The Latest!

So it has been a super long time since I have updated everyone, and considering I had a reader comment that we should blog more often, here is my attempt. Now that is not to say that I will keep up with it by any means, it is just a start.

So, overall I have been doing wonderful! My joints have been feeling great most days and the weather changes are not even as bad as they have been. My medication is working wonders!! My only problem has been my stomach, it does not matter what I eat, when I eat, etc., it hates me. Everything you can think of is happening in my stomach/intestine area...so I went back to my PCP last week to figure it out. Granted this has been happening for about six months or so, but when you have to quickly leave meetings it is no longer just an annoyance it is a problem.

My research person suggested that it maybe the Methotrexate that is ripping up my stomach and intestines but that I should check with my PCP to make sure it is not something else. So, my PCP agrees that it is probably the Methotrexate considering it happens ALL the time and not just randomly or because of a particular food. His suggestion is that I not take it for a week or two and then get on the injections of Methotrexate instead of the pills...great, now I have to give myself a shot? Or should I say, my husband will have to give me a shot? Maybe eventually I can do it myself, but in the beginning, dream on. I'll update once the shots begin...should be interesting!

On another note, considering how well my RA is doing and the wonders of medicine, I am able to do things I used to, such as dance, or something like that (I was a ballet dancer, not a hip-hop or anything else dancer, so don't judge). So, this past weekend my husband was the fortunate winner of a Toyota Tundra Tailgate Challenge. This means that we were able to drive a 2010 Toyota Tundra around for the weekend with the possibility of winning the truck for two years if we made a winning video of us tailgating with the Tundra. We decided that we needed to get creative in our video and considering all the local teams were either on a bye week or at an away game, we had to be even more creative. Thus, we made this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm_NY3oH3Is . Check it out, it is hilarious if nothing else! Good times!

OKC Arthritis Walk | May 30th

Hey everyone, the 2009 OKC Arthritis Walk is coming up!  Please come join our team as we raise money and walk in support of arthritis research, treatment, and education.  Last year we did the walk in College Station and it was encouraging and a lot of fun, and we are both looking forward to this year!  

Some quick event details:

When: Saturday, May 30th, 2009 (Time TBA.  It will probably be in the morning, though.)

Where: Stars & Stripes Park, Oklahoma City (link goes to Google Map)

What: Choose from a 1- or 3-mile walk route and enjoy the food, fun, and festivities!  

Sweet, I wanna walk with you guys!  How do I sign up? Go to ourteam page and join our team!

I live out of town but want to come in for the Walk.  Where should I stay? Very exciting!  Well, we have room in our apartment for a couple of folks, and there are several hotels near the park, as well as others near our apartment.   

Aw shucks, I can't make it this year.  Can I still donate to your team?  Of course!  You can go to our team page and donate thru the secure site, or you can send us money directly and we'll add your name to our donor list.  (Yes, it's all tax-deductible.)

I heard that last year your team had some sweet shirts.  Where can I get one? We have a CafePress store where you can buy arthritis-related apparel that we've created, and we have new designs being posted all the time.  All the proceeds go toward supporting arthritis research, treatment, and education.  (If things go really well, maybe we'll even start our own 501(c)3 someday!)

What about your blog?  Is that thing still active? Yes, we still have our blog (JOINTogether4RA.blogspot.com ), though we admit that we've been neglecting it the last few months. However, we've made some new friends in Blogger and are experiencing a renewed interest in documenting our journey and experience with RA.  Stay tuned for an updated design and new content!

If you have any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to write or call.  We are seriously excited about this year's walk and hope you can make it.  As people begin to sign up and we begin to get an idea about how many people will be attending, we will send out further emails with any additional info about things such as afterparties, cookouts, etc.  

Pictures of Ike (from most recent pics to older pics)

My niece Katherine and Ike - 4/4/09 - 17 weeks old - approximately 6.1 pounds

Ike - 3/20/09 - 15 weeks old - approximately 5 pounds

Ike - 3/1/09 -12 weeks old - about 4.5 pounds

Ike - 3/1/09 - 12 weeks old - about 4.5 pounds

Ike - 2/15/09 - 10 weeks old - almost 4 pounds (look how tiny he was...aww)

It is funny to see how much he has changed over the last two months. He has now had all of his shots and is "street legal" according to our vet, which means he can go to the dog park, groomer, and PetsMart. He had his first adventure to the dog park on Saturday and seemed to have had a great time being chased by two other little dogs. He is teething, so his little teeth are sharp and painful. Overall, he is a great little puppy (or polar bear) as I like to call him. He has plenty of energy, but is an excellent sleeper as well. We are pleased to have him and feel as though he is a good match for our little family. :)

Wow, it has been a long time...December, I think.

