A Marine Family In Need.

Through my work on my page with Damsel I was adopting a family every month to raise funds for. The family always had a member who was critically ill or in need so I was always on the look out for people to help.

I have several friends who are military or are military spouses so I hear their stories often. Recently one really touched me. They were the total epitome of warrior strong to me as well as having a marriage I could relate to.

So I would like to introduce you to the Shocken family.

 Before disaster struck they were a normal USMC family. Dustin was deployed to Afghanistan. Amalia was a very active personal trainer raising their beautiful daughter in Twenty-Nine Palms.

Then the unthinkable happened. Amalia suffered a rare form of massive stroke. 2 out of 3 major brain vessels were completely blocked and the third was close. She required major surgery to remove blockages, take a piece of her skull to help cope with the massive swelling and save her life. She was in a come and they did not expect her to make it. I knew of this from that first moment pretty much as Amalia and I share a very dear friend and this friend stepped up to help since Dustin was gone. She took their daughter, she went to the hospital to talk to doctors, she did everything that she could do.

With the prognosis being so grim Dustin was sent home. In true Amalia and Dustin fashion she proved the docs wrong. She began to recover. She woke up. She tried to move. She spoke. She still has massive swelling and is almost totally paralyzed on her left side yet she is fighting to walk. She still is missing a chunk of her skull. She still needs help to do everything. She requires major rehab therapy.

So Dustin put her in an intensive rehab program for as long as he could. And then Tricare ran out. They would pay no more. So despite needing more care she was brought home and Dustin became her full time home nurse. He does everything. He changes her bags, he helps her do therapy. He should be doing the job and trusting his country to have his back and help him when needed but instead he is converting their home to a treatment center for her.

They need help. Help to get Amalia well. So the friends and family of Twenty-Nine are doing multiple fundraising things for them. There are shirts and a 5k. There is a straight donation page. So please guys. Share this for me. Donate for me. Help me help them.

•  Visit www.facebook.com/milesforamalia or buy a shirt at www.booster.com/milesforamalia Donations to the Schocken Family and/or Miles for Amalia 5K can be made via PayPal to milesforamalia@gmail.com or sent to Jacklyn Miller, 7 Acacia Court, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277, checks payable to Jacklyn Miller. All funds sent outside of PayPal will be deposited into the PayPal account that has been set-up for the family/event.

Back to it.

Recently I've been most involved in managing my Damsel business and everything associated with it as well as online fibromyalgia support groups. First I stepped back from Damsel after Facebook blocked things and the politics of it caused more stress than it was worth.

Now I've also stepped back from my support groups. A number of years ago I stepped out of my shell and made friends with a couple of girls. We were all different but seemed bonded. Then petty issues and catty junk came up and it was constant drama. I despise drama and have learned that it actually makes me ill. I love women who are simple, no nonsense, no pretense, no fake crap. Real. So I concentrated on the handful of incredible women in my life, like Gracie and Mags. Until my diagnosis.  Then I wanted to talk to others like me, who understood fibromyalgia.  So I opened up again. I went from group to group until I found one that seemed to fit beautifully.  Real women facing a similar journey who were blunt, who seemed to not judge, who accepted.

Then it started to change. I noticed little things. New chat groups being made to exclude some. Posts seeming to dig at others. Then intried to mediate an issue. I was accused of bullying and called horrible things. It made me realize I miss my hermit life and all of you guys. :) Like minded hermits. So thanks for being awesome.

Spike update

The EKG was finally read after two weeks. It's still nothing definite, but they think he has RVH, which means the right side of his heart is enlarged. They also think think that he has long QT syndrome. Definition here:

   Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a heart rhythm disorder that can potentially cause fast, chaotic heartbeats. These rapid heartbeats may trigger a sudden fainting spell or seizure. In some cases, your heart may beat erratically for so long that it can cause sudden death. 

You can be born with a genetic mutation that puts you at risk of long QT syndrome. In addition, certain medications and medical conditions may cause long QT syndrome.
Long QT syndrome is treatable. You may need to limit your physical activity, avoid medications known to cause prolonged Q-T intervals or take medications to prevent a chaotic heart rhythm. Some people with long QT syndrome need surgery or an implantable device.

We have an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist on the 11th. Would appreciate any prayers, good vibes or whatever you believe in.

Lost my mojo.

These past few months I feel like the wind got sucked from my sails. Damsel has become impossible for me. I don't have the health for weekly parties and events and Facebook blacklisted me so my reach dropped substantially and no one was ordering. I adore the company with a passion but the biggest online networks include non-lethal self defense in their anti-weapon agenda and that just has made Damsel beyond hard.

The junior league I was working with became worse than high-school with the teenaged drama, name calling,  and backstabbing. So I walked away from my board position as the rule we try to live by is keep things as stress free as possible since the stress makes my fms worse.

