Sunday, September 20, 2015

Memoirs in My Mind

by Dr. Margaret Aranda


I am not going to let any one change me.
Believe me, they have tried. 
But I took a vow and I'm keeping my end of it.

It's my life, my decisions, my mistakes, my accountability.
Mine. I face it, and I live with it. 
I only owe it to God, to live my life according to His purpose.
Now you go find yours.

I'll be waiting for you to come back to me.

***************



Age 31: The Color Blue



....To be Continued..........

Saturday, September 19, 2015

CHANGE.ORG PETITION for INVISIBLE ILLNESSES

by Margaret Aranda, MD, Ph.D.

Pass it On!  Pass it On!  Pass it On!  



Yesterday marked a huge day for Change.org and Invisible Illnesses. You see, I've had a few palpable setbacks, and I know that we all share the usual responses by doctors and nurses:

"Dys...auto...WHAT?" "I've never heard of it" (Eyes squinting)
"But you look just fine!" 
"I don't think there's anything wrong with you," or 
"Can I prescribe you some valium or some sleeping pills?" "Oh, (smiling) I don't think you need a Referral (For syncope. Really. You're kidding.??)." 

Tired of spending money going from doctor to the 20th doctor over the last three decades? You are searching for a diagnosis because you KNOW there's something wrong with you...and the doctors all say, "There's nothing wrong with you." Or these are the most devastating..... 



"You need a psychiatrist."
"It's all in your head."


PLOP. What a blow. I'm immobile, just thinking of how many times that has been said to me. It was said to my daughter just a few days ago and you know what? Nothing has changed. SO.....for those of you that know me.....


I did it! I wrote a Petition! For all of us! 



***Sign now at  CHANGE.org!*** 


If this story is all too familiar with you, go sign! And pass it on!

I know there are literally hundreds of thousands of you out there! This petitions the governing boards to add a medical school class on Invisible Illnesses, and to have all doctors go back to get Continuing Medical Education on Invisible Illnesses before their licenses expire. They did it for Pain Medicine, setting a precedent, and they'll do it for us. You sign, and it automatically sends out a few emails to VIPs in different departments in National Health Care. 


Taking it to the TOP.




YOU deserve it NOW. 
We don't need our CHILDREN to go through this, too. Enough is enough. 
And you know what else?   

IT'S ABOUT TIME!


   Pass it On!  Pass it On!  



***************************************
To Help You through the Journey, Read my Memoir:

 No More Tears: A Physician Turned Patient Inspires Recovery;  by Dr. Margaret Aranda

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Follow me on Twitter for updates! @arandaMDPhD
ANNOUNCING that BOOK #2, The 10-Year Anniversary Edition of No More Tears, will be coming out before the end of 2015! It will be hosted on a new website! Woo~HOO!
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Dr Aranda's Short Stories


Age 31: The Color Blue

Sunday, September 13, 2015

A LIFE OF DYSAUTONOMIA FROM AFAR

"No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge"

Launching on New Website Soon!

By Dr. Margaret Aranda



Photo 1. Margaret Aranda, MD, Ph.D. I still try to get out of bed and sit or stand. My brain still does not know where my body is, in space. If I close my eyes while standing, I have no "proprioception," no sense of being grounded to earth. I have to hold on to someone or something, so that I feel 'grounded.' But that doesn't mean that I'm faking it, nor does it mean I'm crazy or bipolar or nuts. It means I have a brainstem problem, and with all things having to do with the brain, it takes time to heal.


Still "brain injured" after both the car accident of 2006 and a neurologist letting me fall to the hard wood floor in 2013, I can tell you that traumatic brain injury with diabetes inspidus (TBI with DI) is no fun. The management is especially cumbersome and dangerous with underlying "brittle" dysautonomia. And the 5-year mortality rate for TBI/DI in ICU patients is 20%. Fortunately, I never had to stay in the ICU.

