Happy Spooky Season! Today I’m sharing a Door Halloween Tag Tutorial over on my YouTube Channel. You can download the tag below if you’d like to make your own door tag. Please tag me if you use this tag, I’d love to see what you create!
I was diagnosed with a heart murmur when I was younger.
In the spring of 2004, I had a routine blood draw that went bad, they couldn’t get my blood, and had to call a backup person. They took off their gloves. I think that’s how I got infected.
In the days after the blood draw, My blood glucose levels skyrocketed, I couldn’t figure out why, and couldn’t get them to come down. Also during this time, our dog, PupPup, started sleeping under my side of the bed. She’d never done this before (and never did this again after I got better). We thought it was such a strange thing for her to do. She barely fit. She had to flatten herself out and crawl under. Only after the ordeal did we realize that she knew I was very sick and trying to protect me or warn me somehow.
I remember starting to get fevers. Starting not to feel well, but it wasn’t a cold or flu. I was working from home, on a call with my boss when I told her I had to go to the ER because I was about to pass out.
Two weeks after the blood draw, I ended up in the hospital ER. It took them a while to figure out what was wrong. I was finally diagnosed with endocarditis. I had a clump of bacteria on my mitral valve. I was in and out of the hospital for two months. At one point I felt nearer to death than I’ve ever felt before or since. I remember two girls walking by in the hall. They were dressed in cute clothes, and I thought about how I don’t care about that anymore. I’m dying, I don’t belong here anymore. I had “the talk” with Kevin. Told him it was OK to move on after I died. As my medical power of attorney, he overrode my decision not to get a blood transfusion. They gave me two bags of blood that night. I watched as it dripped into my veins, giving me life.
Another low point was when I was told I’d had a stroke from a piece of the bacteria breaking off and going to my brain. I didn’t seem to have any side effects from it, which is good, but when they told me, I just broke down into tears. I sunk into emotional despair.
I went for test after test as they tried to understand how I’d gotten infected. They never found an answer.
It only took a few weeks of heavy antibiotics to eradicate the endocarditis and I was sent home, but my body did not react well to such a heavy dose of medication. I was swollen and broke out into hives all over my body, then my skin started to peel. My kidneys started to shut down. I had to go back. Back into that place where I was poked and prodded, and didn’t even feel like a person at all.
One night I had three nurses come into my room in the middle of the night, strip me down, and check me all over for bed sores.
I had a cardiologist come in the room and tell me I wasn’t taking this seriously, and I was close to death.
I would cry when someone wearing blue scrubs came into my room. It meant they were there to poke me and take vials of blood. It hurt so bad, especially when they couldn’t find the vein and had to poke me multiple times, digging around in my arm.
They decided to give me a PICC line. This is a catheter inserted into a large vein that carries medicine directly to your heart. It can also be used to draw blood. To get the line placed right, it had to be done with ultrasound. They wheeled my hospital bed out of the room to get the procedure. They left me all alone in a dark hallway. I knew I was lost. I learned later that Kevin was fighting with a nurse who told him to “calm down, Sir” because they didn’t know where I was! Eventually, the tech inserting my PICC line came to get me from the hall and wheel me into the procedure room.
I got a staff infection from the PICC line. It meant more antibiotics and inserting a new PICC line.
This cycle of getting better and going home from the hospital only to have my body swell up, break out in hives, and have my skin peel off happened several times. I always had to go back. I hated it. I hated that I was young, and in the hospital. I hated my body for not being “normal”. I hated that I was putting Kevin through this.
After finally getting out of the hospital, I had to continue IV treatment at home for a while. I had home healthcare nurses come by the house to flush out my PICC line and change the dressing. One of the nurses refused to treat me. She said I was too sick to be at home and needed to be in the hospital. I was told I had to have someone with me at all times, or I would have to go back in. I had friends and family come and stay with me for a week at a time; Kevin’s dad, my mom, my best friend Melissa.
My body was so thin. My hair started falling out in clumps! I had significant damage to my Mitral valve. I was told that I’d probably need the heart valve replaced within 10 years. I had to get annual echocardiograms to check how it was functioning.
Life returned to normal. I was getting my annual echocardiograms, and everything was fine.
Fast forward to 2017. I was working out with a trainer at the gym. She kept pushing me, and I kept telling her that I couldn’t do it, I was going to pass out. She just thought I was out of shape. I had several sessions like this.
