Creation to the Creator

“Helllllloooooooo.  We’re here!”

“Hi Mom!  Hi Jess!”

Sweet, my mom and my sister are here.  It feels like forever since we’ve hung out.  Lily’s also coming later today!  The plan is to hang out then go get a “foot massage” which includes the whole body _and_ hot stones.  Hurray!

“Hey guys.  Did you eat yet?  Just made fried rice.  Hungry?”

“Starving!  We haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“Okay, this enough for you?  It’s ground beef with leftover beef broth, pad see ew sauce, fish cakes, corn, cashews… stuff like that.  Basically, the fried rice is made from random left-overs in the fridge.”

With my mom and my sister, Jessica, sitting next to me at the dinner table, I decide to pull out my jewelry-making tools.  Pliers: bent nose, duckbill, knotting, curved, wire cutter… okay, I have a LOT of stuff.  Disposable stainless steel scissors act as my anvil.  The mallet I stole from the garage. I even pull out a 925 stamp to mark my finished products as officially being sterling silver.  Little plastic re-sealable bags are for my scrap silver (I even collect the silver dust from shavings to use later).  Beads… I have two plastic containers, each with 30 small pill-like compartments, filled with beads of different colors and sizes.  Silver wire: 20 gauge and the thinner 24 gauge.  Paper clip.  Needle files.  Enough?  I’ve covered the whole dinner table except for where my sister and mom are eating!  *sheepish grin*

“If you see something you like, let me know and I’ll make it.” 

Taking out my finished earrings, I spread them over the little remaining table space.  As I start grabbing my silver wire, my mom reaches out.  Grabbing one of my earrings, she states “I want this one in orange.”

“Okay, orange rabbit earrings coming right up.  How about you Jess?”

“Do you have pen and paper?”

Huh?  Puzzled, I stand up and walk over to a side table.  There, I grab a pad of paper provided by some local advertising realtor.  Walking back, I reach over Jessica’s shoulders and grab a pen from the top of my electric keyboard (yes that gets used as storage surface too).  

“Here you go.”

Taking the pen and paper, Jessica immediately leans forward.  Sketching out a couple of lines, she turns the paper towards me.  “Can you make this?”

“You mean kind of like my amethyst droplet earrings with the long hook wire?”

“Yeah, but make the distance between the dangling bead and the ear hook longer.  Also, use these cats-eye beads.”

“Sure, dig for the beads you like and I’ll make it.  I suck at combining different colors... you've gotta match the beads for me.”

Lord, thank you so much for this time with my family.  Pulling out my stash of earrings isn't the easiest for me.  To me, each earring is something I took time to create and put a lot of effort into creating.  Showing them off and being open to critique is scary, especially when it's in person.  I know my technique is constantly being improved upon… and I like my own work.  However, there’s many different styles of earrings I’ve made.  Some of my earrings I’d seriously wear and others only for fun (and others not my style at all).  Well, at least from family, I’ll hear pretty clearly what’s what.  And honestly, I enjoy my creations being appreciated.  Some of my pieces need improvement; others, I am happy to say “I really like.” 

Father, you created me.  What am I in your eyes?  Sometimes in mine, “I’m pretty good.”  Other times, in my own eyes, I feel dirty and stained and worn.  Masked under my current jewelry hobby, Lord, I struggle and still get super frustrated.  I want to be up and doing everything that comes into my mind with no holds barred!  When I think of making cookies, I want the energy to make cookies.  When I want to go for a walk with my friend, I want the energy to do so!  Even when I make jewelry, I had to depend on my sister to tell me that the wire ends were still sharp (I couldn’t feel the sharpness, even on the underside of my wrist).

Lord, as I twist and turn… often blinded by my wants, my wishes… Father, I don’t like this part of myself.  This journey you’re allowing me to walk through, even with the crazy cool blessings… there are many times I want OUT!  I just want to be normal again.  I want the energy to be out there doing my crazy activities.  I want.  I want.  I want… and I don’t want to have to keep depending on everyone.  I like my independence!

