Who Am I?

Got a comment on Facebook asking who runs this blog, well my name is Andrew Jerome James Baalman, born in Lakin Kansas on September 1st 1988, I am 28 years old.  I moved from Garden City Kansas to where my parents and I presently live in 1992 just outside the small town of Grinnell Kansas.  My class was the last class to finish in the old school in Angelus Kansas and the last class out of Grinnell before it and another school combined. 

I Graduated in 2007, began college in the fall of 2007 in El Dorado Kansas at Butler Community College; studied Criminal Justice and Corrections, also took pre-college math and some weird class that was for Freshman, mix of English Comp and orientation. At the time of Christmas Break, my best friend and classmate from grade school through high school, his older brother died when his Ford Bronco slid into an on coming train due to the road being frozen solid, so I transferred to the college next to Grinnell, at Colby Kansas; Colby Community College.

There my classmate and best friend became classmates again, I looked after him and wanted to be closer to home in-case anything happened and thanks be to God, nothing did, I finished my first in March of 2008, at that college my faith weakened greatly, so I decided to stay home and find my faith again, my mom gave me a book by Catholic Author and Speaker, Mathew Kelly; Rediscovering Catholicism, after Sunday Mass I began to read the book in the back seat, then at home all night to morning, never felt the heart full of fire for Our Lord, so I began to study even more.

September came, the usual doctor appointment check up, he thought to check my blood and test my testosterone level for some reason, so I gave blood, they checked and found out my testosterone level was too low and very dangerous for a guy, so they put me on replacement therapy injections of testosterone, began at 50mg and each month I go for a shot in my rear, then after three months give blood and test it, there was no change each time, so the final time they gave me 500mg for three months, no change except my body couldn't accept so much testosterone and just broke down and gave out; first to go and to change was my eye sight, plus light and sound sensitivity; one night my mom wanted me to stay in my parent's room to make sure I was alright, my eyes popped, left one then right; all of a sudden my eye sight was from perfect to almost blind and blurry, went from no sensitivity to severe light and sound sensitivity.  She rushed me to the ER and that is when we learned of the headaches that aren't migraine but mimic it and at the grade A level and became constant and severe, then my mouth; the pallet began to vibrate.  Few weeks later, weight gain started, twenty pounds a month for no reason, then slowed to 15 pounds and now I weight over 400 for no reason, doctors blame me for over eating, I hurt to much to eat, I eat small portion meals, plus the nausea is horrible.  Then came the muscle weakness, becoming tired, fatigued and couldn't handle car rides.  Finally a doctor diagnosed it as a Pseudo Tumor Celebri, where a traumatic neurological event in the brain makes the brain and body act and believe there is a tumor, but is not one, so my mom, my dad and I searched and researched to learn about it, it feeds like a normal tumor taking nutrients from the body, it sucked whatever makes teeth healthy, three on each side on the upper part of the mouth just fell apart because of it and so they had to come out, after that, I have had to eat soft food ever since.  Last December, just after Christmas, I had spinal surgery to insert a shunt into my spine, tubes into my lower stomach to drain excess spinal fluid off that is pressing on the brain and my eyes to keep me from going blind.  The shunt sometimes works and most of the time it does not. It has become to a point if I sit too long, I get what is called a spinal headache and I have to return to bed and lay flat to let the pressure get down and level. 

But, I do this blog, after using the free time Our Lord has given me in this illness to learn about my family, wasn't able to track down much on the Baalman side, my dad's family except to parts of Germany, so I began working on my mom's side of the family, Stimatze and Pulver; what I found was something out of a fairy tale, no ever thinks they are related to royalty; I mean you dream, but once you find out, you are in shock and wonder how did my great grandmother get the blessed pick to such history.  I have posted the English, Welsh, German, Italian, Sicilian, French, but I can go on and on due to being related to every royal house of Europe.  I figure with my heritage, I have an obligation to keep up to date regarding the politics and such happening in my ancestral kingdoms and give my opinion and messages to the certain regions.  If God wills that I return to full health, I would like to serve in public office for one of my ancestral countries, to keep in the footsteps of my great grandfathers, uncles and cousins who ruled these countries.

I hope this explains who I am and why I do this blog.

Andrew