Movie Review: Shutter Island

This is not a movie I would choose to go see on my own. I don't really like to be scared! But Dean really wanted to see it, and I made it through "Paranormal Activity" last fall, so I figured I cold handle it.

The movie is NOT what I expected AT ALL, but then again, I really didn't know much about it to begin with. If you like psychological thrillers, you'll probably like this movie. I liked it, and I don't even like this type of movie. And, I don't even think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight! LOL

This guy needs a hug!

Somebody hug this guy. It's self explanatory.

Back-n-forth

So last week I sent an email, CC'd to several people in our school district, asking a whole list of questions regarding the 8th grade class trip to be held in October. (deposits are due in April.) The email was sent to the Superintendent, Director of Special Education, Building principal, Angela's special ed. teacher, and the "Tour Moderator" (aka 8th grade social studies teacher).

The Superintended responded within just a few minutes, and had clearly not read the email. I responded back just as quickly, asking her to please go back and read the entire email, and to answer my questions as best she could.

The 8th grade teacher responded, and wanted me to meet with him to "talk this out." Normally, that would have been my FIRST step, but these are questions in which the answers have potential legal ramifications, AND I want the answers in writing.

I have yet to get ONE SINGLE ANSWER to any of my questions!

So I contacted an attorney who specializes in educational law, who also put me in contact with the supervising attorney from the MN Disability Law Center, who I just finished speaking with. He has several questions that he will be finding the answers to (most of which I have already asked but nobody has answered.) so that he can determine which is the best course of action. From this point on, all correspondence with the district will be forwarded to him as well.

So, here's the email I sent this morning:

..............................

Mr. V.

I'd like to preface my response by saying I'm not usually "like this". I think every teacher we have ever worked with in the district will agree that I'm very easy to work with, and I have reasonable expectations for my child. As you said, I know her better than anyone, and am fully aware of what she is and is not capable of. I also won't knowingly put her into situations that would set her up for failure. However, those same teachers will also tell you that I am fiercely advocative of my child's rights. I don't need a pat on the back for doing it. Like every other parent, it's the job I was given the day my child was handed to me. I don't like to be "that mom", yet there are times when it becomes necessary. This is one of those times.

Typically, my first step would be to drop by school and ask you some questions. You know, no big deal. I understand you may not see this situation as being any different, but I can assure you, it is far bigger.

This isn't about just Angela attending the trip. It is about all the students with physical and cognitive disabilities in the district who have been, or have the potential to be left out of events such as this trip. It is about the district choosing a tour company who is not inclusive of ALL District *** students, when there are other companies conducting the same tour, who do not charge a fee for the 1:1 staff to attend with the student. It is about District *** students with disabilities not being included as "ambassadors of the district" along with their non-disabled classmates without paying almost 3x as much money for the trip. It is about my child having equal access to everything her classmates do, something she is entitled to under the ADA, and section 504.

I would love nothing more than to get this sorted out smoothly, and without damaging my relationship with with the district. Attorney D. S. from the Minnesota Disability Law Center has advised me to hold off on any meetings until he is able to gather some information and determine who (myself, District 196 or Educational Tours INC) is responsible for covering the cost of a 1:1 for Angela to attend the DC trip.

In the meantime, I need to put a deposit down on the trip, but am hesitant to do so without guarantee of a refund, and it's unlikely this matter will be sorted out by the deposit deadline.

~LS~

Repost: So you want to get a puppy?

Once in awhile, when I've gotten a lot of related questions, I will repost an old blog post. Since spring is coming fast (I hope!) I'm getting a lot of puppy emails! Most people who read my dog site find their way here, so I thought I'd repost this.
.....................


(puppies pictured above produced by D & L Doodles)
This post is in response to the 10-15 emails I get every week from people who are interested in getting a puppy for their family. These aren't people looking to buy one of my puppies per se, but after reading my website decide I'm a safe person to ask some specific questions. Guess what? They're right!