*sigh*

Father God… all-in-all, you are my Lord.  I don’t always like my life, but I will keep living it until you call me home.  Even though I feel physically weak, there are those who are even weaker.  Even though I complain about not having enough energy, there are those who have even less than I do.  Even though I hate my allergies and my current digestive system, my life could be way worse.  I keep telling myself the blessings I DO have.  Sometimes this cheers me up.  Sometimes it doesn’t. 

In the end, what I want doesn’t mean I’ll get it. 

Lord, help me.  Open my eyes to focus on the good even as I see the bad.  Help me to see my life as one half full and not half empty.  Give me the strength to appreciate all your blessings in all its forms. 

Thank you that even in my life as it is, you give me great joy, consistent peace and so much love.  Thank you, Father, for this undeserved grace, for your consistent mercy.  Lord, thank you for showing me your uncompromising love: the care and blessings you shower on me and my household, the tough situations to stretch and grow me and your ever-ready hands to catch me.

Lord, I have nothing I can give, do or say that you need.  All I can do and will continue to do is make the choice to follow you, to serve you.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I offer you my all: my heart, my life, my soul.  Amen.

Update and Prayers

Kristy's update on Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hurray, no chemo this round!  I'm soooooo happy!

I was pretty worried going in to my doctor's appointment because in these two weeks, even with one less chemotherapy medication, my body isn't settling down.  I'm still super tired and frequently flop in bed.  I'm definitely not where I want to be... not bouncing back as quick as I used to.

The doctors at Stanford decided to place a hold on my chemotherapy for an additional 2 weeks due to an increase in neuropathy.  My neuropathy isn't that bad, it's like having gloves and socks on all the time.  The sensations are still there, but muffled and slightly skewed.  Good thing my vision is good and I can compensate well.  Yay!  I'm pretty careful about most things so there's no dropping objects or tripping on my feet. When I work with my silver wire, I can't tell if the ends are sharp or not with my fingertips; instead, I poke the clipped wire end against the back of my hand... or if that's not clear enough, I scrap the wire against the underside of my wrist.  Likely verdict: yup, still sharp. 

On January 31st, I'm scheduled to see a neurologist.  Hopefully, they'll take a look and test what's messed up and how.  Nice!  I want to know what condition my nerves are in.  Is the conduction normal or not?  *wry grin*  Kristy as a test-subject coming up!

On February 3rd, I see my sarcoma doctor again.  On that day, they will decide if I should continue the chemotherapy or not.  Part of me really really hopes NOT!  Beyond sitting around making jewelry, I'm up for cooking a meal; however, the next day, I'm totally wiped.  =S  I don't like this physical limitation.  If it were sore muscles, no problem.  But it's not.  When I'm tired, the 14 steps upstairs are enough to make my legs feel like jelly, my breath short, and my head all floaty. 

Kristy's prayer request:
1.  For God to continue guiding the doctors and medical staff in regards to my care.
2.  Health of both my cats.  One, Mika, keeps running to the litter box and back out.  Giving her meds, but still hard to watch her not feel well.
3.  For my body to heal, settle down.  Short-term: I want to be stronger and able to perform activities around the house consistently (laundry, dishes, cleaning up... and then there's my new jewelry hobby too!) without resulting in any fatigue... that day or the following.  Long-term:  I want the energy to play paintball and go rockclimbing again!

This bit is from Noel:

Happy New Year everyone!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragements!  They are a huge blessing to me! 

My time at Apple draws to a close, my contract ends on January 30th.

Please pray for me in these coming months, as I do tend to let the stress of not having a job affect me a little bit.  Here are a few things you could pray for me about:

1.  That I will continue to share God's love, word and support to my friend, Vince, and his current team (people I've worked with before).

2.  That I will continue to trust in God's plan for my future employment, be it with Vince or elsewhere.

3.  That God will provide full time employment by the time Kristy returns to work in March.  

I think that's a good update... please let me know if you have any thing that I can pray for you all as well!  Prayer goes both ways:  asking for prayer and praying for others :)  but mainly one way: to God :)

Thank you so much for your love and support! 

Love ya'll!

