Monday, September 22, 2008

Saturday Night Emergency Room Fun.

Erik likes to tease me about all my visits to the emergency room and the insta care. He says it is my favorite place. In the last year since Erik and I have been married, I have made 3 trips to the emergency room and 7 trips to the insta care. This weekend I added another couple to the tally. I managed to visit both the insta care and the emergency room all in one day. How did I do that you might ask? Well it all started with some rather mean stomach cramps.

I had been really sick with a sinus infection and up all night till about 4am on Friday night. I finally was able to fall asleep. About four hours later, some really painful abdominal cramps in my upper abdomen woke me up out of my deep sleep. They got so intense that all I could do is cry and moan. So I crawled to the living room to get Erik. We both knew something was really wrong, so he was going to take me to the insta care. Well, I could only manage to get from the floor back to my bed. They just got worse, so Erik panicked and called 911. The pain continued to get worse, and all I could do is scream so Erik did the only thing he could. He gave me a priesthood blessing. As soon as he finished and took his hands off my head, the pain immediately went away, and the paramedics walked in the door. Since I didn't really have much pain, I didn't see any reason to go to the hospital. So I sent them away and promised to go to the insta care. I am really thankful for the power of the priesthood. I know it was the only reason my pain stopped. It also saved me from an expensive ambulance ride (from previous experience those are about $1000). So anyway, they left, and I went back to sleep for another 8 hours since I was sick and feeling awful.

Well when I woke up, the pain started to come back but not as bad, so I tried to ignore it. My sinuses were also making me so miserable, that Erik took me to the insta care to get antibiotics. He made me mention my stomach pain, and the ambulance visit from earlier that morning. So the doctor checked me out and ran some blood tests. Since I still had a lot of pain, and my white blood cell count was abnormally high, the doctor made me go to the emergency room.

When I got to the emergency room, they ran more blood tests and palpated my stomach. The E.R. doctor had the same concerns as the insta care doctor, so he wouldn't let me leave. He made me stay for seven hours and get a bunch of tests done, to make sure I didn't need emergency surgery. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep. I was really sick, I ached all over, I was blowing my nose every two minutes, I had a headache, It was really cold, the bed was uncomfortable, and I started having menstral cramps halfway through my visit. I was really not enjoying myself. But alas I had no choice, they wouldn't let me go home.

So after all the tests, the conclusion they came to, is that I most likely have a stomach ulcer. They gave me some expensive meds for my stomach to take over the next couple of months and some antibiotics for my sinus infection. They also said I need to make an appointment with the a GI specialist, to get more tests done, and see if it is an ulcer, or something else with my GI tract. Yeah, more tests. So yeah...that came out of the blue. Didn't see that one coming. Life is sure full of suprises.

So that is my latest visit to the emergency room. With my bad luck, and past history, this may not be my last E.R. post. I sure hope I am wrong though. I have had enough of that place! As much fun as Erik thinks I have there, I would much rather be anywhere else.

For entertainment sakes, here are a couple pictures to commemorate previous visits.



This is a picture from one of my two visits to the emergency room during my honeymoon. One was from complications from my herniated disk. The other was from a bad kidney infection. Apparently the insta care on Maui won't take care of these sorts of things. They sent me to the E.R. instead.



This was from a plasma donation gone wrong. This picture was taken about a week after when my arms have "healed." This one cost me a visit to the E.R. and a chest x-ray. I learned the hard way that there is no such thing quick buck.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Warren Miller Children of Winter

As a Warren Miller fan, I am so excited to see this. I have watched this trailer a million times! You would be crazy not to want to see Children of Winter. Enjoy this little snow snack!

http://www.skinet.com/action/2008-09/warren-millers-children-winter-trailer

Shark Attack...

I have recently become a member of the Desert Sharks Triathlon club. Why in the world would I do that you might ask? I decided about a month and a half ago, that I was going to start training for a triathlon. Since I don't like to do anything halfway, I thought I would start training with people that know what they are doing. So I joined the Desert Sharks. They train every Tuesday and Thursday, and there are other optional workouts throughout the week that people will post. The workouts are very intense, and will definitely increase performance levels. I am usually sore for two days after.

The sharks have been so welcoming, and I have really enjoyed training with them. Even if I am the slowest shark. Most of the people in my group have been doing triathlons between 8-30 years, so I am definitely the newbie of the group. So I don't feel bad being the slowest one, since most of them have done several Iron mans. There is one guy in the group named Ron who has taken me under his wing. He is the organizer for the Battle at Midway Triathlon, and has a lot of knowledge. He has been teaching me how to keep my rpm's constant, how to get the best leverage when peddling, how to pass people on the hills, how to use my energy the most efficiently, how to have quick transitions between events, how to pick out a good road bike, what to do to increase my speed in the pool, the best running workouts, and many other things. He really is an excellent resource, since he has helped several people train. I hit the triathlon jackpot when I ran into him. After being around all these die hard triathletes, I have decided that I would like to make this more of a lifestyle, rather than a one time thing.

