So I had my first CT scan with the dye for contrast today. Well, the dye gives you a “hot flash”. I have to say, the sensation is very odd and I am glad that I don’t get those normally. Oh, and just in case you didn’t know, I really don’t like needles. The EKG wasn’t difficult until the sticky pads were removed. According to the nurse, I am “a fuzzy bear” and you can imagine what happens during the removal of sticky pads on a fuzzy bear. Well, I would rather have those pads removed ten times before getting pricked with a needle, much less having an IV. At least I am done being poked for the day.
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Prayer Request Update 07-31
Please pray for Caanan to have a God given peace and comfort with me going through the kidney donor process. It is almost lunchtime now and the tests are going really well. My creatinine level is good which means my kidney function is normal. I still need to meet with the surgeon, the nephrologist, have a CT scan, and a chest x-ray. If all the tests go well, I should know if we can move forward on the 8th of August. From what I understand, the transplant could take place anywhere between a couple of weeks and a year after my evaluation. Our prayer is that my dad won’t have to start dialysis before he can have a transplant, and there is a higher rate of successful living donor transplants than any other option.
Prayer Request Update 07-30
We made it safely to Atlanta and are staying at the Mason Guest House while we are here for the evaluation. The house is very nice and much better than I anticipated. The drive was a little stressful today due to traffic, but we did get a chance to stop at HRO to get a replacement antenna mount for the car (to replace the one that I bent while parking near Pearlz Oyster Bar). We also stopped at the indoor Farmer’s Market and it was interesting to see so much food that is so different than what I am used to seeing. My evaluation is tomorrow, starting at 07:00 and the last test is scheduled to start at 15:30. Results are supposed to take 5-10 days.
Prayer Request Update 07-28
So my dad met with the vascular surgeon this past Thursday. Basically, the fistula is probably going to take six more weeks before it is ready for dialysis. The vein has to get much larger and tougher before it can stand up to the dialysis machine. If he requires dialysis before that, then they can do an emergency jugular or subclavian access, but that can cause problems later down the road, so they want to avoid it is possible.
Dad is still getting short of breath just by walking across a room, so he has to rest frequently just to do simple tasks. He is still dealing with swelling in his feet and legs, and that seems to come and go. The more he is able to rest and keep his feet elevated, the better he does.
I have my evaluation at Emory on Tuesday. Please pray that the tests go well. We are hopeful that everything will work out so that we can move forward with the transplant before Dad has to start dialysis.
iPad Tip
A friend of mine was asking what the easiest way to get their photos off of an iPad would be. Honestly, Apple makes this more complicated than it needs to be. There are a couple of ways to do this.
My preferred method is using a free tool called Dropbox. If you don’t have a Dropbox account, use my referral link and we will both get some free storage as a bonus.
It is easier to sign up for a new account on your computer. Once you sign up for an account and install the software, head on over to the iTunes App Store, and get the free app. As you go thorough the installation, there will be a basic tutorial, and I recommend going through the tutorial. You can set your photos to automatically upload to Dropbox and they will then automatically sync to your computer. Now that wasn’t all that difficult was it?
This is how Apple tells you to transfer the photos (full credit goes to Apple for the following information):
If you are using Windows XP, follow these steps:
To import photos or video from your device using the Windows XP Scanner and Camera Wizard:
- Connect the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer. Windows should automatically open the Scanner and Camera Wizard. Click Next:Note: If the Scanner and Camera Wizard window does not automatically open, you may need to enable the behavior.
- Choose the photos and video you want to copy. Click Next.
- Use the default picture name and destination, or change these as you wish.
- Enable the option, “Delete pictures from my device after copying them”.
Note: Deleting photos after importing helps to reduce Camera Roll size, and it improves backup and restore times. You may choose Keep Photos if you wish to import the photos to additional computers. If you do not want Windows to delete pictures from your camera on subsequent imports, remember to come back here and disable this option.
- Click Next. The Wizard imports your images.
- Select what you want do with the images, or close the Wizard. Click Next.
