Kapachino

A Hard-Earned $45

I had a big day lined up today. After my morning class I planned to eat a hearty meal and then donate blood at noon, after which I was going to walk over to Baylor College of Medicine to have an MRI for cash. When I told David about this latest experiment he just said, “Oh Kat,” and smiled. He’s made his protests, and now he’s coming to terms with our differences.

Anyway, I ate the hearty meal as planned - a huge ham and provolone sandwich on a croissant, a banana, and two chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. I then meandered over to the blood drive to begin the screening process. At this point I was nervous about the whole blood-giving experience because I have had issues in the past, and I was already feeling bad with a headache and cramps. Also, I have an important soccer game tonight which I still planned to play despite my cells being drained of their oxygen source. Because I’m tough like that.

So I began the screening process. My vitals were good: pulse 60, blood pressure 102/70, temp 97.2. Yes. I got my finger stuck and my iron level was 39. On a roll! Now all the questions…no, I don’t have HIV, hepatitis, hemophilia, or anything of the like. No, I haven’t had sex with a man who has had sex with a man. No, I haven’t paid for sex. I got hung up on the travel questions. In 2006 I went to a small town in Mexico that isn’t in the database. We spent approximately ten minutes figuring out what state it’s in, enlisting the help of a supervisor for this process.

I was getting worried at this point that I would be late for my MRI, but after about thirty minutes of screening I was told that I can’t give blood for a year because of the unlicensed bird flu vaccine that I received the other week. My gift of life was denied. Should I worry that I had an unlicensed bird flu vaccine last year as well and donated blood three times without reporting it? Nah.

After this disappointment (although I was secretly relieved) I walked over to the neuroimaging lab. After a bit of waiting and paperwork I was loaded in to the MRI machine. First came a quick 10-second scan. No problem! Then I waited…and waited. This was a group study, and apparently the others were having issues with their scanner. I am still having cramps during all of this. After more than enough time had passed, I began a 4 1/2 minute scan so that they could get my basic structure…or something like that. This one was extremely loud and sounded like some kind of emergency alarm that gave me the serious urge to exit the building NOW. It also gave me the serious urge to vomit, because the magnetic field was so strong. I had to implement controlled breathing exercises to make it through that one. Afterwards, a voice asked me, “Are you comfortable? We want you to be as still as possible for the rest of the experiment.” Um, no. I am decidedly NOT comfortable, I am dreading the actual experimental scan (30-40 minutes! Torture!), and as soon as someone tells me not to move, that is ALL I want to do. But I replied “Sure,” with only a hint of sarcasm.

More waiting, and then it was time to begin. I was going to be playing a computer game against another person while they scanned me. This was to try to discover something about the brain and how people work together. I would explain the game to you, but it’s probably not interesting to 99% of the people reading this. But I guess I did alright on it, because I earned an extra $15 for my performance. Add to that the $20 flat rate for being involved in the study and the $10 extra they gave me for being a “good sport” with all the waiting, and I have myself 45 big ones. You may not think it was wort it, but to me it totally was, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Busy Bee

Since I wrote last I:

• Hosted a Pampered Chef party and scored over $200 of free products
• Went to the doctor and got a physical, a blood test, a TB skin test, and a tetanus booster (I’ve pretty much conquered my fear of needles)
• Visited 4 possible ceremony/reception venues and ruled out 3 of them
• Tried on some wedding dresses and decided that I definitely need to tone up my arms
• Finished the book The Friday Night Knitting Club - it was alright
• Watched the Academy Awards on fast forward and stayed up too late doing so

Now I need to get myself to bed ASAP…another 12-hour shift coming up!

Zzzzz

I’ve had a problem for as long as I can remember with falling asleep when I shouldn’t. It happens basically anytime I’m not actively engaged in an activity. For example: in class, at work, while driving. It’s not that I stay up late or don’t get enough sleep. I get at least 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and I start getting very tired around 8:30 or 9 p.m. In fact, I am pretty much starting to shut down right now. This drives Boyfriend David crazy because he is a night person.

Obviously the falling asleep while driving thing is dangerous, and I’ve gotten better at handling that by calling someone or pulling over when it starts to happen. Falling asleep in class isn’t the end of the world to me. It’s not good when it happens at work, though, and I really hope no one catches me.

