I love watching the Olympics. I've blogged about it before and I can't get enough of it. The find the stories so inspiring and emotional. I love watching people triumph in their sport and fight so hard for their dreams. I thought I would post some past moments:
1976 in Montreal: Nadia Comaneci:
Another one of Nadia Comaneci:
1984 Los Angeles: Mary Lou Retton who HAD to get a perfect score in order to win gold; and she did it TWICE in a row:
1984 Los Angeles: Greg Louganis - one of the most graceful and amazing divers ever:
1996 Atlanta: Kerri Strug - one of the most emotional and exciting moments in womens gymnastics:
This about sums that 1996 moment up:
2008 Beijing: Men's 4X100m Freestyle Relay - A truly thrilling moment while watching! We were on our feet screaming at the TV and cheering at the top of our lungs! Great great moment!!
the actual race begins around the 14 second mark:
Or click here for a less than stellar video. I can't find an actual clip of the great moment.
What moments will we have in the next two weeks!? So exciting to watch!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Frick-Hicken-Doodly Allergies
They hit again! Stupid allergies!
After spending the entire day on my birthday, outside in the elements, I went in for my next allergy shot on Monday morning. I hadn't had any allergic reaction all day long the previous day, so I wasn't too worried about getting my allergy shot.
I did, however, wait a few hours to go in because I wondered if it would be a problem, but I convinced myself it wasn't.
My allergy dose was increased that morning (6/25) from the lowest possible dose, to the next to lowest dose. When receiving the allergy shots it's required that you wait 30 minutes in the office. I looked at the clock and noted that I had five minutes left..... and then I coughed. One cough.
"hmmmm," I thought, "I might need to get my inhaler."
Second cough.
I opened my bag and was collecting my inhaler, when I coughed a third time.
The nurse asked me if I was okay and I told her I might need my inhaler, but that I was fine. She asked if I was feeling chest tightness, which I was... but just a little bit.
She told me not to use my inhaler and that she needed me to come back. She put the finger monitor and my O2 sats were at 98%..."okay, good," I thought....but I was beginning to cough and my chest was getting tighter and I was really needing my inhaler. My lungs were not happy and my asthma was reminding me that it exists. And then my lips began to tingle; not too much but I noticed it.
The nurse asked me to come with her to a room so they could monitor me. At the time, I still wasn't too concerned. I thought it was a minor asthma attack...and I was frustrated they wouldn't let me puff on my inhaler.
As we walked to the room, we passed one of the doctors in the hallway and he told the nurse that "she needs epinephrine now." I sat in a chair in the room and he began to listen to my breathing. While he did, the nurse was preparing the needle with epinephrine.
I looked down at the monitor and I had dropped to 92% in a very short time. I could feel my sinuses, lungs and now my throat was swelling very fast and I realized just how bad it was. I was getting dizzy when she gave me the shot. From the time I began to cough to the time I received the shot wasn't more than 4 minutes....in that short time, I had gone from what I thought was nothing, to a very desperate place.
I sat on the bed and the jitters set in as my heart rate and blood pressure shot up. The doctor had stepped out for about 30 seconds to get my doctor and when they returned, he mentioned that I was looking and sounding so much better. I hadn't realized it showed, but he had known the minute he'd seen me.
I became very confused and couldn't string words into sentences properly.... They asked me about my birthday and I could hear myself saying, "smoke with family and the lake. Fun the lake." I wasn't making any sense. It's funny to me now, but I was so frustrated when I couldn't string together the right sequence of words.
Once I was able to breathe again, I waited for another two hours before I felt comfortable to drive. It's hard to imagine that my allergies can affect me in this way. I joke about the necessity to breathe, but it scares me to think that this is how my body responds to the elements.
If I'd been driving, I would not have recognized the seriousness of the situation in time to pull over, find my epi-pen, open the epi-pen and get it into my leg for 10 seconds. I learned two valuable lessons that day:
1. do not get your allergy shot after being out doors all day. I need to make sure I'm aware of what sets me off and avoid it.
2. I learned to recognize the first symptoms of anaphylaxis. In the future, I will use the epi pen with the initial symptoms.
(but, the goal is to avoid that altogether.)
I am grateful that IF this was to happen, I was in the doctor's office with providers who recognize symptoms for what they are.
I did, however, wait a few hours to go in because I wondered if it would be a problem, but I convinced myself it wasn't.
