Lorelei's Myspace and Lorelei's website

http://www.marriedtothearmy.com/lorelei.htm <-----Lorelei's website
http://www.myspace.com/lovelittlelorelei <------Lorelei's Myspace page

Please help us to help this wonderful little girl!

Please help Lorelei and pass the word!

Since I started dating Preston, I met many wonderful Army wives and girlfriends who have become dear friends of mine. They have helped me so much over the past 2 years and now one of them needs help and support.

Lorelei's has HLHS, Hypoplastic left heart syndrome which is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. In babies with HLHS, the aorta and left ventricle are very small, and the aortic and mitral valves are either too small to allow sufficient blood flow or are atretic (closed) altogether. As blood returns from the lungs to the left atrium, it must pass through an atrial septal defect to the right side of the heart.

In a healthy human, the left side of the heart receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the rest of the body; with these structures underdeveloped, they cannot circulate blood to other organs, and the right ventricle must pump blood to both the lungs, as it would normally, and to the rest of the body, a situation which cannot be sustained for long.In cases of HLHS, the right side of the heart often must pump blood to the body through a patent ductus arteriosus. As the ductus arteriosus usually closes within eleven days after birth, blood flow is severely restricted and eventually cut off, leading to dangerously low circulation and eventually to shock.Without treatment, HLHS is fatal, but with intervention, an infant may survive.

Lorelei's parents received great news a few weeks ago that Lorelei should be able to have the open heart surgery that she needs in June. However, right after that, they were dealt a blow. Some of Lorelei's meds are considered to be experimental and therefore insurance has decided not to cover them. In addition, there is a certain prescription for RSV that is typically not given to children past age 2. Because of Lorelei's condition, she has needed to continue on it beyond the recommended guidelines. But this too was also denied. They were sent a bill for nearly $40,000 to be paid within 14 days. Obviously they don't have that kind of money. They have tried to appeal and have contacted all of the resources that they know of at this point. So far, nothing seems to be panning out.

Lorelei is also on a special diet and has to have four bottles of Pediasure (or an equivalent) each day. This alone is $300/month. She also has to have several medications that used to be prescriptions but are now OTC, such as Zyrtec. Since they are over the counter, the cost is much more per month. Just the co-pays for her prescriptions are more than $200/month. When she goes for her surgery in June, there is a medication that she has to have in order to survive. The medication is given every four hours and is $7,000/dose. Insurance has informed them that this medication will not be covered; because of the type of surgery she is having, they could be facing a very long hospital stay. There is a Ronald McDonald house that is available but that is not without cost either, not to mention travel expenses, meals, etc.

Lorelei's parents would never come out and ask for any help, but our "group" wants to do whatever we can to help. I can't imagine the position her family has been put in where they are basically being told to choose massive financial burden or their daughter's life. Of course, they will choose Lorelei over everything else but it would be wonderful if all of their effort and emotions could be focused on her rather than worrying and stressing about the financial side of it all.

Any ideas of a fundraiser or something we could do to help would be great. Small things could make a difference - clipping coupons for Zyrtec (liquid form) and Pediasure, etc. Also if you know of any resources that can help with medical financial need that would be incredible as well. Some of you may know of something that we haven't yet run across.

Donations can be sent to via paypal to: stacey@marriedtothearmy.com. Please be sure that it is noted that it is for Lorelei.

Soldier killed in training

Last night my DH got a call that formation would be about 45 minutes earlier this morning. His SGT didn't say why and no one seemed to know why. When he came home after PT I asked him about the early formation-it was because a soldier in their unit was killed last night in a normal training exercise. Killed in training. . . that's not supposed to happen. He wasn't in a helicopter or even in a combat training. He was driving a big truck like thing that flipped and landed on him. We're not supposed to have to worry about our men when they leave for 'regular' Army work in the morning. . . we're supposed to worry about them when they are deployed.

It was just such a reality check for me. I can't imagine his wife's reaction. I would have been in total denial. I would have been screaming, "No, you must be wrong. MY husband was just doing normal driving training. He's not deployed. This is not supposed to happen." I pray everyday that I never hear that knock at the door, see that car in my driveway or see those men at my front door.

Starting a new job

I have been busy for the past few days; learning my way around my new job. I am now a nephrology social worker and have no background in it at all. I applied for this job and wanted this job. . . but now that I got it I am starting to feel overwhelmed. My background is in child welfare social work-I have done it for 7 years. Over the past year I became very disillusioned with the child welfare system and decided that PCSing would be a great time for a career change. . . . no I am not so sure.

I work at a dyalisis clinic (2 clinics, actually) and until now I have really not known anything about dialysis. I knew that it was used by those with ESRD (end stage renal disease) but I didnt know anything else about it. Now I have to learn about Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance and all of the medical terms that go along with it. I will also be dealing with death on a regular basis; the clinic where I am training lost 3 patients it the past week! I talked with my friend, Beth (also a social worker) about it and she reminded me that I am capable of learning new things and recommended that I do some nephrology research online, which I am definitely gonna do. Well, I wanted a challenge. . . guess I got it!

