Journal entry by Kayla Bleeker —
Hello everyone, here is an update for you all. I am sorry it's been a while, it has been an eventful year so far. In December I had a seizure and now am on anti-seizure medications. I haven't any seizures since then. That event seemed to put me a step backward. Little did I know I ended up having a UTI.
I flew down to Arizona with my Dad and his wife Tammy to visit for a bit. I went in to get my sodium checked and ended up in the hospital. My diagnosis was a UTI, hypothermia, low heart rate and adrenal insufficiency. I was put on a steroid for my adrenals and was doing well and my appetite came back.
In March my Mom took me to the ER because I wasn't feeling well. I ended up with severe pancreatitis and pneumonia. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks. One week was spent in Cambridge and because of my low body temp and heart rate I was transferred to the cardiac floor at Abbott. While I was there my heart rate paused many times in the night so I ended up with a pacemaker. Three weeks later I was sick again so Kyle brought me to the ER and I ended up at United for ten days.
I have been doing really well since then. We have not been able to figure out why I had pancreatitis. I found out that I do have chronic sinusitis. I am doing a nasal antibiotic rinse to see if that clears up. If not, I may have to have surgery for that as well. I am having some a-fib and will be seeing an electrophysiologist to determine why.
I also found out that I am still silently aspirating so I am continuing with speech therapy to hopefully correct that. My mom says my short term memory has improved, I don't ask people to repeat things as much as I used to. I am also doing some supervised driving. I can't wait to be able to drive again on my own.
I have recently been able to spend more time with Emery too, which I have been really enjoying getting to have more time with her.
Thank you again everyone for all the continued prayers and support, I appreciate it.
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