The vertebral artery dissection (VAD) with aneurysm, I believe, is sorely under-diagnosed and people just die with it. Being a well-trained doctor helped me describe my symptoms just right: "I feel ataxic." That leads one to think of the occipital brain, which is perfused by the vertebral artery, hence I diagnosed myself. The death rate from VAD is truly unknown, but it is life-altering in itself. 

Upon my initial hospital admissions to "work up" my conditions, I picked up writing because I wanted to keep a diary, and I wanted to be able to help the next person, in case I died (and I do tell you about my trip to Heaven's door). Dr. David Cannom was the only doctor to really "believe" me and diagnose me with "dysautonomia." He put me on an iv drip, and it saved my life for almost 4 years! Imagine that!



VIDEO 1. SUMMARY OF DYSAUTONOMIA. Most doctors don't learn about dysautonomia in medical school. I looked "fine" on the outside, so they mistakenly thought that I was "pretending" to be sick. I was treated like an outcast, when most doctors can not even spell "dysautonomia," much less tell me what I'm supposed to be feeling as the patient who has the disease they never heard before. And it's not just me, and it's not just dysautonomia. It happens to virtually everyone with an "Invisible Illness." Right?

I wrote this second Version of No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge to let patients know that they are not going crazy. In a stepwise fashion, I give you my best knowledge, as both a physician and a patient, on how to #1: Get a Diagnosis. The following Chapters are just a glimpse of things for YOUR benefit:

*     How Doctors Think
*     Living with Dysautonomia
*     Falling Risks and Avoiding Them
*     TBI with Diabetes Insipidus
*     Vertebral Artery Dissection with Aneurysm
*     Anterior Spinal Fusion for Spinal Stenosis
*     Migraines
*     Urinary Incontinence
*     Pre-Diabetes
*     Caregivers and The Significant Other
*     How Doctors Write their Notes
*     The Status of the Disabled Today
*     Women's Health "Wars" Yet to be Won


AND...


No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge gives you TOOLS to use to help YOU get to where YOU need to be. I help YOU to streamline your health care; to maximize efficiency so your doctor actually looks at and examines YOU instead of looking at the computer. I give you Appendices you can make copies of, fill out, and bring them with you to EACH doctor visit! You will be a PROFESSIONAL PATIENT (YES!!) after this, and will SPOON-FEED your Health Care Professional what they need (...and they will look at you in grateful surprise!)!

AND.....


In No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge, I encourage you! I inspire you! I walk you all the way through the nursing home maize, the Activities of Daily Living, long-term care, bed exercises, and the value of Incident Reports for accidents. You won't be alone if your Parent needs a nursing home. Why? Because  I teach you a "Buddy System" that serves as an 'extra layer' of protection for you or your loved one. It is needed. 




BECAUSE....



Hey, I went from 42 years old, to 82 overnight, and you can't take the Stanford out of me. You can't take the 'compassion for others' out of me. I may not be able to give you anesthesia or operate your ventilator settings in the ICU, but I'll give you the knowledge that I do have, so that no one has to reinvent this wheel! Take my insight and don't be a stranded, helpless victim in a hospital bed!  No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge is Launching Soon! 

You and I?

We are not just SURVIVORS.

WE ARE WARRIORS
AND WE
DON'T GIVE UP
No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge
gives you a PUMP!


SO....If one in a Million patients will survive, I am going to be that "1." YOU are going to be that "1." And together, with God's help, WE SHALL PERSEVERE! One day, One hour, and sometimes it will be One MINUTE at a time, but we shall fight! And it will be a GOOD FIGHT! 



Photo 2. Dr. Margaret Aranda. I was on my way to a total recovery, albeit slowly, when I sustained a 2nd TBI with DI, rendering me useless to pursue academic dreams of going back to Stanford anesthesiology. The neurologist dropped me. Then with the subsequent TBI, the DI was raging in a fury that kept me On the Edge, on the fine line, between life and death. Again. Just when I thought it was over. Just when I thought.....it doesn't matter what I thought. After crying and screaming and kicking, I decided to keep on living. Guess what? Life happens. It is what it is. Deal with it. OVERCOME it. Baby steps. If you can wiggle your toes, then wiggle them!