First, never ever ever ever ever buy a puppy from a pet store! EVER! Was that pretty clear? 99% of pet store puppies come from puppy mills. If the store owner says, "Our puppies come from local breeders." Ummm yeah so? Does that say ANYTHING about the conditions of the breeding operation or the number of puppies they produce? Not only that but NOT ONE GOOD BREEDER, who knows ANYTHING about canine puppy development would sell their puppies through a pet store! Ok..I'll stop there. If you want to read more on that topic go here.

AKC registration means NOTHING about a dogs health or quality. Think of the AKC as a large file cabinet, keeping track of the heritage of each litter of puppies registered to them. That means if I have a puppy born with deformities or health problems, I can still register it with the ACK. It's still a purebred. There are many breed groups who hate the AKC because they don't REQUIRE health testing (see below) on the parents of litters registered. This eventually ruins breeds, and is how they end up with a high incidence of things such as hip dysplasia.

Health testing. This is NOT THE SAME as "All my dogs/puppies are vet checked." I would hope that every breeder has their dogs "vet checked". No, Health testing is much more involved, and much more expensive. What does "Health Testing" entail? It depends upon the breed. Each breed is known to carry specific genetic disorders that you do NOT want passed on. However, you don't know the dog has one of them until they've been tested for it. Hip Dysplasia is one problem that is prevalent in MANY breeds. Let me use the Standard Poodle as an example. First, there is blood work: Subacious Adenitis (SA) is a skin disorder common to poodles, and involves a skin biopsy. Von Wilebrands Disease (vWd) is a bleeding disorder similar to hemophilia in people. It is a genetic disorder and found by a blood test. The hips, eyes, elbows and heart should also be xrayed and sent off to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) to be read. The eyes should be examined by a CERF vet. This is a special canine opthalmologist. They will rule out things such as juvenile cataracts (prevalent in MANY breeds!) that cannot be seen using the tools a regular vet has.

To get all the testing completed on one adult dog is approximately $1,000 depending upon where the breeder lives and how easy it is for he/she to get to the appropriate clinics. Some tests need to be repeated. CERF should be done yearly, and Hips done somewhere around a year, and again after age 2. ALL of the tests should be done and paperwork back before a dog is ever bred!

Health Guarantees: Breeders who do the health testing appropriate for their breed will have no problem giving you a 2 or 3 year health guarantee against genetic problems. Breeders who aren't SURE their dogs don't carry any of the breed disorders...IE those who don't do the health testing, will be reluctant to give you ANY guarantee. Some states like MN require a minimum of a 1 year guarantee under the MN Lemon law for pets. Unfortunately 1 year doesn't get you much. Most genetic problems such as hip dysplasia don't show up until after 1 year of age.

And what does that health guarantee say? Does it say, "We'll replace the dog."? Do you really want another dog from the same breeder if there is a problem? Does it say you have to return YOUR dog, whom you've grown to love, in order to get a replacement? QUALITY breeder contracts will say something to the affect of, "We'll refund up to the original cost of the puppy, OR give a replacement puppy." In other words, you get the choice. Most won't say, "But we have to have the original puppy back first!" Who wants to give up their baby?

Most of the breeders I know also have a re-home policy. That means, if something happens in your life next year, and you find you can no longer keep your dog, the dog comes back to ME. I don't want ANY of the dogs I've produced to end up in a shelter ANYWHERE. I want them HERE. If there are problems, I want to know about them. If there's a behavioral issue, I will retrain the dog before re-homing him.

USDA registered breeder. If the breeder you're considering is a USDA registered breeder, don't assume that's a good thing. The only reason to have a USDA number for dog breeding is to produce high numbers of puppies. Here's a link to a list of USDA "Class A" breeders. I believe this is the current 2008 list. Here's the link to the Class B list. (meaning they can sell their own puppies through pet stores AND sell puppies from other breeders as well!) Use your computer's search function to find those listed in your state. I searched MN and found it VERY interesting that a breeder I'm quite familiar with now has their operation listed under the name of one of their adult sons. Hmmmmmm Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Spay/neuter agreements. Good breeders will, at a MINIMUM, require you to sign a spay/neuter CONTRACT which they ENFORCE! This is to prevent people who don't know what they're doing from becoming back yard breeders. Some breeders (myself included) spay/neuter their puppies before they leave for their new families. We found it quite difficult to follow up on spay/neuter contracts on puppies that are on the other side of the country. We did our research, and agree with the opinion of our reproductive specialist who was president of the MN verterinary medical association for many years, that the benefits of early spay/neuter far outweigh the potential risk to the dogs later on.

