Recovery Update

I thought I would update everyone with some details of the surgery and my recovery thus far.

Tuesday: The day of the surgery. We made it on time to our 6:00am appointment. They called me back and I had to get undressed and into a gown. It was FREEZING! Then I got a shot in my butt (which still hurts 4 days later) to give me dry mouth for the surgery. Then I had an IV put in place. I actually did good with this! I was nervous but they really did a good job with it! Then Dan came in. The first thing I did was cry. A nurse came in about 10 minutes later and saw I was scared to death and said she would be in to give me "something to calm me down." HA! I got that shot and about 2 seconds later I was in la-la land. I apparently told Dan I loved him, kissed him, and then went on my merry way back to the OR. I remember someone saying something about the medicine making me feel like I have a "heavy booty" or something. Then I do remember moving onto the operating table from my bed in the holding room. That is all I remember. I woke up in the recovery room and the  first thing I did was get sick. Twice. It was icky and hurt my throat REALLY bad. I got yet another shot in my butt for nausea/vomiting which put me out! I barely remember getting home. I told Dan he was bad at car transfers (haha the physical therapist in me) and asked my mom to help since that is what she does! I then slept ALLLLLL day. I woke up once to eat and had about half a cup of jello and a mug of chicken noodle soup. I could barely swallow and was in extreme pain. I didn't do much else this day.

Wednesday: I was feeling better today. I know I took some pain medicine and spent some time with my parents. They left this day, so I tried to stay awake long enough to see them out. They went to Zaxby's for lunch and I was able to eat some french fries and a milkshake. It hurt to chew but I managed. Again, took some more meds and was pretty much out of it the rest of the night. I also got to take a bath that night. Dan was so sweet and helped me into the tub and helped me wash my back. Then I managed to climb onto the kitchen counter to put my head into the sink so my hair could be washed. It made me feel much better but still not as good as a shower!

Thursday/Friday: I was feeling much better these two days. I was a little nauseated on Thursday but able to keep food down. Then on Friday I went out for the first time! It was nice to get out! I was starting to have cabin fever! We went to Olive Garden and then did a little shopping. I also took my bandage off on Friday night. It was starting to itch real bad and they told me after 4 days I could take it off. It looks okay. I look like I have a turkey neck (the Doctor said I would) and its still swollen. It's hard to sleep and I'm still sleeping at a 45 degree angle.

Saturday: Today Dan made me breakfast! He's the best! I had a turkey sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on a crossiant with fresh fruit! I was able to eat it all (slowly though) and it was pretty good! He's the best husband ever!!! So supportive in this whole thing! Tonight we are going to a Christmas party with our awesome tacky sweaters!!!! I am hoping to stay the whole time but we'll see how I feel!!!

Thanks for all the support, prayers, and well wishes! I will keep updating you with my recovery! I have a follow-up appointment on the 17th and will let you all know how it goes!!!

Until then! :)

surgery

I found out I will be having surgery on December 7th. It's about a week away. I'm SO nervous. All these thoughts are going through my head... I just keep telling everyone to pray for me and hope for a quick recovery. 

I'll blog more about my surgery later... like when i'm drugged up and have nothing else to do on my week off. I'm looking forward to that, but not the whole recovery thing. 

Our thanksgiving was spent in Warner Robins again with our Air Force Family. It was so generous of Matt and Mary to open up their house to us again! I had to work but we still made it to their house by 4:30. Dinner was delicious as usual. I made this new recipe i found.. pumpkin bars. I heard it on the radio. They were pretty much amazing. I will be making those again soon, i think.

