Summer

Good thing it's summer!!! I need to update my blog! That will be this week's goal!

Victory Over Violence 5K

Josh and I decided to participate in the VOV 5K today.
It was pretty fun. I say participate because I walked/jogged and Josh ran. My finish time was 50 minutes and Josh's was 24 minutes. I was doing pretty well and jogging/walking when all of the sudden this old man comes up on my left side. Let me take this moment to describe this old man to you since I was unable to get a picture of him while I was jogging. He was probably around 5'7" and hunchbacked. He was probably 90 years old or older and looked very much like the Six Flags old man. He had on a Texas A&M football jersey tucked into his elastic cargo shorts that were pulled all the way up to his man boobs. He wore a pair of prescription sport goggles that he anchored around his head with a 3 inch wide strap that hung down off the back of his head about a foot. And when he came up on my left side I noticed a different movement that I had never seen before. It was the movement of "the old man shuffle." You know the kind, where their feet never come up off of the ground and just slide in front like a skier. So he comes up on my left side and I can't help but stare at what I'm seeing because really his feet never came off the pavement. Before I realized it he had passed me!!! Now, I wasn't about to let a 90 year old shuffler get past me so I started to jog a little faster. I kept up that pace about a meter behind him the whole time and I just couldn't seem to get in front of him. Every time I got close, he shuffled faster. I can't believe it, but I have to admit I got beat out by a 90 year old man who literally shuffled past me!!! Boy, do I have some cardio work to do in the gym this week!!!! Anyway, Josh did awesome! Not surprisingly of course because I knew he would do great. It was his first 5K to run in and he was pretty excited. His boss, Kirk, ran with him and they competed on the Charter Team. After Josh was finished with his run he turned around and walked back up the course to meet up with me and finish with me. He's such a sweetie!! We had a good time an we look forward to next weekend when we do the Zoo Run 5K~

New couch!

Okay, so we still don't have our money refunded from Ashley Furniture, but we do have a new couch picked out from Havertys! We are just waiting on our money to be refunded so we can purchase it! It's almost a $1000 more than the one from the other store...but at least we won't have to wait over a month for it and we know it will actually be delivered!!! As long as it is at my house BEFORE May 1 I'm good! Here's a picture of it:



but in this color:

Ashley Furniture UGH!!!

I have a few words of advice: NEVER buy furniture from Ashley Furniture Store. UGH!!! After a month of waiting we still do not have our couch and now it's going to be another 21 days before they give me my money back!!! HORRIBLE customer service and they don't return phone calls. We only got our money back because we were forced to go in the store today after sitting on hold for 38 minutes and then being hung up on. I called back and was told the Assistant Manager I as holding 38 minutes for had gone home and wouldn't be back until Wednesday!!! So, face to face contact gets the job done! I'm sticking with Haverty's in the future because I've NEVER had a problem with them!!!

Golfing

Josh and I decided to go golfing at the end of our street where there is a little park. Golfing is surprisingly fun! I don't like chasing the golf balls all over the field but it is reminiscent of an Easter egg hunt...only of balls...and there's no candy involved. Anyway, we were just hitting the balls around minding our own business when this random man (Exhibit A):

Came out of the woods from the tree at the corner of the fence in this picture:

And was complete with a golf club as he came wandering up from no where and began to hit all of stray golf balls back to us. I stopped for a minute and asked Josh if I was really seeing a random forest man hitting balls at us and he said, "Yes" but that was all he could get out over the shock and weirdness of the situation as well. So, only in my HOOD would this happen... But you know what? It's where I live so I deal with it! Anyway, here's some random golfing pictures. It was fun!

Dr. Appointment

I went to see Dr. Kaufmann today and basically I didn't learn anything new but I did get reassured that it would be okay and I could have a perfectly healthy pregnancy if I maintain my treatment regimen. I was told to begin a daily baby asprin today and to take one every day for the rest of my life. I was also instructed that at the first sign of pregnancy I am to begin Lovenox (blood thinner) injections which will continue through the pregnancy. At the end of the pregnancy they will switch meds with a smaller half life to make it safe for me after delievery. I will be monitored pretty closely to make sure I don't form clots and everything is developing correctly. This condition does affect other aspects of my life and I was advised to meet with a hemotologist/oncologist for more specifics; however, since it has not caused me problems until I was pregnant I should be fine. Though, knowing is half the battle because it is treatable! I feel relieved and happy that we have the answers and we have a plan. It is not going to be an easy road but then again the last 5.5 years of trying to concieve hasn't been easy so it's not surprising. I am optimistic about the future and I feel confident that one day Josh and I will hold the baby of our dreams in our arms and we will one day meet our little Alan angel in heaven. God provides when you give it up to him!!!

A little info on Antiphospholipid Antibodies

Who Has Antiphospholipid Antibodies?
Though they can cause problems, surprisingly, 2% to 15% of the healthy population actually has antiphospholipid antibodies in their blood. However, these people have very low levels of the antibodies, and therefore they don't really cause a problem. It is only when they are at high levels that the antiphospholipid antibodies begin to make trouble.

Antiphospholipid antibodies are also commonly found in people with:


•unexplained infertility
•Lupus
•Migraine headaches
•Deep vein thrombosis

Complications Caused by Antiphospholipid Antibody
There are a number of complications associated with high levels of antiphospholipid antibody. These include:


•blood clotting
•stroke
•heart attack
•miscarriage

Infertility and Antiphospholipid Antibody
High levels of antiphospholipid antibody are often associated with unexplained infertility including:


•recurrent miscarriage
•stillbirth
•placental insufficiency
•implantation failure
•increased rates of IVF failure.

It is thought that antiphospholipid antibodies compromise the placenta which nourishes your baby. Because the antibodies cause clotting, the embryo is cut off from oxygen and nutrient support. As a result, spontaneous miscarriage or fetal death can occur. Clotting can also cause distress to the placenta, making it difficult to have a successful implantation.

Treatment
If you do test high for antiphospholipid antibodies, you may decide to try to treatment. Treatment is aimed at reducing the number of clots in your blood, and restoring blood flow to the placenta. Low-dose aspirin and the anticoagulant Heparin are often recommended.

What happens most frequently in APS is blood clotting. Pregnancies are lost because blood clots form in the placenta and starve the baby of nutrition. Treatment is the use of anticoagulation. In pregnancy, heparin is used. This gives the fetus an 80-90% chance of survival, a drastic improvement from the 1980's when fetal survival was around 20%.

However, pregnancies are not normal. Normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. In APS, it is more common to deliver the baby between 30-35 weeks, and between 3-5 pounds. Heparin protects the placenta partially, but not fully so that the baby gets enough nutrition to survive longer in the mother. Once born, the babies do fine.