In December 2017 I had my annual visit to the cardiologist, Jody. I told her about my experience at the gym. She told me this was a red flag and immediately scheduled me for some tests.
In January 2018, I had a stress test (Jan 2nd), then a coronary angiogram (Jan 16th) then a TEE (Transesophageal Echocardiogram). The TEE was horrible. My blood pressure was too low for them to sedate me, so they had to do it while I was fully awake. It felt like I was being choked and I followed my natural instinct which was to yank the tube out of my throat. After I did that, they held down my arms and started again – me gagging and choking the whole time.
On February 2nd I had a follow up appointment with my cardiologist. Kevin was with me. We learned that I’d have to have open heart surgery to repair or replace the valve. Jody explained the procedure and the healing process. It was surreal and scary. I broke down into tears. So did Jody!
On February 7th I met Dr. Fang to discuss the surgery and schedule my appointment. He quickly went over the procedure and looked at his calendar. He was on Spring Break with his kids the week of the 19th, but he’d be back at work on Monday and could schedule it then. March 26th. A day that would forever change my life, but just another Monday for him.
He told me he’d try to do a repair if at all possible, but if not, I’d need a valve replacement. I had to choose between a mechanical valve or a bio valve right there on the spot. It was a life altering decision, and with only minimal information I had to make a choice. It was the kind of thing that I’d normally spend weeks agonizing over before deciding. I chose a mechanical valve. It was what he recommended for my situation. So that was it, and we left the office.
I spent the next six weeks preparing for the surgery. Mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I needed to know everything I could about the surgery. What exactly would they be doing? How long would I be on a bypass machine, and how did a bypass machine work anyway? What was the healing process like? I looked up videos on YouTube, and followed along with other people on this same journey.
I desperately wanted to have a repair and not a replacement. I wanted to finally have something work out for me the way I wanted. The way that would allow me to put this in the rear view mirror, and not have to deal with it all the time. I’d learned in my research that a mechanical valve was loud, you could hear it clicking, other people could hear it clicking! I learned that it required daily medication and monitoring to make sure blood clots do not form on the valve.
So I prayed, A LOT. I prayed that I would live, and that the surgeon would be able to do a repair. My family and friends prayed for this too. I got a blessing as well.
Jody is the best doctor. She told us that she would have her husband, who is chief of staff at the hospital, do the anesthesiology for my procedure. I guess they were talking about it over dinner one night and he told her he was too busy to do it. She said she got so upset that she got up and went to the bathroom crying. After that he agreed to do it!
Before the procedure, Dr Fang (my surgeon) and Dr Echkardt (my anesthesiologist) came by to ask about antibiotics. They saw that I had listed Vancomycin as an allergy, and they wanted to know more, because it was the best medicine to use for the procedure. I told them about my hives and skin peeling. They convinced me it was from something called “Red Man Syndrome”. They said it happens when the antibiotics are given at too fast a rate. They said they would give it to me at a very slow rate and discontinue if they saw any adverse effects. So I agreed.
When it was time for my surgery, I was very calm. I knew I would have angels watching over my surgery. I felt I would be okay, but I was also reconciled to the fact that I might not survive the procedure. They gave me something in my IV. I said goodbye to Kevin and they started wheeling me down the hall. That’s the last thing I remember until after the surgery.
Coming to in the recovery room, I heard Kevin and my parents enter the room. They didn’t know I could hear them. I wasn’t able to open my eyes or move. I had a breathing tube in my mouth. I wanted Kevin to know I was okay. I tried to give him a thumbs up, but my hand just sort of flopped around.
The timeline over the next few days is blurry. I remember the breathing tube. It was there when I woke up. Jody had warned me it would be, and I should remain calm. The calmer I was, the faster they could take it out. Apparently I was very calm because they were so excited about how fast they were able to remove it.
I remember them removing a tube or a wire from my neck. They couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. They had to call in a trauma doctor. She said she was going to have to stitch it up without numbing it. So I got two stitches in my neck, and I felt the needle going in, the tugging when she tightened the stitches. I still have a bumpy scar there on my neck. I was unnaturally calm throughout the whole process. I must have been on some good drugs.
