Bonfire, Brews, and Breakfast

Last weekend my friend Nicole and I hosted a bonfire for all 2008 MSW graduates. We had about 26 total show up for the evening. We had fun eating hot dogs, roasting marshmallows for smores, and using our thesis and other school papers as kindling! Once the lifeguards kicked us out at 10pm for beach closing, half of us headed off to the House of Brews bar for drinks. We stayed there until very early morning and then me and a few friends went to Denny's for breakfast. It was such a fun time to be totally done with school and have fun with the friends I've made without complaining about teachers, assignments, or thesis. Graduation is only a few days away; I can't believe it!

I also want to thank all of you who have kept me and my family in your prayers these past few weeks!! I've had two doctors appointments since the last posting. My pacemaker doctor feels that things are well and doesn't seem concerned about the high heart rate. I also finally got an estimate that my battery will need to be changed via surgery in 16 months. I'm hoping to do that before my 30th birthday next October. Also all the repeat lab work came back normal and so my thyroid doctor believes there is no tumor and that the labs were abnormal because of my stomach illness. We went over all the lab work to gain a thorough understanding. The "abnormal" levels were just slightly shy from "normal". I explained to her the continued stomach problems and she has suggested I follow up with my primary care physician for further evaluation. I plan to do just that after all the graduation festivities. I also want to let you know my grandma (yia-yia) is doing well and the family is making arrangements to move her from the nursing home back to assisted living where her husband resides.

So thank you again for all your prayers and support. Please pray the doctors will have the wisdom to figure out these stomach issues as well as good weather and fun for the graduation festivities coming up; which I will post pictures of. Enjoy the pictures below.

Don’t Let it Rain on MY Parade

My dearest family and friends,

I am sorry that for some of you, this post comes as a surprise. Know that I would rather tell you this news in person, but have been extremely busy and drained emotionally. This past week has been a roller coaster. I'm in the midst of finishing up school, internship and preparing myself for graduation when unexpected news arrived.

My thyroid doctor contacted me urgently this last week, concerned about abnormal lab work which is indicative of another pheochromocytoma (adrenal glad tumor). Some of you may recall that I’ve already had this before, about five years ago. There is a chance that I have developed another one on my other adrenal gland, which they said would always be a possibility. It may explain the high heart rate I've had for some time, as well as the recent stomach problems. It’s also a possibility that if I had food poisoning or some stomach viral thing, that too, could have made my lab work come back abnormal. However, if it is a tumor, she believes that we've caught it early. The plan is for me to have lab work both blood and urine and then if that comes back abnormal go for imaging studies and make a referral for authorization to return to my UCLA thyroid doctor I had before.

You can imagine just how shocking and upsetting this news has been. For me the worst part is the not knowing and the waiting, which is what I have to do. Also it has been hard as it has put a big damper on graduation. If the tests come back abnormal then I'm not sure how urgent or quick the plan will go. What I want most is to finish up school and enjoy my graduation and then move on with the next steps. I’m also concerned that if it’s a tumor, I might have difficulty obtaining authorizations with my insurance.

This post isn’t intended to worry you, but as an invitation to keep me and my family in your prayers. I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Thank you!

Cheers

On Friday May 3^rd I attend Thesis Poster Session as my required dissemination of my thesis project. The event had internship supervisors, department faculty, and other social work students present while graduating students displayed a poster of their thesis and were available to answer questions.

On Saturday May 4^th I was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi one of the three honors society’s I have been invited to join. The ceremony was nice with a wonderful dinner that followed. The ceremony marked the largest in Phi Kappa Phi history with over 350 CSULB students from various departments and disciplines that were invited to join; over 1, 000 attended the event which included inductees, family, friends, and school administrative staff. My aunt and mom joined me and we sat with a few of my classmates and their families. After the ceremony we enjoyed a Champagne toast at my parents’ house. Enjoy the picts below!

Thesis Poster Session