A common misconception is that the "small breeder" means "backyard breeder". Which is backward thinking. A "small breeder" is just that. Only producing a couple litters per year, but still doing all the appropriate health testing. A "Backyard breeder" is one who might produce a lot of puppies, but they don't do the appropriate health testing for the breed, incorrectly ASSUMING their dogs don't have/carry any of the disorders known to their breed. It has nothing to do with size, and everything to do with knowledge. Backyard breeders tend to breed puppies they don't have homes for. You can easily find them in the paper saying, "price reduced!" etc. Most quality breeders don't have any problem selling their puppies. Ours have always been sold before they're even BORN, which is how a lot of breeders I work with also sell their puppies.

I hope, if you're in the market for a family pet, that some of this information has been helpful, or at least enlightening!

Next, watch for my "So you want to be a breeder?" post!

Ever have a day like this?

Joe Jonas takes the pledge!

Is it really a "Class" trip?

I'm giving you fair warning. This is a VENT, in a "feel sorry for me and my kid" kind of way. I'm angry, confused, and need to write a very carefully worded email which I'm not very good about in the first place! So....here we go.

The other day I posted about Angela's 8th grade class trip coming up in October. The cost is $1089. I can handle that. It'll be tight, but it's manageable. If I want my kid to go on the trip, I have to pay the fee, just like everyone else.

But...umm...who goes with her on the trip? She can't go without a 1:1. The forms say this is "not a school sponsored trip". hhhmmm how does that work?

First I talked to Angela's Special Ed. teacher. It's not her thing, so I didn't expect her to have the answers, but I was working my way up the ladder. She's NEVER had a student go on this trip, and she has no idea how it works. I, of course, wondered WHY none of the special ed. kids have ever gone on the trip.

Then I talked to the principal. I wanted to know the school's involvement in the trip. What money did the school have invested into it? Because if they have ANY, that makes it a "school sponsored" trip, which would mean there are some laws they're required to follow, like providing a 1:1 for a disabled student. WHELL!!! The trip is held during our state's 3-day state wide teacher workshop. (MEA for those here in MN) They don't pay for the mainstream teachers to go, nor do they pay their time on the trip. Nor do they have to find subs for them since it's held over MEA weekend. The chaperone fees are covered by the student trip fees. So, the district doesn't have ONE penny invested. It truly is "not school sponsored". This also eliminates the district from having to provide a 1:1 for any student that might need one.

So I called the tour company to find out how it's been handled for other students. Surely it has come up! This is a HUGE company that does this same trip for schools all over the country. "Well, we had one student last year, I think he had MD or something like that. He came with a nurse."

THEY HAD ONE STUDENT LAST YEAR??????? ONE????????

Something is wrong with this picture.

Do you know WHY they had ONE student? Because in order for me to send my child with a disability, it costs MORE THAN DOUBLE!!! Not only do I have to pay her trip fee, but also the SAME trip fee for the caregiver, AND AND AND....I'd have to pay that person for 72 hours of WORKING! I did find out I can cover the HOURLY wage for a 1:1, but not the trip fees.

So, if my kid were a typical 8th grader, it would cost $1,089 for the trip.

For my student with a disability, in order for her to participate in an activity with her peers (and have the same memories of her 8th grade trip that all the other kids will have) it will cost me $3,150. THIS IS MORE THAN MY TRIP TO BULGARIA!

Somehow...some way..this is wrong.

I understand that sending a caregiver means an extra seat on the plane, an extra seat on the bus, extra meals, hotel accommodations, and all of those things. I understand that. Those things cost money.