At some point Kevin told me that Dr. Fang had done a valve replacement instead of a repair. I was so angry. Angry at Dr. Fang, but mostly angry at God for not giving me the one thing that I’d sincerely asked and prayed for over and over. I felt abandoned by God. Dr. Fang later told me that my valve was the most damaged he’d seen. He said he didn’t have time to repair it or I’d be on the bypass machine too long, so he had to make the call in that moment. I’m sure it was the best decision in the long run, but I’m still very disappointed that it turned out that way.
That night in the ICU I started to feel like I was burning from the inside out. Every time the nurse would flush my IV, I would scream from the pain. All I wanted was water to quench the burning. When I got to sip water, I remember it was the best water I’ve ever had in my life and I wanted more. I kept asking for it, but I was only allowed a few sips every so often because they were afraid I’d throw up.
I don’t remember when it started to show up, but eventually I started to swell up and get hives and rashes from the antibiotics. Another severe allergic reaction. Months later I showed some pictures to a CVS nurse and she said I had “Steven-Johnson Syndrome “ which is a life threatening reaction to medication.
My blood sugars were extremely high. They wouldn’t let me use my insulin pump. The endocrinologist decided not to give me insulin to cover my food – only to make corrections when it went high. That was a ridiculous decision. I was tired of feeling horrible from high blood sugar, so one night I just hooked up my insulin pump and managed my insulin myself. When the doctor found out he said that we hurt is feelings by doing this. Wow!
The days continued to get blurrier as the week went on. They had me on some opioids and they built up in my system. I was having hallucinations. One night I was so confused I knew I couldn’t tell the difference between what was real and what Wasn’t. I called Kevin and he came back to the hospital to calm me down.
They sent me home on April 1st – Easter Sunday. I was so happy to get out of there. I was still having hallucinations. For a minute I could only see in black and white! I got off the drugs as soon as possible. Within a few days I was just taking Tylenol for the pain.
It was a very slow healing process. I was off work for eight weeks, but I could have used twelve.
We had gotten a shower chair and a long nozzle for the shower. I definitely screamed in pain during my first few showers. Kevin had to wash and rinse me. It was humiliating. I didn’t want Kevin to see me so helpless.
I went to a dermatologist about the skin rashes and peeling. I felt like such a freak in the waiting room. I felt inhuman because my face was swollen, covered in rashes, and peeling. They gave me a topical steroid.
My incision was not healing well, part of it had come open and was infected. Bloodwork showed I had a high white blood cell count. Kevin sent a picture to Dr. Fang. He freaked out and sent me to the ER. They had to do a PET scan to see how deep the infection was. Luckily it was only surface deep. The high white blood cell count was related to the steroid I’d been using on my face. They sent me home with a prescription. My health insurance would not cover the $3,000 prescription. My insurance wanted me to go back to the hospital, be admitted, and have the hospital administer the drug. The pharmacist called them and said they were being unreasonable as it would cost them so much more for an inpatient stay than to just pay for the medication. They still refused. We found a GoodRx coupon and a pharmacy that accepted the coupon and had the medicine in stock. It was a miracle when the coupon actually worked and we got the medicine for only $75.00!
Three months after the surgery my hair started falling out in clumps again. I wanted to shave it bald, but decided just to cut it shorter.
I still have sporadic nerve issues and migraines that I didn’t have before the surgery.
I had to build up strength and stamina again. At first I couldn’t walk to the fridge without getting winded, then it was difficult to walk to the mailbox. I couldn’t get into bed without a stepping stool. I couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep, because every position hurt.
The incision finally closed. The bones have healed and I’m able to run again. I’m able to work out again. My hair has grown back in, and I’ve adjusted to the clicking sound in my chest. Each click a reminder that I’m still here. I have the scar on my neck, a 6 inch incision scar, which has keloid so it still looks red and bumpy, and a couple of scars from the tubes in my chest. These are my battle wounds. Proof that I’m a survivor.
It was healing to write out my story and put it together with photos and ephemera from the ordeal. You can check out the album flip through video below:
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m so inspired by travel albums lately – so why not start another one? This time I’m putting together a 12×12 album of our trip to Europe in 2017. We flew to Venice, Italy and stayed there for a few days before boarding a cruise ship and sailing to Croatia, Malta, Spain, and several cities in Italy.
I’ve had so much fun already going through my photos – I had so many photos it took me hours and hours to figure out which ones to print. There were so many, I decided to send them out to have them printed rather than printing at home.