- The Wizard tells you the number of images that it imported, with a link to access those images. Click Finish to close the Wizard:
Note: Windows XP cannot import video files larger than 500 MB using Camera and Scanner Wizard. You can transfer these files directly from your device by selecting them in My Computer and dragging or copying the movie files to your computer’s hard drive.
If you find that not all your photos were imported from your device’s Camera Roll after performing the above steps, you can either copy the photos to your computer using Windows Explorer, or you can use additional software such as Windows Live Photo Gallery or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 or later to import all pictures.
To copy the photos to your computer using Windows Explorer:
- Connect the iOS device to the computer.
- Choose Start > My Computer.
- Double-click the logo for the device to browse its camera folders.
- Navigate to [iOS device]\Internal Storage\DCIM\100APPLE.
- Manually copy the content in this folder to your computer, wherever you would like to store it.
- Disconnect your device. Open the Camera Roll and manually delete all the pictures from the iPhone Camera Roll that you just imported.
To copy the photos to your computer using Windows Live Photo Gallery or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 or later, refer to the documentation of the application you wish to use.
If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, follow these steps:
To import photos or video from your device to Windows:
- Connect your iOS device to the computer. If the AutoPlay window appears, click “Import Pictures and Videos using Windows”, then skip to step 4. If the “Import Pictures and Video” dialog appears, skip to step 4.
Note: If the AutoPlay dialog box does not automatically open, you may need to enable the behavior.
- Choose Start > Computer.
- Right-click the logo for your device and click Import pictures and videos.
- Click the Import Settings link.
- In the resulting window, you can change the folder to which your Camera Roll’s photos will be imported by clicking the Browse button next to the “Import to” field. By default, these will be imported to the My Pictures folder.
- Enable the option, “Always erase from device after copying”.
Note: Deleting photos after importing helps to reduce Camera Roll size, and it improves backup and restore times. You may choose Keep Photos if you wish to import the photos to additional computers. If you do not want Windows to delete pictures from your camera on subsequent imports, remember to come back here and disable this option when you’re finished.- After setting your import options, click OK to dismiss the window.
- Choose a tag if desired and click Import. This screen appears only while the import process is active:
- Once the import is complete, Windows Photo Gallery will launch with your photos and videos highlighted under the “Recently Imported” section:
If you find that not all your photos were imported from your device’s Camera Roll after performing the above steps, you can either copy the photos to your computer using Windows Explorer, or you can use additional software such as Windows Live Photo Gallery or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 or later to import all pictures.
To copy the photos to your computer using Windows Explorer:
- Connect the iOS device to the computer.
- Choose Start > Computer.
- Double-click the logo for the device to browse its camera folders.
- Navigate to [iOS device]\Internal Storage\DCIM\100APPLE.
- Manually copy the content in this folder to your computer, wherever you would like to store it.
- Disconnect your device. Open the Camera Roll and manually delete all the pictures from the iPhone Camera Roll that you just imported.
To copy the photos to your computer using Windows Live Photo Gallery or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 or later, refer to the documentation of the application you wish to use.
Prayer Request Update 07-25
I called and talked to my dad this morning. The swelling in his legs is down a bit. He said that he has been sitting in a chair a lot with his feet up and that has helped. He is still very short of breath, and has trouble even talking, much less doing anything else. He has an appointment tomorrow to see the doctor about the fistula. Once I know what is going on, I will post an update. Your continued prayers are appreciated!
Prayer Request Update 07-23
I have been getting some email messages from my mom and wanted to share some of the news. As I mentioned in a previous post, my parents went on a mission trip to Tennessee with their church. They worked on a house for an elderly gentleman that has a monthly income of about $350. If this post seems long, skip to the end and read the last message from my mom.
On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 10:24 PM, Dian Tully wrote:
Phil did well today. He rested just a little while this afternoon and did better than I thought he would
Thanks for your prayers.
We did a lot of work today at the site.
Will update tomorrow
On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 9:40 PM, Dian Tully wrote:
Hey there,
We had a good day again today. The job site where we are working is on a hill with very few trees so it has really been difficult for the team working in the sun. we are replacing the siding on the whole house. replacing the linoleum in the den and hall and kitchen and tore down and built an 8×12 deck. we also tore down and built a new ramp into the kitchen. We said our thank you prayers every time we walked on it before it was replaced.
