Hello World!
I am very new to this blogging thing. I wanted a place to share my crafting and FB just didn't seem to be the right place, so here I am, blogging!
To start with, please let me introduce myself, Hi, I am Catisha. I currently live in Northeastern Ohio but I am originally from Southeast Alabama. ROLL DAMN TIDE!!
I live here with the absolute love of my life, Tony. I have two amazing teenage sons, John, who is 16, (and just started driving), Jeremy, who is 14, (and can't wait to be 16)! My boyfriend Tony came with a delightful little girl, Jacey, who is 11. Our family is complete, no more babies that turn into kids, that turn into teenagers, in our future. :) Tony has been in the military for almost 14 years, thus the reason we are in the cold state of Ohio. I am a senior in college, studying at Troy University, through their online degree program. If all goes well and no major catastrophes come my way, I will be graduating in March of 2013, with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. I will then reward myself with a year off from college so I can find where to continue my education and work towards my Master's in Counseling. Eventually, I will be an educated, licensed Substance Abuse Counselor and entering the work force as a professional vs. just an employee somewhere.
Now, onto the why and how of this blog.
The how is simple, I have an extremely large amount of free time to dedicate to crafting and just wanted a place to share it.
The why of it, not so simple. Let's see, how and where to start, on a cold Thursday morning, last December, as I was heading down my basement stairs to wake my boys and get them moving so our family could visit "The Christmas Story House", I took a nasty little tumble (well more like a violent leap) down 8 of the 10 stairs. You are probably thinking, as everyone from here to Alabama has asked "What made you fall, or how did you just fall"? Oh, I don't know, I thought falling so freely and violently would make me feel as though I was at an amusement park on some sort of roller coaster!!!! Or, maybe I was just needing someway to prove to myself that I really am Superwoman?!
Seriously though, that has to be the dumbest question I have been asked pertaining to my accident. As if I know why I fell? It was unintentional, unplanned and certainly unwanted. I was in a cheery mood, looking forward to the day and full of excitement, and well it just happened. So continuing on, some 20 or so minutes later, after Tony and John finally stopped laughing and Jeremy and Jacey kept snoring, I managed to somehow stand up and maneuver myself back up the stairs and to the kitchen sink to stop long enough to down three Advil and off to my bed I went. Our day was cancelled, it was just me and the heating pad for the remainder of the day. The kids didn't seem to upset, not as much as I at least. I promised we would go the next morning and they were all three fine with that, Tony was a little irritable, as he doesn't like to have plans and them have them cancelled or rescheduled without much notice. The day progressed and my sweet Tony and loving three kiddos came in and out of my bedroom randomly to check on me. I was sure I had just pulled some muscles and while I figured I would be more sore the next day, convinced myself I could just tough through it and get over it.
The next day came, cold with even more cold drizzling rain mixed with snow, but we had plans. I pulled myself out of bed feeling like a Mack truck had run over me in my sleep, but was focused on our trip. Tony and I, got all three of the kids up and going and off to "The Christmas Story House" we went, along with Tony's mom and aunt who were staying with us for a few days.
We all had a blast! The kids had more photo ops than I can count, reacting scenes from the movie and just being silly, like kids do. I managed to make it through the visit and even fake some smiles for the pictures...the pain I was feeling was unreal!!! I am no sissy, and when it comes to pain, I manage, I try my best to not complain or let anyone know how bad the pain is... I just deal with it. I have always been and probably always will be like that. Sometime that afternoon we returned home and I knew I was heading to the doctor, I was pretty sure it was more than just some pulled muscles, as the pressure in my chest was building to a level I couldn't manage. Fearing a punctured lung from a cracked rib, I headed to urgent care. The initial x-rays showed nothing and the doctor told me I had probably bruised myself pretty good from the inside out and he was sure there were lots of strained and pulled muscles, but nothing major going on. He cleared me to return to work, if I thought I could manage, and I agreed, I could.
Monday morning comes around and off to work I go and maintain my superwoman status and tough through my day. I receive a call from the urgent care doctor on Tuesday, instructing me to make a visit with my PCP, ASAP, the x-rays were read by the radiologist and showed a fractured T4 vertebrae. My PCP took me out of work pending a visit with an Ortho Surgeon. Blah, Blah, Blah, let's fast-forward now!!!
Today, some 9 months after my adventure down the stairs, I am home, unemployed, bored, stir crazy, and having to reassess my future career plans and my physical abilities. I was left with a diagnosis of a compression fracture at the T4 site, two herniated disks at the T7&8 site, with spinal cord effacement, moderate to severe degenerative disk disease at the C5&6 site, with nerve compression, and osteopenia, the root cause of the fracture, and nerve damage from an unknown origin (more tests to come). So let's just say, it hasn't been like a ride at the amusement park, more like a walk through the haunted forest, but I am alive, not paralyzed, and pushing forward!!
All this, is what led me to rediscover my joy for crafting. I was so wrapped up in life and work that I never had time for any of it. So at the advice of my PCP, I am "exploring other aspects of my life and not focusing on the fact that I can not work".
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