Noel

Father God, thank you for being a part of our lives and the lord of our household.  Thank you for providing when and where we lack.  Thank you for always blessing us with so many loving family and friends.  Lord, we place into your loving hands: our hearts, our lives, our dreams.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Two Sides of a Coin

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Breath in.  Breathe out.  In.  Out.

I'm still awake. 

Laying in bed, I shudder as a chill runs through my body.  No, I don't have a fever, nor do I have I cold. I just don't feel well.  I feel like a broken record.  I'm tired.  I'm also tired of being tired.

Layer on layer of blankets push down on me.  My arms appreciate the warmth as I snuggle close to Noel.  My feet, not so happy.  The pressure of these blankets, while welcome, seem to bother my feet.  So uncomfortable.  Irritably, I shift my feet, pointing them outwards. The blankets still push on my toes.  This sucks.  Rolling to my left, I snuggle my back against Noel's warmth. 

Cuddling my hot water bottle, I consider my options.  One, I can try to sleep... I really want to sleep.  Did I mention that I'm tired?  Or two, stay awake because I'm going to need to run to the toilet, again.  That'll be the fifth time or maybe sixth time in this hour?  Life can really suck.  Maybe I should take more meds?  Well, if I could know the future, I would've taken meds an hour ago. 

So, why not take the meds now?  *sigh*  Should I brave the cold?  Is it worth it?  Probably... But it'll be cold outside these blessed blankets!  As is, I may have another hour of facing the cold anyways... May as well add another trip. 

Grumbling in my head, I slide my feet out.  Yikes!  The air really is chilly.  I wanna stay in bed!  Half-in and half-out of bed...I'm enjoying the warmth under partial blankets but also feeling the cold in the room.... that part's not so pleasant.  Ah, Kristy, move it!  Flipping the blankets off, I slide out of bed onto my feet.  Legs trembling, I shuffle through the dark, around the bed, to the bathroom.  Closing the door behind me, I flick on the lights.  This way, I won't wake Noel.  At least, I hope I won't.  He's gotta work tomorrow.

Fingers now chilled by the air, I grab my medicine by the sink.  Standing here, my legs tremble.  I wish I could say I'm shivering from the cold.  Yeah, it's chilly, but my legs are just weak.  Today is one if those not-so-good days where everything I do feels like an instant energy drain.  Sinking to my bottom, I sit on the bathroom floor.  Medicine bottle in hand, I stare at the bright orange plastic.  Come on, all I've gotta so is twist the white cap.  *deep sigh*  Did I mention I hate taking meds?

Twisting the white cap, I pop open the lid and pour out little white pills into my palm.  Taking one, I place the rest back into the bottle.  With a click, I twist the cap closed.  Attempting to break the pill in half... well, tonight, that's not working.  My fingers are still strong (I think) but they feel bruised from the neuropathy... kind of hard to use.  Staring at the tiny white pill, I bring it to my mouth and bite.  Half the pill crumbles into my mouth.  Carefully, I twist my upper body until I can grab the counter.  Hands reaching up, I grab ledge.  Pull.  With determination, I heave myself back onto my feet. Placing the pill bottle at the edge of the sink, I gently place the left-over white half-pill on the lid. That will be for later. 

Tired, I lean my elbows on the counter.  Swiveling my left arm, I grab my cup.  Shifting my body left, I shift most my weight onto my left elbow to support myself.  My legs ache.  Silly huh?  Just a little standing and I feel like I'm near my limit. 

Filling my cup with water, I down my medicine.  Hands now frozen by the cold water, I contemplate the walk back to bed.  Should I just stay here in the restroom?  Sure it's cold, but if I need to use the toilet again, I'm so much closer.  Ahhhh, why am I being lazy?  Everything I do, every extra step, is exercise!  I'm weak enough... moving is good for me.

Shuffling forward, I turn off the light.  Opening the door, I inch my way around the base of the bed.  Sitting gently, I carefully swing my legs up and quickly burrow into the comforters.  Ahhhhh, so warm.  Wriggling my feet, I wrap my toes around the warm water bottle Noel placed in the bed just for me.  Lifesaver!  