I don't think it's up to the school to provide the funds. I think it's up to the Tour company to do it. When the woman from the company told me they'd had one student last year, and I explained to her why, she didn't get it.

So, I need to write an email, but I need help with it. When I write stuff like this, I have a tendency to get a bit sarcastic, and it comes through. (surprise? Probably not!) So you know who my audience is, the email will be CC'd to the tour company, contact person (the 8th grade lead teacher), building principal, and special ed. teacher.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, but no thanks

Sarah Palin proved my point! Last week, when she bowed to Rush Limbaugh, and said it's ok to use the word Retard in satire, I said, "She's going to be singing a different tune when it's her OWN kid being made fun of."

So, "The Family Guy" didn't use that word, but they certainly poked fun at her son Trig. And now, the words of her song have changed.

Funny how that happens.

I'm sorry Sarah, but for me, you weren't able to redeem yourself with this one. Your words from last week stung too much. Last week you weren't willing to stand up for the rest of us. No, you weren't willing to do that until it was YOUR kid being made fun of. You'll have to do and say a lot more for the rest of us before you'll earn my respect back.

Here's my question which has nothing to do with SP. The speech of the character that is supposed to have Down syndrome was very much...umm....I guess I want to use the word "authentic", like a person with DS did the voiceover. Who in their right mind would allow their child with DS to do that? Ok, so maybe it was an adult with DS who has made her own choice to do the job. Did she understand the joke? Did realize she was using her entire DS community as a punching bag? Or was it just another job and a paycheck, and it doesn't really matter?

The whole thing makes me angry.

People Magazine!

Reece's Rainbow founder Andrea Roberts will be featured in this week's People Magazine, in a section called "Heroes Among Us". The edition will be available Friday, February 19th. Reece's Rainbow is the parent organization of Connecting the Rainbow.

This is VERY exciting for us!

Really? NOT!

Honestly, these stories make me sick to my stomach. For real! I look at the pictures and my stomach churns. I'm sorry, but "men" don't have vaginas, nor do they have a uterus. They also don't need to have their breasts removed! Stop calling HER ...HIM!!!!!

I totally UNDERSTAND gender reassignment surgery. But either you want to be a man, or you don't. Make up your mind! So you've taken all the hormones so you can grow facial hair. You've had your breast tissue removed. Why do you still have a uterus? Why do you still have a vagina? I thought you were a "man"? Hmmmm a REAL MAN would have had the guts to get rid of all the parts he didn't need.

And don't come back with "I need then because I want to have a baby." See, God made it so that WOMEN needed uterus, and MEN need a penis. Did you skip that part? So you're somehow confused, weather it be psychologically or biologically, and you fix that problem with the reassignment process. But fix it ALL THE WAY!

Itouch Give Away!

Hurry! Zhora's time is running out. Please visit Renee's blog for details about the Itouch give away!

A popular word

Here's a video about one of the momst popular words in today's society. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/EndtheRword#p/a/u/2/LrhPw19Eh2o

My Valentine

It was almost 7 years ago. A first date of "just drinks" turned into hours of talking about everything under the sun. I'll never forget sitting next to you that first time, feeling like I was talking to my best friend. It was so comfortable. So easy. So right.

When it was time to say our goodbyes and I walked to my car, I passed a bike parked near the restaurant door. I noted all the chrome, and Screaming Eagle pipes. It looked like it fit you, and I hoped it was yours. If it was, it was one more point for you on my mental checklist.

A few days later you called, and asked if I wanted to get together again. We played lots of pool, and took a ride on that very same bike I'd seen that first night. I was comfortable riding with you, and it felt like we fit together on your bike, "just right". At one stoplight you reached back and gave my leg a biker hug, causing me to my heart to glow.

It wasn't long before I realized I had, indeed, met my best friend. Loving you came easy, being away from you was hard. Still, with all the mistakes I'd made in the past, I knew I needed the approval of my family before I could give my heart full reign. When there were no doubts in the minds of my parents (or brothers' and sister's!) there were no doubts in mine either. I allowed myself to say those words. I allowed myself to think of something beyond tomorrow.