Here’s a video walkthrough of unboxing my photos from Persnickety Prints, and looking through the ephemera and other items I have to work with for this album:
Be back soon with more progress.
~Tonya
I’ve been really inspired lately to work on my travel albums. Maybe because I haven’t been able to travel anywhere for a while (hello, pandemic!). Looking back through my photos and ephemera takes me back to those places and relive those memories.
I started with my Ali Edwards Story Camp album. It was the last trip I went on back in January 2020. The event was held in Eugene Oregon.
My first step was to look at all of my photos and pull out my ephemera and see what I was working with. Based on the length of the trip, and the “stuff” I had collected from the trip, I decided to go with a Travelers Notebook sized album from Citrus Twist Kits. I also used the Ali Edwards 2020 Travel collection (both the physical and digital kits) and add-ons.
Next step was printing out all of my photos and coming up with a formula for my album. Using one kit and a basic layout formula for the album helped me to complete the album quickly because I had less choice.
After the photos were in the album I added my ephemera and then added all of my journaling.
Final steps were to add the embellishments. I had some fun playing with my gelli plate to create the intro page for each day.
I love how this album turned out, and so happy to have all these memories documented.
See this album come together from start to finish in my process video:
Here’s a look at the completed album:
~Tonya
I’ve found the systems that work for me! Dare I say that I’ve reached planner peace?
Here’s a look at the planners and notebooks I’m using in 2021:
Personal Planner – I’m sticking with my personal size ringed planner (I’m currently using a Gillio Firenze Medium Compagna in the color Croco Eye Purple). You can check out my setup video HERE, and learn about my archiving system HERE.
Work Planner – I’m going to continue using a half letter size disc bound planner. I’ve been using this system for two years!
It’s a pretty simple setup. I use 3/4 inch discs and make my own cover and page finders. Here are my sections:
Work Notebooks – I’ll keep my current system for 2021. I use an A5 size spiral notebook for all of my meeting notes and scribbles. I’m usually talking and sharing my screen in meetings, so I find it easier to write notes than type them up while on a call. I also use OneNote for meeting notes. Anything in my paper notes that I need to reference later will get duplicated in OneNote. I will retype them, which helps reorganize and clarify notes, and then I can share them out to meetings participants.
I use an A6 spiral notebook to write out the specific tasks I want to focus on for the day. I use Outlook tasks to manage my full task list. I use Michael Linenberger’s Manage Your Workday Now (MYN) System. I love this system, it’s really helped me stay on top of my ever growing task list at work. I’ve been using it for at least 5 years.
Diaries and Journals – 2021 will be my twelfth year writing in a daily diary! I’m using a Levenger 5 year journal.
I have quite the collection of Moleskine notebooks. I like to collect the limited edition notebooks. Right now I’m using a Large hard cover ruled notebook in navy blue. It has the words ‘Dolce Vita’ on the front cover. I had it engraved at the Moleskine store when I was in Florence, Italy. It means Sweet Life. I mostly use this for my deep thinking and journaling. Sometimes I add quotes. I’m on journal #29.
This year I really wanted to get back to travelers notebooks (TNs), I was miss using them so much. I decided a TN would be the perfect place to write out my weekly review. I was previously doing this in my journal, but thought it would be nice to have them all together. So far I’m loving it.
What are your planner plans for 2021?
I started using a ringed planner in 2012 and had to quickly devise a strategy for keeping all of those loose papers organized. I came up with this method for storing and archiving information from my planner, which is based on the Franklin Covey system. I create an archive book and I index the information in Evernote so that I’m easy able to retrieve information from all of my devices.
I’m sure some people are wondering why I bother keeping old planner inserts at all. Here’s why?
Each year I create a new book around October or November for the upcoming year. I cut some scrapbook paper for the front and back cover (to the size of a my planner inserts). I also create dividers with top tabs that match the sections of my planner, using scrapbook paper as well. I punch holes and laminate the cover pages and the dividers and use binder rings to hold them together. [TIP: Punch out the cardstock pages before you laminate them, and then use a Power Punch to easily punch through the covers and dividers again after they’re laminated] I start out using small binder rings, and switch them out for bigger rings as needed when I get more inserts into the archive book.
