PPCM Awareness Jewelry

So I finally have some bracelets made and listed in my shop.  I have had 3 sales so far and hope to have even more in the future.  The lovely ladies who purchased bracelets are some of my "Heart Sisters" and they very much like what they recieved.  I am so happy.  I plan on making and listing 10-15 more in the next month, if I am able.  Evan has been keeping me on my toes and so I really haven't had much time to do a whole lot.  He is rolling all over the place and enjoying every minute of it. :) 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyMeJewelryByAmy?section_id=10346725


That's about all the new stuff that I have for now, someone is waking up as I type for a midnight feeding...I think we might be having a MAJOR growth spurt. :)

~Good Night
~Sleep Tight
~Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite. :)

So excited!

I am so excited!  I just printed out my application for the One Stop Shopping Night Craft and Etc. Sale in November.  I also just put in an order for some brand new jewelry making stuff at TWO different places.  I can't wait to get it in the mail so I can start working on my new jewelry collection.  This one is going to be called "Mothers With Heart".  It is dedicated to all the women out there who have been diagnosed with Peripartum/Postpartum Cardiomyopathy~My Heart Sisters. :)  It is a reminder of what we have gone through and what we go through every day.  I hope it will help bring more awareness to women (pregnant or not) who are of childbearing age of the dangers of this condition.  I will be the first person (I have searched and Googled and have come up with nobody thus far) to make beautiful jewelry to bring awareness to this illness.  It makes me feel good that I know first hand what other women are going through and that I may be able to help them to deal with PPCM in some way by providing awareness jewelry for them.  I am absolutely geeked to be the one who starts the trend and I hope that I am not the last. 

We don't have an official awareness color yet, but some of the ladies who were first diagnosed have used Mint Green as their color of choice since it is not currently being used for anything else.  I plan on using mint green beads, green crystals, with silver awareness ribbon charms or beads, silver spacer beads,  and a single red bead to signify our heart.  I plan on making a few different versions and I am beyond excited to start playing around with patterns. :)

 

 

Stay tuned for more information and for pictures of my new creations!

Echo Update...

So technically the Echo tech's couldn't "tell" me anything about my Ejection Fraction, and I was really disappointed.  I REALLY didn't want to wait until August 16th for my cardiologist to tell me whats up.  But...the technicians were super sweet and they said, "Well, we can't tell you NOT to look at the screen, and if per chance we 'accidentally' leave some numbers up for a minute, we can't do anything about it."  So, it looks like they are putting it in my records as being 40%. (Up from 25% at the end of March when I was diagnosed.) YAY!!!  It is such a relief to know that what I am doing is working and helping me to get better.  I am hoping that when I go for my 6 month echo, I get even better news.  :)  I am so happy that I finally have some answers.  Now I can go about my life and keep doing what I am doing knowing that it is all ok. :)

Today is the day...

Today I woke up early (if you call 8:30 early).  I am by myself enjoing the quiet, it is weird though, having "me time".  I can hear Evan starting to stir in his sleep...I wonder if he can tell when I am awake...In the quiet hours of the morning I am trying to ready myself for the events of the day.  I wanted to sleep in, but have too much on my mind for that. So, I am up and awake and ready for the day...

We leave for Houghton Lake for a week on Saturday morning and I couldn't be more excited.  We will be spending it with my mom and dad~like we do every year...but next year I think we will get our own cabin-we are outgrowing theirs :) We have needed a vacation...Aaron has needed a vacation and is extremely deserving of it for all of his hard work in the past 4 months.  We are going to be out and about getting last minute things ready for our travels and time away from home.  Most importantly, FISHING LICENCES!!! It is pretty much the only time of year that I fish, but it is a great way for me to spend time with my dad, and I am pretty good at if I do say so myself~pictures to come later of my big catch.  :)

I am so nervous.  I could hardly sleep last night and when I finally did fall asleep, I woke up every few hours, WIDE awake.  Today is also the day of my 3 month echocardiogram, even though it is closer to 4 months after my diagnosis.  I won't see my cardiologist to discuss the results until the middle of next month.  I am hoping that the echo tech will be able to let me know at least what my ejection fraction is`how well my heart is pumping.  I have been doing extremely good at following my diet and fluid restrictions, and I ALWAYS remember to take my medication.  I know that I am feeling good, and that SHOULD be all that matters...BUT I really want physical proof that I am doing well and on my way to recovery.  The only way for me to know that for sure is to see it for myself on the echo and for the tech to tell me what my EF is.  We shall see.  I will post an update later.  For now, I will just try to relax, maybe do a puzzle on Jigzone, and wait for my Dad to arrive to watch Evan while Aaron and I head off to Sparrow. 

Wish me Luck! :)

When my world fell apart...

     I felt so alone. I needed to be with my husband and I needed to be with my baby.  I just wanted to go home.  I was uncomfortable and afraid.  I was on so much nitroglycerin that I got migraines.  I have never had one before, and hope to never have one again. They had to gave me morphine to relieve the pain.  I slept for a few hours at a time, but as soon as I woke up, the migraines returned.  They would give me more morphine and I would go back to sleep.  I had to get my blood drawn 2-3 times a day, even when I was sleeping.  I was still on oxygen and I was getting my blood pressure checked every 15 minutes.  It was still fairly high, so they couldn't take me off any of the medication or IVs.  I had a lot of visitors.  My Aunts and Uncle drove through the night and into the wee hours of the morning to come see me and Evan.  It was so nice of them to want to be there for us, and for the rest of my family too. 