You've loved me, and you've loved my children. You've been there for me in some rough times, and have been my rock when things just felt too overwhelming. You've shared my joys, my sorrows, and my indecisiveness, and my attempts to find myself as I hit the next phases of my life.

I love you more today than I did on our wedding day, and I have no doubt I will love you more tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day Sweets!

~Leah~

I Challenge You

This is a challenge for my blog subscribers and followers. There are 89 people subscribed to my blog, and 30 followers. Not sure how many are duplicates, so lets just make it an even 50, shall we?

So, I'm challenging 50 of you to give $10 to Connecting the Rainbow. That would be $500 used to purchase some of the supplies we need to bring along to Bulgaria.

What can $500 dollars do? It can support the families who have chosen to go against the norms in their culture, and raise their children with Down syndrome. It can give families the strength to take their child out in public places while old women chastise them, and children taunt them. It can give them the tools and some of the knowledge to help their children learn to walk, talk, and read, and be contributing members to society.

$500 can start change in their world. Are you up to the challenge?

Connecting the Rainbow is supported by Reece's Rainbow. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization

A little bit of Katchup

Ok, really I'm playing catch up, because I'm way behind! I have some long-overdue pictures and just some general updates.

Floor hockey is well underway for Angela, and she's loving it.

Messing with Angela while she's carrying a hockey stick probably isn't a very good idea, as has been discovered by a couple of her teammates. Leave it to my kid to be "the kid with a disability that is too difficult for the coaches of kids with disabilities to handle." Angela can no longer be at practice unless she has 1:1 supervision. ......sigh.....In their defense, there are only one coach for every 12 students. There is also lot of waiting around for players to get their turn, something that is very difficult for Angela. She is also one of the youngest player on the team, (they range from 7th - 12th grade) and she is BY FAR the smallest. I'm sure with some maturity, she'll do a little better every year. In Angela's defense, game nights make for a very long day for her! Its hard to see in this picture, but see the kid on the right? She's SOUND ASLEEP!

The GAMES, however, are a HOOT!!! I have lots of videos, but I need to put a soundtrack over them, because right now all you can hear is some highly competitive mother screaming, "Get the PUCK Angela! Run FAST! GET IT! Angela...LOOK ...AT... THE... PUCK!"

Yeah, I'll get right on that editing.

In other news, we're waiting to hear if Roman will be chosen for a commercial. Several of my friends' dogs have been used by a local company, as the facility I train for is well connected with a local animal talent agency. My dogs have been been asked to audition several times but have never made the cut. Anyway, they were looking for a "small, scruffy dog" able to do a specific task, which means I need Roman to learn a new skill between now and Tuesday, so...yeah....I'll get right on that too.

There's a little guy named Jaxson, and he's had a rough time in his short life. His mom started Blankie's for Babes, which is a wonderful ministry, giving kids with chronic illness a little hug from Jaxson that they can take with them to the hospital, or hold when times are tough. Jaxson sent Angela a lovely blanket, with stripes on one side, and soccer balls on the other. It arrive last week, right after one of her floor hockey games. She LOVES her blanket, and has been sleeping with it every night!

School is going well for me this semester! Although I'm taking more credits than last semster (I'm taking 12 right now) I have almost NO homework! My math class, the one I was most worried about, allows plenty of time to complete the work in class. I've gotten 100% on my first two tests! WOOT WOOT! My composition class...well...we've been in class for 5 full weeks now, and have done ONE paper. We go to class every day and and do next to nothing. It really feels like a waste of time and money. But hey, it's 3 easy credits I guess! We will be doing three other papers, plus a persuasive research paper, but based on how the class is currently run, those will all end up coming due in the last week of the semester or something!