The soothing warmth calms me.  Slowly, I let my muscles relax.  Sinking into the bed, maybe now I can finally rest?

 

Lord God, I seem to be getting weaker... not stronger.  I know the doctors tell me that I'm doing really well... I'm glad to hear that, but living like this is tough.  Thank you, Father God, for the loving company of friend, for the distraction of starting a jewelry shop on Etsy and for the ability to surf on Pinterest.  Lord, I don't know what to think anymore when it comes to this body.  I know you bless me so that while I hang out with family and friends, my body (for the most part) is on its best behavior.  Thank you so much for that blessing!  Thank you, Lord Father, for taking care of me... for making socializing still possible... for giving me the strength to sit when standing takes too much out of me.

God, being 20 pound lighter than 6 months ago scares me.  It's not like I was chubby before... but now, I just look anorexic.  *shudder*  Father, after chemo is done, can you please help me regain my muscle mass?  Not for looks, but so that I can participate in my hobbies without restrictions.  I want to run while playing paintball, carrying full pods of paint and wearing all my gear.  I want to rock climb, the longer climbs twice without stopping.  I want to walk without my hips getting tired.  I want to stand without fear of collapsing.  When I finally return to work, I want to serve my patients without running to the toilet.

Father, there are days when I have the energy to cook.  Then there are days when I feel like crawling.  One body, but every day changes... I never know what to expect.

 

God, when I'm feeling down, help me to see you... in my life, as my support... remind me that you are the source of my strength.  Father, when this set of chemotherapy is done... can you please heal me?  Fully?  That'd be super nice.  But whatever your plans are, Father, may my attitude, my actions, my heart shine with your Spirit.  May you, O Lord, be ever honored and glorified.  

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Thanks Stephen for the newest video at http://youtu.be/_agZq6Iwc5g

Nina and I learn to cook pad see ew and Korean tacos!  Yummy!  Thanks Nina!

 

 

Karen and I working on earrings.  See how much of a mess I make?

Earrings finished!!!  We're wearing them.  =D

Earrings I made for my sister: sterling silver, pink cats-eye and Swarovski crystal

Red Fire & Ice Earrings... thinking if I should change it.  Red ruby gemstone and Swarovski crystal on sterling silver.

Life's Little Twists and Turns

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Ugh… not feeling so well.  My sensitivity to foods is now way up.  

Last week, I ate some “all natural vegan snack” Veggie Sticks by The Daily Crave… no dairy, no egg, no gluten products.  In fact, the ingredients are really simple: potato flour, safflower oil… and flavored with veggies.  Not bad huh?  Wrong.  I got symptoms of gluten and dairy! 

Checking the Veggie Sticks package, I found this statement “manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, soy and milk derivatives.”  *deep sigh* I just got glutened and dairied.  Meh.  Who thought that the small particles either on the machinery or in the air are enough to set my body off?  Not me.  Guess this is what people mean when they say “cross-contamination.” 

Grrrr……..  I now need to be super vigilant about anything that even possibly _touches_ one of the many products I’m sensitive to.

How sensitive?  Think of those wooden spoons or chopsticks at home.  If you’ve used it to touch or eat a product such as soy sauce (yes, most soy sauce and many Asian sauces have wheat), the gluten in the product can remain in the pores of the wood.  If I eat anything cooked with that wooden spoon or eat with that chopstick, I’m likely to get sick.  

What products am I reactive to?  Well, the list is even longer now.  I’m sensitive to chicken (yes, I did say chicken and probably duck too), chicken/duck egg, alcohol, gluten (not just wheat… this includes barley, rye and some other grains), dairy (not just the usual lactose), cantaloupe, avocado, banana (who knows what other fruits *sniffle*), anything spicy… and then even heavy use of garlic or onions cause me to feel severely bloated.

Thank you, God, that there are many cabinet spices I can use to cook with!  Thank you, Father God, that I can still eat beef, pork, fish, salt/pepper.  Father, thank you so very much that I can still use gluten-free soy sauce, one without alcohol in it, and gluten-free oyster sauce for flavoring my foods.  Yay!!!

