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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Monday, August 11, 2014

August 2014

Well, it has been a nightmare of a summer. We have been in and out of the hospital with my mom since May. She has Stage IV COPD and we were going in and out of respiratory failure all summer long. To make matters worse I am having thyroid issues again and again am having to battle doctors to get the right diagnosis and treatment. Still not there and still battling doctors. I am off all thyroid hormone while we run test after test after test. Right now things point to autoimmune or cancer. I have another doctor appt. next week so we will see if I can get her to run a more comprehensive panel for a more clear picture of what is going on. Needless to say life right now is a struggle. Each day I am able to function just a little less. I am beginning to think we might need to start thinking about getting rid of the livestock because I am simply unable to take care of the farm chores like I used to. We are waiting to see what the doctors will say and do about my thyroid issue. I haven't done any canning as that is so time consuming and just takes more energy than I have. I have put a lot in the freezer and even dehydrated some. The summer produce has done pretty well despite the fact that I have been home so very little this summer. It has been tough on Petunia since she has basically had to take my place and run the house and farm as best she can. She has done a wonderful job and I am so proud of her. The little one Pooter has made sure to give her a hard time about everything. The one thing I am thankful for is the amount of organization that I have done for everything over the past year. The house is on a schedule and when that schedule is followed it makes it pretty easy for it to be kept up. The farm chores are on a schedule and makes it easier for Petunia to step in and help. The schedule allows me to function despite the brain fog. Routine is absolutely necessary for me these days as my brain simply can't think. I am just barely making it from day to day. I pray that I will be able to get a doctor to help. My old ENT that removed half my thyroid 11 years ago is the one that said there is a problem. He referred me to an endo who ran only a partial panel and said there is no problem. I am headed back to my GP with the results of both those lab tests and hopefully she will see the problem that I see and my ENT saw. If not then I am headed out of town to another ENT that mine recommended. His words were if I couldn't get results here then I needed to go see this other ENT because he is brilliant with thyroid problems. He fixes what other doctors miss. He is 2 hours away though and hard to get an appt. to see. I have one in September, depending on what my GP says next week. If there is any advice I can give to anyone on this homesteading journey is to have everything as organized and scheduled and efficient as possible because you simply don't know what life might throw at you. Like I said, each day I am a little less able to function and just getting out of bed is a real chore. I have a good couple of hours in the morning when I feel ok and then the rest of the day goes downhill from there. Having things on schedule and organized means that I can easily tell the kids and hubby what they can do to help and when I am not here they can look at the schedule and see what needs to be done. Even though Mom is out of the hospital she still requires a good deal of my time, so I have to dedicate some of my energy to taking care of her. So that is what life is like right now here around the farm. Not much going on as right now we are struggling to just maintain some semblance of normal. I can't decide yet whether I will plant a fall garden. We are still getting some stuff out of the summer garden and to tell you the truth I just don't have much energy for gardening. However, we need the food more than ever because of the extra expenses of doctors and lab tests. So I am still trying to decide what to do about that. Hope you all have had a great summer. Please keep our family in your prayers as we struggle through this difficult time. Blessings, Kat

1 comment:

Marmee's Pantry said...

So sorry to hear about all the heath issues. Have you thought of any alternative health supplements? Gaia Herbs has a great thyroid product, sold in most health food stores.

God is STILL on the throne!

Blessings from Ohio...