DH (dear husband) and I have also come to the realization that we must make some major changes to the way we spend money. For the next few months there will be NO eating out and NO spending on anything but needs. Thankfully my new emplyer will issue scrubs to me so I wont need to buy work clothes which will save us money. There's also not alot, actually not anything, fun to do in this town so we arent tempted to go out and spend. Usually we spend money on DVDs, alcohol, junk food, etc but that is all about to change. We've also decided to change our dogs from the expensive dog food to a less expensive brand. Hopefully we can dig ourselves outta this hole by this time next year.

I am exhausted right now so I apologize if spelling or punctuation isnt great. I have been getting up with DH and walking our dogs for 45 minutes every morning this week. It's great for my health and the dogs' health but I am definitely not used to it. Next week I will start adding yoga to my morning exercise routine so that I can get toned and flexible again :-) Ok, I think that it's now time for hot tea and bed. Nighty-night!

I want a do over

That's right, I said it. I want a DO OVER!!!! *stomping my feet like a child* I want to go home and home for me is Savannah, GA. No, I did not grow up there and I lived there less than 2 years but it was home. From the moment I stepped foot in that city I felt at home. It is full of history and there is always something to do there. The Historic District, with all it's squares and homes, is beautiful and unique. The beach was not far from Savannah and we loved spending time there, too.

On weekends when we were home, we'd take the dogs for long walks at Skidaway Island or in the Historic District and downtown. We had so many great local restaurants that we never had the chance to try. We had our bar where we made many friends. We had our regular Mexcan joint and regular Chinese place. I had a great hair stylist and had found a wonderful chirch. I had even started doing my photography again. . . .

Now we're here in Fort Polk, LA and living in Leesville, LA. I like the townhome that we rent but I hate this city. That's right I hate it here. I have been putting on a brave face and have remained pretty postive about everything but it all hit me today. There is nothing to do-and I mean NOTHING! The Army post is nice and there's a 10 mile paved trail on it but that's about it. Oh yeah, there's a WalMart and a catfish place, too. My new job is about 30 min away in a neighboring town that is a little bigger, but still nothing good there either. To actually get to a mall, we have to drive to Alexandria. I did like Lake Charles when I went there (I will be training there for my new job) but it's an hour and a half away. It was definitely my fave city that I have seen here.

I want a DO OVER and I don't want to be here. Sometimes the Army makes me so mad! Why couldn't they have put him Ft. Stewart? Why couldnt they have put him on a post with an actual decent size city near it! They say that 'Home is where the Army sends you' but I don't think that I will ever feel at home in Leesville. Usually I would be unpackedby now and have pictures on the wall, but there are still boxes and there are only a couple of pics on the wall. It just feels like this is a temporary stop, not like it's a home for us.

All of this started because I was looking at coffe table book of historic Savannah today. It really hit me, we don't live there any more. I don't get to shop on Broughton St or take the dogs to River Street any more. We don't get to drive 40 to Tybee Island any more. Damnit-I am getting teary eyed. I hate not being there. I want to go home.

A glimpse into the life of an Army wife

I guess that I should post a little introduction of sorts. I am Becca (31) and I am married to an Army soldier, Preston (24) and we are stationed at Ft. Polk, LA. We recently moved here from Savannah, GA. . . it was a definite culture shock. I still miss Savannah and the friends that I made there; in fact, I get teary eyed a few times a week just thinking about it. I even found myself referring to Savannah as 'home' the other day. As an Army wife, I have had to realize that now, home is where the Army sends us. We are a family, a team and WE are what makes a location home. The Army does not care that I loved Savannah and felt at home the first day that I set foot in the city. The Army does not care that I cried thousands of tears when I learned where our next duty station was. This is my life-moving to locations that I do not get to choose. Wow-it looks scary when I word it that way. Every couple of yrs or so, we will get orders to move somewhere and we basically have no choice in the matter-scary but exciting at the same time.

I have come to realize that it takes a special kind of woman to be a military wife. I am not saying that we are better than other wives; we just must have certain traits and skills. We have to be independent because often times our men are away due to deployments, trainings or hardship tours. We must be able to constantly adapt to new surroundings and circumstances. We must be able to relinquish control of our lives, to a degree, to the military. We must leave family and friends behind whenever we get orders to move. Rather than 'in person friends', at times we must rely on other means of support. We have to be able to reconcile, with our men and us. what they do when they are at war. For some, it's not as difficult. . . . for others, they have seen and much that they do not want to discuss. At times we have to deal with PTSD, which is neither easy nor fun. I have seen PTSD tear apart marriages. Thankfully, it did not tear apart our marriage.

I have also found support in a wonderful message board-armywifechat.com. I joined the board shortly after I met my husband and I have made lifelong friends on there. It is wonderful to be able to login and know that these women know exactly what I am going through at any given time. I have met some of them in person and have made many lifelong friends on there. It is wonderful to know that no matter where we move, I will already have friends on that Army post.

Through my blog, I will give you insight into what life is like for an Army wife. I will be honest, forthcoming and I will even talk about the bad stuff. I love my life and I love my husband but I would definitely change a few things if I could. . . but I'll talk about that in future blogs.