Did you know…. Most people with Vasculitis don’t even look sick?

….There is no cure for Vasculitis; treatment is aimed at helping reduce symptoms.

….Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease where the body starts to attack itself?

….The ‘systemic’ forms or generalized types of Vasculitis may affect many organ
systems at the same time?

….Vasculitis affects people of all ages from children to older adults?

....It may take months to years to get a confirmed diagnosed of Vasculitis?

….The family of Vasculitis diseases are considered rare through out the world?

Support the Vasculitis Foundation

Vasculitis Awareness Week

May 3rd thru 9th 2009

Swine Flu and other thoughts

Yesterday, I was standing in the post office behind a woman who was coughing in her fist and then touching the counters next to us. The counters follow the line all the way to the postal clerks.

Of course I was paranoid. Not only do I have to worry about this swine flu epidemic, but I also have to worry about my lowered auto-immune disease. A few months ago my doctor lowered my imuran because my white blood count was non existent. To you who don't understand this reference, white blood cells increase when there is infection or illness in the body. It kills and cleans out the infection.

In my case because I have an auto-immune disease, my medications lower my WBC so that I can live... It keeps my disease under control. However, when the WBC is too low, I am susceptible to infections and illnesses like flu. So I have to have a balance.

Interesting that when I use balance I also think of emotional balance. To keep well, I need to keep my life relatively stress-free. My disease can flare if I have been under prolonged stress. So now I know that stress and illness can go hand in hand. And in my case, it can be a killer.

So when I made it to the postal clerk, I mentioned that the woman (who looked like she was not too smart anyway) was coughing in her hand and touching the counters. She assured me that they would wash the counters with a disinfectant. I felt better. Even though I still had been exposed to this woman's germs, I knew that I would be okay.

However, I have stockpiled hand cleaner. I still wash my hands often. And, I am still pretty isolated except for my post office and grocery runs. So hopefully, I will get through this newest scariness scott-free. Maybe.

Added note: 11:30 a.m. There is one confirmed case of swine flu in Reno, Nevada. It is a two year old child, who has not traveled to Mexico and has spent most of her time in a day care center.

Serialized Novel is UP

Yes, the first chapter (prologue) is up at Scrambled Sage . New chapters will be psoted Monday and Wednesday.

Check Out German Photos on Ebay

Germany Volume One digital photos on sale at Ebay. My husband is the photographer and he has done a fine job with a CD Mavica digital camera.

The photos are in a Tiff format so they can be cut down to any size you need for your projects.

The picture on the left is an example of his work and is on the CD.

Photo is courtesy of Edward "Otto" Tune.

Serialized Novel Announcement

Starting April 27th, 2009, I am going to put serialized chapters of my novel Shira online at my creative writing blogspot Scrambled Sage. When the novel has been completely put online, I will offer my readers the chance to get the whole novel in pdf form for a small price. At this time I am think about 1-2 dollars. Anyway, if you read my blog, you will get the whole novel online. :-)

I would love to hear from you ... (strengths, weaknesses, etc.) So here's the first announcement.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

... but you get what you need!!! (Rolling Stones)

I have been watching some of those recession ads that are taking over the TV airways and I can't help but think that there is some entitlement going on... So what! I am a white female with supposedly all the advantages if you look at my outer self, but if you get to know me and know my story, I come from a very poor background.

When I decided that I wanted to go to college (I was about six at the time), I already knew that I would have to be creative. No one in my family (except my uncle) had been through college. My uncle became a lawyer through the education he received from his military service. I have siblings, so I would have to pay for it myself.

I wanted to travel. I wanted to see other countries. Once again, my family could not afford my needs. I couldn't afford my needs. So I found ways to travel and live in other countries through my military service.

Other people have accomplished similar goals through the Peace Corps.

So what am I saying? Get off your duffs. Write down your goals. Then find creative ways to accomplish them. I was able to get my schooling and travel through the U.S. Navy.

Don't depend on someone else. And remember, your goals don't always get accomplished in the way you expect.

"You can't always get what you want, if you try sometime you just might find, you get what you need." Rolling Stones

No News Can be Good News

But not in this case--

Medically: My rheumatologist has asked me to lower my meds (imuran) for the next few months to see if my WBC (white blood count) makes a come-back. It is too low so I get a lot of infections. I have kept myself very isolated so that I do not get those flu and colds from the infected population.

Also, I was at the laundry today and someone had one of those wet coughs. The dry coughs don't bother me, but the wet coughs really scare me. So of course I was glaring at the young woman who was coughing in my direction. I hope she takes care of it. And, I hope I don't see her the next time I am at the laundry.

Physically: I am still bothered by my knee. Last year around September, I stepped into a hole covered by grass. I scrapped up my left shin and really hurt my right knee. It is better, but I still have a nagging hurt. Since WG is also a connective disease and since I am also taking prednisone, I am afraid that the combination of stepping in the hole, WG, and prednisone is taking its toll.

Mentally: I see a real difference in my cognitive and memory skills since the doctor lowered my imuran.

Financially: The recession has hit us very hard. I won't say more-- just that I have been trying to get us down to a leaner weight (selling books, CDs, and DVDs on Ebay.) You can find my stuff under cynbagley775. I have a nice selection of thrillers and comedies if you are looking for original DVDs with original cases.

Anyway, I will be back with more Wegener's Granulomatosis information in the next week or so. For those of you who are interested, the first week of May is the AutoImmune Week. You can find more information at the Vasculitis Foundation website.