But today my clinical group of 8, plus my instructor, met for pre-conference. A man from APS came and showed us a video and then talked to us about the services they provide. We were in a small room with only ten people present, and I was sitting right next to the guy. I wasn’t bored–he was interesting–but the sleep came over me and although I fought it with all of my willpower I could not overcome it.

I thought that I was concealing it, but after the presentation was over and the man left, my instructor pulled me aside. “Are you getting enough rest?” she asked me. In a very polite and concerned manner she proceeded to tell me that she has noticed me sleeping on multiple occasions and at different times of day. She said that it was embarrassing when I was sleeping during the presentation. She told me that I should talk to a doctor about this issue because people will perceive me to be rude or lazy when that’s not the case.

I was so embarrassed. I seriously doubt that I have any kind of medical issue that makes me especially tired because I don’t have any other symptoms. David says I just do too much and that I need to take in more caffeine if I want to continue my current lifestyle.

Do any of you struggle with something similar? I don’t understand why I’m tired all the time. It is extremely frustrating.

Pita Pizza

I’ve been trying to eat healthier for about 6 weeks now. And even though I’d like to be, I am not a cook. I just haven’t had the time to get in to that yet. But sometimes it’s really helpful to make things myself: for the variety, because it can be cheaper, and healthier too. So I’m going to give you a recipe now, but since this is the first time I’ve done this I’m going to make some caveats which will hold for all future recipes (if, indeed, there are any to follow):

a) This won’t be fancy, but when I do give you a recipe it’s going to be quick, easy, good, and healthy. At least in my opinion.
b) I’m not married, and usually only have to provide a meal for myself or 1-2 others. I have no idea about cooking for an entire family.
c) The measurements may not be exact, because I estimate a lot. Sometimes I won’t even give you measurements, because I think you can figure it out for yourself, like I did.

Pita Pizza

Whole wheat pita bread
Pizza sauce
Low fat mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cover the pita in pizza sauce
3. Add a layer of cheese
4. Place on top shelf of oven
5. Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted

And that’s it! Oh, and you can add meat if you want, but I prefer plain cheese. If you want to keep it healthy though, stick with lean meat.

Running, My Old Nemesis

So my friend Katy, who is lately inspiring me to a healthier lifestyle all around, mentioned that she is planning on running the Texas Independence Relay in March. Soon afterwards I found myself telling her that I was interested in running it with her. What? I have never run more than a 5K in my life outside of soccer games. Do I really want to do this?

The relay is a little over 200 miles long, split up into 40 legs. Each leg is somewhere between 3 and 9 miles long. Each person will run about 3-5 legs, depending on how many people are on your team. The race is nonstop, so there will be some nighttime running, some middle-of-the-day running, and some morning running.

I want to run it because it’s a big event, and it sounds fun. As much as I think I hate running, I keep coming back to it. I keep entering random 5Ks, so apparently I like the races. I would get to experience the great state of Texas in a way I never have before, and I would get to visit a lot of cute small towns along the way. Also, I want to get in better shape. Yes I play soccer, but it’s totally different. That keeps me in decent shape, but I want to be in good shape. Or even great shape. I like to have a goal to work toward in order to motivate me, and this seemed like just the thing.

So I need to start training. The other night Katy sent me a marathon training schedule, but it was confusing at first glance. It did inspire me though, so I figured since I had the next morning off I’d go for a run. My mistake came when I decided to get 8 hours of sleep so that I didn’t end up going running until around 8:30 a.m., and by that time the sun was well up in the sky and the heat index was definitely in the 90’s. I ran for 15 minutes before giving up.

I vented to Katy about my frustration and she explained the training schedule to me. It’s set up in a way that seems totally do-able, and gradually builds up endurance. It begins 24 weeks out from race day which for us isn’t until September 16, so I think I’m going to wait until then to start in hopes that it will be a tiny bit cooler. (Ha!) In the meantime I will try to step up my amount of bike rides and yoga sessions just to get myself moving more.

Happy Thursday!

How Long Will You Live?

