I'm not a huge You Tube user, but someone posted this on a photography website I frequent and I thought it was the coolest thing EVER. If Craig and I ever renew our vows, we would totally attempt this! I LOVE it, so romantic!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
New Products!
I'm really excited about the two new products I'm promoting. The first is the Gallery Wrapped Canvas which is beautiful canvas print wrapped around a wooden frame. And the second (pictured below) is the Fine Art Standout which is a print mounted on a thick lightweight board.
The first 2006 wedding client to email me will receive a complimentary 11x14 Fine Art Standout (please include your mailing address).
Thanks to my good friend CoryAnn from AC Ellis Photography for giving me the idea to periodically offer specials on my blog.
The first 2006 wedding client to email me will receive a complimentary 11x14 Fine Art Standout (please include your mailing address).
Thanks to my good friend CoryAnn from AC Ellis Photography for giving me the idea to periodically offer specials on my blog.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Surgery Gone Bad
What an interesting week. Shortly after I posted on Monday regarding my recovery, things started to go downhill. By 10pm I was experiencing severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, chest pain, a fever and uncontrollable shaking. At that point I knew that something was terribly wrong and called my good Dr friend Hilary to take me to the ER. She's a pediatrician with our local hospital and I was hoping that I would get expedited service with her, and that way Craig could stay home with Ella.
For the record, I am not a fan of the ER and would only go there as a last resort as I would much rather try to recover in my comfortable home rather than a waiting room for 3 hours.
As luck would have it, they weren't that busy and I was seen pretty quickly. They did the usual monitoring and ran some blood work while they sedated me with some pretty cool drugs. I maintained my sense of humor (explaining to everyone that I look much better with make-up), and even noticed an engagement ring on the ER Dr and asked her about her plans... did she have a photographer, etc. (I never stop thinking about weddings).
Hilary took these pictures with her phone to document the event. I think that she actually took them because this is the one instance where she looks better than me. I know I look like death, and trust me, that is exactly how I felt.
When the ER Dr returned with the results of my blood work, the news was not good. Apparently, there was a component that was significantly higher than normal. This component, the Dr indicated, "could be an indicator of several things." The most serious was a blood clot in the lungs, which they quickly ruled out with a CAT scan. That was a scary half hour as a clot in the lungs is not a good thing. She also indicated that the level could be due to a leak in my liver or some gall stones that were blocking something or other. Either way, they would not be able to determine the cause until they were able to run more tests in the morning. So at 3:00am they decided to admit me. At this point tears are streaming down my face and I ask the Dr to please tell me that this isn't the end of the road for me. Of course I said it with my usual quip, so everyone was laughing.
I'll try to abbreviate the rest of the story...
The scan they did in the morning showed that my liver was not leaking, nor did I have gall stones. My liver, however, was very inflamed and quite discontent. My theory is that it was missing it's best friend, the gall bladder. You see, they had been living in harmony for 32 years when all of a sudden the gall bladder was taken away. At that point, my liver said, "that's it, I'm done! no bile for you, come back, one year!" LOL
I remained in the hospital for four days while they tried to figure out what was/is going on. I had three different roommates... two of which were over the age of 90 and were sent home when it appeared to me that they were about to die. My point is that they don't keep anyone in the hospital for very long these days, so it was very frightening to me that they weren't letting me go home. I also missed my family tremendously. Craig and/or my Mom were with me all day and would bring Ella to see me in the evenings, but when they would leave I would just cry and cry. Being in the hospital is not good for ones spirits.
As of this writing, they are still not sure what happened, which is very disturbing. My levels have returned to normal, but my liver is still not happy so I am on a no-fat, no-dairy diet. Do you know what I can eat? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I am freaking starving. Although I shouldn't complain too much because for the first 24 hours in the hospital I wasn't allowed anything because they thought that they might have to operate again. And when they did let me eat, it was a clear liquid diet.
I am recovering comfortably at home, but unable to do much else. Laying in a hospital bed for four days without much nourishment will suck the life out of you. Not only do I not have ANY energy, but I also lack brain power and I hate feeling stupid. LOL I have follow-up appointments with my surgeon and gastroenterologist, so we'll see what they say.
I would like to thank everyone for their love, support and understanding through this difficult time. I hope to be back to normal within the next few weeks.
Please send any menu ideas to heather@weddingsbyheather.com
Heather Lahtinen - alive and kicking in Pittsburgh
For the record, I am not a fan of the ER and would only go there as a last resort as I would much rather try to recover in my comfortable home rather than a waiting room for 3 hours.
As luck would have it, they weren't that busy and I was seen pretty quickly. They did the usual monitoring and ran some blood work while they sedated me with some pretty cool drugs. I maintained my sense of humor (explaining to everyone that I look much better with make-up), and even noticed an engagement ring on the ER Dr and asked her about her plans... did she have a photographer, etc. (I never stop thinking about weddings).
Hilary took these pictures with her phone to document the event. I think that she actually took them because this is the one instance where she looks better than me. I know I look like death, and trust me, that is exactly how I felt.