My allergy dose was increased that morning (6/25) from the lowest possible dose, to the next to lowest dose. When receiving the allergy shots it's required that you wait 30 minutes in the office. I looked at the clock and noted that I had five minutes left..... and then I coughed. One cough.
"hmmmm," I thought, "I might need to get my inhaler."
Second cough.
I opened my bag and was collecting my inhaler, when I coughed a third time.
The nurse asked me if I was okay and I told her I might need my inhaler, but that I was fine. She asked if I was feeling chest tightness, which I was... but just a little bit.
She told me not to use my inhaler and that she needed me to come back. She put the finger monitor and my O2 sats were at 98%..."okay, good," I thought....but I was beginning to cough and my chest was getting tighter and I was really needing my inhaler. My lungs were not happy and my asthma was reminding me that it exists. And then my lips began to tingle; not too much but I noticed it.
The nurse asked me to come with her to a room so they could monitor me. At the time, I still wasn't too concerned. I thought it was a minor asthma attack...and I was frustrated they wouldn't let me puff on my inhaler.
As we walked to the room, we passed one of the doctors in the hallway and he told the nurse that "she needs epinephrine now." I sat in a chair in the room and he began to listen to my breathing. While he did, the nurse was preparing the needle with epinephrine.
I looked down at the monitor and I had dropped to 92% in a very short time. I could feel my sinuses, lungs and now my throat was swelling very fast and I realized just how bad it was. I was getting dizzy when she gave me the shot. From the time I began to cough to the time I received the shot wasn't more than 4 minutes....in that short time, I had gone from what I thought was nothing, to a very desperate place.
I sat on the bed and the jitters set in as my heart rate and blood pressure shot up. The doctor had stepped out for about 30 seconds to get my doctor and when they returned, he mentioned that I was looking and sounding so much better. I hadn't realized it showed, but he had known the minute he'd seen me.
I became very confused and couldn't string words into sentences properly.... They asked me about my birthday and I could hear myself saying, "smoke with family and the lake. Fun the lake." I wasn't making any sense. It's funny to me now, but I was so frustrated when I couldn't string together the right sequence of words.
Once I was able to breathe again, I waited for another two hours before I felt comfortable to drive. It's hard to imagine that my allergies can affect me in this way. I joke about the necessity to breathe, but it scares me to think that this is how my body responds to the elements.
If I'd been driving, I would not have recognized the seriousness of the situation in time to pull over, find my epi-pen, open the epi-pen and get it into my leg for 10 seconds. I learned two valuable lessons that day:
1. do not get your allergy shot after being out doors all day. I need to make sure I'm aware of what sets me off and avoid it.
2. I learned to recognize the first symptoms of anaphylaxis. In the future, I will use the epi pen with the initial symptoms.
(but, the goal is to avoid that altogether.)
I am grateful that IF this was to happen, I was in the doctor's office with providers who recognize symptoms for what they are.
Birthday 2012
As usual, I spent my birthday at The Lake. It was especially nice to spend the day with my family and friends.
With the fires and wind, the smoke blew in about half way through the day, and filled the sky. We didn't play in the water too much but we had great conversation and food.
I was touched by the birthday greetings and love shared on me that day.
With the fires and wind, the smoke blew in about half way through the day, and filled the sky. We didn't play in the water too much but we had great conversation and food.
I was touched by the birthday greetings and love shared on me that day.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Must Go
Another list:
1. Vacation photos - Someone says: "Tina, you like photography, let me show you the pictures from my vacation. You'll appreciate them" (why? because I do photos?) I don't want to see all 325 of my own photos, much less yours. Weed out the shitty ones to the few that represent your vacation. I whittle my gazillion photos to the few that are amazing and those are what I share. Even on my blog, I show just the few that represent the party, vacation, etc.....too many can be too many!
2. On that same note: when you do show me pictures, I really don't care that your aunt Mabel's cousin's friend is serving the punch at the family reunion.
3. "Your camera is so nice....was it expensive?" "That's why you get such great pictures." (ACTUALLY, I get really great pictures with my iPhone as well.) Don't buy into the hype that a better camera will automatically give you better pictures. If you treat a DSLR like a point and shoot, that's what you'll get.
4. "Could care less", meaning you care a little bit. If you're trying to say that you don't care at all, what you want to say is: "Couldn't care less", meaning, there's nowhere else to go on the caring meter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)