I just took this quiz that estimates your life expectancy. Mine is 89 years! That’s pretty good, but I also found that I can:

• Add 2 years to my life by lessening my sources of stress
• Add 2 years to my life by taking 81 mg of aspirin every day
• Add 4 years to my life by eliminating fast foods from my diet
• Add 1/2 a year to my life by cutting out unhealthy snacks
• Add 5 years to my life by increasing my exercise regimen to 6-7 days a week
• Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting appropriate blood tests annually
• Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting my blood sugar checked

If I did all this I could live to be 103.5 years old! Then again, I could drop dead before the end of the day. Regardless, let’s analyze my situation:

1. My current sources of stress are school and finances. In one year I’ll be done with school and I’ll be making the big bucks. Therefore I will have no more stress in my life.
2. I don’t think the aspirin really pertains to me at 25 years old. Maybe when I reach 30 I’ll start taking it.
3. I had McDonald’s last night. But! I had the apple dippers instead of fries and apple juice instead of Coke! So that’s something, right?
4. Is 5 scoops of ice cream with chocolate syrup unhealthy?
5. Well I can tell you right now that the 7 days a week suggestion is not going to happen. I’m exercising 3 days a week right now, so maybe I’ll just start with moving it up to 4. Two days with soccer games, and then a day of bike riding and a day of yoga should do it. Yoga totally counts.
6-7. These two can be combined. I hate having my blood drawn, but I think I could handle it once a year.

What’s your life expectancy? What’s the major way in which you could increase it?

Bird Flu Phase One

So I got a lot of grief from some people for enrolling in the bird flu vaccination study. People were telling me that it was stupid for me to put myself at risk, no matter how small, of getting the bird flu. Well, I wasn’t worried. And today, I got vaccinated. I found out that there is absolutely NO risk of me contracting the bird flu because the virus they inject you with is killed. So that should put all the worriers at ease.

I was nervous about the whole ordeal because I knew I would have to get two injections and have my blood drawn. When they took my blood pressure beforehand, it was a little high. My blood pressure is always high when I’m at the doctors’ office. I know that it’s probably because I’m tense and in a new place and not relaxed and all that, but I still worry that I’m going to end up with chronically high blood pressure.

Oh! I also found out that I indeed am not pregnant. (We were required to submit a urine sample for them to test.) Not that I was particularly worried about that due to many reasons, but it’s still comforting to know that no miracles in the vein of Jesus’ birth will be happening in my life at the moment.

The next step after the urine sample and the vital signs was the blood draw. I don’t know why but every time I have my blood drawn, even if it’s just a little bit, I feel weak. I can’t even watch it happening at all; I try to completely distract myself. But I made it through, only to have to get stuck two more times. These vaccines hurt going in, but they didn’t hurt much afterwards. The woman who gave them to me was apparently in training, because she had another lady talking her through the procedure the whole time. I have sympathy for her because I am in training too, but when you’re the subject it’s just not the most comforting thing to hear instructions being given to the one holding the needle.

So the first visit is over with. If anyone is interested in participating in this study (remember it pays $400!), let me know and I can get you the details.

Also, Baylor College of Medicine has other clinical studies going on requiring healthy volunteers, and the UT Health Science Center does as well. Check out their websites if you are interested. I have already signed up to participate in a study where you play computer games while having an MRI done. This may turn out to be my new part-time job!

The Extent To Which I Will Go For A Little Cash

I go to school full-time and I support myself by loans, but I was not able to get enough loans to comfortably cover all my expenses. Thus, I got myself a part-time job but it pays $9/hour and I only work about 6-10 hours a week - not exactly enough to pay the rent. All of the money I have in my account at this time must last me until the end of August, and I have some expenses coming up (i.e. $150 for a dental visit due to my lack of dental insurance and $300+ for a plane ticket to Kansas for my best friend’s wedding) that are causing me concern. So when the following flier showed up in my mailbox at school, I jumped on it:

————————————————————————————————————–
SUBJECTS NEEDED
TO PARTICIPATE IN A BIRD FLU (INFLUENZA A/H5N1) VACCINE STUDY

Eligible subjects are invited to participate in a research study being conducted at Baylor College of Medicine to determine reactions and antibody responses to an experimental vaccine against influenza A/H5N1 (’bird flu’).

Study requirements:
-Healthy adults 18-49 years of age
-No known allergies to flu vaccine
-Available for study procedures for 7 months

Study procedures:
-Eight study visits
-Two vaccination visits, one month apart
-Collection of blood samples on 4 occasions
-Complete a diary of symptoms and signs for 1 week after each vaccination

Compensation: $400 for completing all procedures
————————————————————————————————————–

Despite the fact that I HATE getting needles stuck in me, especially when they are taking my blood OUT of me, I am going to do this because that $400 looks pretty good. And anyway, it’s for a good cause. And I’m sure there’s only a slight chance of actually contracting the bird flu.