I have a goal to do at least two-three triathlons next year. I had planned on doing the Lake Powell Triathlon in October, but since it took me a lot longer than I planned to get licensed as an OT and get paid at my promised salary, I don't think I will be able to afford it anymore. So am now planning on the Battle at Midway Triathlon, and the Spudman, up in Burley Idaho next year. I would also like to do the Desert Shark's sponsored Triathlon up at Crystal Hot Springs if they decide to do it again. I am going to be doing the sprint level distance, since I have never done a triathlon before. This entails a half mile swim, 13 mile bike ride, and a 5k run, so it shouldn't be too bad. Maybe after another year of training with the sharks, I will be ready for the olympic level distance. Who knows!

Erik thinks I am crazy for doing this, but has been very supportive. Maybe over time, I will convert him to my evil triathlete ways. I have already convinced him to come to a sharks workout with me. It is just a matter of time Muahhhaaaaahhh. He can't hold out forever.

Monday, September 1, 2008

1st Year Anniversary

So Erik and I just recently celebrated our 1st year anniversary. I have been reflecting this last month about our first year of marriage, and how lucky I am to have him. I am so grateful to God that he chose me. He is such a wonderful husband, and every day I grow to love him more and more. He has made me so happy that I can honestly say this is the happiest I have ever been. It has been a wonderful first year with a lot of fun memories and times spent together. Here are a few pictures from our many adventures together.

Erik and I camping with some friends up in American fork canyon

Erik trying to scare away the bears. I think he has watched the parent trap one too many times. He was paranoid about getting eaten by bears the whole trip, so we teased him relentlessly.

Waiting in line to ride the Tea Cups at Disneyland. Mouse ears are a must!

Erik and I outside of California adventure.

We decided to Disco it up for halloween. Erik told everyone he was Disco Stu, but I know his real identity;)

More Halloween fun at the local swing venue's annual Halloween Dance

Disco skating with my disco stud

Carving pumpkins after disco skating with friends. On display is my very un-artistic bat pumkin.
Erik and I after my graduation ceremony. I am showing him my appreciation for his support through graduate school;)

Erik at his graduation ceremony from BYU. He graduated with a degree in computer animation in December. Turns out he could have graduated in April the year before. He went to take his last class last fall, and his advisor waived it, since he had already done a similar course at Ricks. Haha, if he had only known.

Erik and I at my pinning ceremony. This banquet marks the end of my three years in the occupational therapy program at the U.

Watching the sunset at the Great Salt Lake with my family.

Erik and I on our way to the pool during our vacation to Vegas. We all know what Erik wants to say, "I can't help it if I am ridiculously ridiculously good looking. " I believe he calls this look LaTigra.

Erik with his new Gary Fisher Mountain Bike. I got one a week later, and now we ride them everywhere! We especially love riding up city creek canyon. It is a ride we do quite often.

Erik and I canoing with some friends at Deer Creek Reservoir. We were very tired by the end of the day, but it was a lot of fun.

Djing at The Skillet (Salt Lakes Local Swing Venue) last month.

Erik getting his groove on while I DJ the music.

Rock climbing at a local rock climbing Gym. It is amazing how large my butt looks from this angle.

Erik doing what he does best. He used to have a membership to the quarry, and has spent many years climbing with his cousins. He is way more experienced at this than I am. We just bought harnesses though and will be going quite regularly.


Erik at the Wal-Mart in Hawaii. This is his favorite place, so we make trips there quite often. He loves to peruse the DVD section, in order to find new additions for his 300 plus DVD collection. Of course this was one of the first places he located when we got to Maui. He makes me laugh.

Erik and I near the beach during a Luau we attended in Maui, while on our honeymoon. It was a perfect night.

Enjoying the beautiful scenery before the sun goes down.

Erik standing on the shore. I really like this picture.

Kristen Cambridge OTR/L

So I found out I passed my boards on Friday! Things are moving along a lot quicker than I thought It would. It turns out I will get my license tomorrow, and then I will be Kristen Cambridge OTR/L. Neat! I have letters next to my name.

I started my new job last week, and tomorrow, I will no longer be working as a "highly paid aide." I will now be an official therapist. My boss has been introducing me to everyone as the new occupational therapist anyway. It is weird not to be introduced as a student anymore. I am for real now. It is hard to believe. Kinda scary. I have my own caseload of assigned patients and get to start implementing treatment plans with them, and charting their progress . I also get to decide when patients need to be D/C'd, and supervise the COTA's and therapy aides. It is kinda crazy to have so much responsibility now. I am excited for the challenge though. It is nice to finally be done with school and working in the real world, doing what I love most, helping people!