by Jamie Holloway | Oct 14, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’. You must do the thing...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 13, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you… This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.” Rumi4 Open doors, what are they? Open doors could be people, places, things, and food, anything that holds importance to us. Sometimes the doors have to be...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 9, 2012 | Auto-immune, Inspiring Nutrition, The Magnificent Journey
Cooking is a passion of mine. Since getting sick I have not been able to explore this passion. Not being able to breathe limits what I can do and I have to pace myself throughout the day or I can exhaust myself. I woke up Saturday morning feeling great, which is...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 8, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I woke up from a good sleep needing to suction. I felt an obstruction in my t-tube. I felt this clog deep in my t-tube for the last couple of days and no matter how much I lavaged and suctioned it would not come out. Have you ever had a clog in your life that no...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 5, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Albert Camus I am getting stronger with each obstacle that I am facing or have faced in the last four years. I should have died several times in the last two years. First was in 2010 and the second was in 2011, but I didn’t. I...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 3, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“He crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.” Shawshank Redemption While watching “The Shawshank Redemption” this line in the movie popped out at me. Let me tell you I have crawled through my own river of shit and I am hoping to come out...
by Jamie Holloway | Oct 1, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
A friend on Facebook messaged me last night and asked some questions. Here are my answers, I did send it to her, but I let out a lot of emotional stuff, so I thought it would make a good post for today. Hi Valerie, As Promised here are the self-evaluation questions...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 29, 2012 | Auto-immune, Books/Music, The Magnificent Journey
“The Artist Way” by Julia Cameron is a book that has been around for a long time. I finally got my hands on a copy of the book and the journal that comes with it. I am just starting week three of the exercises that she has you do to unblock your creativity. I have not...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 28, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I am in pain today. My back and sides are hurting making it difficult for me to walk. I did not feel like doing anything at all today. Myron walks in his usual way full of energy and vinegar and challenged me to get up out of bed. My negativity can go on; I have not...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 28, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
Lately, I have found myself getting angrier as time goes by; I get frustrated by the fact that I have an incurable disease. That I have to suction, lavage, nebulize daily several times a day so that I do not have a huge clog come up and then I have to save my own life...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 12, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I decided that I will be meditating on bad nights and self-care. I am not talking about those nights when you are full of emotions because the neighbors just won’t stop playing their loud Twisted Sister records all night and you have to act like Dee Snider and bust...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 10, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I am participating in the virtual conference about invisible illness this week and let me tell you there are some great speakers this year. Check it out at: http://invisibleillnessweek.com/virtual-conference-2/ I am writing this post for Erwin. I met Erwin and his...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 9, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
Monday is the start of Chronic Illness awareness month. There is so much I want to write about, express, and I see some amazing ideas from amazing writers that share their own experiences. I will be taking a word and expanding my own illness and life surround a...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 9, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
Happy Sunday! I am happy to say that I am home. Yes, it is 4:30 in the morning. I have to get up in order to suction and nebulize myself in order to keep the mucus thin enough so that I do not get giant clogs. Whatever it takes to keep me breathing, moving forward,...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 6, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my strong hold.” Psalm 18:2 My pediatric trach I had to have for a few days. Now I have my T-tube in. I’m...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 2, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
A conversation I had with my friend Summer while she, Karen, and I were driving from Vancouver/Longview to Seattle so that I can get the help I needed for my Subglottic Stenosis in my throat and the adventure I had in the ER. You can read about it in my post before...
by Jamie Holloway | Sep 1, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
1. The illness I live with is: I have a Vasculitis disease called Wegener’s granulomatosis 2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: was finally diagnosed in 2011 3. But I had symptoms since: 2008 4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: The biggest adjustment I...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 17, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
What a day! I drove three hours to Seattle in order to visit my Rhematologist and my ENT. I love my doctors. They truly do seem to care, even if things happen that I don’t like. Dr. Gardner, my Rhematologist went well. I finally succumbed to the advice of my sisters...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 13, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
“If you are ready to find real fulfillment, now is the time to start your new journey.” Oprah Winfrey What does my journey look like now that I got a permanent solution to my subglottic stenosis? Let me be clear about one thing. I am not happy about the solution that...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 10, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I am home. I am happy to be home. Melissa one of the wonderful nurses at the hospital told me she didn’t want me to leave, but I did want to leave. I missed my bed, my space, my people, not that the people at the hospital weren’t wonderful. I had some amazing nurses,...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 8, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I am writing this blog post hooked up to many different machines in order to be healthy. I have the humidifier hooked to my throat, I have to IV’s one in each arm and I have the oxygenator hooked up. Different noises, different reasons for each device to be hooked up...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 7, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
Have you ever received messages that just make you think? I have, messages for me can be in the lyrics to a song, a line in a movie, a quote, a book I am reading, something a person is saying to me, or even a thought that pops into my head. Tonight, while sitting in...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 5, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
Happy Sunday! If you suspect that I am still in the hospital, you would be correct. I am still here. One of the student doctors came in and she told me that I will be going home for sure tomorrow. I had to make a couple of phone calls, one of course to Myron, my...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 4, 2012 | Auto-immune, The Magnificent Journey
I woke up this morning expecting to be heading home to Vancouver, but once again my plains were derailed by someone else. I have to stay two more days in the hospital simply because Dr. Hillel wants me to be absolutely sure that I can take care of my t-stent tube. I...
by Jamie Holloway | Aug 4, 2012 | Auto-immune, Exhilarating People, The Magnificent Journey
This is my last night in the hospital. I am up in the middle of the night because I had to suction my t-tent and also take some pains meds. My throat is sore. I feel as though I swallowed a porcupine whole. Vickie is asleep on a cot next to me. I doubt she is getting...