I went out again for Black Friday. That was CRAZY. I got a little ridiculous this year and actually camped out at Target. We got there at 11:30 and I stayed until it opened at 4. The line nearly doubled in size in front of me as the time got closer to store opening. I guess some people just stood in line and saved spots for others who came right before it opened. What also made me mad was the group of 75 to 100 people that were in the parking lot at 3:45 waiting for the doors to open. They refused to wait in the back of the line. And wouldn't you know, when the doors opened, they bumrushed the doors and cut right in front of everyone. Go figure. But in my plan for revenge, I ran to the camera desk, hitting people with my basket and throwing bows. But i got what I wanted!!! Since my camera broke while we were in Key West, i decided to replace it with a new Canon camera. We wanted a DSLR but it just wasn't in the budget this year. I just got a regular digital camera, but it's can upgrade from the previous one. I also bought some other things, which I can't say because they are gifts! We made it back home at 5:45, ate breakfast, and went back to bed. I went back out shopping later that day and finished most of my shopping!

There are only 25 days until Christmas. Which means, only 25 days left to shop for everyone. If you subtract the 8 days I will be in recovery and the 2 days for travel, that doesn't leave many days. So I hope I can finish my shopping!!!! 

I will keep everyone updated on the surgery. Please say a prayer for me on Tuesday December 7th!

Until next time! :)

birth defect.

Well i was surprised to learn last week that i have a congenital anomalie. This is how it all started:

last year, when i first got military insurance, i went to the doctor for a physical. i had him check my throat because i kept feeling this lump in it and knew it just wans't right. he checked it and told me it was nothing. so i left it alone. then a couple months ago, i started to feel it again (i think because i was taking the vital stim course) and, again, knew it was not right. so i made an appointment.

i asked for a referred to an ENT when i called base to make an appointment. but that was a joke! i would have to been seen first by the base medical before i could be referred. so last monday i went for my appointment. i was so nervous because i just kept thinking the worst. while i was there, they did an ultrasound of my throat (the lump mainly) and ran some blood work.

figures that i would go on a week with a holiday (veteran's day). luckily the results of my ultrasound were ready by wednesday. the dx: thyroglossal duct cyst. what is that you may ask? well apparently when you are a fetus the thyroid gland "migrates" from your throat to your neck. if the duct doesn't close properly, a cyst can form. it can form when you are still in the womb, right after birth, or when you are a toddler. per the internet (probably wikipedia or something) the cysts usually happen in toddlers and "rarely" happen in adults. actually one website said "a Thyroglossal duct cyst is a rare but occasional cyst"... i'm wondering in what language that makes ANY sense at all. Regardless... the nurse interpreting the radiologist report said the dr. said i would need it to be removed and referred me for an ENT appointment. this is where it gets simply annoying.

why does it take so long to process a referral over the internet? aren't we moving forward with technology? not backward? the lady in the referral dept. told me that they were backed up due to the holiday. I wanted to punch her in her face. You should have planned for the holiday. It was not a surprise.. you knew it was coming, plan accordingly. now a snow day... maybe i could see how you could be backed up... but a federal holiday? come on.

so it's now a week and half since my initial appointment and i have yet to receive a referral to get my appointment. i called today to the ENT office and it still was not in yet. it's quite annoying and a giant waste of  time to follow the referral dept around to make sure they do their job. but that's what i plan on doing until i can get an appointment. meanwhile, the cyst has gotten a little bit bigger. the initial report said "it appears to be benign" but you never know. i'll just keep waiting and hoping to get this thing removed in the next month.

i'll keep you posted if i ever get my appointment! grrrr...
mood: annoyed. :/

until next time.

One year down, many more to come!

Well it's been one year!! We made the first milestone of our marriage! Let me take a minute to reflect on our first year of marriage... it's been trying at times, but then again, who's marriage is perfect? And to me, if you're marriage is perfect, then you don't live in real life. Everyone has their arguments and disagreements. If you don't disagree then, in my perspective, you aren't voicing you're opinion enough. Which brings me to my next order of business. In the next year I vow to communicate more with Dan. We are very open with one another, but sometimes if we have a disagreement, I just walk away without a discussion. Not anymore! This is what brings most couples down. But we have decided to open the lines of communication and not hold back.


