Glasses and other updates.

Hello, all! I hope June is treating all of you well! I am going to be finishing my last term of school (to become a medical assistant) in August and then I am going to start nursing school! I am very, very excited to continue on my path towards becoming a nurse! I'll be an LPN in one year and then I will go to WOU for my BSN and that should take around two years. SO EXCITING!!

Other than that, not much is super new. We have three new kittens! They're seven weeks old today and we found them when they were only four hours old; their mother abandoned them, so we have been bottle feeding them and we are keeping them! Their names are Chunk, Ripley, and Smalls. They're so freaking adorable. I'll have to post pics when I get some that are current!

I hope this summer is treating everybody well and you all are in good health. I think about my friends often and how far I have come since this time last year. It's been almost a year since my dad has died and though it hasn't been easy, I believe I have learned a lot and have grown a lot from that tragedy.

I'll leave you all with a pic I took yesterday. Yep, I have glasses now. Have a fantastic June and I hope to update you all sooner rather than later :)

AIM for a cure Melanoma 5k

Today was the day I walked in honor of my amazing father, Scott Stewart. I was given the opportunity to say a little something about my dad and his fight with melanoma. Here are a few photos from the amazing event, as well as the speech I gave. It was a beautiful day and I felt his spirit here with all of us!!!

    Mom and I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Danielle and I before the walk!

Me, Brandy and Chrissy hanging out!!!!

Crystelle and I!!!!

Katie and I (she is the amazing organizer of the event, as well as the blogger of Pretty In Pale!)

Danielle, Crystelle, and I! Crystelle did a beautiful job on the filtering!

My beautiful mom and I before the walk!!!

My speech at the walk today in honor of my father!

Thank you all for the support for the walk, your donations, and your words of encouragement! The last nine months have been hard but I know he's with us, in our hearts, and loving all of the good we are doing to help raise awareness for this disease! Let's keep fighting!!!!

Life is beautiful

I have so many wonderful blessings in my life right now! Tomorrow morning I start my brand new job (part-time until I am out of school!) with an amazing company that runs group homes for children and adults with developmental disabilities. I have worked in this environment before and it truly is where my passion is. On Monday I start my third and final term at school! I will have six weeks of classes (phlebotomy and learning how to do a few other things), and five weeks of clinicals where I will shadow around a clinic and learn the ropes.

My health is in a great place right now as well! I have good days and bad days, but recently the good have outweighed the bad. RJ is amazing as always, and I couldn't be happier.

I hope all of you are doing well! I know I suck at posting and keeping in contact but I just wanted to check in and let it be known that all is well, and I am enjoying my life and where its headed.

Post-op Update

So now that I'm a little less drugged here's what went down:
Basically everything went pretty well. Not a lot of new endometriosis growths (which means that the Lupron shots I was getting worked), but my right ovary was stuck to my small intestines from adhesions, so he got that fixed, removed more adhesions, and put some extra water around my uterus and ovaries to keep the adhesions away and to keep them from forming since I've been getting them so much lately. I'm EXTREMELY sore and swollen. they listened to me for once and used steri-strips instead of the dermabond (liquid stitches I am highly allergic to) so it's freaking me out lol. They look like they aren't going to hold things together very well but they are so far! They'll fall off on their own in a matter of a week or so. I only have two incisions (instead of my usual 3-4). One is in my bellybutton and the other is straight down below above my pubic bone, where my low-rise panties hit. But that's pretty much it! I'm very tired. I slept most of yesterday and missed a couple doses of pain meds so I am feeling pretty lousy just trying to catch up! I hope you all  are doing well!!!!!!

Not too much new, watching Lifetime Original Movies.

I've been doing homework and studying and watching Lifetime Original Movies for a few hours now! There isn't a lot to update on! I found out on Thursday that I have astigmatism and nearsightedness, so glasses for me! I picked out a cute pair (I have to wear all the time) and I should get them by Friday next week!

School is going well! It's been getting really hard but I'm pushing through. Pharmacology math is HARD and I hate math as it is so learning this stuff isn't really helping but we'll see.

There are some decisions I made about my health I am excited about! I have decided to cut out sugar completely as well as start taking a few new supplements my PCP recommended! I would never take anything my physician doesn't recommend but he swears by it and everything legitimate I have read online (psychology today, webmd, cnn, mayo clinic, etc) swears by it as well! I am excited!

I will update more in a day or two after my stupid pharmacology math tests and back office procedures lab tests. It's not easy but it's one step closer to my dream of being a CRNA!

Have a fantastic weekend! If anybody has any tips on surviving conversions (mg to mcg, mcg to g, kg to mg, etc etc) and algebra and fractions, please let me know in the comments. I need all the help I can get!!!

Oh man...

It has been so long since I've updated! I really have been super busy with school! My graduation date is July 3, 2013 and I'll be a Medical Assistant! I already got offered a job as a CMA (certified medical assistant) post-graduation working at an urgent care clinic in Salem! Emergency medicine sounds so awesome!