I started this morning cleaning the kitchen, washing all the dishes, and scrubbing the cabinets, refrigerator and the rest of the kitchen. Two other ladies worked with me all morning. We still have half of the siding to finish tomorrow but if we all work together I think we can get it all finished.
It has been extremely hot. It was 99 when Phil got in the truck to go back to the motel this afternoon.
He has done well and has been good about resting.
We get up eat breakfast and leave the hotel by around 7:30 each morning so we can work while it is still a little bit cool.
Pray we get it all done tomorrow.
We will leave around 9 am Friday.
Love yall
On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 9:49 PM, Dian Tully wrote:
Well we will leave to go home in the morning. God has been so good to give us good work days.
It has been extremely hot during the day while we were working on the house. We completed the siding all the way around the house, completed the front porch, and the ramp to the back door going into the kitchen.
We also finished the linoleum in the hall and bedroom today. Mr Johnny slept on his mattress with no sheets so we bought him a set of sheets with a mattress cover and a pretty little blanket. We cleaned walls and I went ahead and tackled the bathroom and it smells a whole lot better 🙂
We were all hot and tired at the end of the day and exhausted, but it was well worth it. Mr Johnny prayed to receive Christ this morning. Yesterday he and I were talking and he told me he hoped he would go to heaven and I told him he could be sure. I felt that it would be better for one of the men to talk to him so this morning three of the men went there early to get started on the job while it was cool and begin to talk to him and he said he wanted to pray to receive Christ. That made it all worth while. Two of the older girls and I went prayer walking up and down the road this morning praying for the people in his little mountain community. Pray for Mr Johnny to go to church with a neighbor up the road and be faithful reading his Bible.
Phil has done well. He has had some pretty bad swelling but has felt pretty good and has tried not to push himself too much.
Hope yall had a good day.
Love yall
On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 8:05 AM, Dian Tully wrote:
Update on Phil,
As you know Phil made it through the trip ok. He slept on and off all day Saturday and then slept all night Saturday night. Although he was having a good bit of swelling especially in his legs and feet when he woke up Sunday morning he went to church and we stayed for lunch at the church for homecoming. He pretty much stayed in his recliner all afternoon Sunday.
He tried not taking the prednisone yesterday which is what the doctor gave him for the gout because it makes him gain fluid weight. He is short of breath when he walks from one end of the room to the other. He woke up during the night with the gout again so he took the prednisone needless to say and the gout is better this morning.
I am going to call the doctor this morning to see if we can increase the lasix which is a diuretic and helps him get rid of some of the fluid weight. His feet were so swollen last night before he went to bed I thought they would pop but the are better this morning. The problem is, if he is up for any length of time, his feet and legs swell even with the support stockings on both legs. He said he has gotten pretty miserable and thinks he is about ready to do something which means dialysis but I would like to try the lasix first. He has his three week appointment to check his fistula with the doctor in atlanta Thursday and we will see how the fistula is progressing. They said it will take 6 to 8 weeks for it to mature in order to use it so if he begins dialysis prior to that it will have to be on a temporary basis with a catheter that is more suseptable to infection.
Please pray that the fistula works because the doctor was a little iffy about it when he put it in because the vein was kind of small
Please pray that God will supernaturally intervene and he will be able to make it until his fistula is ready for dialysis
Please continue to pray for Steven as he moves forward toward giving his kidney, that God will open and close doors according to His will
Pray that God will lift Phil’s spirits as I can see him getting discouraged.Thank you for your support during this time. God is our strength and shield. It hurts me so much to see him struggle. It is such a blessing to have a good support system during this time. Your prayers mean more than you know. I love each of you.
Switching from PC to Mac? (part one)
So you decided to make the switch from PC to Mac. There are some basics you should know as you move forward.
