DVT & Taro Legs/Trunks

About a month ago I was due to go to a work conference interstate. The same day I got a call from my doctor. 

"You need to come urgently"
"Can it wait till I get back from my work trip?"
"No"

Okie dokie then. A day or so before I had done some blood tests and the results must've come in. So my Tarlini and I went in. We arrrived at about 1:30pm. I had to leave the doctors by 4pm to make my flight. 

So we get ushered to the doctor's office. One blood test called D-Dimer Innovance was slightly elevated and he was worried I may have something in my lungs and that I may also have DVT which meant there was no way I could fly. I was a little bit worried about not making the work conference but more worried because our family reunion was the following week... oh yeah and the whole dying thing blah blah blah. I needed an chest x-ray for the lungs and both my legs had to be scanned to check for DVT. 

Deep vein thrombosis

DVT is usually the formation of a thrombus in the deep veins of the leg, and may be referred to as proximal DVT or distalDVT. Occasionally, DVT also occurs in the veins of the upper extremities. DVT can occur spontaneously without known underlying cause (idiopathic thrombosis) or after provoking events, such as trauma, surgery or acute illness (provoked thrombosis).

Major veins of the lower extremity.
The most common type of venous thromboembolism isdeep vein thrombosis, which occurs most frequently in veins deep within the muscles of the leg and pelvis.

Major veins of the lower extremity

I was being extra nice to the receptionist and explained that I needed to be on a flight in 90 minutes. She was very helpful. I got into do the x-ray pretty quickly. She said put the robe thing on and stand by the machine for her. The robe thing was like a vest thing and there was a very minute chance that the bits that were supposed to meet together were going to do that. I laughed "These aren't made for polynesians are they?"  No response. Great, I've made the x-ray lady mad. I made her madder when I called her the x-ray lady because she spent many years to be a radiology technician. Whaaaaatevs! 

So that was done.. time for the leg scans. This poor little asian man ushers me in, introduces himself and tells me to take my jeans off and leave the undies on. I get on the bed and realise this poor guy has to handle my taro trunks. He sees my long undies and said I shouldn't leave the hot pants on. Aaaah buddy these are NOT hot pants..! (cue inside mormon joke).

So he starts the exam and pushes from the top of my leg right to my ankle. He uses the same scanner thing that I am familiar with for ultrasounds when I was pregnant.. but he doesn't warm up the gel or anything. Gosh - what happened to customer service! He pokes and prods to get the images he need. There are some moments where I have to clasp my hands together to fight my natural instinct to backhand him. He spends a lot of time in some areas and I ask if he can see something. He just says he's trying to see through the layers. Oh my gosh! He means layers of fat! dahahahahaha. I decide not to ask him any more questions and die a little inside as he starts on the other trunk. 

So at the end of the examination, he says I can get dressed now. I say "So it is a boy or a girl?" 

No response. Tough crowd! 

I got the all clear and made it to my conference! I made it to work - gave my results to my second opnion - aka Underwriters and it was all good. I admit when it was all happening it was a bit scary and I did a bit of pleading with the Lord and was blessed again. 

I was also reminded that you always got to find something to laugh about and grateful that no hair ever grows on my legs, so I didn't have to subject that poor man to that either! 

Hallelujah! dahahaha :) 

Conviction

conviction

kənˈvɪkʃ(ə)n/

noun

noun: conviction; plural noun: convictions

1. 1.   a firmly held belief or opinion.
2. "she takes pride in stating her political convictions"

   synonyms:

   belief, opinion, view, thought, persuasion, idea, position, stance; More

   • the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says.

     "she had been speaking for some five minutes with force and conviction"

     synonyms:

     certainty, certitude, assurance, confidence, sureness, positiveness; More

     antonyms:

     uncertainty, doubt

I've been thinking about this a lot of the past week or so. 

We have been preparing for our Ward Primary Presentation. Most commonly know in most pacific island communities as White Sunday, each year each LDS (Mormon) Ward or Branch has a sacrament programme where the Primary children do a presentation. As Primary is the area which I serve, it's been quite a journey for us all.  The Sharing Time Theme this year is 'I am a child of God'. It's a simple, but powerful theme that speaks to us about our divine nature, who we are and essentially our potential. 

"As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be."      Lorenzo Snow 

What does this have to do with conviction? I think if we were all truly convinced about that statement then the priorities in a lot of our homes would change. Our focus would change and though there would still be battles, we would have an increased, hope, faith, belief that there are lessons in every trial or triumph. We are a family - the kids fight, sometimes we miss do Family Home Evening or scripture study but the world doesn't fall apart. We just get up the next day and try again. Sometimes people are called to serve in areas of church because there's a lot they need to learn or be convinced of and I am most certainly one of those people.