This next year will be filled with many activities... good and not so fun....
1. We may not be able to go home for Christmas because of my work. I hate that is comes down to that, but if I have no one to cover my patients, then I can't leave. Simple enough. 
2. Dan will be deploying in March. Ick. Not looking forward to this but I know I can get through it.
3. Dan will be returning from deployment! YAY! Sometime in July. I"ll let you know of the date when I know it.
4. Europe. We are going to Europe if I have to kill someone. Ok maybe not that. But we have been discussing a trip to Europe since we moved here. Hopefully 2 weeks but not sure yet. Again, I'll keep you posted.


Those are the scheduled activities as of now. Dan recently found out that he did not get into AFIT, so alas, we will be here for another 2 years. Not my idea of fun, but I can't do anything about it. We discussed traveling to different areas of GA to site-see and do SOMETHING. Our weekends are filled with TV and cleaning. Not that I should neglect cleaning, but I would rather go somewhere other than in this house. So we have discussed camping trips and day trips to Atlanta. Something to get out of Warner Robins. I still have yet to find out how one person lives in this city for longer than a year. 


Here are some pics from our First Anniversary! Enjoy! I love Love!

Until next time!!! A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person

Sick Day Update

I'm sick.. YUCK!! Good thing it is just allergy/cold and not the flu. I don't need that right now. This is the first day I have not been at work since I started. Which I think is good considering I've been there over a year! But I do remember this sickness also happened last year. It thought I had swine flu so I went to the urgent care. Turns out I didn't, I'm just over-dramatic!

Well time for some updates. I don't have any pictures to add to this blog from our trip to Key West... but look to facebook, they are on there!

So we recently went to Key West for our anniversary trip. It was amazing!! We stated on the Naval Base there. Our room was average. It had all the essentials and really we just needed it to sleep. We spent the rest of our time riding bikes all over the island and sight-seeing! We saved lots of money by staying on base. I told Dan that we should plan trips around the availability of base accommodations. It really saves! Anyway, like I said we rented bikes to ride around. They were nice beach cruisers with a basket. Perfect for going to the beach.

We were only about 5 blocks from Duval Street (the main strip in Key West) so within walking distance. However, when we walked to Duval st., we also walked up and down the street. So it was much easier to ride our bikes. I was worried about a BUI (obviously we were drinking!), but then I saw a girl riding down the street past a cop with a margarita in her hand. I wasn't worried after that.

We spent a lot of our time at the beach. Although there really weren't that many beaches there, and they were man-made. But still white and sandy so it made me happy. The scene was beautiful and I thought life could not have gotten any better. We also went to the pool one day, which was also on base. It was a very quiet pool and relaxing!

One day we went to the Butterfly Conservatory and Aquarium. It was fun! Then we went on a sunset cruise with snorkeling! We even saw a nurse shark while we were on the reef! It was nice to see all the fish and marine life.

The rest of the time was spent on Duval street shopping and going out to dinner. They had some GOOOOD food down there. The last couple nights we were there it got very crowded and the streets filled with crazy people doing crazy things. They were preparing for Fantasy Fest, which is like mardi gras in FL, only crazier, which was what we were told by locals. The fest ran from the Saturday we left until the Saturday before Halloween. We may go down there again for the fest. Seems like our crowd!

Well we had an amazing trip and I didn't want it to end. I got Dan a kindle for his anniversary gift. I understand the first anniversary is paper so I got him electronic paper. :) Dan got me an amethyst ring that I have been wanting for a long time. It's currently in the shop getting sized. I also decided to take in my engagement ring and wedding band to get sodered and dipped. I have been saying I wanted to get that done for a year now and i thought I should just do it! But now i feel naked without my rings! Oh well, it's worth it!

Until next time! :)

Short and Sweet

This post will be short and sweet. Unlike most of my posts which are ramblings of things I'm not sure everyone wants to read! Anyway... we have exciting things to come!