We Shall Persevere!



You will be fighting for your life, too. Your husband may stay loyal to you. Or drunkenly, he may wake you up in the middle of the night to sign papers (that give all the assets to him). Chances are, you may have to fight for your marriage. And your children. And just like in the 1800's, you may have your children told that "you died," when in fact your husband put you away in an insane asylum. Then he remarries and his new wife wears all your jewelry.  

Don't kid yourself. You live in a completely different world now. You will see the world through different eyes, and for that I am sorry. But just look at it as if it were a disease, and don't change. Stay your beautiful self. Forgive. Save yourself and pray for those who mean you harm. God will bless you. 



VIDEO 2. IT WASN'T BY CHOICE.  By Tuckerzone, who wrote this song for me back in the day when a group of us hung out together on YT all the time. It was sweet, so sweet. 

INVISIBLE ILLNESSES (Not All-Inclusive):

POTS    Pure Autonomic Failure      histocytosis
Chiari Malformation   LUPUS   Myalgic encephalitis
DYSAUTONOMIA   Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome    TBI
vertebral artery dissection     Pre-Diabetes   Migraines
crps   Mal de Debarquement Syndrome   endometriosis
CHRONIC PAIN     DIABETES Mellitus, II    Hypertension
Hypothyroidism Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome  DI
CANCER    leukemia   bulemia    DEPRESSION
post-partum depression  suicidal ideation  IH
LYMES DISEASE  insomnia  vertebral artery aneurysm
      Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome  SLE
chronic illness    DIABETES INSIPIDUS    DM
Diabetes Mellitus, I    Guillain-Barre syndrome   suicide

FIBROMYALGIA   PTSD    Bipolar Disorder   panic attacks



VIDEO 2. AL CURSI AND "HAVE A HEART."  I love love love this unique and original video that Al Cursi, comedian extraordinaire, did for my Contest on making a You Tube video for Dysautonomia Awareness. Still love love it! 


Now, you can be prepared. Every Chapter in No More Tears - Stepping from the Edge is both memoir and scientific, fully referenced with current peer-reviewed research papers. I'm "spoon-feeding" YOU. Be empowered! Be educated! Be knowledgeable about the System of Medicine. This has much of the standard information that you need to know. And you can enjoy this read without the iv singing it's "Hum, drum. Drip, drop," throughout each Chapter. I don't want to distract you from what you NEED to know to survive, to conquer, and to THRIVE. God Bless you.


Stay Tuned for the Most Current Info!



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Dr Aranda's Short Stories


Age 31: The Color Blue

“ARE YOU SITTING ON THE FENCE?”

FIRST ONLINE SUNDAY PRAISE & WORSHIP

FOR THE DISABLED and UNABLE to make it to SERVICE

By Rev. Margaret Aranda, MD, Ph.D.

Administration by Randy Smitb
Closing Prayer & Song by Kirstie Aranda

WELCOME! I feel that the Holy Spirit is leading me to have people make up their minds NOW, about TRULY following Jesus Christ. I deleted over 300 FaceBook friends that I don’t remember. They don’t talk to me, and I don’t talk to them.

Many of them stated they were “Christian,” “Pastors,” “Evangelists,” or had “Love for Jesus.” They must be too busy to show their love for Christ on my Wall, so I made room for those who are truly committed to walk the walk. In obeying God on this, I know that it will work out for the best.

So if you are here to sit in the back of the classroom, you may as well leave. Turn off your laptop and go watch a movie. If you are here to look me in the eyes, and sit in the front row, then stay. I promise that you will have eternal salvation! I do not promise that it will be easy, nor do I promise that your load will be light.

