Daily Life | Erika Gebhardt

Life Gets Fortuitous #allinthetiming

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Erika

Or is life simply fortuitous? Maybe I mean, things come to fruition. (Both are words/phrases that I stumble over because of the whole FRUIT thing.)

So, last episode ended with our heroine (me!) writing about taking a CNA course and finding work as a certified nurse’s aide or nursing assistant. But! Then! I went to the community college to get the results of my math placement. There I discovered classes had just started the day before. And having already been through university, I knew it would be easy to start on day two, after adding a class or two–

And thus, I re-started my higher education.

To quote an amazing movie, “Let me sum up.” (Also, “Unemployed in Greenland?!?!?!”) The Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) program only accepts students once a year. I thought I’d apply to start in two years. But because I could start classes, like, yesterday, instead of in the fall, that gave me an extra semester to take classes before I apply. Which means I can apply to start in the ADN program next fall, a year before I planned.

I can’t take actual nursing classes until I’m accepted into the program; however I can take the general education classes that ADN students are required to take. Further, this means that I can take one or two classes right now, attending part-time, and by the time I’m in the nursing program I’ll have all my general education requirements done (thanks also to the classes from my undergraduate degree that transferred as general education classes).

Now you maybe wondering three things:

What about being a CNA?
The ADN program requires a CNA, so I will have to take a CNA class, pass it and also pass the state CNA exam. But for right now I’m taking this opportunity to focus on long term goals, so I’m pursuing the nursing program, rather than one CNA class.

How will you pay for it?
Le sigh. The upside is, community college isn’t very expensive; the downside is, anything beyond $5 is very expensive right now. Also, while going only part-time, I don’t qualify for financial aid. So, I’m selling everything I can and using a credit card. Don’t tell Dave Ramsey.

What about child care while you’re in class?
Luckily I’m only going part time. Also, one of my two classes this semester is online, so the only child care I need for that is Netflix. But I have worked out trading childcare with my new friend Jackie, and if that doesn’t work for some reason, I can use a drop-in daycare near the school (one that women I met at book club use and like). I’m hoping I can take as many evening classes as possible starting in the fall.

Pic from my FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: adn, friends, Luck, Nurse, nursingn, timing | 2 Comments »

Becoming a nurse

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Erika

Here’s something you probably don’t know about me: after I graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I planned to re-enroll in another school to get my associate’s degree in nursing and become a RN.

Instead, I got pregnant with Animal and Mineral.

Mineral making taco meat.

Then, I planned to stay home until they were in preschool, then go to school for my ADN at that time, since I was a single mom who needed to support all of us.

Instead, I met My Chemical Romance and he supported us while I took on the more traditional role of homemaker — and had more babies.

Later I became a birth doula, which I loved, and after that I apprenticed with a midwife. However, finding a balance between my family and doing birth work was nearly impossible. I felt miserable after a while. Birth work is mostly on-call, middle-of-the-night stuff, and then there’s the come-down after a rough birth, or the high after a great one — there’s nearly always birth hangover. It’s really difficult to be an effective wife and mom, a birth worker and in school for birth work simultaneously.

Meanwhile, as a mom, I wiped butts, changed diapers, cleaned wounds — and I have always loved “gross stuff,” especially blood and fluids. I think our bodies are amazing, all the shit they produce (literally)!

Someone needed stitches recently, while I was on vacation.

Nursing has stayed in the back of my mind since 2001. I don’t want to say, oh, I just want to help sick people. Instead, I’ll put it like this: there are people who need help doing basic health care stuff, and I want to be someone who can provide health care.

Right now, the only room for nursing that I have in my life is to become a CNA, a certified nursing assistant. I will learn to do very basic health care tasks, things that a RN might not have time to do because she’s administering meds and checking labs and taking vitals. Getting an ADN will take about two years, full-time, which I can’t commit to at this time in my life. But I can commit to a CNA class at the local community college, in which I’ll learn specific tasks, and then take an exam at the end of the semester. When I pass, I’ll be able to get work as a CNA, either in a hospital or privately.