First we leave for Key West on Saturday!! I WAS excited until I found out that someone else will be joining us... her name is Paula and she is a effing Hurricane!!!!! Stupid weather. We'll see who gets there first! But seriously, the projected path of Paula is over Cuba and some of the keys. So not sure what is going to happen. We are staying at the Naval Air Station (Thanks Keeling!) and Dan called today to get an update on Paula. The receptionist said that they think it will be nothing. I told him not to hold his breath.

Lacie and Lynsey (and a friend of Dan's) have told us places to go! So I am making my list and making sure to hit up all those spots along the way!

We get back on the 23rd (BOOO!) and then the next day I am hosting a friend's baby shower! I have already cleaned the house and prepared as much as possible so I'm not running around at the last minute. We'll see how it goes! But I'm excited to be the host because I haven't had many people over since we did the major renovations. I'll be sure to not show anyone the bedrooms considering they are the last thing I want to paint right now. But it's a work in progress and they will have to understand.

Then I go back to work for a week (another BOOOO) and then it's HALLOWEEN!!! My most favorite time of year besides Thanksgiving! I won't share with you our costumes but just know they will be amazing! I am making them myself, which is a big deal for me. They are not too shabby if I may say so myself. Pictures to come for sure!

Lastly, I have decided that I may not run the marathon in January. I was so excited, but with the last race I ran (and ran crappy) I have decided to focus on my diet and toning my body. I am going to begin 90X yet again on October 25th. I am going to stick it out AND I am going to try the diet this time too. I am hoping that it will get me on the right track. I may still run the half marathon since it's Disney and it's awesome. I will keep you updated with my progress!

Until next time! :)

Visit from the In-laws!!

My in-laws were in town this past week! They flew in on Tuesday. We took them to Georgia Bob's, so good ole Southern BBQ. They enjoyed it! Wednesday was their 17th Wedding Anniversary! We headed up to downtown Macon for dinner. We ate at the Rookery. It was pretty delicious, as always. They were concerned that we were going to get shot, but we told them not to worry! I guess their small town life is starting to get to them when they get into a big city.

We headed down to Savannah on Thursday. On Thursday night we headed to River Street. We got MORE than enough of our fair share of free praline trials. :) They are too delicious to pass up. We went to Wet Willy's to get a margarita. Boy did that do me in. Ha. But it was good. They have this bar where you can pick from about 20 different margarita flavors. I chose the banana flavor mixed with Chocolate. Dan has the strawberry mixed with chocolate. Both tasted good. On Friday it was Kandi's birthday! We went out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner! haha. But we did because we had nothing else to eat! We did the 90 minute tour of Savannah on the bus. Then got out and walked around for the rest of the day. It was beautiful weather. They also had a craft show and Oktoberfest! It was packed! I got these really pretty handmade glass earrings that sparkle and shine in the sun. We had dinner and had more pralines! I just couldn't get enough.

On Saturday, we went to Tybee Island. It was just like I remembered; cold and windy. We walked on the beach and had lunch at a seaside restaurant. Then we traveled into town and shopped. I bought a cute headband with a flower and a book written by an author from Tybee Island. So far I can't put it down!!!

Today, we went to Atlanta. We went to the World of Coke. It was much needed. I was craving that Coke room where you can taste any coke product and you have unlimited access to the classic Coke fountains! YUM! It was a nice time. I got to see some different memorabilia that I didn't see the first time. I also spent extra time at the gift store. I saw a few new products. I ended up buying a "W" keychain and the Coke cookbook! I am hoping to make the Coca-Cola cake! I'll let you know how it turns out!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. I am so glad they came to visit. We had the house finished JUST in time. In fact, I was still putting pictures in the frames that first night they were here!

We have lots of things coming up! We are going to Key West in 2 weeks!!! :) :) :)
Which means I have to get in shape for a new bathing suit I bought! So for the next two weeks, I will be in the gym 6 days a week working my butt off (literally). Then when we get back, I am hosting Kay's baby shower! I'm so excited for things to come! Forgive me if I don't blog in that time. But I will have tons of pictures from our anniversary trip to show everyone!!! Until next time!