Trinidad be Jammin'

TBT - Trinidad
I'm leaving for the weekend to the Poconos and I have a feeling, if the weather is anything like it has been in the past week in Jersey, I can only imagine the Poconos being the same. Not only in snow, but in temperature. Let's just say I'm packing extra warm clothes and praying I don't get frost bite!

Last years Poconos trip was okay.. but was kind of shot in the end of the weekend. I'm hoping this year will be less drama and more good memories. I'm going with a bunch of college friends, so as always, it should be eventful.

 
My friends, not only college friends, friends in general, are like second family to me. Like I mentioned in my last post, my puzzle gave me my solitude during my recovery, but my friends and family, they gave me the stability I needed to get through my recovery.

When I was in Trinidad in 2010, I really gained perspective of how much family has become a big part of my life. When it seems like friends don't have time, my family has always been my rock. (though they might not have a choice in matter, they have to put up with me ; P )

 
So in this post, I dedicate it to the wonderful people I have in my life from my mom's side of the family and remind everyone, though we can't necessarily pick who our family is, (whether they're blood, friends who have become family, or even the pets we own who have become their own person) no matter how far, or how we define them, they are a reason to be thankful for daily.

 

Family needs no definition. 

<3 

Jess

PS ~ Trinidad bring the heat to me this weekend!

Five Thousand Pieces of Recovery

As much as puzzles may not seem like something on an average to do list, it has been on mine since last May. After surgery, because of the slump I was in and finding out who was truly there for me during surgery, my dad went out and bought, (rather shopped online) the most challengingly frustrating, magnificent puzzle, I could have ever asked for.

Now this is a hobby, not just something I picked up randomly. Typically winter break as a child I would be sick with one cold or another, and so, New Years Eve my dad had bought me a puzzle to work on. I'd spend every New Years Eve and day trying, usually finishing I might add, the puzzle he gave me. It might not seem so glamorous but, for me, those are years I remember having something of a brain teaser to do and I'd be working diligently to get it done.

 
Well, as I mentioned, the puzzle he gave me is one that, at some points, I felt I would never finish. Every time I'd work on it, it be either hit or miss with the amount of puzzle pieces I'd be able to finish. To me, this was my project. It was my baby. It's at the core of my being.. or so I'm exaggerating. Well, at the very least, it felt like I worked, literally, through my recovery. Through my ups and downs. Whatever surgery had brought my way, or rather life in general, this puzzle essentially made me be able to reevaluate my life and put my focus onto something else. My problems eventually disappeared and life was slowly pieced back together.

 

It took a lot of time and energy to complete this, but as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day!

All it took was 5,000 pieces!

 

<3

Jess

Fluid Removed

As more fluid came out of my dad, I really begin to wonder where the heck it's coming from. He was finally discharged yesterday with roughly 2 liters of fluid taken out total since he's been admitted. The doctor does not believe that the void will be filled again with fluid, but I've heard of a patient in Columbia who had to have taps regularly as modern medicine could not prevent fluid from continually building. Let's pray that is not the case for my dad.

Today, as much as he wanted to be very productive, he seems rather weak. Having fluid drained takes a lot of someone it seems, and even though he's stopped, the body still needs time to recover. I can only imagine the frustration he's had going through these past few days. When I had to be readmitted twice to the hospital following surgery, I was really upset. For him, he's been doing amazing two months, almost three, after surgery. Here it is that now he seems to go through the mind over body experience in that he realizes, as much as you want to do something with this new heart, it might take a little longer than you want, to start going full speed ahead.

For the first time in a long time, I attempted to do situps on my yoga ball. Sadly I'm still feeling the strain of my sternum being cut in half at the very bottom. I want to get back into the shape I once had and I blame myself for sometimes not being motivated enough to exercise regularly. The motivation I have currently, is my 24th birthday is in less than a month, and soon after, my 1 year since open heart. I really can't believe it's going to be a year. I want more time I think to accomplish some things I haven't yet achieved. So, it's time to get cracking. I need to  move forward with my life. Surgery just was one chapter of hopefully a long life ahead. My heart health however, is something I need to work on daily. I may have a disease that at times scares me, but I cannot be afraid to live and make strides to being a better overall person. Time does not stop for anyone.