Now the other reason I've been thinking about this word 'conviction' is that we've really started focusing on healthier living at home, work and play. It's may seem like it's been quite the eye-opener but really it's something I've known about for a while. There's a selection of statements you can pick in your self assessment that go something like a) I know i'm not eating right, but I don't want to change b) I'm happy with my eating habits c) I'm not happy and I need help to change. I selected c) because I do need to change, but if I was being totally honest I would've selected a).  When I think about it, there has always been this inner battle with myself about the whole food thing. I'm fine with the exercise. I will do an hour each morning every work day and that will be fine... and then I kill it with the food. 

Am I truly convinced I can do this? 

Again, if I was then my priorities would change and I would stop stop sabotaging my efforts with excuses etc. Truly believing in yourself is really 90% of the battle.

Our family scripture study tonight included this little gem: 

Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  

This one's easy - my family is my treasure. It's simple: I want to be with them forever. I want to be with them on this earth for as long as possible. This I know for sure! It's time to just get out of my own way and get on with it and walk the talk. And that's a lot of walking! 

Amen!  

 

Team Tapusoa Forever!

The family reunion has come and gone and it's taken me nearly a week to recover, but we did it! Yeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I must admit the lead up days before the reunion was very stressful, with some very last minutes spanners thrown in the works, but thankfully it all worked out. 




Our first stop was Aunty Lagi's house to all meet together and sort some last minute admin stuff out. I saw her and cried. I think it was just the relief of seeing her again. I lived in their home for almost a year and It was so good to see her again. I told the kids that if anyone had questions about their Gramps growing up, she was the best one to ask. I know the reunion meant a lot to her and as the matriarch of the family, it was good just to hug her again. 




We arrived at Motu Moana Camp and paid up the final bill. I have been emailing with the camp for the past 18 months, so when the bill was paid, I did a double pump fist and hugged Tony. Relieved as! It was great accommodation for the family and they recommended some really great activities. 

One of the best things was that it was catered and we didn't have to worry about the food. Loaves & Fishes were our caterers and they were awesome! No polynesian food, but there was plenty of it and the menu was delicious. The owner Helen was a delight to deal with and they were very helpful. No one was ever hungry, which is bonus points for any island family! 



We did many activities - one of the highlights being the abseling Saturday morning. Not everyone was brave enough to give it a go, but those that did were amazing! My Bourne cousins were so funny. None of the boys were going to have a go, but as soon as their sisters went up - the boys were up that wall so fast. 



The flying fox got a good work out as well. We had a carnival for the kids, talent night and on Sunday most of us went to church. Although not everyone goes to church regularly, most of us went to sacrament that day. Blockhouse Bay Ward got a bit of a shock I think, and the overflow had to be opened.  It was great to be at church together, even though some of us were struggling to keep our eyes open! Chelynne tapped me during closing prayer because she thought I was going to snore. Rude!! 

Family Home Evening was a night to be remembered. My Dad has nine siblings - 6 brothers and 3 sisters. In attendance were his two sisters Aunty Lagi & Aunty Amelia and one of his baby brother's Uncle Faatau. He is in the heavens with his parents and two baby brothers Uncle Auro & Uncle Finesi. Uncle Amani was unable travel. Our Aunties, my Mum and Uncle told us stories about when they grew up and how they met each other. It was so funny and a bit of an eye opener. I think some of us were a bit traumatised (esp the night clubbers dahaha), but it was great to hear their stories. I cried a fair bit that night hearing stories about my grandparents, Dad and his siblings. They were tears of joy because I know how blessed I am to be part of this family. 








It was good to be there to represent our Dad with my sisters and my mum. 









Monday was our time to say goodbyes and we had a bit of a paparazzi day. The first two are all of the cousins. Plenty of laughs. These are the cousins I grew up with and we visited each other often when we were growing up. We'll always keep in contact with each other, I'm sure. 

Cousins

This is a photo of the next generation - all our children. 

Next Generation

Saying goodbye sucked. My boy cousins openly cried and the kids didn't want it to end. It was so good being together again. It was disappointing that not everyone could make it, but I'm sure everyone will be there at the next one. 

Grateful there were only very few dramas, but nothing that didn't get smoothed over. So sorry to the Police Ten 7 producers - nothing to see here!  

Totally love my family and all the hard work truly paid off. 

Team Tapusoa Forever!