When the ER Dr returned with the results of my blood work, the news was not good. Apparently, there was a component that was significantly higher than normal. This component, the Dr indicated, "could be an indicator of several things." The most serious was a blood clot in the lungs, which they quickly ruled out with a CAT scan. That was a scary half hour as a clot in the lungs is not a good thing. She also indicated that the level could be due to a leak in my liver or some gall stones that were blocking something or other. Either way, they would not be able to determine the cause until they were able to run more tests in the morning. So at 3:00am they decided to admit me. At this point tears are streaming down my face and I ask the Dr to please tell me that this isn't the end of the road for me. Of course I said it with my usual quip, so everyone was laughing.
I'll try to abbreviate the rest of the story...
The scan they did in the morning showed that my liver was not leaking, nor did I have gall stones. My liver, however, was very inflamed and quite discontent. My theory is that it was missing it's best friend, the gall bladder. You see, they had been living in harmony for 32 years when all of a sudden the gall bladder was taken away. At that point, my liver said, "that's it, I'm done! no bile for you, come back, one year!" LOL
I remained in the hospital for four days while they tried to figure out what was/is going on. I had three different roommates... two of which were over the age of 90 and were sent home when it appeared to me that they were about to die. My point is that they don't keep anyone in the hospital for very long these days, so it was very frightening to me that they weren't letting me go home. I also missed my family tremendously. Craig and/or my Mom were with me all day and would bring Ella to see me in the evenings, but when they would leave I would just cry and cry. Being in the hospital is not good for ones spirits.
As of this writing, they are still not sure what happened, which is very disturbing. My levels have returned to normal, but my liver is still not happy so I am on a no-fat, no-dairy diet. Do you know what I can eat? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I am freaking starving. Although I shouldn't complain too much because for the first 24 hours in the hospital I wasn't allowed anything because they thought that they might have to operate again. And when they did let me eat, it was a clear liquid diet.
I am recovering comfortably at home, but unable to do much else. Laying in a hospital bed for four days without much nourishment will suck the life out of you. Not only do I not have ANY energy, but I also lack brain power and I hate feeling stupid. LOL I have follow-up appointments with my surgeon and gastroenterologist, so we'll see what they say.
I would like to thank everyone for their love, support and understanding through this difficult time. I hope to be back to normal within the next few weeks.
Please send any menu ideas to heather@weddingsbyheather.com
Heather Lahtinen - alive and kicking in Pittsburgh
Monday, February 5, 2007
Episode 8
Surgery sucks. Ya know, I'm a pretty upbeat, positive person, but I gotta say that this has been more than I bargained for. The surgery went well, and things didn't seem too bad immediately after, but once the meds wore off, I was in quite a bit of pain. Today is the first day I'm actually sitting in front of my computer and I was showered before 5pm, so I guess I'm feeling better.
Although my surgeon was unable to film AND perform the surgery (I was a little disappointed in her, I was sure she could multi-task), she did offer to take some images while she was in there. Click here to view my internal organs, not for the faint of heart.
She indicated that my gall bladder was rather large for a small person, and it took a great deal of pulling/tugging/manipulation to get it out of the tiny incision. Which would certainly explain the bruising around my belly button.
I am so glad that I waited until the off season to have this done. As I indicated in my podcast, they wanted to remove it in June but couldn't guarantee that if I had it done on a Monday I would be better by Saturday. The decision I made to just manage the pain during the summer was for my brides... I just couldn't imagine shooting a wedding (I'm very physical) five days after having surgery.
It's been difficult for me to just lay around, I'm so bored. I've been watching some cool shows on the History Channel and Discovery Networks, the other day I learned how carpet is made. And did you know that Rob and Amber from Survivor have a reality show on some obscure channel? It's on at like 2 or 3 in the morning and it's pretty funny.
I'd like to thank everyone for the cards, flowers and emails... I even received the most awesome video message from one my past clients. The support I have received from everyone has certainly made my recovery easier.
Posting this has been enough exertion for today, I need a nap. LOL
Heather Lahtinen - missing an organ in Pittsburgh
Although my surgeon was unable to film AND perform the surgery (I was a little disappointed in her, I was sure she could multi-task), she did offer to take some images while she was in there. Click here to view my internal organs, not for the faint of heart.She indicated that my gall bladder was rather large for a small person, and it took a great deal of pulling/tugging/manipulation to get it out of the tiny incision. Which would certainly explain the bruising around my belly button.
I am so glad that I waited until the off season to have this done. As I indicated in my podcast, they wanted to remove it in June but couldn't guarantee that if I had it done on a Monday I would be better by Saturday. The decision I made to just manage the pain during the summer was for my brides... I just couldn't imagine shooting a wedding (I'm very physical) five days after having surgery.
It's been difficult for me to just lay around, I'm so bored. I've been watching some cool shows on the History Channel and Discovery Networks, the other day I learned how carpet is made. And did you know that Rob and Amber from Survivor have a reality show on some obscure channel? It's on at like 2 or 3 in the morning and it's pretty funny.
I'd like to thank everyone for the cards, flowers and emails... I even received the most awesome video message from one my past clients. The support I have received from everyone has certainly made my recovery easier.
Posting this has been enough exertion for today, I need a nap. LOL
Heather Lahtinen - missing an organ in Pittsburgh
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