Whether it is big or small, we cannot let the challenges of life overtake us.

Life isn't worth living if we cannot defeat our own demons and move forward.

    One single step is all it takes.

<3 

Jess

Pericardiocentesis

Wow has this week been cold! Can I just say that, the amount of snow that was dumped on the northeast has made me ready for spring! I love playing in the snow, but this polar vortex I can really deal without! This week has been busy cleaning the house, both the inside and outside (I left the shoveling to my sister).

My dad had a biopsy yesterday and an echo. It wasn't good news for us with the echo. My dads heart was swimming in fluid. His doctor referred to it as a goldfish in a fish bowl and goodness, there was a lot of fluid. They performed a pericardiocentesis  or a pericardial tap. This was a possibility for me when I had water in the heart but, they couldn't extract it with that method. I had the window instead. Needless to say, this pericardial tap, which did use an anesthetic to knock him out while he was in the procedure, removed more than a liter of liquid. A LITER! And he's still draining!

The sad part is no one even had a clue that he was retaining that much fluid. (At least around his heart) His weight has been going up and he's been taking lasics to try and control it. Not so much. Thank God for that echo or we still wouldn't know!    

He's staying in the hospital until they can control it, which sucks. But, at least he's having it taken care of.

Hopefully, he'll be out before the weekend is finished.

Sometimes, we take for granted the littlest things but, it's those little things that are the most important.

<3

Jess

Death and Pompeii

It seems like there's been so much death and disease in past week that it feels unbearable to look at the upside. My dad's godfather passed away this week at the age of 99. He surely had a great life and most of us, I'm sure, can only dream to live up to that age. I'm happy that he passed peacefully however, I can't help to think of his wife. She too, is in her 90's and I'm sure she doesn't know how to go on. They had been married for 73 years. 73 YEARS! Most modern day relationships only last a few years and lets not forget about the divorce rate in marriages. In Hollywood, we're lucky to see a marriage last 10 years and over. This amazing couple was married pretty much a lifetime for many of us.

Looking at his pictures at the wake last night, was truly something. He never seemed to have aged. He always looked the same and managed to stay young at heart I think. That's something to admire about him and his life. It's not even just his age, but to know that he's lived and endured a lifetime of changes.

It made me think of how much one city I visited had also endured. When I visited Pompeii, life is at a constant standstill for the area that is preserved. The areas surrounding have upgraded to modern day, but Pompeii has managed to stay exactly as it was. In a way (the historian side of me), makes me wish that there was other cities that had a volcanic eruption to preserve just a moment in time. Of course, take out the people that would have died, and just preserve the everyday life. It's a true glimpse at what one civilization had once been. Just like the artwork that has stayed in Pompeii manages to tell us a story of time, the collage of pictures of my dads godfather's wake gives us a glimpse into his long life. 

 

I can only hope, that all those picture they had put together for him, can be what my life will one day resemble. 

Life can be narrated through a collage of pictures. Make sure each picture is memorable. 

<3

Jess

Swimming in Cold Season

New Year's resolutions anyone? Well, last week started off good. I walked three miles a few days in a row... and then go sick. Wonderful.
First my mom, then my sister. Finally, me. So much for believing taking my vitamins daily would save me from whatever virus they had.

Though, what's worse is my dad has started to get sick too! BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! WE HAVE A VIRUS ON THE MOVE!

So far it's taken me about five days and counting to get over this cold. My mom and sister only took a few days. All I have to say is, where the hell is my immune system?!

Lets just hope, as my dad is in the beginning stages of this awful cold, he's saved himself the trouble of getting even worse. Taking Mucinex DM seems to be doing the trick. Certain brands of medicine are more compatible with my heart. If you're heart problem free, you can take anything but, if you have heart problems, (especially if you're on heart medication) you should ask your doctor what to take.
Now if only I had taken this a few days earlier...

