Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year! I wish everyone a wonderful, happy, and healthy 2019.

I've been missing in action with my blog. I did start a new job in the beginning of November as a police dispatcher trainee. I've been in classroom training for nine weeks and it's been challenging and keeping me very busy. We're getting ready to 'graduate' on Friday, as we finish up this portion and start live training for a few months. While I'm enjoying it and becoming passionate for this line of work, I am still unsure of where this adventure will take me. I'm hopeful that this is the start of a career for me, but am aware that anything can happen during the probationary period.

In a few days, I will be posting what this all means for this blog during 2019. Hoping to get back to some kind of posting schedule within a few weeks.

~Meg~

What Happened With NaNoWriMo?

It's December now, which means that NaNoWriMo finished.

Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, NaNo didn't work for me, but then I decided to test a theory, to try something different.

When I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year, I knew it was going to be a struggle. I started a new job on November 5 as a police communications dispatcher trainee. While it has been interesting and something I'm enjoying, it's been harder than I ever imagined. There's a lot of work involved, but honestly, I couldn't be happier. The few times of stress and tears have been worth it and it will be worth it in the end. I already did mention in a previous post that during the first weekend of NaNoWriMo, I was involved in doing shows for a community theatre production in my neighborhood.

It soon became obvious that NaNoWriMo was going to be a failure. My job has needed my full attention. However, I decided to keep doing NaNoWriMo, as if I was actually writing. I updated my word count every day, as if I wrote x amount of words each day. In theory, I won NaNo, even though I wasn't actually writing a novel/story, while updating the word count with a random amount each day.

The conclusion to all of this is that I will be partaking in NaNoWriMo next year with a better plan, as my traineeship will be over and I'll have a set schedule by then.

I extend my congratulations to anyone who succeeded in doing NaNoWriMo the write, err right, way (see what I did there).

Happy Writing!

~Meg~

2018 NaNoWriMo Update #1

Just stopping in to post a quick update on how NaNoWriMo is going this year so far.

Well, I just started a new job last Monday, which involves training for nine weeks. That being said, I haven't been able to write as much as I would like to be, but am and will be taking advantage of off days, like weekends and off days. I hope to catch up somewhat tomorrow as it's my day off to commemorate Veteran's Day. Veteran's Day is today, however, the government celebrates it on Monday if it falls on a Sunday. I'm working on finding a balance between working, writing, and of course, sleeping.

~Meg~

NaNoWriMo Take 2

Hello and welcome back. 

I've decided that I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year. It will be my second attempt. I say attempt because I failed when I did it last year. I'm going to do updates, but I don't know how many yet. 

The major obstacle I will have this year is that I'm supposed to be starting a full time job in November as a police dispatcher trainee. It's shift work, so I won't be writing at the same time every day. You keep the same schedule for two weeks and then rotate hours for the next two weeks and so forth. I'm working on a schedule for getting through November, but I will have a better idea when we get our schedule on the first day of work.

Last year, I was a pantser. This year, I'm a plantser. I have a general idea of what I'm going to be writing my novel about, so it's going to be more a combination of both a planner and a pantser.

Good luck to any NaNoWriMos out there!

~Meg~

Symptoms and Triggers #Meg'sLongQTJourney

This is the next installment of my Meg's Long QT Journey Series. To follow will be the symptoms and symptoms associated with Long QT Syndrome. To read from the beginning, click the links below:

1. The First Seizure
2. The Second Seizure
3. The Third Seizure
4. Getting the Diagnosis
5. What is Long QT?
6. Types and Genetics

Symptoms:

• Fainting
• Seizures
• Sudden Cardiac Arrest

These are the only and main symptoms of long qt syndrome. They can occur with very little to no warning; they can be brought on suddenly.

Long QT Faint vs Vanilla or Common Faint vs Other Faints

Long QT Faint:

• a sudden drop or loss of consciousness 
• the actual faint occurs in mere seconds
• little to no warning that a faint will happen - won't last more than a second or two

Vanilla (or Common) Faint:

• presents with warning signs
• takes longer to actually lose consciousness

Vasovagal syncope is the most common cause of fainting. It occurs when there's a sudden drop in heart rate or blood pressure. It can be caused from: standing too long, being in an overcrowded environment, being overheated, dehydration, fatigue, stress, the sight of blood, etc. Symptoms usually involve dizziness, lightheadedness, feeling nauseous, blurry vision, paleness, and sweating.

And then there's POTS, which is also known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. A faint from this occurs from a lack of blood flow when a person goes from a reclining position to an upright or standing position too fast. It produces a rapid heartbeat and lightheadedness that can cause a person to faint. There are other symptoms of this, but I only wanted to mention the most common ones.

Seizures

There are multiple reasons for seizures to occur: epilepsy, head injury/trauma, brain tumor, and for the sake of this, long qt syndrome.

A seizure happens when there is a lack of blood flow to the brain.