Sorry for the absence, not sure why I have not posted in several months. Honestly I think I got bored and felt as though I had nothing to write. I have been keeping up with friends blogs but let ours go to waste. Anyway, here is a little update on things in our world. Obviously we moved back to Oklahoma in November and although we miss our friends and family down there we are happy to be home.

Andy is currently working for a counseling clinic in downtown OKC and also with me at the church medical clinic where I was before we moved. I am working at the church doing individual counseling mostly for children, adolescents, and 20 somethings. I am also working at the children's hospital that I worked at for my internship back in the day doing counseling for the children there with major medical issues and acute trauma such as car accidents, house fires, etc. I am so excited to be back there, it has been my dream that the day would come when they needed me, and it has finally come!

We recently got a little puppy named Ike, he is a malti-poo (man, I feel like a dork when I say that). He was named after Hurricane Ike that occurred while we were down in Texas. He got his name because he was "hunkered down," yes my friends, hunkered down. This is what the news people in Texas kept telling everyone to do during the Hurricane and we thought it was hilarious, so when we saw Ike for the first time he was the only puppy lying down and all the others were running circles around him...it was just a perfect hunker down so we had to name him after that. He is adorable and is about four months old now. He looks just like a mini polar bear and although he is teething, he is just too cute!

So, over all things are going great for the Moore's! We are loving life and doing really well. My health is doing much better and continues to improve each month. I feel as though life is much easier when I am able to wash my own hair and go to the bathroom on my own...it's like I am my own person again, YAY!!! My infusions are still every four weeks and they are working wonders. I am still taking the Methotrexate every Saturday night and it still makes me feel like I have the flu but I am barly taking my pain medication and have cut it in half again, which is truly exciting in my world.

Anyway, I think that is about as short and concise as I can get in a little blog post. Hope this finds everyone doing well and healthy!

Yuck!

Here's what I look like when I hurt, which has been frequent and intense lately with all the weather changes. Next infusion is on Monday though, so hopefully that will help!

thanksgiving

quick update, since we haven't written a "real" post since september:  as many of you know, we recently moved back to oklahoma city and are settling back into our routines here.  we've both been blessed with wonderful career opportunities, and we are happy to be home.  we'll try to post some moving pics soon.

today is thanksgiving day, and now that our tummies are full of food and our hearts warmed by watching miracle on 34th street, we thought it would be a very nice chance to get back into the swing of blogging by telling what we are each thankful for this year.  

andy: "i have felt so blessed this entire year, it's hard to know where to start.  during our recent move, i was reminded of all the little things i'm thankful for - our home, our car, our stuff, and our friends and family.  on that note, i am especially thankful for the quality of relationships i have with my friends and family, for the effort everyone gives to show love to one another.  i am thankful beyond words for my relationship with gabriele, for our wedding in july, and for the many experiences we have shared.  i am also thankful for her love, kindness, and patience with me when my efforts to help miss the mark.  in many respects, i owe a huge amount of thanks to the many medical professionals that have guided us throughout our journey with RA, and for the folks at roche for developing the medication that has helped gabriele so much this year."

gabriele: "let's see, i am thankful for so many things, it is hard to think of them all.  first of all, i am immensely thankful for my wonderful husband, for blessing me with such amazing love day after day, for marrying me, for taking care of me all the time, and for showing me beauty in each day. i am thankful for all of our friends and family and for all of the fun times that we get to have with them and for the love they show us.  also, i am thankful for my medical "team" and for all of the ways that they take care of me, for supporting me and assuring me when i think it will never get better.  i am thankful for technology, science, and creativity in the interest and development of medications for RA and for the response in creating awareness for such a debilitating disease. and, of course i am most thankful for God's fulfilling love and encouragement in both the good and the bad."

hope you all have had a happy thanksgiving and feel as blessed as we do!

hands-free

admittedly, many will find this post to be a disappointment after us being absent for several weeks.  i assure you that there is better stuff to come.

until then, does anyone know where we can get macspeech dictate for cheap?  it retails for $199, and the lowest i've seen is $120 on ebay.  gabriele is an avid mac user, and options for voice-recognition software are quite limited for users of the fruit.  since she's doing counseling again, she has to type a lot of process notes, and doing so is a real drain on her already weary hands.