One more to go....

Tonight is our last performance of the Sound of Music. Ema was Kurt for the last time yesterday. We are in a larger venue this weekend so we are all miked which means we have little red marks on our faces from the tape! But back to Ema--she did a fantastic job last night being Kurt! It was hard for her at first learning how to act like a boy. She is not a tomboy, so she studied the boys in her class and we would have "boy days" where she would have to act like a boy and her friends would tell me if she was acting girlish! It was really tough, but the result was really amazing! She lower her voice, changed her walk, how she sat, EVERYTHING! She is a great little actress! It is really fun for me to watch! In the program it only has her first initial instead of her name and she has fooled them every time (she wears a wig). For those of you that don't know I play one of the nuns (Sister Sophia) and the Baroness Elberfeld and Gustavo plays one of the dancers in the party scene (he is quite good) and a Nazi (I call him my Nica-Nazi). It has been quite an experience but rehearsals began in September, our first performance in October and we have been doing it ever since. It has been way too long! I am ready for it to be over! So, tonight is the last show so I am expecting something really good in my glass in the party scene tonight!

Yes its the day after Easter and I am finally posting!

Life has been crazy! I have been adjusting to my "new life" and have been ignoring my blog!

I was diagnosed with this disease in December (Pseudo Tumor Cerebri or Intercranial Hypertension) and have been spending the last couple of months changing my life to adjust to my new way of being. I am still Jenn, but I am a slower, little less involved version. So in other words, I have become a normal human being!! I am working part time for the University of South Florida running a group of 6 interviewers (7 if you include me) for a study of Severely Emotionally disturbed children. Gustavo works for the County side of the grant. I still teach Drama and Music, but my hours of work are less than 30 hours a week. I still have my Girl Scout Troop, but my co-leaders are helping me so much and it is fantastic. I have learned to slow down, I actually take naps, and have learned to say no when people ask me to do things. I am giving up my religious education class in April, I gave up the extra volunteer things I did for the church, and I have already given up all the extra things I did for Girl Scouts of Broward County. The medicine I take for my headaches plays with my head a little bit and by evening I do not have the best memory. But there are some great side effects. I have lost over 20 pounds (the meds took away my appetite) and I have absolutely no cramps whatsoever where they used to be debilitating. There is a silver lining. I have also come to see life in a completely new light. I am so thankful for everything I have. Through this whole ordeal before we knew what it was, there was the thought that it could be a brain tumor. The fact that it is something I can live with, even if it is something that has changed me dramatically has shown me what is truly important. I take time to slow down and not have every single minute planned. I sit and enjoy doing nothing. I am thankful to have five minutes to my self. I have become a different person. That person who cuts me off while driving nno longer upsets me. I always thought I knew how blessed I was. I didn't. I know am fully aware of everything I have!!

Little by little

I am recovering little by little. Still moving much slower than my normal pace, but as many have suggested--maybe I shouldn't resume my previous crazy pace. I went to Girl Scouts on Tuesday because it was out last meeting before break and pretty much just stayed in a chair the whole time. I taught the girls how to "hug Ms. Jenn high" as their normal waist hugs would have hurt my back! Tuesday evening was the chorus concert at school in which E was the soloist and sang Silent Night (it was beautiful!). Starting January 3rd I will be working at G's office 3 days a week to start and maybe more (we'll see!). I will resume teaching Drama twice a week in the new year.

My Neurologist appt on Wed went well. Dr still wants to monitor me because he isn't convinced of the diagnosis of pseudotumor cerebri. I was missing the classic symptom of headache prior to the spinal tap and the leakage of spinal fluid after should have helped not caused me headaches and landed me in the hospital. So--I will be back to the Ophthalmologist in the new year for a full work up and will see the Neurologist again in a month. I am learning what is high in potassium as my diuretic I am taking to keep the swelling down in my spine makes me lose it. It is also causing me tingling in my feet in hands which is driving me crazy. Oh well--I can see and I have no headaches so I think I'm still on the plus side!

More fun

Well-the spinal tap kept me in bed for several days until Saturday morning when I couldn't take it anymore. We went to the emergency room when I woke up at 2am with a horrible headache. They ended up admitting me to the hospital and giving me some really good drugs so that I really didn't care about anything and finally on Sunday they did a blood patch to seal my spinal tap. Apparently I was leaking spinal fluid inside, so they did another spinal and sealed it with my own blood. The pain stopped almost immediately. So now I am back home but wear out quite easily since I have been in bed since last Wednesday. The doctor said to take it easy today and I am going back to see them on Wednesday. SO--hopefully this nightmare is over and I can go back to my life.

Spinal Tap

I had a spinal tap Wednesday. It all started when I began to lose sight in my right eye. I went to the Optometrist and you know its never a good sign when they call in their colleagues to consult. They decided that I had papilledema--my optic nerve was swollen and that was caused by pressure in the brain. I went a couple of days later to an Ophthalmologist who agreed with their finding and was told that the causes of this were, brain tumor, encephalitis, meningitis, and something called pseudotumor cerebri--too much spinal fluid. So--off to the Neurologist. The Neurologist ordered an MRI which showed an empty sella (if you look it up it looks way scarier than it is). This is actually a sign of pseudotumor cerebri which is actually the lesser of evils. So off to the hospital for a spinal tap. It wasn't that bad--just some weird sensations. My spinal pressure was over twice normal. They drained 25 cc of spinal fluid. Although everything I read said it would take time for my symptoms to subside, when I went out in the parking lot my vision was clear. I had to stay in bed all day and drink caffeine (yeah!!) to avoid headaches--which I have anyway. But--all in all it went well. I have to take a diuretic to keep my spinal pressure down and take off some weight because that adds to the problem. So after a couple of weeks of worry and a lot of prayer, everything seems OK. For those of you that knew about it and were praying--thank you with all my heart.

St. Augustine Trip

E and I went to St. Augustine on December 6 & 7 with a class trip. It was so much fun. We left at 6am on a bus full of 50 kids. On Thursday we went to the Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish fort), on a tram ride of the city, the Old Jail, the Fountain of Youth and did a Scavenger hunt that evening with a pirate. Friday we went to the Alligator farm (really a cool place), the St. Augustine Lighthouse, the oldest wooden schoolhouse, the Colonial Spanish Quarter and of course souvenir shopping. Due to a lack of chaperones, I climbed the lighthouse 2 1/2 times! All 219 steps. I hadn't been to St. Augustine in about 13 years and saw many things I probably wouldn't on my own, but I really enjoyed every moment. I also saw a lot of things I would like to go see on another trip, so maybe the Vilchez Family will have to take another trip soon.

Never thought I would see the day

So I never thought I would become a blogger, but I really am getting tired of my friends bugging me! E and I came home yesterday from a weekend at Camp Nocatee, our Girl Scout camp in Clewiston. I used to camp there as a Girl Scout and it is a blast taking my daughter. We had 22 Girl Scouts between the 2 troops that went and did something I never did before with Girl Scouts--camped with dads! Have to admit it was a lot of fun. We worked on astronomy and went on a night hike (It was overcast and started to rain so we had to cut that short), I taught them how to use compasses, went on a nature hike, played at the barn with all the animals, had a talent show, made smores, made tin foil meals, made banana boats just to name a few things! I had 8 adults with me ( a new record) that were such hard workers and made my life a million times easier. I did not come home and crash as I normally do (although a major amount of beer was consumed) and I woke up today happy as a clam.