First, you don’t have to give up your old operating system. You can install free virtualization software that works really well, called VirtualBox. Using VirtualBox, or any of the other virtualization software (Fusion or Parallels), you can run your Windows XP or Windows 7 applications on your Mac. This may not be for everyone, but if you don’t mind doing some reading, there is a lot of good information on the web on how to get started. If you want some help setting up a virtual machine to use on your Mac, let me know, and I will be happy to provide some assistance. Just remember, you have to treat this virtual computer just like you would a real PC. It needs antivirus and windows updates. It turns on and off just like a real PC, but it has a software on/off switch. The virtual machine even needs its own license if you run a Microsoft operating system, just like a real PC. The best thing though, is that you can make backups of it just by copying the files to another safe location, like a USB hard drive. This gives a great option to try out a new piece of software or a way to keep a simple backup of your computer, important software, and critical data.
Financial Peace University – Stories
What is your story? You may find my story to be interesting. Only one way to find out…
I was raised with the knowledge that debt is bad. Credit cards aren’t evil but they can create a world of hurt — fast. When I went off to college, I didn’t really think much about getting a credit card or two or three, and hey, I got a free t-shirt (and I still have one of them). I used the credit card to buy books, gas, and groceries. I always paid it off every month, or at least paid most of it. That first time I had to pay interest when I couldn’t afford to pay the balance was shocking. It shocked me into not buying anything I didn’t have to buy, and not buying anything I couldn’t afford to buy. I was a good credit card holder and followed that rule and paid my bill in full every month.
I had worked all through college, and with the help of my parents (Thanks Mom and Dad!) I was able to pay all my bills. That changed my senior year. My classes were harder and I didn’t make enough at my part time job to pay for everything on my end. I had to sign up for a student loan and I started using the credit card more. I found a credit card deal where I could get zero percent interest on all purchases for a year. What? I couldn’t believe it, FREE money! Since the money was free, I bought things that I didn’t need, but not on the credit card, with the little bit of cash that I had. Well, my usual bills came due, and I didn’t have cash to pay them, so I figured I could use some of that free money to pay for the bills, so I did. All said and done, I owed almost $12,000 at the end of my senior year on that credit card with zero percent interest, and I made the minimum payment every month. Well, when the year was up, I didn’t want to be stuck with 18% interest on twelve grand. I mean ouch, that is a lot of dough in interest! I did what any good graduating senior would do, I found another credit card deal that allowed me to transfer my credit card balances, and best of all, the new credit card had a twelve month zero percent interest rate on balance transfers.
I got a good job when I graduated, but now I had to start paying my student loan and this pesky credit card. With some hard work and a more credit card hopping, I was able to whittle down the debt. Now, eight years later, I am debt free (and have been for a few years), except for the house, and I am working on baby step 3. All said and done, I wish I would have found a way to avoid the credit cards in the first place. It would have been a lot easier to fill out more scholarship applications than it was working for years to pay off the debt I accumulated. It was really depressing to have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, use dial-up for Internet, and do without cable TV for a couple of years, even with a really good job, so that I could pay for a power bill or high speed Internet bill from two or three years prior.
Everyone has a story. If you want to see more stories, click the link and enjoy.
If you want to learn how to get out of debt, and how to build wealth, consider taking the next step and attend Financial Peace University. If you are ready to jump in, Register Now! I have an earlier blog post with all the details.
Prayer Request Update 07-17
So my dad has been planning a mission trip with his church for over a year now and made it safely to Tennessee. I really appreciate seeing churches that do missions here in the United States, and it is awesome to see what this church is doing for these people. They live in homes without power or running water, and the people can’t afford to fix the problems. Please pray that God gives my dad some of his best days while he is on this Mission trip. Pray that the work that this church is doing will bring honor and glory to God and that people will come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
This passage from James chapter 2 has been on my mind the last couple of days.
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(James 2:14-17, New King James Version)
There are many opportunities for us to step outside of our comfort zone and help others that are in need of basic necessities. It brings joy to my heart to have opportunities to do this when I am able, and I enjoy seeing the fruit of ministry when churches are able to serve those in their community and on the mission field, especially when the mission field is much closer to home than you would have thought.