But I DO promise you that you WILL be ready with your Sword of the Spirit!

As we sing the OPENING SONGS, please gather together your bread and wine for Holy Communion, to remember Christ’s death:

“Mary, Did You Know?”
By Kenny Rogers & Winona Rogers

“Soul on Fire”
By Third Day

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
(Psalm 
51:12 ESV)

“Use Me, Lord”
By Jotta A.       
        
“I Can Only Imagine”
By Winona Rider

“I Surrender”
By Hillsong Live


PRAYER REQUESTS: TYPE YOURS IN ANY TIME, PLEASE

PRAYER REQUEST: For all missionaries and the poor that have come to us for donations: Steven Mwesigwa, Jahanzaiblove Jahanzaib, Aamir Aslam, R-Good Shepherd, and his orphans, Lord, please let them get help from
www.samaritanspurse.org. Those that can help, help!

PRAYER REQUEST:  We ask for special blessings for those who are searching for a job, a raise, a better financial position, or a change in career. Please bless them profusely, and let them keep their feet on the ground. We praise YOU, God, Amen!

PRAYER REQUEST: That we continue to grow, Lead Others to Christ, multiply, love, spread the Word, clothe the poor, feed our orphans and widows, HEAL THE SICK, and serve you, Lord. We praise YOU, Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS:  For all the sick and needy that already entered prayer requests, Lord, thank you for meeting all of our needs, in Your precious Name, Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Please enter here if you have any other prayer requests:

PRAISE REPORTS:  That we continue to draw new members who need healing, OR who can be WARRIORS and pray for healing!!! Thank you for the HEALING Miracles we have seen in two people so far! Amen!

PRAISE REPORT: (no one answers, and one day we shall have many PRAISE REPORTS).




SERMON:

Who here is truly a Christian? Who here is NOT afraid to speak UP and speak OUT that they are a Christian? Can I get an “AMEN?”

Who here is Christian enough to tolerate wicked sinners pointing and laughing at them for being a Christian? Who is willing to be bullied? Picked on? Persecuted? Spit on? Can I get an “AMEN?”

Who here would give up Jesus, DENY Jesus, to save their OWN lives?

Who here will DIE for Jesus, if it comes to that, and DIE with the faith of Jesus on their tongues?

Do you REALLY believe that you will EVER have to make that decision in front of a crowd that wants to execute you or behead you for Christ?

Or would you DENY your Christ and damn your soul for eternity? For there will be a time that is coming soon, where there will be NO turning back if you deny Christ.

The END TIMES are already here, my friends. We are getting close to a NEW WORLD ORDER, a NEW WORLD CURRENCY, and the Mark of the Beast. This will be a microchip inserted into your right hand, or an ISBN Code under the skin of your forehead.


The United States has already built over 30 FEMA CAMPS to round up all the Christians, and hundreds of thousands of BODY BOXES that each fit 3 corpses.

I am sorry to say that in my research, I have also found that the USA has already purchased a slew of guillotines, waiting to behead people. Who better to Order beheadings, than the Anti-Christ who forces people to adore HIM or be beheaded!? WARNING: If you wear the microchip, if you deny Christ in front of the Guillotine, you will NEVER have a “2nd chance.” You will go into the Lake of Fire and spend eternity in Hell.

I do not mean to scare anyone. We have all read about these things, written in the Book of Revelations. I believe that there is no more time to be a “lukewarm” Christian. You are either “in” all the way, or you are “out.” If you can’t say an “Amen” in Service today, how are you going to save your soul and stay with Christ?