Sun’s long gone.  Noel’s already asleep in bed and snoring.  Me?  I’m wandering around the room.  What time is it?  Oh, it’s already Tuesday… way past midnight.  Why am I still up?  Well, back to the food sensitivity issue, I don’t know what I’m eating that’s affecting my body now… but I’m reacting to _something_ I ate.  Frequent runs to the toilet aren’t exactly what I’d call restful.  I’m going to stay up until my body calms down.

Huddling in a small patch or light, I’m surrounded by darkness.  Kneeling on the carpet, I grasp a tool in each hand.  Twist. Tap.  Squeeze.  I’m shaping some more earrings, practicing my technique with forming wire shapes.  Done! 

Now what?

Scratch.  Scratch.  My pen flies over paper.  Hearts, flowers, leaves… I’m sketching and designing ideas for new earring pieces.  What sketches?  I though you just made the earrings by playing around.  Yeah, I do… but my intention is to create earrings, necklaces and bracelets never seen before.  I want to play with chemicals to anodize silver.  Use fire to solder silver and even melt silver into new shapes!  *drool* I want to create jewelry that cannot be easily replicated at a glance.  I want to design my own niche market of specialty jewelry.  I want jewelry no one can easily make.  I want to create jewelry I can proudly wear.  I want to learn and practice new skills.  I want to have fun!

Enough.  I can go on for forever about the “I wants.”  What time is it?  Yikes!  It’s that late?  Click.  The light’s off.  Arms in front, I carefully creep to the bed.  Lying down, I pull the blankets over me.  Pause.  Well, at least I’m _trying_ to pull the blankets over my body.  Tug.  Pull.  The top comforter’s not moving.  Grrr……. Noel must’ve tucked and rolled the comforters under his body.  He’s happily snoring and I’m not happy.  It’s cold!  Scooting my body closer to Noel’s warmth, I carefully lay the available corner of the comforter over my body.  Curling my body into a ball, I tuck my pillows and stuff toys to keep out the cold.  I don’t want to wake Noel.  Noel’s got work and I don’t. 

Father God, thank you for this life.  Thank you for so many ideas to keep me occupied.  Thank you for the lack of boredom while being stuck at home.  Thank you for allowing me to find a potential niche market in jewelry that is fully unique, fun and requires lots of new hand-on skills. 

God, I don’t know if I’ll be able to execute my ideas, but I do know that you’ve blessed me with the ability to work with my hands and a mind that likes to creatively analyze situations.  I _think_ I’ll be able to produce the ideas I have in my head… after all, most, well actually all, of my projects started as concepts in my head.  I tell myself “I can do this” and then go for it.  Father… I don’t seem to know the words “I can’t.”  I get these crazy big ideas… and then I want to make the ideas reality.

Lord, I know I make a lot of mistakes along the way, but I thank you for so many opportunities to try new things.  Working on cars, crazy backyard projects, kitchen floors and cabinets, doors and now jewelry… Lord God, thank you for blessing me with lots of tools to play with!  Thank you that I have eyes that can see and hands that still work.  Thank you that even as my body is so much weaker from the chemotherapy, I can still do so much!

Lord, may my life, my hands, my heart bring you glory and honor and praise.  May all the work I do be a reflection of the joy I have walking with you.

Thank you, Father God, for this life, for my husband, Noel, for my family, for my friends.  For being so richly blessed, in Jesus’ name, I praise my Father in heaven.  Amen.

Noel sleeping... see the time?

Happy birthday, Joan!

These are the earrings I recently made:

Finding Something to Do

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Strong.  Weak.  Strong.  Weak.  I really hate flip-flopping.  Well, honestly, I'd rather switch between two extreme physical capabilities in comparison to being stuck in my weak state.

I believe that my issue is the fact I'm not weak all the time.  I find myself constantly looking forward to the time when I get strong again and plan for that eventuality. Problem: I have a very difficult time dealing with my lack of strength. Always looking forward limits my ability to deal with the present.

As I lay here, my body is relaxed.  For once, I'm actually resting.  Usually, if my mind is alert, I try to push my physical limits, see what I can do.  Today, not happening.  Why you ask?  Well, I totally learned my lesson yesterday.

