Out of the areas I'll be focusing on, finances will likely be the easiest area to mark progress in. My current goal in this area is to be debt free except for my mortgage...again! I did this a few years ago, but now have small amounts on my credit cards and, of course, now a good amount of medical bills. I'm still praying about this, but I believe my 'return to school' marker in this area will be for my credit cards to be paid off. That is a bit hard for me to swallow as I really 'want' to return to school for the summer semester. Want...not need.
My Unexpected Emergency Fund had already been funded with an amount equal to one yearly medical deductible. Though my recent hospital stay was unexpected, I did not have to pay anything up front, so those bills will be worked into my monthly spending plan as they come in.
With that already taken care of, my attention turned to my February Spending Plan. I decided that would be my first financial marker for my new focus.
Area: Finances
Marker #1: Balanced spending plan for February - to include minimum payments to all verified medical bills and credit cards, as well as amounts designated for incidentals accounts - car maintenance, vet expenses, clothing needs, doctor visits, etc.
After a good amount of time and thought, it has been finalized. All areas that I could think of have been at least noted on the plan - including the unexpected additional doctor appointments. Minimum payments have been scheduled for all verified medical bills, as well as one of my two credit cards, and an extra amount has been allocated to my other credit card - the one with the lowest balance. That leads to my second marker:
Area: Finances
Marker #2: Pay off credit card #1
Thankfully, this credit card has a pretty low balance. Reviewing the account today, I realized I only need to squeeze an additional $67 out of February's spending plan to meet this marker by the end of the month.
05 February 2012
Putting my redirection into action
Day 5 - I knew I had to take some quick action to solidify my decision. Emails have been sent to my professors to let them know I will be officially withdrawing as soon as I can drive up to the campus as required.
Until further notice, outside of work, 100% of my attention and energy will be devoted to transforming things in my life from "chaos to clarity." Focus will be on all that I already have going on - health, home, finances and a few other odds and ends. While I'll be taking the next few days to contemplate exactly what this will cover, how best to proceed and how I will measure progress, I do know one thing:
If I can do this - having just got out of the hospital with heart issues - YOU can do it! Is there a decision or course of action you've been needing to take? Now is a good time.
Until further notice, outside of work, 100% of my attention and energy will be devoted to transforming things in my life from "chaos to clarity." Focus will be on all that I already have going on - health, home, finances and a few other odds and ends. While I'll be taking the next few days to contemplate exactly what this will cover, how best to proceed and how I will measure progress, I do know one thing:
If I can do this - having just got out of the hospital with heart issues - YOU can do it! Is there a decision or course of action you've been needing to take? Now is a good time.
The beginning of redirection
February 1st involved blood work, a CT scan with contrast and an intrusive groin entry into my femoral artery and up into my heart. It involved another reality check. Thankfully, it also involved me sleeping in my own house again - well, at least resting.
Many things went through my mind over that 24 hour period between the event leading to the ER and the trip back home. I was concerned about my daughter worrying, my son being at home by himself, items I still needed to take care of, work and school. My concern of work was extremely short - a simple text message and that was taken care of. I knew I had, and would, miss some deadlines for the classes I had just begun. I knew my will needed updated, my paperwork was a mess, my finances still needed some tweaking. I was still on a quest to get my son's health back on track, school back on track and still needed to teach him to drive. I still had a house to finish simplifying, organizing and remodeling. Obviously, I still had my health to tend to as well.
I left the hospital knowing what I needed to do. First night home and rest was the only thing on the agenda. The next morning I woke with that direction still on my mind. Of course, I couldn't do much yet. The focus for day 2 was hydration. Having all of that contrast put in my system, it was important to hydrate and clean it through my kidneys. Day 3 found me questioning the redirection. I shot off a few emails to determine my status in my classes - sure I could handle 'it all' if I hadn't missed too many deadlines. Hydration was still the main focus, with a little bit more movement. Day 4 brought responses. I was okay in both classes as long as I met the upcoming deadlines. That meant it was going to be a busy weekend. I can handle busy, I thought. I'm good at busy.
But wait. I was still feeling quite sluggish and still had other things that needed my attention. Being a pay day weekend, I needed to tend to my finances, I needed to follow up on some new things going on with my son's health. I still needed to update my will and still had much to do around the house.
