Tick-Tock: Temporary Freedom

Today at 4:30 (on the dot, I might add) I dropped my 24-page thesis proposal into the submission box and (quite literally) skipped out of the doors of Guelph-Humber with the first hint of relief I have felt in a week.

I hope I pass, I'm not sure I did the best I could--I put tons of hours into it--but admittedly my heart was not always in it, so we'll see what translates on paper! Most of my time was spent trying to figure out what exactly a thesis proposal was and how to write a literature review. For some bazaar reason four years of University still did not prepare me for the shock of an Undergraduate thesis. 

To sum up my week, here is how it played out: I was chained to my dining room table, staring down my laptop and surrounded by a stack of academic journals and library books (the latter of which ended up just being for decoration... while I thought the books were interesting, I didn't really have enough time to read them). I spent a majority of the week feeling suddenly enlightened and then severely confused. At one momentous breaking point, I told my Mom how much I hated school and felt like dropping out--it was a drama queen moment that was resolved with a nap and caffeine booster.

In other news, I think I may have to whiten my teeth after this week due to the massive amount of tea I consumed (I've never been a coffee drinker, though it is debatable which one is worse).

Also, it seems like--two weeks later--my cold has finally cleared! Part of the reason for this thesis proposal taking so long--besides my procrastination skills--is that my energy has been so low the past two weeks. Usually, I sleep 7 hours a night and feel just dandy--but I was requiring 10-12 hours of sleep PLUS naps, which is far too time consuming in my opinion. I know you are supposed to rest when you are sick, but feeling tired all the time is a drag when you know you have some much to do or so much you want to do.

Aside from a short stint with a swollen ear—which I quickly self-diagnosed on WebMB as a blocked Eustachian tube, like any other reasonable person would do--I think I beat this cold pretty well! My mom and sister ended up picking up a new brand of cold over the Thanksgiving weekend, but thankfully didn't share it with me (though, I am jealous that their cold was superior to mine since it only seemed to cause a 4-day sore throat, pah!)

One thing I have had return though is that weird 'infectiony' smell I get. I claim to be able to 'smell' infection...really, that’s the only way I can describe this. Mind you, I don't really have a sharp sense of smell (with the addition of this cold I was sadly unable to smell Turkey dinner last weekend, but the smell was described to me by numerous salivating people). Anyway, this weird infectiony smell stumps me (and the doctors at St. Mikes). Usually out of paranoia I go on antibiotics. Especially since, for whatever reason, I don't get normal signs of a chest infection anymore. When I have a chest infection instead of coughing up more, which is a trademark sign, I actually cough up less or nothing... so, as you can guess this makes things a little tricky.

Because my energy and appetite is returning, I've decided it is no big deal so far. I've actually been inhaling the vapours of tea tree oil, which I read somewhere a long time ago could help ward off infections. Who knows if there are any scientific facts to back it up, but I am always up for trying anything and I think it actually has been helping.

I’m certain a nice weekend of R&R (and normal homework catch-up) will have me fully recovered by Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The drop in mercury and colouring leaves signal that fall has arrived. And my favourite thing about the fall is eating all the yummy fall foods... including the best feast of all: Thanksgiving dinner.

Part of my family has rounded up at our chalet in Collingwood and as I type this our 19 lb Turkey is being prepared for a day of baking--and temptation. I will soon go pick our carrots out of our garden--the last harvest. I hope they turned out alright!

Before I do though, I thought I should mentioned what I am thankful for, since this--besides stuffing your face--is part of the whole point of this extended weekend.

No particular order:

  • Fam + Friends
  • Delicious food
  • MSN, blogger, FB and other forms of internet communication
  • Sunny crisp fall days
  • Holidays to sunny, warmer places when one cannot handle 'crisp' days anymore
  • Bonfires
  • A warm cup of tea
  • A warm cup of tea with chocolate
  • Roller coasters that make you scream like a terrified infant being torn from their mother's grasp (specifically)
  • People that help you out when you least expect it
  • Humor
  • Pajama days 
  • Good movies you want to watch over and over again
  • Being off of oxygen for 7 months! woo! (Still use for exercise but that's no biggie)
  • Good-looking celebs to gush over
  • Dr. Horrible
  • Crantinis
  • Good books you can't put down
  • Wii
  • Nearly being done my time at GH
  • Purell 
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Twinrix: The Aftermath

The dust has settled... and I am still alive!