Yesterday, we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday.  I so wanted to make cookies, help Noel clean and prep the house... a thousand-and-one things to make our place more inviting.  Did I do any of it?  Nope!  It's not like I didn't try... just getting downstairs and crawling onto the couch wiped me out. Sitting in a chair, I didn't even last half-an-hour!  Poor Noel did all the cleaning, planning, prepping, cooking.  Me?  Absolutely nothing!  The sad things is, I _couldn't_ do anything.

Finally acknowledging my weakness, I am declaring that I will live using minimal strength today.  *smirk*  For once, I'll actually declare my intention to stay down!

Okies... Now that I've decided... Hmmmm... What can I do?  You didn't expect me to sleep all day did you?  Rolling my head right... nothing there. Left? Ohhhh... now that's something I haven't seriously done in a while!  *wide grin*

Crawling out of bed, I grab a clear plastic container.  Dragging myself on hands and knees, I crawl back under the blankets.  Snap.  Snap.  I open the lid of my hefty plastic container.  Pouring out the contents, I quickly shuffle the items across my lap.  Yes, everything is scattered _all_ over the entire comforter surface.  Pliers here.  Beads there: transparent plastics, crystals, semi-precious and real stones of assorted colors and sizes. Silver: wires, hooks, hoops. Other stuff: bleah, no need to even look.  I've got way too much crap accumulated over the years and rarely used.  Well, time to use it!

Lord, thank you for my pack-rat nature that provided today's activity.  Thank you that I was able to sit for a couple hours to play with beads and wires without getting frustrated by my immobility. Thank you for eyes that can see fine details.  Thank you for hands strong enough to work wire and nimble enough to use pliers. Thank you, Lord, for a mind full of creative ideas and the ability to execute those concepts.

Father God, thank you that instead of whining about being weak and tired; today, I was able to have a lot of fun!  In Jesus' name, I raise my voice in praise, amen.

2 days later...

Now what to do with all the stuff I made?  I've made 10 earrings of all different colors, shapes and sizes: green, pink, purple, blue, pearl... guess I'll try that site: Etsy.com.  If I can sell this stuff, then I'll have more money to buy more materials.  *smirk*  More materials means more skills I can learn and apply.  More skills means more stuff I can make.  More stuff I can make leads to more time used productively to keep me occupied while I'm stuck at home.  What do you think?

If you're interested in what I made, you'll find it under "enchantress79" at "Land of Dreams"

Why such fluffy titles?

Well, "enchantress79" is a combination of my eBay identification from my old selling days and my racing numbers.  "leadf00t" just doesn't quite look or sound appropriate for selling jewelry.

My Etsy shop is titled "Land of Dreams" because today is a good day where I got the opportunity to reassess my creative skills beyond work, sports activities, reading or anything church-related.  Today, I am blessed with the opportunity to jump back into my childhood dreams and ask myself "if I were *fill-in-the-blank*, what would I wear or have?"  A princess would wear what type of earrings?  An elegant lady?  A child who enjoys sparklies?  Then beyond jewelry, I am capable of making costumes.... how about a Renaissance girl's bodice?  A traveler's fur-edged cape?  A cute stuff toy pillow?   I want my Etsy account to encompass my creative passions if I ever decide to make stuff for sale. *wide grin*  I'm lazy... set the groundwork now and never have to do it again.

This year is gonna be another crazy, God-filled, inspiring year.  I can feel it.  *wide grin*  Gotta love this life... when one thing stops, even more endless opportunities open up!  Let's see what else life throws this way.  Bring it!

Happy New Year!!!

Like the mess I made?  It's even worse now as I pull more stuff out!  Half this stuff I bought in high school or college and never used until today.  =O

Always Looking Forward

Janurary 1, 2014

Wow... A brand new year.  Resolutions?  None, I never keep them. 