So that is my current plan. I start my CNA class in August.

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: adn, cna, Nurse, nursing school, rn | 3 Comments »

Benefits of Country Living #countryliving

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Erika

1. No line at the DMV. I took the kids there because it was on the way home from somewhere and I was done in 10 minutes, including the 3-min stop in the bathroom to pee and then put on lipstick.

2. People are, in general, really nice. A lady behind me in line at Kohl’s gave me a 30% off coupon. Dude. Those are sacred!

3. Parking is free. Clearly I’m a jaded city-dweller, because that pleases me endlessly.

4. I don’t have to use google maps very much. There is one route from my house to go south, and another to go north. Both routes include driving past multiple horse farms and over train tracks. There are no streetlights and it’s dark at night! There’s also another route to Harris Teeter, my home away from home.

5. Finding a part time job shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, the pool of applicants is pretty limited, and thankfully I have some customer service experience.

*** In San Diego, at the DMV, you make an appointment. Then you show up on time and wait. ***

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: country, country living, small town | Leave a Comment »

What we did all week

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Erika

It’s spring in North Carolina! Suddenly it’s 80*. We went to the park

I got a pic of all five kids (in chronological order, no less!)

We went to free cone day at Ben and Jerry’s.

My friend Lady Beaver came to Raleigh, and we took all the kids to Marbles

Also to the history museum *** this was totally legal, based on the sign***

Everyone was killed by a cannon

But back to the giant canoe

Then my friend’s daughter met Splash and Summer

The day was awesome til Cousin It decided to wash her hair while I was in the bathroom

Screaming ensued, ending our day like many.

Thursday I ignored all things Paleo so we could celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day with this recipe for Sage Fontina Grilled Cheese.

This weekend we’re packing!

Filed under: Daily Life, family, friends | Tagged: Ben and Jerry's, family, free cone day | 4 Comments »

The #Kidney that Keeps on Giving #kidneystone

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Erika

I’m sorry I’m so boring, y’all. Lately it’s all kidney/moving/mom has breast cancer/repeat. It goes like this:

I have blockage of unknown origin in my right kidney.

We’re moving to the country.

My mom is doing well, healing from breast cancer.

Today is ALL ABOUT MY KIDNEY SURGERIES
Subtitle: In which I detail my entire ordeal like an old lady trawling for attention. Feel free to skip this section.

1. (11mm stone) Stent without string, to allow urine to pass and hopefully move stone down through ureters to bladder.

2. Electroshock wave lithotripsy. On a mobile electroshock wave lithotripsy truck (only in the South, y’all).

3. Laser lithotripsy and ureteroscope, plus stent with string.

4. Ureteroscope plus stent with string.

And in between I’ve had several MRI, X-rays and ultrasound. And the stents removed — before they inevitably get placed again.

My mom (did I mention she’s healing well from breast cancer? She is!) thinks the kidney doctor sucks. My friend Stitches, who is a RN, agrees — he’s being very surgery-oriented and only treating the symptoms, rather than determining why I have a (recurring? Idiopathic?) kidney blockage.

I agree that he treats only the symptoms — but every time he goes inside my ureters and bladder and kidney, he scopes it to look around. He gets X-rays and ultrasound. And the symptoms are the most pressing issue — until I’m pain-free and can pee freely, I can’t be tested for any of the (myriad) causes.

Here’s what I’ve learned

1. Stents are an amazing tool. You can’t pee, and you get a stent and VOILA, YOU CAN PEE (which helps because they pump you full of fluids while you’re getting the stent).

2. If you can choose, get the stent with the string. Yes, I’m kind of a walking disaster (which is why my first stent was string-free; kidney doc was concerned I’d inadvertently pull it out while on vacation. Miss Manners said, “If anyone could have a stent-related accident while traveling to visit their breast cancer-stricken mother, it would be you,” to which I replied, Touché!) Removal is easier that way.

