I am healing so incredibly well - one thing in which I have always said about my body is that it is quick to get sick but always responds to treatment in a rapid manner; the sight of the infection looks substantially better. That's the thing with KTS  though - everything can look amazing on the outside while there is still a momentous amount of trouble lurking beneath the surface. This is why it is vital to always finish your medication down to the very last pill - you'd be surprised how quickly the seemingly gone infection can appear yet again (I have learned this the hard way).

A couple of pictures from the holidays:

Forget about all of the presents - this is the stuff that truly matters in life.

- A

Hope that those of you who celebrated had a Merry Christmas!

xoxo

I looked down at my leg and thought, is this really happening five days before Christmas?

It was, though, and now I had to decide what to do about it and fast. Cellulitis infections of this nature spread rapidly.

Christmas in the hospital didn't mean much to me, but I couldn't stomach the thought of my supportive family spending it there, they deserved to have a nice and relaxing holiday.

& so I went into my mom's medicine drawer and snuck out the emergency antibiotics she had on hand; I've been told in the past by numerous doctors to never take one without consent, but I couldn't be talked out of this one. This is by far one of the most rebellious things I've done thus far (utterly pathetic, I know).

So, by getting the pill in me at the onset of the infection, I was able to prevent systematic symptoms from furthering and an infection from spreading.

& now, I am writing this from home, as opposed to a stuffy hospital room with wires attached to me.

Sometimes, doing the wrong thing turns out to be alright.

This is a picture of a cellulitis infection in which I have right now; for those of you who may not be aware, cellulitis can be a common occurrence for those with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome.

I will write more soon, I am off to rest as I am feeling super tired.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Hey guys,

Please pay attention to this; just take a minute or two out of your day and you will not be disappointed  I have a lovely KTS friend whom I met in Minnesota who I still keep in touch with regularly. Her case is very involved and she has been susceptible to a multitude of pulmonary embolisms despite how young she is, causing her to face a series of severe medical episodes.

During a period in which Cat was incredibly sick, she started painting as a way to help pass the time in which she was stuck being home-bound - little did she know, something much more profound would become of it.. She discovered a hidden talent so unique and awe-inspiring and has since been working on multiple art pieces. And, as a testament to just how generous and compassionate of a soul she is, a lot of her proceeds from these sales go to helping fund KTS in a few areas, including research and the biennial KT Conference in Minnesota.  Go to her site here to see all of the amazing work in which she does. 

Miss this chick!

My leg has been getting these terrible "headaches" these past couple of days. What do I mean by that? Well, basically the bottom portion of my leg feels similar to that of the pain in your head during a headache - except that it is, of course, in my leg. My pain medicine is not doing anything to alleviate it at all which is frustrating. I think this is occurring because the temperature has dropped from cold to way colder - it's New England and December, so it's to be expected.

Two more weeks and I am finished with my last semester of sophomore year; I will then be considered a junior in college. To be honest, I have loathed this term and academically found it to be really challenging (which hasn't typically been the case with me in previous ones). That combined with tackling my anxiety and depression issues made me want to pull my hair out strand by strand. I was able to get through it because of my support system and the fact that I was willing to open up to people when I felt as though I was struggling emotionally.

Always keep a support system by your side; they can help you work through even what seems like the most stressful of situations.