After the covers and dividers are created, I start putting in my inserts for the upcoming year. Each month, I rotate upcoming pages into my planner, and the older pages Ito my archive book. [TIP: Do not have loose planner pages laying around, put them into rings immediately so nothing gets lost]
What I love most about my archive method is the indexing system. I have an index on my monthly pages that gets filled out at the end of the month (usually it’s more like the end of the quarter, let’s be honest!). I get asked a lot about what kinds of information I put on the index. It’s basically anything you think that you’ll want to refer back to later. As you do this year after year, you’ll get better at knowing what types of information you go back and review. Here’s what I do: I go through all of the planner pages for that month (including monthly, weekly, daily pages, and my notes pages), I go through my journal and diary as well to make sure I capture everything. I look for the following types of info, and will note it on my index:
After I gather all of the information and write it in my index, I add it into Evernote. I have a new note for each year that I title with the year number and ‘Important Dates’ and star it as a favorite note. Then I just list out the date(s) and the note from the index (e.g. 1/3/2020 – LASIK eye surgery in both eyes, Dr. name @ location) [TIP: If I you also have scanned papers or other related notes in Evernote, hyperlink your Index item to that note, so you can just click on it and get to the other info.] Evernote Premium will also search text in photos and scanned images, so you could just take a photo of your index page if you want instead of typing it all out. I prefer to type it out because it’s cleaner and easier to read.
I keep all of my archive books in baskets on a shelf in my office. They’re in chronological order, he oldest ones in the back, the newest ones in the front.
I also have a video where I walk through the process and show examples of my index pages.
If you try out this system, please tag me @PrettyLittlePocket on Instagram, I’d love to see your photos!
You can see all of my planner archive photos on Instagram by searching the hashtag #PLPPlannerArchive.
Let me know in the comments below if you have more questions.
As I’m starting to think about the creative projects I want to work on next year, I can’t help but reflect on Project Life and how much it really does enrich my life, and that’s why I’m going to continue doing this project. Here are the reasons I love Project Life:
I love that it captures my life in a realistic way. Documenting weekly allows me to capture not only the big moments, but the small moments of everyday life; the really happy moments, the challenging times, and everything in between.
I love that it gives me a place to tell my stories in a visual and creative way – an art journal of sorts. It houses my words, photos, and ephemera all together in one book, giving richer context to the story than a photo album or writing journal alone.
I love that it helps me to remember my life. To reflect on and relive moments. To see my progress over time. To see story threads weave in and out of my life at different times.
I love that it gives me things to look forward to, because I like to plan fun things to do “for the book” and be on the lookout for things to put “in the book”. I’ll even step outside my comfort zone and try new things “for the book”. It’s all about “the book!
I love that it can be a place to capture other people’s words and photos too. I like to include notes, cards, text messages, Social media posts and the like from my family and friends. I especially love to include their handwriting or drawings.
I also love the community of like minded storytellers out there. I’ve gotten to meet a few of them in real life over the last year or so. They just get me!
Last, but certainly not least, I love the products! I love buying them and figuring out creative ways to use them in “the book”.
I love decorating for Halloween. Here are a few of my favorite decor items this year.
~ Tonya
I’ve had so much fun over the past few weeks putting together some foundation pages for my October Daily album. These pages give me a place to start so I’m not staring at a blank page on October first and wondering where to begin.
This year I’m creating a 4×4 inch mini album. I just loved this size last year. It ends up being the perfect chunky little album to hold in your hands and flip through.
I like lots of variety of sizes and textures in my albums. I create pages inside and outside the page protectors, I do a lot of messy stitching to give texture, and I love creating pockets because they have lots of tuck spots.
Check out my video below for more fun page ideas!
~ Tonya
I can’t believe it’s time to start thinking about Halloween and October Daily again!
This week I started prepping for October Daily by going through all of my Halloween supplies, and setting up my craft station.
I’ve also been purchasing new Halloween goodies, even though I have more supplies than one girl needs, I find it gets me excited about the project and brings out my creativity.
This month I’m going to focus on putting together some foundation pages. I like to make my really crafty pages ahead of time when I’m not burnt out on the project. Then I can just fill in the details when I get to that day.
I’ll be using a 4×4 album again. I loved this size last year!
I’ve also started thinking about different things I want to document. It’s going to be strange this year because of the pandemic, so I’m brainstorming ways I can make this season special, in spite of the circumstances.
Below I’m sharing a video walk through of my October Daily kit.
October Daily Prep Tips:
~ Tonya
Pretty Little Pocket 