3. Drink water. Lots and lots of water!

She still nurses, by the way. Honey Badger Don’t Care that mom’s kidney hurts.

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: Kidney, kidney stone, stent | Leave a Comment »

Nancy Wilson, Still in Heaven @a2vineyard #nancywilson

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Erika

Recently I received emails from friends and family members of Nancy Wilson, who I detailed in a blog six months ago, after she died: Nancy Wilson is in Heaven.

I still think of Nancy often; I also think of her husband and her children — the ones I knew personally and the ones I didn’t.

The messages I received reminded me that Nancy had more than her husband and children; she had siblings and family and friends.

And I thought, DUH.

Nancy Wilson had such a capacity for love, that OF COURSE she was surrounded by family and friends — and long-lost friends, and acquaintances, and friends-of-friends, and probably even perfect strangers — who loved her.

I don’t want to memorialize her as perfect, because I’m sure she was as flawed as any human being.

But.

But!

When I think of Nancy, I remember LOVE shined through her: love for every human being she came into contact with (and probably many she didn’t).

Selfishly, the love I appreciated the most was her heart for single moms, because at the time I was a single mom. Being a mom is tough. Single moms carry an especially heavy weight. But, thanks to Nancy’s Single Mom’s Ministry, once a month we single moms were relieved of our duties. Nancy and her team of volunteers would pick up those hardships and just let us celebrate our glorious selves.

That was such a gift. Because of Nancy, I felt VALUABLE. I felt loved. It made a difference in my heart.

Nancy Wilson made a difference in my heart.

Filed under: Daily Life, friends | Tagged: love, mission, mothering, nancy Wilson, single moms | Leave a Comment »

I surprised my mom with a visit! #breastcancer #doublemastectomy

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Erika

Rumor has it that I suck at keeping secrets. The thing is, I can keep secrets, I just can’t prove that I can keep secrets because that would involve divulging secrets!

To wit: I secretly planned a trip to visit my mom after her double mastectomy. When I showed up at her house last Wednesday night, I nearly gave her a heart attack, she was so shocked!

(Note: maybe next time, not quite such a surprise for a woman who’d just had a double mastectomy?)

I felt nervous about Cousin It — she’s still nursing (of course) and she’s still pretty attached. But! Oliver Stone helped. You see, when Oliver struck, I was away from Cousin It for 24 hours in the hospital and I was in so much pain I just didn’t give a shit that I was away from her. So I really wasn’t too worried.

We face-timed

Meanwhile, my mom and I had so much fun! I took her out of the house for the first time since her surgery (other than doc appointments), I helped her take baths (she has drains), and we went to the beach (my mom NEVER goes to the beach)!

Also, we met Helio Castroneves

My mom and Helio

I totally played the, “Hey, my mom has breast cancer, would you mind taking a picture?” card, but I don’t think I needed to — he was so obliging and nice!

On the beach after a doctor appointment

My mom also made the ultimate sacrifice: She took me bra shopping. 10 days after she had a double mastectomy. She tried to give me her old bras, but they were too big. So I’m the proud owner of two new bras.

And she gave My Chemical Romance a really generous gift card as a THANK YOU for taking time off work to stay home with the kids. He was all, “Psht, it’s my job!” but I know he really appreciated it.

Also, I cooked like a mad woman while I was there. It was nice to cook for people who appreciate my mad culinary skillz. (No, I didn’t miss my kids at all in that respect!)

It’s been four years since I took a “vacation” on my own without kids, and I’m not sure I’ll get another chance again for four or five years, but visiting my mom will sustain me with great memories of fun! And sleep! And swimming with Ducky!

