Hey guys!! So this is going to be really quick because I am off to volunteer at the hospital, but I just wanted to let all my doctors friends know that I am taking the entrance exam for medical school next week! :s I am extremly nervous! Wish me luck. Brianna

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Hello to all my fellow Doctors friends! So this last week I went down to Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN to see my Otolaryngologist or Ear doctor.  I had to have a hearing test this time and it actually came back with really encouraging results!! :) My left ear is almost at normal levels! My right ear though still has a moderate hearing loss.  The exam of both ears however produced a couple of problems.........

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Hey All!! So those of you who know me, know that I have lots of things that have happened. Neurological just happens to be one of them.  As you probably I have problems with weakness in my lower legs and with them flipping out to the side.  I have been worked up neurologically for the last two years for this. My first MRI showed some white matter changes in the brain that are usually ignored...

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Hey ALL!!!   So I saw my cardiologist on Friday. He said he thinks that my passing out is from a heart problem.  He just doesn't know what.  He ordered an EKG that came back basically normal. There was one little blip but he said it wasn't enough to tell him exactly what was going on.  So he has me hooked up to a heart monitor for the next month.  Basically it's a portable EKG...

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Hey guys!! So yesterday @ Physical Therapy, I felt really tired, then dizzy & sick to my stomach and that's the last thing I remember before waking up in a treatment room. Apparently I was hanging on to the bar that they use at the place where I go for PT when I passed Out and fell backwards. My PT caught me. He and another therapist carried me to the treatment room and layed me...

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Beep Beep Beep The pager goes off It's 12 O'clock AM My dad Jumps out of Bed He flips on the light. He gets dressed  He listens to the page; "A House is on fire it spreads rapidly" the dispatcher says He flies through the house grabs his keys He leaves. I hear the sirens And I know it's my dad showing his patriotism. So I wrote this poem when I was 12 and in...

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So I recently went to the National Osteogenesis Imperfecta conference in Portland Orgeon and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!! For those of you who don't know what OI is OI known as the brittle bone disease. It is characterised by a defect in collagen that affects a persons bones, musculoskeletal system, hearing, eyes, heart, and even their lungs. There are many types ranging from mild to severe. The coolest...

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Hey everyone!! So I want to take a little time today to talk to you about the number one birth defect in America. Can you guess what it is out of these 5 choices 1. Kidney Reflux 2. Torticolis 3. Cleft Palate 4. Congenital Heart Defect 5.  Congenital Deafness or Hearing loss. If you guess number 4 you would be correct. However a heart defect is usually the last thing on a new parents mind. They worry...

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Happy 4th of July everyone!! I just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th and to say thank you to all our service men and women for all they are doing to protect us and our freedoms! Brianna

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Hey all!! So I am really excited about this!! I am going to Portland Orgeon on wensday for the National Osteogenesis Imperfecta Conference that runs thursday through saturday!! I can't wait to meet other people with the same thing as me and to learn about what is on the horizon for this rare genetic disorder.  All the leading specialists are going to be there and it should be really great.  Despite the fact that its...

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Hey guys! So the nurses filed an offical strike petition today and will start an open ended strike on July 5th. The moral at the hospitals involved is very interesting.... Brianna

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Hey all!! So the nurses strike has come and gone here in MN or so we thought.... the consequences of the strike still lay heavy everywhere and many nurses still wait to be called back to work after the strike. The nurses affected work for Allina and Children's hospitals. I have to say that not all nurses at Allina and Children's are still waiting for their jobs back but quite a few are.... The hospitals...

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So I have asthma some of you know this already. But I am now in another flair up and it really really sucks!!!!  I have to get up every 2 hours throughout the night to take nebs per the doctor on calls orders and I have to take prednisone which I hate! I am functioning on no sleep and feel like crap.... :( This is so not fun! To all the other people out there...

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So I want to see what you guys think about this. I obviously live in Minnesota where one of the strikes is taking place and work at one of the 14 hospitals where the nurses went on strike today.  Today was mass chaos no matter what the hospitals are trying to say. The nurses are doing everything they can to get what they need for themselves and for the patients! I have to say I...

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Most of you know that I had a spinal tap done on Tuesday! It really wasn't that bad. I think partly because I am pretty sure that my doctor uses a different technique than most other doctors. As of Friday the preliminary results were inconclusive and I need to wait 7-10 more days to find out full results.  Here's to hoping Brianna

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So for those of you who have been watching it and following it this whole time I thought I would let you know that I finally have a normal vitamin D level! It is up to a 107! how is that for normal?

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Has anyone ever had a spinal tap? I have to have one on tuesday and I am a little scared.  I don't really know what to expect.  I mean I have read about the procedure on the internet but.... I would love to know anyone's experience with it. Brianna

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So I am pretty sure I have done a blog about this before, but it is really really important to me!!! Osteogenesis Imperfecta or OI is also known as the brittle bone disease. It is part of a group of genetic disorders called connective tissue disorders.  Basically it means that in people with OI such as myself the body genetically mutates a connective tissue called collagen that holds all of our cells together. This can...

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Hey guys!!! I am SO SORRY I haven't been on in FOREVER!!! I have been in and out of Children's hospital in Minneapolis. The last time I wrote I had just been admitted for what was my second stay for the infection in my leg.  Well they at that time where telling me they thought I would have to stay through the weekend. That was April 6th I was there until April 22... Count it......

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Hey guys! So my infection thingie came back with a vengence and now I am back in the hospital. I will have to be here for "a couple of days" whatever that means... the med student that is on my case took sympathy on me and said she expects I will be here through the weekend. So they have me on all sorts of meds to treat it. I am on IV antibiotics, heparin, and...

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