Do NOT Take the Microchip or the forehead code! Refuse to do so, and if necessary, say The Lord’s Prayer as you are being beheaded, my brothers and sisters! Then, and only then, will you have passed THE TEST and will share in the eternal glory with Christ forever! Listen to what others are saying:

“WARNING! USA in Last Days, 2015!”
By FisherOfMen

“Sunday Law Coming Soon – The Mark of the Beast”
By Standard YouTube License

“Warriors”
By Phil Driscoll



HEALING SERVICE:

LET US PRAY: For Chris, Jenn Free, Deva Andrews’ granddaughter Grace who has a fever of 103F and is at Children’s Hospital with cancer, for Helen Waltz Whitman, Bob Long-Coleman and his friend who suffered trauma but shall arise from it, for Tracy Norton, Bob Coleman-Long, Amy Coleman, MaryAnn and Dennis Gray, Jenn Waters, Deb Townalini, and all others who suffer chronic pain or illness. Help us to know that our sufferings can be used to solidify and firmly stand our place in FAITH with you over time, Dear Lord. Let MIRACLES extend to them as we lay our hands upon them this way:

HEALING PRAYER: Lord, help us to take you at Your Word, even if we do not fully comprehend it. As Christ laid His hands on the people and healed them, He also said that we would do the same for us.

Let us do this, so that all things that you predicted shall come to pass. I am going to ask for EACH ONE of you to either put your hand on the screen or to lay hands upon yourself. Then, either to pray for someone else's healing, or for your own healing.

Use your faith as you lay hands on yourself or the screen, and receive or pray for HEALING:

LAY HANDS: “Father God, Your Word says, “By His stripes, we were healed.” Christ took on the severe, bloody scourging on his back, for our sins. He freed us from our sins and iniquities, OUR SICKNESSES, by taking on these lashings for us, forevermore. We ask that you heal me from _________.”

GIVE THANKS: “Thank you, Jesus, as we now proclaim ourselves as accepting what Christ did for us. We touch the screen and pray for healing in our bodies, healing that only you can provide.” (We pray and ask only one time. For those of you who speak in tongues, you may do so now.)

(From then on, we thank God and Glorify Him) We thank you, Lord! We Praise Your Holy Name! We Glorify Your Name above all Names! Thank you for “by Your stripes, we were healed!” Thank you for healing my disease!”

Say, “Thank you for my continued healing, day by day, perfection upon perfection! In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

“Holy, Holy, Holy”
By YouTube License

“All Hail King Jesus”
By Kent Henry


INVITATION AND RENEWAL PRAYER: If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior, you can do so in faith, now:

“Lord, I have not accepted You fully into my heart, or I did once long ago, and have strayed. I ask that you forgive my sins, enter my heart, and stay with me forevermore as my Personal Lord and Savior. I thank you that by grace alone, and your death on the cross, I can enter Heaven to be together forever with you.”

If you have said this prayer in earnest, please let us know, so we get a Mentor for you, so that we can disciple you from a ‘baby’ Christian to a ‘fully-grown’ Christian who is then able to lead. We then go out to all ends of the earth, spreading the Gospel or supporting those that do so. Amen!

Jesus, Name Above All Names
By CRC Worship

*************
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION: Until I studied it myself, I did not realize how seriously God judges us for taking Holy Communion.  If you do not take it correctly, this may be why you are weak, sick, or sleeping (die).

It is Holy. We are not to take it if we are sinning, or it is blasphemy against yourself, and the Lord. Just sit it out instead.

I encourage you not to take Holy Communion until after watching my short version (31 min) of my Bible Study on it: https://youtu.be/RIW44PDgM6w and the Sermon version at: https://youtu.be/cGExxw8gzdk
**************



“THE LORD’S PRAYER” AS CHRIST TAUGHT US:

Let us take Holy Communion together, after saying the Our Father, as Jesus told us to pray together:

THE OUR FATHER.....
Our Father, Who art in Heaven...
Hallowed be Thy Name....
Thy kingdom come...
Thy Will be done...
On earth as it is in Heaven...
Give us this day our daily bread...
And forgive us our trespasses...
As we forgive those who trespass against us...
And lead us not into temptation...
But deliver us from evil...
For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory...
Forever and ever... Amen...