Ducky the Duck

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: Breast cancer, double mastectomy, secret trip, vacation | 2 Comments »

Meet Oliver Stone the Kidney Stone #kidneystone

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Erika

Monday I was doing my usual post-weekend-cleanup, cooking shepherd’s pie, and trying not to lose my mind via my children when suddenly

PAIN. STABBING PAIN. STABBING PAIN IN MY LOWER RIGHT ABDOMEN. STABBING PAIN IN MY LOWER RIGHT ABDOMEN THAT RADIATED TO MY BACK.

It just came out of NOWHERE, and suddenly it was just THERE and NOTHING WOULD STOP IT and it was HORRIBLE!

I wanted to jump in my car and drive straight to the ER, because I thought I had appendicitis. I called My Chemical Romance to tell him, but he suggested I call my regular doctor first. Luckily I could be seen within an hour.

My Facebook crowdsourcing for a diagnosis responses were: kidney stone, ovarian cyst, appendicitis and — from my friend who is a veterinarian – PROBABLY JUST GAS.

And yes, I am sometimes prone to hyperbole, so a small part of me thought, well maybe it really is just gas and I’m a wimp.

Yeah, I looked just like that (Flickr: tipstimes)

Based on my pain symptoms and the blood in my urine, my doctor diagnosed a kidney stone. He called ahead to the ER to let them know I was coming.Then he gave me a shot of a non-narcotic painkiller to “take the edge off” because the ER had a two-hour wait. (!!!!)

Damn you, liberals! Or conservatives! Or whoever is to blame for the fact that half of Wake County was at the ER with me!

Once I was finally admitted, I got lots of drugs. And STILL IT HURT. I was so stoned on medication that my eyes were swimming — and yet my abdomen and back were still hurting! One CAT scan later, the doctor learned I was the proud owner of an 11mm kidney stone. I crowdsourced for a name, and chose Oliver Stone (Olly).

Olly is about the size of the biggest stone (Flickr: e_pics)

Because Olly is so huge and my pain wasn’t controllable, I was admitted by urology and given a Dilaudid PCA, which I could push every 8 minutes for a dose.

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE.

Unfortunately the pain and nausea got worse overnight. Plus the drugs were making me itchy. I took benadryl to stop itching, but just having a sip of water with it made me vomit. Then I got some Zofran. And repeat. It was a miserable night.

Also, I couldn’t pee. Olly (Oliver Stone) was blocking my urine flow.

Today I had a stent placed. This gives Olly more room so he doesn’t continuously scrape my ureter; he can even pass if I can pass a stone that big. The stent also allows me to pee with much more freedom!

You have no idea how easy it is to pee until it’s not.

Stent for a kidney stone in the ureter (http://www.bui.ac.uk/PatientInfo/ureterstent.html)

In the next week or two, I’ll have a laser procedure to shake Olly up so he breaks into smaller, more passable pieces, and then I’ll pass him and his pieces.

Also, I’m going to start drinking 72oz of water per day. That’s the best remedy/treatment/prevention.

***HUUUUUUUUUGE thank yous to my awesome neighbor who watched the kids while I was at the hospital yesterday, my friend Emily who took Allegra and Sydney to a Valentine’s Day party today, and My Chemical Romance who left work early to see me, then took a day off while I was in the hospital. Sorry about the whole ‘meeting my deductible already’ thing, babe.****

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: bladder, kidney stone, kidney stones, stent, ureter | 1 Comment »

Quiet Week #weekinreview

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Erika

Well it’s never QUIET around here, but it’s been less-than-crazy. Maybe because it’s kind of cold outside now, like a real winter, and I don’t want to run around like a chicken? Global Warming is crazy, y’all.

Actually I think the main difference is that this week was a little more scheduled than usual, so that helped keep things from going the usual bat-shit insane.

Animal and Mineral came back from visiting my parents. They had an awesome time, and I loved a break with “only” three kids! (Srsly. It makes a huge difference.) Then they turned ten. I can’t freaking believe that.