My ultimate career goal, though, is becoming a CRNA: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist! It will take around 6-7 years to complete (pre-reqs, nursing, bachelor's degree, and lastly my Master's at OHSU's RNA program) and a lot of money and time, but I have the support of my family, friends, and RJ! He's my biggest fan and he encourages me daily to keep on moving forward. I'm doing so well in my classes and this is the toughest term! I'm almost done!!!

I can't say a lot is new really...health is the same and I'm still getting Remicade infusions! Like I said, I'm just busy studying and going to classes! I just turned 26 yesterday and it was weird without my dad, but I know he was with me in spirit! RJ and I went to the coast on Sunday for my birthday and our 2 1/2 year anniversary! It was wonderful and I am so blessed to be with him. He got me Train tickets!! The concert isn't until August but that's okay! I'll be working and the time will fly!

I hope everybody is doing well! Please comment and let me know! I read the blogs I follow daily and I feel bad for not having updated in so long, but I"m here!!!! It's easier to email me and text than to comment on here!!!!

Well I have to go study lmao, and I PROMISE to try and update at least once a week! That's my goal! Love you all! Talk to you soon :D

Love, Melissa

LOVE YOUR SKIN!

This is a Link Up to raise skin cancer awareness!
With Katie Wilkes from Pretty In Pale


1. What's your daily skincare routine?
Well I probably have a pretty basic routine compared to others! In the shower I use Mary Kay's Botanical Effects face wash for dry skin. It puts tons of moisture into my skin and it feels INCREDIBLE! Here is a link to check it out (for some reason my laptop is being annoying and not letting me upload a pic of it!) Mary Kay Botanical Effects

2. A skin product you could never live without?

This is a tough one because there are several I absolutely cannot live without! Definitely sunscreen is number 1 on the list, but I also LOVE moisturizer (MK Botanical Effects Hydrate Level 1) and makeup remover!

3. Have you ever used a tanning bed?

Yes! I tanned a bit a couple years ago and then stopped because I couldn't afford it anymore. Now that my dad has passed away from stage 4 melanoma I will NEVER set foot in a tanning bed ever again.

 

4. Thoughts on spray tanning?

I believe that pale is beautiful, but if you absolutely MUST have a tan I will recommend spray tanning over indoor tanning. 

5. Favorite brand of sunscreen?

I don't think I have a favorite brand...anything that is endorsed by The Skin Cancer Foundation and goes on without a gross, greasy feeling. And it has to be waterproof.

6. Biggest skincare splurge?

I probably splurge on makeup the most lol. 

7. Celebrity with the most perfect skin?

Oh man, Emma Stone and Dita Von Teese have GORGEOUS porcelain skin!

8. Feature you're most self-conscious about?

I am definitely the most self-conscious about my acne. The medications I'm on cause acne pretty bad and it's just sooooooooooo annoying.

9. What do you think about botox?

I think people should age naturally!

10. I feel most confident when...

I have a full face of makeup on, I'm wearing a nice outfit, and I'm smiling!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently!

I really haven't forgotten about my blog, things have just been a little crazy around here lately. Lots of stress and worrying. I have a lot of things I need to start writing about just to get off my chest and out of my mind, so fear not--lots of updates probably going to start happening today.

I hope all of you are doing well, feeling well, and having a wonderful Monday!

Help raise money to find a cure!

This is my personal fundraising page for those of you wish to donate directly to Aim at Melanoma through me :) Every donation regardless of how big or small it is matters and helps! Help be a part of finding a cure, funding research, and raising awareness!

Please forward this link to your own page and share with your friends and family who may want to donate! And if you’d like to join my team and walk with me you can do so through this site! Thank you so much and have a wonderful night! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

This walk is being put on in honor of my father who passed away in July from complications of stage 4 melanoma. It is something I am extremely passionate about and I would LOVE to reach my goal of raising $1,000.00 to fund research and to help find a cure! I can’t do this without any of you!

http://www.aimatmelanoma.org/en/aim-for-action/1158/1159/portland-2013/6413.html

To Whom It May Concern at the CCFA

Dear CCFA,

Please don’t take this the wrong way but these ads are doing more harm than good in our fight to raise awareness. This disease has literally almost killed me. Not because I couldn’t stop using the restroom but because a med I was taking to control symptoms caused me to develop pancreatitis and my kidneys were beginning to shut down. I was in the hospital for three weeks and had to have a bowel resection due to a perforation. 

When people see this ad campaign it makes them believe that my disease consists of needing to use the toilet constantly and that has NOT been my experience. Please try an ad campaign that is less demeaning and that doesn’t make a mockery of my Crohn’s disease. I love the CCFA and I have been in the awareness walks and donated lots of money and time to you, but I refuse to support you if you keep running ads that devalue my experience. The loss of blood, nausea, lack of immune system, malnutrition, 3 yrs on 80mg of prednisone, the constant pain, pills, and infusions. Did you notice that my biggest issue with Crohn’s doesn’t involve being stuck on a toilet? Try making ads that are actually realistic and maybe then we as an IBD community can be taken seriously and stop being known as “the pooping disease”. 

If you can’t do that then you have just lost a huge CCFA supporter, fundraiser and all of my friends and family who once thought you all were on the patients’ side.

Sincerely,
Melissa Stewart