Okay, a tad dramatic, but the side-effects were plentiful and not fun from the Twinrix shot! Though I do very much appreciate the future protection from hepatitis A and B, I will appreciate it more when the side-effects have finally worn off.

To start: I did not make it to my three-month appointment. I decided to go back to clinic today to make sure everything was okay--since I felt a certain type of terrible on the weekend and we all know the last cold I had landed me in the hospital for 6 weeks, so one can't be too careful!

The bad news (which I already knew) was that I got every single side-effect you could get from Twinrix. Which includes (just so I can scare a few more people out of getting the shot):

  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Malaise
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue 
  • Dizziness
  • Redness, pain, itching and swelling at the place of injection
  • COLD??
Where I left them puzzled was with my newly-acquired cold, which I developed not too long after recieving the shot. Some people said it was coincidence, others said it was possible the shot caused it... so a little bit of a mixed review there. At this point what matters is that despite my obsessive purrell and clorox skills I still got a cold. BUT it isn't too bad and already seems to be clearing itself up nicely.

Good News In the Bad
Turns out everything is more than okay. Despite not eating much over the past week, I somehow managed to gain weight, plus my pfts even went up 1% which means they are now resting at 28% (.83 L). This is actually pretty typical and why I sometimes wait too long to go to the Docs... when I am feeling under the weather I am performing my best.

I am done my Twinrix shots now... thank god...I just have boosters to do in the future and I hope they won't be as bad. In light of current events, I have delayed my second HPV shot to give my body time to recover. I am also considering not continuing it, because I'm not sure it is a necessary shot to have. This, of course I will discuss with my transplant coordinator.

So all-in-all things are back on track, just a minor blip that unfortunately has come at my busiest time.
With lots of fluids and rest I should kick this cold in no time!

Photo evidence for your viewing pleasure

When you take a look around at other people's blogs they show you pictures of awesome transplant incision scars, or never-before-seen reactions to drugs or a step-by-step of a picc line insertion. Sadly, I have none of that interesting stuff to share with you today.

BUT I got bored enough to actually take photo evidence of what the Twinrix shot has kindly left behind... a sore, red, hard--did I mentioned sore?--bump.



In light of my terrible experience with this shot, I phoned clinic and asked if I could delay my second HPV shot that I have scheduled for next week. Mainly because, quite frankly, I can't afford to spend three days in bed again.

In an effort to not allow these photos to uglify my blog. Here are some pretty photos of my garden (well, it became the family garden) that we built in Collingwood this summer. (More to come later!)


 Discussing important things...


 Charles the bunny plotting to break in the garden (carrots are right behind him)


Taking it all in

Mom creeping from behind with the camera



What was in our garden?
Zucchini, carrots, snow peas, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, various herbs and (perhaps) later some lettuce...

Charles the bunny not included.

On the tube

Ok so this show looks like it is extremely melodramatic/corny and accelerates the transplant process at warp speed. But it has good-looking actors and raises awareness about organ donation, so I'm all for that.



Starts this Sunday on CBS.

Twinrix Strikes Back... Part Duex

Day two... still sore, woke up with huge headache (I think a migraine?), spent the day on the couch under piles of blankets watching Canada's Next Top Model re-runs.

P.S. Did I mention I have a giant thesis proposal due in 16 days?

Yes, I'm on my way to success.


But the remedy for a feverish day is a simple one:

  1. Tylenol. Takes a while to work, but it eventually kicks in. When I have a stubborn fever I alternate between Advil and Tylenol, because you can only take Tylenol (or Advil) every four hours... when you alternate you don't have to wait as long.
  2. Trashy TV. If you fall asleep during it (which you will) you won't feel disappointed that you missed something interesting. Also you don't really have to think while you watch it and, depending on the show, you may even feel better about yourself. 
  3. Ginger Ale and Kraft Dinner. About the only things I can eat while I am burning from the inside.
  4. Comfy couch and blankets--this combo actually feels like heaven.
  5. A nice sweatsuit. Comfy and stylish. What more can you ask for?