I'm stuck in the hospital for chemotherapy again.  Today's my third day... only one more day left here before I get to leave.  Hurray!!!  Because of my increased neuropathy, my oncologist decided to stop the most likely culprit, Ifosfamide, resulting in one less day in the hospital.  So happy!  Plus, this is my fourth round.  The doctor says one or two more rounds (I'm hoping for only one more... But I'm betting that if I look good and react well, it'll probably be upped to two more rounds of chemotherapy with Doxorubicin).

I've read so much manga that I'm bored.  I get bored easily huh?  Everyone tells me, "Get out of the room.  Go for a walk."  When I'm working as a physical therapist, I remember telling my patients the very same thing.  However, now being the patient, I feel very different.  Outside my room, it's cold.  Outside my room, when I exercise, I draw a lot of attention.  I don't see anyone else punching or kicking or stretching.  Funny, as a therapist working with my patients, I never cared what people around me thought.  Now as a patient with no one standing by my side, I feel shy.  I'll just stay in my room.

Hmmmmm, how best to amuse myself?  Stair steps?  Done.  Squats?  Done.  High knee march, single leg balance, stretch, punches with trunk rotation, high kicks... All done.  What else can I do to spice things up while staying in my room?  While pondering, I raise the head high on my hospital bed.  Flinging my legs up, I lay my head where most people have their feet.  Casually, I start pedaling my feet in the air, add in a couple crunches, toss in some more trunk twists to hit my obliques... still standard.  Boring.  What else can do that is new? 

Laying here with my feet up, I've already received 3 comments from different staff members concerning my position.  I don't like drawing attention, but I am also somewhat practical.  If I'm going to laze around, I want my position to be beneficial.  The better I manage or prevent any swelling in my legs, the less injury and stress to my system.  Gotta keep thinking long-term.  I'll deal with some comments and curiosity, it's still better than hanging outside my room!

Now... Fun new exercise... What to do.  With my leg still up, I lift my butt off the bed.  Okay, new style bridging technique!  Lifting my right leg up, I twist my trunk and touch my right foot to the left side of the bed.  Not bad.  Repeat with my left leg to my right.  Well, at least this requires more muscle control than walking.  Bleah... Walking in this hospital makes me feel like a hamster running on a wheel and going nowhere.  This is better.

Flipping myself onto my stomach, my legs are still higher than my head.  Bent backwards, yikes, a very effective abdominal and hip flexor stretch.  Pushing my arms straight, I perform a couple push-ups.  Nice.  The semi-soft bed, constantly changing the pressure beneath my palms, makes a simple push-up into an activity requiring balance.  Can I lift one arm up?  Naw, if I fall, I'll get everyone in trouble.  For today, not worth the risk.  =D

Father God, thank you so much that even while stuck in the hospital, I've earned the trust of the medical staff so I have more freedom.  I'm allowed to measure and empty my own urine.  I can take a shower without the staff hovering over my shoulders.  I no longer get comments like "Make sure you tell me when you get out if bed so I can help you."  *shudder*  I also don't get told anymore to go for a walk.  Instead, when I tell the staff that I don't need Lovenox injections since I'm very mobile, they just say "okay" instead of the the arguments I used to get.  Now, when I make a suggestion in regards to minimizing my intake of anti-nausea medications... even though I still got some odd looks and doubtful glances, I don't have to fight and do a lot of talking to convince the hospital staff. Yay!

Lord, I guess I thank you that the medical staff is adapting to my oddness.  I still hate feeling "trapped."  I really dislike all the background buzzing, beeps, light, and lack of privacy.  My current roommate moans quite a bit and calls me to call her nurse for her.  The inescapable hospital smell of fecal matter, cleaning scents and dry air drives me up the wall.  But even with all these annoyances... I can still count the many blessings and laugh.

So Lord, I ask that you turn my thoughts away from inescapable annoyances so I can seek out the blessings.  Help me forge ever forward... not to look at where I am; but instead, help me see where I'm going.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 

Happy New Year everyone!  May you be blessed with much laughter, the creation of awesome memories and peace when times get tough.  Know that there exists an almighty God who loves you beyond all earthly reason.  Through the love of Jesus Christ, be blessed with always looking forward with joy and hope and love.  Love ya! --Kristy

 This is me, legs up, writing my blog in the hospital bed: