March Madness

By now it is March and I am not even taking pictures of all my hives… my phone was full of pictures, proof, or a scary sight. Whatever you want to call it. I had stopped going out… and socializing! I felt as though this was making me insane… There were no patterns that would make me say, ohh that has to be it. I carried a notebook around with me at this time; recording every hive I had… all through the day! By the first day I had 2 pages covered of different accounts on my body of the hives. The doctor always wanted to know, so when are the worst times? Morning? Noon? Night? Well honestly, It was a guessing game... I would wake up and not know what I would look like. Some days, I would clear up quickly but then at other times Id have multiple different hives all through the day. One thing that was a definite was that I would have them no matter what. Not only were these hiving making me crazy, but they were also affecting my schoolwork. With only a couple of weeks left, I had some decisions to make. Do I withdrawal? Do I drop out? I’m a planner so this came to me as a shock… I never planned for this to happen. I became very angry with God and this entire situation. Why me? Why was this happening to me? It wasn’t a day later I was on twitter… Something about this tweet stood out to me! Was God trying to tell me something?

"God never sends us more than we can handle." - Mother Theresa

Even after this quote was permanently stamped in my mind, and my mind seemed to refer back to it many times I still didn’t understand. Why me? I got to the point where it didn’t seem like anyone understood, and I would always say, “ You don’t know your not in my shoes” How rude right? I’m telling you this stuff made me crazy.

Photos from those few weeks… Keep in mind: I’m still on steroids and its March, that means I’ve not only been taking them orally but I would also get shots every couple of weeks while in the ER. Do you know what steroids do for you? THEY MAKE YOU WANT TO EAT, EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. And that is exactly what I was doing.

I look so swollen because, I was retaining so much fluid from the steroids and I wasn't able to get rid of it.

To the left:

The Day after... This is what it began to look like when it started to go away! It was almost like it was bruising my skin.

When you think you've gotten past something, think again!

Spent a fun night partying with nearly everyone I had graduated high school with. But somehow during the night, I only took pictures with 3 people.

 Key and I... Isn't he precious

 Scooter, Key and I

At this point in my hive stage… I was taking a gallon zip lock bag full of pills. I have a big purse but not that big…

I continued taking the steroids 2x daily, Hydroxyzine 3x daily at 50 mg.  We tried numerous different medications to help with the swelling, itching and rash. NOTHING WAS HELPING!!! Nothing was touching the symptoms… I was in the doctor’s office, either every week or every other week. I can only imagine what my insurance company is going to think when looking at my spending habits at the drug store.  I literally would try something for a week, possibly 2 and would change to something else. I spent countless hours online researching, Hives cures… Hive help… alternative methods. Nothing seemed to tell me anything different that what I had heard 1,000 times before. Why was this so foreign for doctor’s to figure out? Could it have been the fact I looked like something from outer space?

 

Seems pretty minor!

Later the next day....

Its started out pretty calm!

Within hours of the picture before... By far this was the worst, I THOUGHT! Not only was it on my face but it was all in my head

The NEXT DAY! Pretty strange right? It took a while to get over this one...

”Last night I learned if things get bad, they'll always get worse.” 

WELCOME BABY PRESTON

March the 1^st

We welcomed PRESTON GRANT WOOD

What a blessing a child is… It was an experience I wouldn’t have missed for the world. Jess, the mommy, she is a long time Friend/Sister/Inspiration and the list could go on for days. Brinkli-Her daughter, soon to be 4 in June, is my heart and soul. She could put a smile on my face no matter how bad the day was. To her I am “Maw-Maw Danielle” Why? Only she knows that… We have no clue why she started calling me that but it stuck. I never thought at 20 years old I would be a MAW-MAW but it’s the best sound coming out of her mouth. Melts my heart every time I hear it. 

 Brinkli

 Brink and Maw-Maw

 Baby Preston

On my way back to Starkville around 1 AM. My hives decided they wanted to come out and play... :(
I was alone and I knew that this was a severe moment. So... By the time I got to Columbus Ms, 1 hour from Tuscaloosa where Preston was born, I stopped at the ER. Called my roommate(Sam) to come sit with me until my uncle got to me from Amory Ms. Which is also about an hour to the Hospital. Sam only had a 30 minute drive... She got to be pretty quick...

HERE ARE PICTURES FROM THE ER

YES! I was miserable... This isn't something ER doctors know much about. But at the least they could give me something for the pain and a good steroid shot. I was still taking steroids daily, since January. After 1 steroid shot, 2 pain shots, 2 epi pin shots, and medicine to take home. We were able to head home... with the orders to not drive for a couple of days. My uncle lonnie aka my other dad... took me to Starkville with pancakes (my favorite), by now it is 7 AM. And it has been one long long night! REST REST REST for the next couple of days...

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. 

-Wayne Dyer 

Its Time to Call the Doctor

After that Thursday night, and horrendous next day, I just rested. Still hopeful that this steroid shot and dose pack would diminish my hives and they wouldn’t return. EVER!!!! The next week passed and I was free… Until the first week of February!

These were taken within 1 week of each other! 

This was also our first big snow day in Starkville:

After our snow day- I called the doctor! John Frank Dishuck, Specialist in Allergy and Immunology. He is located at the Asthma and Allergy Center of Tuscaloosa AL. I managed to get an appointment the following week. To anyone who has tried to make an appointment with a allergist will tell you it takes MONTHS. 

"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever" - 2 Corinthians 4:17

Continued Nightmare

Continued…

Here is how that Thursday night turned out:

 And... The next day:

This began a journey I never thought would end. 

Beginning my Nightmare

January:

I came into this year unsure of what the year would bring, but knowing that this year was going to be different than the rest. Rather that meant good or bad, it wasn’t my call.

January began with new friends and challenges. This was nothing a glass of wine at night couldn’t fix. I made a promise to myself that I would begin training to run half marathons with my “Sister”. Little did I know what this month had in store for me? The month progressed… I began my second semester of my sophomore year at MSU. Unsure of what it was I wanted to do with what I was studying, Fashion Merchandising, I changed my major to Early Childhood Development. Still not sure this was the thing for me… I trusted that I would have some sign that would lead me into where exactly I should be.

On Thursday the 20th, I made the hour 30-minute drive home from Starkville. For what other than…a band party. By the time it hit 3:00 PM my eye was swollen shut.

Just a little history:

Since I was 3 years old I’ve had chronic idiopathic (no known cause) hives with angioedema (swelling). Hives are classified as a rash; around 40% of the US will have acute hives within their life. The difference in theirs and mine is that there is a cause behind the acute hives. Possibly it’s the lotion you use, the detergent, certain foods or even cleaning supplies. Many people get hives confused with shingles. Shingles are an infection, the herpes virus to be exact.

On and off through my life I have had episodes of this rash, some severe and some not. In most cases, with a good steroid shot, steroid pack, allergy pill or antihistamines. I would be hive free within hours/days. I never had long episodes of it lasting weeks or months. After years and years of allergy testing, food intake test, ruling out lupus and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. They came to the conclusion that “I’m not allergic to anything” NOTHING!!!!!!

Back to where we were at 3:00 PM on a January Thursday night. I told myself if I took some antihistamines and took a little nap id be ready for the band party by 9:00. This would normally work…

To Be Continued… 

"Live. Laugh. Love. Progress. Proceed"-CPB

"You Should Write A Book"

After hearing “You should write a book” a trillion times, well maybe not a trillion but a million for sure. I decided a blog would be a better first step to sharing my not so normal experiences with the world, or whoever wants to read in on the craziness I call life.