I want to re-do this picture with them as 10yos

Oh, we were all young and tired.

Update on being Paleo (although we do have a little dairy, so that makes us more Primal, but the dairy we use is goat milk, so that makes us Primal + Casein-Free) it was really difficult at first, especially on the kids. Now we’re all getting more used to it. It’s been over a week and they’ve stopped begging for bread. In related news, I haven’t been this weight before my pregnancy with Cousin It. Wednesday I bought a pair of size six skinny jeans.

Right now we’re also going shoe-free inside the house. (Animal: WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS CHANGING THE RULES ON US?!?!?!) It started because I usually wear my Toms at work, but then my feet hurt. Last week I wore my Keens (the winter boots that Prom Queen say make it look like humpback whales are biting my feet) and my feet didn’t hurt at all. So I started looking up shoes that are comfy for long days of standing, it somehow linked an article about barefoot shoes and then hours later, down the rabbit hole that is looking up shit on the interwebz, I found myself reading about the benefits of not wearing shoes in the house. (This is why, upon my death, I have strict instructions that my browser history on all my devices be cleared IMMEDIATELY. Preferably by a professional.)

The offending boots.

Aren’t my “friends” great?!?!?

So I found a lovely bench with storage on Craigslist, and now we have a shoe-free house. I’m mostly hoping that there will be less dirt for me the kids to sweep.

Filed under: Daily Life, family | Tagged: barefoot indoors, paleo, paleo with kids, twins | 1 Comment »

First Paleo Morning #Paleo #grainfree

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Erika

First I ate everything, and I was fat.

Then I had weight-loss surgery, but I still ate everything (in small portions), and I was skinny.

Then I noticed that certain things made me feel bad (pasta, milk) and I sometimes avoided them — but sometimes I didn’t avoid them, and my poor delicate ass paid the price. And I was still skinny, but after pregnancy with Cousin It, I was less skinny.

Then Miss Manners went Paleo, and she suggested I try Gluten-Free for Mineral, who has severe ADHD and some other mood disorder. At first I was all NO WAY NO HOW WE CAN’T POSSIBLY. But then I realized that most chocolate is gluten-free, and so I could do it. Mineral’s behavior improved slightly — and my stomach improved a LOT. I still wasn’t quite skinny. But gluten-free proved way easier than I thought.

Then I started reading about Casein-Free (the protein in cow’s milk) because being BOTH gluten-free and casein-free is a common dietary change that helps kids who have ADHD. Several people suggested it but it really took a while for me to seriously consider it.

Then My Chemical Romance suggested we try Paleo. Wait, what? What’s Paleo? Paleo is can be summed up by this lovely graphic. (No grains, legumes, dairy.)

(colebradburn.com/multiplydelicious.com)

So, since Paleo is simply a step beyond gluten-free and casein-free, I’ve decided to try it — and by “I”, I mean the kids and I (and MCR for dinner. He’s still eating some grains to get them out of the house. I’m tossing what the kids try to sneak, because they’re a little freaked).

I’ve found a LOT of great Paleo recipes on Pinterest — plus tons of my friends on Facebook (mostly in Charlotte) are Paleo or Primal (which is Paleo + dairy).

This is day one, and it seems okay. Mostly thanks to bacon.

(imgur: bacon and eggs cupcakes!)

Questions about Paleo? Here are some answers.

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: gluten free, grain free, paleo, paleolithic diet | 1 Comment »

Erika Gebhardt

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Life Gets Fortuitous #allinthetiming

Becoming a nurse

Benefits of Country Living #countryliving

What we did all week

The #Kidney that Keeps on Giving #kidneystone

Nancy Wilson, Still in Heaven @a2vineyard #nancywilson

I surprised my mom with a visit! #breastcancer #doublemastectomy

Meet Oliver Stone the Kidney Stone #kidneystone

Quiet Week #weekinreview

First Paleo Morning #Paleo #grainfree

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