Most of you have probably seen my post for the fundraiser for Connecting the Rainbow, which is being hosted by Beyond Play. We're SO EXCITED for our upcoming trip! Well, of course Shelley is picking up her new little guy to bring him home to his new family, but we'll also be meeting and working with the families in Bulgaria who have chosen to keep their children at home! This is HUGE for them! We're anxious to bring them the supplies and information they need to raise their children. And, just in case none of this sounds exciting enough, we're adding another leg to our trip, and will be spending a couple of days in Serbia for some meetings there.

Some of you were kind enough to vote for me in the Food Network's "Worst Cook" photo contest. Thank you so much for taking the time to pop over there! You'll be happy to know I won the voting portion of the contest. I'm not sure what comes next, so we'll just wait and see!

Well, I think that should have me about caught up now. I miss hanging out on my blog. I only get on facebook a few minutes each day. Hard to believe that come June, I'll be half way through school!

Connecting the Rainbow Fundraiser

February 9 - March 1st 2010

"Beyond Play" will donate 15% of all items purchased back to Connecting the Rainbow!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Connecting the Rainbow

Here's the new button for Connecting the Rainbow. Please copy it and post on your blogs, and help us help the families.




Grab This!

Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://www.connectingtherainbow.com/"><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/ConnectingTheRainbowLogo.gif" /><a href="http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/2010/02/connecting-rainbow.html">Grab This Button</a></a></center>

A little blip in the day

So this morning started out like any other morning. I got Angela up a little early so we could pick up Tyler at work. (22 miles away, he doesn't have a car.) I was going to drop Tyler off at home, then Angela at school since it was 15 minutes earlier than they're expecting her. (she starts school 90 minutes after the other kids.) But I realized I wasn't feeling quite right. Very tired and thought maybe I'd lay down and take a nap before I had to head to class. So I dropped her off, and Tyler and I headed for home.

We couldn't get the car up the driveway because of the snow last night. (those of you who've seen our nightmare driveway know what I'm talking about.) And, just as we came around the corner we met the snow plow, as he left a big pile of snow blocking the driveway. Grrrr... We parked the car on the street and walked up the very steep hill. Wow, was I ever tired! Not tired out of breath, but tired like I could curl up right there on the driveway and sleep.

Tyler had just worked a 13 hour overnight shift, so I asked him to start the snowblower for me so I could do the driveway. "Never mind, I'll do it." he said.

I went inside to pick up the kitchen quick. The cleaning person was coming sometime today and the sink was full of dishes.

As I stood at the sink, I realized I was out of breath. Wow..like...Wow, I'm REALLY out of breath....wow...I just...can't....seem to...catch...my breath.

That's when I realized my heart was going to jump out of my chest, it was beating so fast.

It's called Supraventricular Tachycardia, and it's pretty common in my family.

Awwww man! I haven't had this problem in 8 years. Crap. I checked my pulse....230...crap.....catch my breath....crap....

Go to google, "When to call the doctor...."

Got off the computer and called my sister, who had to have surgery to correct her tachycardia. "How fast ...did....your heart..... rate get?

"Why? Are you tachy? What are you at?"

....230...I think...it's faster...now.

"Ok, how long has it been."

"10..min..minutes..or so. I'm...gonna...call the doctor."

I called the doctors office, and started talking to the nurse, who quickly put me on hold so she could find the Triage nurse. She was on the phone in a few seconds.

"I...was....at 2....230...but...think it's faster now."

"I want you to count it out loud for me. If it's gone up, it's going to keep going up. If it's stabilzed at 230 it's going to stop soon."

I started to count, the beats, but they were too fast for me to count really.

"You're at 270-280. You need to hang up and call 911. NOW!"

It was getting harder to breathe, and I was starting to feel a little panicky. As I dialed 911 I thought of Tyler outside who had no idea what was going on in the kitchen.

The operator talked to me for a few minutes. Asked if I was alone while she dispatched the ambulance. She asked me where Tyler was, and said to have him put any pets away.

I opened the door to holler for Tyler, only I didn't have the breath to holler, and he couldn't hear me over the snowblower. My sister was calling on the other phone. The operator said the ambulance was almost here, so she was going to hang up. ( I was a little surprised by this!) But DO NOT move out of your chair. Just SIT THERE.

