tonight with the treadmill in front of me and my son by my side...functioning. That is probably the best way to describe it. I am so worried but if I allow myself to go there,,,seriously what good is that? My in laws are coming in Saturday so they will be here for Carters surgery. For this reason alone, I am ok with being at the hospital 24/7:))) Ok, kidding...kind of. I just don't think my Mother in law cares for me too much. Well, I know she doesn't but she is a great Mom to Andy and Grandmother to Carter and Carters only one. I feel very lucky for that. My Father in law is a jewel. Reminds me of Andy but shorter.

I recieved a flyer in teh mail today for Childrens Hospital to join theor marathon team. Many of Carters doctors also work at Childrens and also John Hopkins. I think I am going to do it. Carter inspires me and I mean that with all sincerity. I remember when Andy was deployed and I was alone in Germany. My puppy Halo made me get up and out everyday. The option was cleaning it up on the inside. I cried and she licked my tears. I needed a spoon...she was/is there. Carter gives me hope, faith and so many smiles. He makes me get out of myself and fight for what matters. For him, for us...

If you are able to give to the March of Dimes, American Heart Association, Childrens Hospital, Avons Walk for the cure or whatever is your passion, I hope you do. Give/donate in the name of someone in you life that inspires you. Sometimes its the smallest inspirations that make the biggest impact.

It is hard sometimes to understand why things happen in life. I know God only gives you what you can handle but I have to say I think he has more faith in me than I do in myself.


Last Friday Carter had a sedated CT scan of his lungs and head. His head showed that his ventricles have stabilized which is VERY good news. Unfortunately, his lungs appear to have worsened. This is his first CT as in the past it was all based on xrays and how he was doing clinically. We new he had "pulmonary blebs". The CT revealed a total of 6 of them. Believe it or not but this is not the cause of the recent lung issues. Carter has chronic aspiration which has resulted in significant damage to his lungs. We were told that they really have not seen a baby with lungs this bad before and this was an assessment of three pulmonologist. We have been given similiar information in the past when he was in the NICU but this was also when Carter clinically was showing signs of respiratory distress. Currently except for his increased need of oxygen, he is a VERY happy baby and looks good.


The overall assessment is that Carter is currently functioning on about 25% of his lung capacity. We have to stop the apiration of Carter or he has very strong possibilty of going into respiratory failure. They are doing a Nissen Fundoplication on Monday to hopefully stop the constant reflux . He will be admitted on Friday.


I pray he is quick to come off the vent as this is our biggest concern. I know in my heart he will. He is so amazing and you don't get much better than Carter. He has 6 teeth and the best smile ever. My

Rocky

.


I understand people have it worse and we feel so blessed for all the love and support we continue to receive. Nobody lives a life free of ailments either in themselves or a loved one. I am reminded of that everyday.

If I may ask, please include Carter in your prayers because praying does work! God is great and I believe that. I know he has the inside track and all will be fine.

WHEN DEANNA LINZ had a heart attack last month, no one believed what was happening — not even her. But the Rockville resident knew something was wrong that morning. "I felt pressure in my chest like a pill was stuck in my throat," she remembers. Then she had trouble lifting her 1-year-old son and grew increasingly anxious. So, Linz dialed 911 and went to the hospital.




"I thought I was being silly, and they thought so, too," she says. One ER nurse assured her it was just a pulled muscle. But since both of her parents died in their 50s of heart disease, the doctor ordered extra tests to be careful, and sure enough, it was a heart attack. She had a 70 percent blockage, which required immediate surgery.



"People don't realize that you don't have to be overweight or diabetic," she says. "There's this preconceived notion that there's a look to heart disease." And that look is nothing like Linz, an avid exerciser and non-smoker who "lives on chicken breasts and Boca Burgers."





She's such a model of healthy living that she's a star in the beauty queen world, and even competed to be Mrs. International 2009 (hence, the photo above). That pageant just happens to have an alliance with the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign, which raises awareness about the fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S.



Linz was already well aware due to her family history. Her mother, who was just a size 6 when she passed away, also had trouble getting people to take her medical problems seriously. "They tried to put her on antidepressants," Linz says. Her father was "the healthy one" until he dropped dead after ignoring the signs of a heart attack.



There were lessons in those experiences for Linz. She's developed behaviors very different from that of her mother — a smoker from the South who ate her food deep-fried — and kept on top of her numbers with frequent doctor visits.



It wasn't enough to keep her immune to heart disease, but her vigilance promises to keep her ticker going despite it. Moving forward, she's happy to skip the hamburgers, walk as much as possible and take a handful of drugs every morning if it means she can spend more time with her husband and son.



And if Linz ever thinks something is amiss, she's not going to feel silly asking for help. "This has made me aware that life is short and precious, and you need to be an advocate for yourself," she says. "Nobody knows you better than you."



» Ticker Time: Valentine's Day is over, but it's still American Heart Month. And the American Heart Association is hoping you mark the occasion by visiting Heart.org/mylifecheck. The site walks you through a series of questions organized around "the simple seven," the factors that affect heart health: get active, control cholesterol, eat better, manage blood pressure, lose weight, reduce blood sugar and stop smoking. There's another online checkup available at Goredforwomen.com.



Photo courtesy Deanna Linz

Posted By Vicky Hallett at 12:00 AM on February 23, 2010 Tagged in Fit , Fit Newsletter , Maryland

http://www.virginiainternationalpageants.com/

Pageantry in perspective

Lets face it, most whom have competed have never won an Oscar, Emmy or Grammy. Yes, there are the Sharon Stones and Hally Berry's of the world but in all reality a pageant is just that, a moment in time. I believe in pageantry and love it. In a life where we live day by day a pageant affords you the opportunity to feel special for 5 minutes and hopefully it encourages you to get out there and give back everyday. It offers a wonderful platform for that.

This past weekend Andy and I attended the MD/VA pageants. I was able to perform and truly loved not having the pressure of competing!!!!! You have to love a sport where you ask 4 or 5 strangers to judge you in 5 minutes are less and yet we call it fun! Deshawn did a wonderful job and the pageant ran smoothly. Congrats to all of the winners. What an amazing group of ladies!!!!

If I may ask, please continue to support all of the ladies that competed. They really all did such a wonderful job and I would have been hard pressed to pick a winner myself.

So this brings me to this week. I am happy to say the snow has slowed down. YEAH!!!!! We are hoping to have a CT scan done of Carter's lungs to see how his pulmonary blebs are structured. We are hoping for good news. Please also say a prayer for our cousin who just found out she has a malignant tumor on her spine.

Much love to all and again congrats to all of the new International title holders from this past weekend. Alabama is next weekend. Hard to believe!!!!

For a complete listing of VA and MD Internationals newest title holders, please log on to:http://www.virginiainternationalpageants.com/

It is yet another snowy day here in the DC area. Snow in DC/MD/VA pretty much shuts down the world. The newscasts are covered with the scrolling graphics of school and government office closings. One of the funniest “notifications” I read today stated that a certain office was closed BUT “essential employees” must report to work. Now how would you read this? Do you just know if you are essential? If you are not essential is it a blow to your job confidence? Should you worry about job security? On the other hand, if you are essential exactly how essential can you be if you MUST drive into work and risk your life doing it? Is the company just trying to cut cost?
So today my non essential self will sit with my very essential brilliant child and enjoy the day. Inside…..well I do have to let the dogs out.