The Changes of Life

Well it's obviously been awhile since I've posted. I didn't forget about the blog, I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and type a post about what's been happening in my life. Here's the slightly condensed version...

A few months back, my mother was admitted to a psych hospital for 30 days. She is bi-polar, though it has been well controlled with medication and therapy. The reason she was admitted was because she was having hallucinations, panic attacks, and was swinging wildly from manic to depressed. She came out of the psych hospital with a new diagnoses of bi-polar disorder with border line personality disorder II. She is on 24 hr. care with home health nurses there 24 hrs. a day 5 days a week. I am there 24 hrs. a day 2 days a week. She was slowly coming back to a normal state of mind when she had multiple blood tests come back with wildly different results. Something was going on, but we didn't know what. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago when an episode of panic culminated in her cutting herself multiple times. She was admitted and tests were run. Blood results were crazy and she was diagnosed with pancreatitis. One of the medications she's on requires a strict diet in regards to salt and protein. Her body was not metabolizing the food correctly and thus was the cause for the blood results being wacky. She's now on a separate medication to digest protein. The medication levels in her blood are coming back to normal and she's coming back to a level playing field mentally. However, the combination of the medications are destroying her kidneys and liver. The doctors are trying to figure out the best way to handle those issues.

During this time I was moved to a new classroom. Same center, same boss, new classroom. Let me just say, this was probably the best move for me. The children are younger, I have more assistants, and the room is much more relaxed.

Also during this time I cut my caffeine consumption by 1/2. The first week I was a bear, but since then it's been going pretty well.

In addition to all of this, I've begun walking again. It's for my sanity more than anything else. However, since I began walking again, I've decided to start eating better. I need to lose 106 pounds to be at a healthy weight for my height.

So in a nutshell, my mother is ill, my job is getting better, I'm getting healthier and beginning a new chapter of my life. I think I'll call this one "Selfish Jen" because though I want to be around to take care of my mother, I really and truly need to lose this weight and become healthier for MYSELF. So there you have it, my life and why I haven't been posting.