Long QT vs Epilepsy

When someone has a seizure, one word comes in mind: epilepsy. While epilepsy is the most common cause of seizures, it is not the only reason for seizures to occur, as I mentioned above. However, Long QT patients can often get misdiagnosed with epilepsy for this very reason. I had three tonic- clonic seizures, also known as grand mal. For me, I felt normal after coming around (the seizures lasted a few minutes and it took a few minutes for me to come to fully - I believe they would last 5-7 minutes) except for being fatigued. By the next day, I was fine in that regard.

Since fainting and seizures can occur from a number of things, it is crucial to get a thorough evaluation if you experience either a faint or a sudden onset of a seizure. When I was going through my seizures, the possibility of epilepsy came up after all three, more so after my second one. If it wasn't for my pediatric cardiologist after my third one, I could have been diagnosed with epilepsy myself.

Cardiac Arrest vs Heart Attack

The last symptom I'm going to mention is cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest often gets mistaken for a heart attack, but there are difference between the two.

Cardiac Arrest:

• electrical problem
• occurs when the heart malfunctions and stops beating unexpectedly
• Cardiac arrest is triggered by an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat. With its pumping acting disrupted, the heart cannot pump blood to the brains, lungs, and other organs.
• Seconds later, a person becomes unresponsive, is not breathing, or is only gasping. Death occurs within minutes if not treated.
• It can be reversible if treatment is started within minutes. Proper treatment is CPR and the use of an AED, automatic external defibrillator. 
• In some rare occurrences, the heart will return to its normal rhythm without intervention.

Heart Attack:

• circulation problem
• occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked
• A blocked artery prevents oxygen-rich blood from reaching a section of the heart. If the blocked artery is not reopened quickly, the part of the heart normally nourished by that artery begins to die.
• Symptoms of a heart attack may be immediate, but more often symptoms start slowly and can persist for hours, days, or weeks before a heart attack. 
• Unlike with cardiac arrest, the heart usually does not stop beating during a heart attack. 
• Symptoms can be different for men and women and they include: chest pain or discomfort; shortness of breath; cold sweats; nausea/vomiting; back or jaw pain; or pain radiating down the arm, in particular the left arm, but can be either side.
• The longer the person goes without treatment, the greater the damage.

Most heart attacks do not lead to cardiac arrest. But when cardiac arrest occurs, heart attack is often the common cause. Other conditions may also disrupt the heart's rhythm and lead to cardiac arrest.

Credits:

https://cpr.heart.org/AHAECC/CPRAndECC/AboutCPRFirstAid/CardiacArrestvsHeartAttack/UCM_473213_Cardiac-Arrest-vs-Heart-Attack.jsp cardiac arrest vs heart attack

Triggers

In a previous post, I mentioned that there are three common types of Long QT Syndrome. I believe the triggers that will be brought up can be for any of the types. The triggers can cause irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias that result in the symptoms of Long QT

Long QT 1

• physical exercise, particularly swimming
• emotional stress
• torsades de pointes, a fast heart rhythm caused by the ventricles, occurs more often in type 1
• Patients with type 1 may have more arrhythmias that can cause symptoms, but the episodes usually stop on their own.
• the symptoms/episodes are less likely to be fatal

Long QT 2

• startle or surprise
• sudden loud noises such as an alarm clock, car horns, a doorbell, or a siren
• emotional stress

Long QT 3

• rest
• during sleep
• arousal from sleep
• Type 3 is often association with having bradycardia, or a slow heart rate, which cause the arrhythmia and symptoms to occur.
• Patients with type 3 have fewer episodes of arrhythmia.
• Symptoms/episodes are more likely to be fatal.

While type 3 can be more fatal and type 1 less fatal, all three of these types and the other genetic types can have sudden cardiac arrest and can be fatal. While not all triggers may be known, they share common ones. For instance, type 5 triggers are similar to that of type 1.

Triggers can overlap. For instance, someone with type 3 can experience symptoms during sleep and with startles. Likewise, someone with type 1 may experience symptoms from exercise and startles as well.

More information will be provided in later posts on how all this effects lifestyle, especially when it comes to sports and exercise. After all, it is still important to stay fit and healthy despite having a heart condition.

~Meg~

2018 July Camp NaNoWriMo Final Update

Yes, I'm sad and disheartened to say that I did not reach my goal for the July Camp NaNoWriMo. I ran out of time, between babysitting, working, and getting a trip to the beach, in which it rained the whole time.

My goal was for 25,000 words and my final count came in at 9,884 words. I did have a couple good writing days near the end, but it wasn't enough. I did accomplish some groundwork though to the piece I'm writing. I struggled with writing one section of it, which held me up a little bit.

I am planning on doing NaNoWriMo again in November, this time hoping for a better outcome. I am determined to finish and complete it at least one time.

~Meg~

2018 July Camp NaNoWriMo Update 2

July Camp NaNoWriMo Update 2

I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

These past two weeks have kept me busy with work and writing. While I am not where I would like to be for Camp NaNoWriMo, I have been making slow and steady progress with my writing project this month. With only nine days to go, I am still behind and have some ground to make back. There is enough time for me to win this thing and I'm going to put every effort in trying to succeed my goal of 25,000. Right now, I am around 5300 words.

~Meg~