     I felt like the main attraction in a circus.  There were tons of new doctors coming in to see me all the time, OBs, General Docs, Interns, and Cardiologists.  Everyone asked the same questions.  They all wanted to listen to my heart and my lungs.  Not one of them came to see me more than once.  It was just annoying.  I was tired of being hooked up to machines.  I felt like they a pincushion. I was bored and exhausted and just wanted to go home and be a new family with Aaron and Evan.  After my blood pressure had gone down a little, and I wasn't on as much nitroglycerin, I was finally able to get out of my bed and sit in a chair.  Then a new Cardiologist, Dr. Yoo, came in and explained what needed to happen in order for me to be healthy enough to go home.  I was NOT prepared for what came out of his mouth.  He told me that I would NOT be able to breastfeed Evan when I went home because I would be on medication for a long time,  I started to cry.  He then proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't have any more children because I would have a relapse and it would probably kill me.  I was crushed.  I hadn't even had a chance to enjoy being a new mom to Evan and do the things I had planned because I was stuck in the hospital.  They were telling me that I wouldn't EVER have the chance to do those things.  I felt like my whole world was falling apart.  Dr. Yoo said that it was extremely important not to put any extra stress on my heart and that my blood pressure needed to go down before we could even think about going home.  How in the hell is my blood pressure supposed to go down when they deliver such awful news?!?!  I cried for hours and I REALLY wanted to go home and hold Evan and squeeze him and kiss him and love him as much as I could.  Aaron was really upset. He was told the day before and had requested that HE be the one to break the news to me, gently, at a later time. 

     On Friday, Evan was discharged.  He was being well taken care of at my mom and dad's house with all of the Aunties and Uncles there.  I was sad that I couldn't be with him, but I knew that I needed to stay at the hospital so I could get well so I would be able to take care of him. 

   When my blood pressure started to go down, they lowered the nitroglycerin and my headaches finally went away.  At one point, my blood pressure got so low that I almost passed out.  I found out later that they kind of expected it because they had to try and figure out how much medication it would take to lower it.  Well, I found out the hard way.  It happened 2 more times before they finally adjusted it to where it needed to be.
 
     On Saturday, I was moved to the Cardiac Care Unit.  I was still on IVs and oxygen, but I didn't have the blood pressure cuff or the monitor anymore.  I was able to get up and walk around and sit in a chair.  It was nice.  I was still sad that I had to be there and miss out on many of Evan's firsts.  Aaron stayed the night with me and I was so glad that I cried.  I had felt so alone, even with all of the visitors.  On Sunday, Aaron went to stay with my mom and dad so he could be with Evan.  I was all alone again, and cried some more, but I had a surprise coming and I was very excited.

     On Monday, Aaron brought Evan to see me.  I was so happy I cried...again.  I hadn't seen him in a few days and he looked like a whole new baby.  He wasn't yellow anymore, but that wasn't what was different.  He was growing and changing and I felt like I was missing it.  I was angry that I couldn't leave.  I was however very grateful that the nurses had pushed for me to have a private room so I could spend as much time with Evan as I wanted. :)

     I was so glad that I was able to spend time with Evan, but I think that being away from him made me appreciate him more.  Not being with him made me realize how much of a blessing he is.  I don't take anything he does for granted.  I am so glad that I have the opportunity to be his mommy.

I have what?!

     After a few hours of being poked and prodded, the cardiologist came in and explained what was going on and what they needed to do.  I was finally told what was wrong with me.  I was in congestive heart failure due to Postpartum Cardiomyopathy.  My lungs were completely filled with fluid because my heart was so weak it couldn't pump properly.  It was causing the extra fluid in my body to build up around my heart and get backed up into my lungs.  That was why I couldn't breathe when I laid down and why my blood pressure was so high. 

"Postpartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a form of dilated cardiomyopathy that is defined as deterioration in cardiac function, presenting typically between the last month of pregnancy and up to five months postpartum.  As with other forms of dilated cardiomyopathy,  PPCM involves systolic dysfunction of the heart with a decrease of the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) with associated congestive heart failure and an increased risk of atrial and ventricular arrhythmia, thromboembolic events (blockage of a blood vessel by a blood clot), and even sudden cardiac death.  In essence, the heart is weakened and does not pump sufficiently for the needs of the body.

     PPCM is a diagnosis of exclusion, wherein patients have no prior history of heart disease and there are no other known possible causes of heart failure.  Echo cardiogram is used to both diagnose and monitor the effectiveness of treatment for PPCM."

 I was told that I couldn't breastfeed Evan because the medications I needed would leach into the milk and make him sick.  I was sad, but they said that I could pump and dump so that when I went home and was off the medication, I would be able to breastfeed again.  My mom figured that the breast milk I had pumped earlier wouldn't last too long, so she had already taken care of getting some formula so Evan could eat.  He was already getting used to it by the time he was admitted for his jaundice, so I wasn't too worried.   They administered an obscene amount of nitroglycerin to try and lower my blood pressure and a blood thinner so my already weak heart didn't have to work so hard to pump my blood.  I was also put on a diuretic to get rid of the extra fluid in my body.  I was still on oxygen, but was finally able to be put on the nose hose instead of the C-pap. Yay!  After a few hours, they moved me to the Intensive Care Unit which I would learn to call home for the next few days...