I also haven't improved like we hoped. We think the climate is part of the issue. We spent a week in Wyoming and for those few days I was almost pain free. So we are hoping to find work out of the desert.

I am homeschooling Bug this year. Some of her group developed some awful risky behavior and I don't want her immersed in that. I honestly think that here in Vegas the kids are exposed to so much vice they experiment even younger than other places.

I've decided to focus on my writing again and on my passion for preparation and all the other great things I used to write about. I want to get back to reading my favorite blogs and connecting with the friends I've been neglecting as I tried to do Damsel.

So hopefully this is me climbing out of a dark place and getting back to the things I love. Sure missed you all.

scared

   Spike blacked out twice yesterday morning. We spent three hours in the ER with low blood pressure and low blood sugars. He had his first ever blood draw and took it like a champ. He had an EKG that came back abnormal.
   Today I took him into his doctor who ordered more labs and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist. The lab tech wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and let the needle slip out of his arm. Then she tried to put it back in the same vein and blew the vein. She dug around in his arm for a while before giving up. He was in a lot of pain and terrified. He didn't move a muscle while she dug around in his arm with that needle. But now he has to go back tomorrow and I don't know how well he will take that.
   I am the kind of person who does very well in a crises and breaks down afterward. Right now I am pretty freaked out.

Slacker

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. I have been up to my neck in incubators, chicks, chickens, kids, dogs, bees, rabbits, ect, ect, ect.

First topic, birds. I went out of town for a week and came home to find out that my house sitter had put my broody hen back in the coop with the rest of the chickens by accident. Luckily her eggs had only been left unattended for 24 hours or so and I fired up the incubator. Out of the seven eggs under the hen, three were clear (unfertile) and four were only a few days away from hatching. I actually saw one of the chicks jump in the egg when candled. Out of the four eggs, one died from being left in the nest too long without the hen and three began to hatch. I had issues with my incubator and two of the chicks shrink wrapped ( the membrane gets too dry and shrinks around the chick suffocating them). The lone remaining chick pipped at the wrong end and had to be helped...a lot. I ended up picking away all of the upper half of the egg so all she had to do was stretch and tear the membrane. She was too weak. I pulled the membrane off her head and picked away more of the shell. At this point all she had to do was pull her head out from under her wing and stretch. She was still too weak. I have a video of my three boys and a neighbor kid whistling at her to encourage her while I petted her wing and head to stimulate her into moving. She finally flopped out of the shell and into my hand but was still too weak to kick out of the lower half of the shell. I put her back in the incubator to gain her strength. After and hour she still only had one leg out of the shell and struggling to figure out how to kick free. After checking that she had absorbed the yolk, I realized she was still attached to the membrane by several strings of goo. I crushed the remaining shell to avoid her kicking against it and disemboweling herself and cut through the strings of goo close to her unbilical cord. I put her back in the incubator to dry off and get strong. By morning she was screaming for breakfast and running around the incubator looking for friends. She actually started to bond with the sponge I put in for humidity. I feather sexed her and she is indeed a hen!! I found her some friends that were being given away and they are all snuggling happily together in my laundry room.
   I also acquired a pair of blue laced red wyandottes! I have looked for this breed for over a year now. The chicks I hatched out last year were blue laced red wyandottes (BLRW for short) but they both were roosters. I am so excited for these birds!

Will blog about the other topics later.

Mission impossible

Because I have gained some sort of reputation as a person who can deal with any kind of animal problem no matter what it is, I ended up with this little guy in my kitchen today. He weighes 22 grams and is slightly bigger than my thumb. He's blind, he's bald and he JUMPS! If he survives long enough to open his eyes we will name him. Until then we are just calling him Mission Impossible. Wish me luck with this little guy. Even though I am trying very hard to distance myself, he is tugging at the heart strings.

Holy giant egg batman!

My little auracauna hen layed this egg this morning. Next to it is the last egg she layed. The big one is easily the size of a turkey egg. I can't imagine giving birth every day....chickens have it rough.

Crash has done it again.

Ironically, his shirt reads "Blood Clots, Sweat Dries, Bones Heal."

He has to wear the boot for two weeks, he can only take it off to shower. He is already tired of it and tries to find ways to get me to let him take it off. He is showering a lot more often these days. 

Great egg experiment update

I think the great egg experient may be a flop. The temp here have been unsteady to say the least and have made for some serious temp spikes and dips that I think might have killed my eggs. The neighbor kid swore he heard one of the eggs cheep today though and I have thought I have heard something the last few days too, so hopefully I will get SOMETHING. My broody hen got off her eggs long enough for me to candle a few a couple of days ago so I have high hopes she will be able to hatch hers. They looked right on track and I even got to see a little foot wiggling around in one egg.
I will post pics of what I do get and if anyone is interested, I will crack and post pics of the development of the eggs that didn't make it.