The war of the good shoulder angel and the bad shoulder angel had begun. The bad shoulder angel told me I could 'cover it all' as I had before. The good shoulder angel reminded me that by trying that route, things were slipping. Let me tell you how close the bad angel came to winning. I just knew I could pull it all together.
However, I was smart enough to step back and think about what I would advise someone else to do in this situation.
Day 4 ended with me deciding to stand firm on my initial gut instinct on how to proceed. I slept better. Not well, but better.
Many things went through my mind over that 24 hour period between the event leading to the ER and the trip back home. I was concerned about my daughter worrying, my son being at home by himself, items I still needed to take care of, work and school. My concern of work was extremely short - a simple text message and that was taken care of. I knew I had, and would, miss some deadlines for the classes I had just begun. I knew my will needed updated, my paperwork was a mess, my finances still needed some tweaking. I was still on a quest to get my son's health back on track, school back on track and still needed to teach him to drive. I still had a house to finish simplifying, organizing and remodeling. Obviously, I still had my health to tend to as well.
I left the hospital knowing what I needed to do. First night home and rest was the only thing on the agenda. The next morning I woke with that direction still on my mind. Of course, I couldn't do much yet. The focus for day 2 was hydration. Having all of that contrast put in my system, it was important to hydrate and clean it through my kidneys. Day 3 found me questioning the redirection. I shot off a few emails to determine my status in my classes - sure I could handle 'it all' if I hadn't missed too many deadlines. Hydration was still the main focus, with a little bit more movement. Day 4 brought responses. I was okay in both classes as long as I met the upcoming deadlines. That meant it was going to be a busy weekend. I can handle busy, I thought. I'm good at busy.
But wait. I was still feeling quite sluggish and still had other things that needed my attention. Being a pay day weekend, I needed to tend to my finances, I needed to follow up on some new things going on with my son's health. I still needed to update my will and still had much to do around the house.
The war of the good shoulder angel and the bad shoulder angel had begun. The bad shoulder angel told me I could 'cover it all' as I had before. The good shoulder angel reminded me that by trying that route, things were slipping. Let me tell you how close the bad angel came to winning. I just knew I could pull it all together.
However, I was smart enough to step back and think about what I would advise someone else to do in this situation.
Day 4 ended with me deciding to stand firm on my initial gut instinct on how to proceed. I slept better. Not well, but better.
A scare with a message
Early last week, I had a scare and ended up in the ER.
Nutshell version: Due to certain elevations in my blood work, I had to be admitted for further testing. After a contrast CT scan to look for blood clots in the lungs, and what they now call a left heart catheterization to check for any heart damage came back clear, I was discharged.
Due to my prior heart issues with vtach, I will have to go on an event monitor for a month and have several check ups with my electrophysiologist and cardiologist over the next few months. Other than that, the intrusive procedure left me with restrictions including 5 days of no lifting more than a gallon of milk and no driving.
The short return to the hospital brought a bit of redirection.
Sitting in that hospital bed - not knowing what was about to be discovered - I realized I had added certain 'wants' to my plate, while allowing certain 'needs' to slip.
My focus had become too scattered.
God works in mysterious ways and I've tried to become a better listener.
In a way, February 1, 2012 became the first day of the rest of my life - redirected. My test results were clear and I was released from the hospital to get back to the daily routine of living...again.
Nutshell version: Due to certain elevations in my blood work, I had to be admitted for further testing. After a contrast CT scan to look for blood clots in the lungs, and what they now call a left heart catheterization to check for any heart damage came back clear, I was discharged.
Due to my prior heart issues with vtach, I will have to go on an event monitor for a month and have several check ups with my electrophysiologist and cardiologist over the next few months. Other than that, the intrusive procedure left me with restrictions including 5 days of no lifting more than a gallon of milk and no driving.
The short return to the hospital brought a bit of redirection.
Sitting in that hospital bed - not knowing what was about to be discovered - I realized I had added certain 'wants' to my plate, while allowing certain 'needs' to slip.
My focus had become too scattered.
God works in mysterious ways and I've tried to become a better listener.
In a way, February 1, 2012 became the first day of the rest of my life - redirected. My test results were clear and I was released from the hospital to get back to the daily routine of living...again.
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