I hung up the phone, and looked at the 4 big dogs staring at me. I told them all to "go kennel", and they looked at me like I was nuts. Mom's sick, we're NOT MOVING! I went downstairs so the dogs would follow, and they all went into their kennels like the good dogs they area.

Getting up the stairs wasn't so easy. I got back to the kitchen, and I was getting sooooo dizzy. Tyler came to the front door to ask me something, and I was bent over a kitchen chair. I told him, "I just.... called... an ambulance...formyheart. Go watch for 'em."

The phone rang again, and it was my sister. "Are they there yet?"

I'd been like this for about 30 minutes at this point, and it was taking it's toll. "No...so dizzy....wow......can't...catch...my breath.....whew.....I...I hear the siren...."

From my chair in the kitchen I could see the ambulance at the end of the driveway.

And that's when it stopped.

Not my heart, but the tachycardia. That's the nature of Tachycardia. It's like someone has your heart on a light switch. Flip it on, and the heart goes from normal to racing. It doesn't "speed up" gradually, it's just suddenly FAST. And, it stops the same way. You go from tachy to normal as if someone turns the light switch off.

The paramedics came in the door. I was still VERY out of breath, but my heart wasn't going to crash through my chest anymore. It only took a second for them to get me on the monitor and the oxygen monitor. My heart rate, while down, was still at 120, (my normal resting heart rate is 64) and my sats were in the high 80's. My blood pressure 140/90 (normally I'm 90/70 or so.) I was still dizzy, and according to the paramedics I was quite pale. My heart had a normal sinus rhythm, it was just a very fast one. (in other words, no extra beats.)

They did a print out so I could see it. Asked me a gazillion questions, all the while it's getting a little easier to breathe.

After about 20 minutes, my heart rate was down to 99, and my blood pressure, while still a little elevated for me, was coming down to normal limits, and my sats were back to normal.

"You really need to go with us to the hospital"

Yeah, see, that's the problem with Tachycardia. If they don't catch you in the middle of an episode, there is no way to treat you or know what's going on. It took SEVERAL years for my sisters to be correctly diagnosed. Even wearing a holter monitor they weren't able to catch it, because she didn't have an episode that whole week. (but did have one like 2 days after the monitor came off!) When they did finally get hers diagnosed they realized she needed surgery to correct it.

So, I opted out of a ride in their very fun looking ambulance. Besides, I had a math test in 90 minutes. Can't miss that! LOL

They weren't very happy with me, but agreed, nothing can be done if I'm not tachy while being seen. They put me back on the monitor, and gave me another print out. It looked a lot different than the one when they first got there! I PROMISED to call if it started again, only this time I'd call RIGHT AWAY so hopefully we can get it on the monitor so we can see what's going on.

I wasn't feeling back to normal yet. Kinda shakey (from the adrenaline) and still slightly out of breath. They told me, "In an hour you're going to crash, and you'll want to sleep for several hours."

I did FEEL like crashing, but it was in the middle of my math test. All I really wanted to do was put my head down and close my eyes, instead of figuring out what to do with the fractions in front of me.

I came home and intended to sleep. I wanted to sleep. It just didn't happen.

I promised my mom (and my sister, and Dean, and whoever else happened to find out and call me today) that I would get into the doctor. I did call, and they were going to call me back with an appointment, but I missed the call. I'll call first thing Monday morning.

The annoying thing is, I could go another 10 years without a problem, or I could have another episode tonight.

I'm finally headed to be for the first time, 14 hours after the little blip in my day. I'm looking forward to the sleep!

In case you were wondering

A heart rate of 280, sustained more than 30 minutes feels a lot like sprinting while being chased by a hungry lion for 10 miles. Afterward you'll feel like the lion got you.

LOVE this video!

Here is Jamie Fox, and his sister Diondra Dixon on the red carpet. Did you know Diondra has Down syndrome? Diondra is a HOOT in this video!!!!