In the midst of it all, I did try something I've never done before cooking wise. Yes, being that I am still new to this, I'm still learning. After all, what is cooking but a simple experiment for your taste buds!

FISH TACOS (Don't knock it until you try it)
Ingredients:
Whole wheat tortilla
Tilapia
Zucchini
Chili powder
Sweet salsa
Guacamole (premade sadly)
Fish seasoning

First I cut up and baked (two medium sized) zucchini chips with oil and chili powder. Do this for about 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. While that was baking, I seasoned the fish with a generic fish seasoning and started to put it in a frying pan. It wasn't the healthiest, BUT I did try it for the heck of it. If you do fry cooking often, try to at least use canola or olive oil. They are a bit heart healthier and if you're feeling adventurous like I was, rather than baking, these oils are a good option to use.

Frying fish is interesting to say the least. You only have to fry it for a certain amount of minutes on each side because fish fries quickly. To determine the time the fish needs, depends on the thickness of the fish. For me, it was a few minutes on each side and I was done.

 
I microwaved my tortillas and added my fish, zucchini, salsa, and guacamole to make one explosion of flavor in your mouth! You may think it would be too much, but it was delicious!

Meanwhile, I seem to still be battling this cold. Here's hoping I'm not sick for the rest of the week! Or at least anything like I was a few days ago.

Remember, while I might have burnt my fish a little at first, "I want my food dead. Not sick, not dying, DEAD!" Oscar Wilde

Until we meet again,

<3

Jess

Cheers to a New Year

A new year! Can anyone believe it's 2014?! I certainly can't! The holiday season flew by and now we're all onto our new year's resolutions.

A big one is staying out of the hospital! And staying healthy!

Like I said in the last post, listen to your body. Even if it's not heart related, in any kind of situation, don't just give up because one doctor tells you something and it still doesn't feel right. Trust your gut instinct.  AND DON'T BE STUBBORN! I mention this because certain members of my family are always stubborn about their health, as am I at times. But your health is never something to fool around with.

Aside from staying out of the hospital, I have a list of resolutions. (Like the rest of the world) Losing a few pounds is a top priority. Lets be honest here, everyone wants to lose a few pounds. Although I tried to be healthy, I can honestly say I had way too many sweets. Saying No, (and yes, I'll admit it, I am a hypocrite because I did mention just say NO before) I didn't quite do that. Too much cookies and cake, not enough veggies! I think we can all say, we put on a few pounds this season.

I did give away my baked goods when I could, however, somehow I ended up with more coming back to me!

Here's one of my more creative projects of the holiday season which consisted of way too much Crisco!

A vanilla cake with sprinkles, m&m's, and way too much icing. I used a cake molding that required a lot of crisco but in the end, it turned out pretty decently. 

New Years resolutions:
-Stay out of the hospital
-Lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle
-Cook more (at least a few times a week for my family)
-GRE's complete
-Apply and get into grad school
-READ! (I won't bore you with my book list, but it's quite long)
-Finish a puzzle I've been working on since my recovery (5,000 pieces)
-Try something new (not sure what, but gotta live it up!)
-Continuously write in this blog and keep on inspiring! (at least that's what I hope I'm doing for anyone reading this)

While I only helped a little with this recipe, the transplant patient did most of the work. He wanted curry, and so he made it. Cauliflower, chick peas, curry, tilapia, capers, and basmati rice.

Make sure you drain the liquid from the chick peas and rinse in water! Take's out a lot of the sodium. I will say, if there's a low sodium curry, try to get that. Or don't add the entire curry jar. It's just too much sodium! Boil the cauliflower, add in the curry and chick peas and you have one dish. Basmati rice can be tricky, so just follow what it says, rinse the rice, then boil in the required amount of water, and let it soak in. This actually takes the longest period of time in this recipe. Bake the tilapia at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes in a small amount of unsalted butter, water, and Mrs. dash to add some spice.

  Eat up and Enjoy!

Let's start the New Year off right 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

Eleanore Roosevelt

<3

Jess