TOGETHER WE PARTAKE IN HOLY COMMUNION:
We proceed with Holy Communion, as Christ commanded, in Remembrance of His Death:

TAKING THE BODY: We break off the bread, eat it as His Body, and remember His Death for us. Amen. As we chew it and swallow it, it cleanses our bodies and renews our spirits.
(Hold it up in the air) Say aloud:

“This is the body of Christ, in remembrance of His death, as He was beaten and scourged, humiliated, and walked up the mountain to be nailed on the Cross with a crown of thorns.

It will course through all your veins, as all food does, to fill your inner body with energy and strength. “Let it be so.” (EAT THE BREAD).

TAKING THE BLOOD: We sip the wine, drinking it as His blood, remembering His Death for us. Amen. As we swallow, it cleanses our bodies and our renews our spirits.  (Hold it up in the air) Say aloud:

“This is the blood of Christ, in remembrance of His death, as it was shed for all men and women, so He stood in our place for forgiveness of all sins.”  (DRINK THE WINE.)

It will course through all your veins, as all food does, to fill your inner body with energy and strength. “Let it be so.”

Sit or kneel prayerfully after taking Holy Communion, remembering Christ’s death for us. Christ does not want us to forget it.


DONATIONS and NEEDS:  “Will YOU ROB GOD? You rob Him in your tithes and offerings.” Steven Mwesigwa needs $350/mo to feed the orphans. May people “adopt” a child for $30/mo. May our tithes and offerings cheerfully be given to meet their needs, Lord, as You love a “Cheerful Giver.”

SONG OF DEDICATION TO THE LORD

“You are So Beautiful”
By Billy Preston; Sung by Phil Driscoll




CLOSING PRAYER BY KIRSTIE: Dear Lord we come to you today, to ask you to let your Holy Spirit rain down on all. Let your Comforter and friend touch our souls as we need your touch again. Let the Holy Spirit’s power fall and let the voices be heard by many around the world! Come and change our hearts as we stand on Your Word. Lord, we ask you to open up Heaven and open it wide, over your Church and over our lives. In Jesus’ Name, We Pray, Amen!


CLOSING SONG by Kirstie:

“Holy Spirit, Rain Down”
By Standard YouTube License


DISMISSAL: Lord, let us be FANS of you! We go FANatic at football games, basketball games, other competitions…but let us be FANatic for YOU, Lord, God! Let us not be ashamed to jump into Your WORLD! Help us to thrive in Your Presence! Give us strength and courage to meet all of our needs. We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen!





“Holy Spirit, Rain Down”
By Standard YouTube License

DISMISSAL SONG:

You Raise Me Up”
By Phil Driscoll


To be “born again,” please note the PLAN OF SALVATION:

1.   All have sinned. (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8)

2.   There is a penalty for sin (Romans 6:23; John 3:18)

3.   You cannot save yourself (Titus 3:5; James 2:10)

4.   Salvation has been provided (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; John 14:6)

5.   The conditions are simple:    A. Repent (Luke 13:3); B Confess (1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9); C. Believe (Acts 16:31)

6.   Now is your time for a Decision (Joshua 24:15; 2 Corinth 6:2)

Do you repent for your sins?

Do you confess your sins to the Lord?

Do you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, into your heart?

If you answer “yes” to all these questions, you are now a Born Again Christian! We love you! Welcome to the body of Christ! Confess it with your mouth, or write it here! You must say it out loud! Praise the Lord!

Go now, and Spread the Word of God to all the Ends of the Earth!

HOMEWORK:


1.    What do you think was going through Christ’s mind as He suffered and died on the Cross?

“Isn’t She Beautiful?
By Chris Maples and Mike Smith

WITHDRAWAL OF OPIOIDS AND PAIN MANAGEMENT WITHOUT OPIOIDS By Dr Forest Tennant   We are pleased to share information from Dr. Forest Ten...