Day 1

Well it's the day after Dan left. Tuesday was pretty rough. I was all emotional basically the whole day. We got to the airport at 1045 (flight at 1330) to check his bags. The man at the counter was nice enough to give me a Gate Pass so I could go through security with him to his gate! :) He said they usually don't let others through be I guess maybe he felt bad for me. LOL.

We ate lunch in the airport and then just hung out at the gate. Then came the hard part. His flight was boarding and he had to go, so of course I was bawling my eyes out and about to go in the corner and lie in the fetal position. But when we went up to check in, the lady scanning the tickets said he could spend a few more minutes with me and they upgraded him to first class! YAY!!! For him and me! I am grateful for the extra minutes, but it was so hard saying goodbye. But I did and then I got myself home (barely) and then was a train wreck the rest of the night. But I survived!

Today
Today was MUCH MUCH MUCH better than yesterday. Sure I still really miss him (and I will everyday) but I just need to get on with it. If I spend my days thinking about him and nothing else, these 4 months are going to move extremely sloooowww.

I talked with Dan first thing this morning. His flight had to make 2 stops until it reached it's final destination. He sent me a google chat at 630 this AM and I was so lucky to get it! It literally made me smile ALLL day. Becuase I knew he was safe and also because I got to talk to him before work! Being at work made it easier. It kept my mind off of things. THEN at lunch he google chatted me AGAIN! Boy was I lucky today! He was at his 2nd stop and I talked with him until he had to board the plane! That made my day pretty good!

I haven't heard from him since, but Raquel (the person he is replacing) said his plane landed and he is safe! So I'm hoping to talk with him maybe tomorrow morning if he is not working. It's kinda hairy right now because I'm not sure when he will be available these first few days!

Just know he is safe and I will be updating all of my readers with information on his journey and my journey here! Until next time! :)

(sorry this was so long)

Saying Goodbye

So this will be pretty short and to the point.

The time has come. Dan is finally leaving.... I've been putting off the inevitable for a while but it's time to face it. I have to drop him off at the airport on Tuesday. His flight is at 1 or 1:30. I am trying to spend these last few days with him and not doing much else.

He is working on finishing our new bed he is building so when he finally does, I'll post some pictures on here. I tell ya, I'm not sure how I will manage to do things around here without him. He's so handy!! But I've got to learn!

I am doing okay right now, but know I will most likely be a hot, hot mess on Tuesday. I will update again after he leaves and hopefully periodically while he is gone so you guys can keep up with what he is doing!

Until next time... 

Happenings.

Well hello readers. It's been a while since my last update.. which seemed like last week until I looked at the date.

I should start with the most important news.. I finally started my new job!!! Right now, I am on my second week. I am just observing right now since it is much different than what I was used to at the SNF. Paperwork is different and procedure is different. But I am catching on and excited to hopefully get to take over the schedule this week! I am a very mixed caseload, which is good! The main reason why I took this job (besides being close to home) was that I wanted to improve my clinical skills in other areas and it just wasn't happening at the SNF. So far, I will have cognition, voice, TBI, and of course swallowing!

My birthday has come and gone. One year older! I was at orientation for the new job, but again, glad to be close to home! :). Dan got me the best gift by far! He finally gave in and bought me a Keurig!! It's pretty much amazing! It takes like 10 seconds to brew coffee. And it's the perfect amount! He also got me the sandals I was wanting for a year now! He's the BEST! My parents/sister also gave me the best gift too! A plane ticket home to see my nephews for their first birthday! LOVE IT!!! A big group of friends went out to dinner at Carrabbas. It was very good and I enjoyed spending time with great friends!

This week Dan is TDY in Destin, FL! BOOOO! At least the weather won't be much better there than it is here. I can't be that jealous. But he is staying in a condo on the beach. But again, whats a beach with 50 degree weather? I'm kinda mad at the air force because they keep sending him TDY on these trips before his deployment! Do they not understand that he will be leaving ME for 4 months and I need to see him now!?!?! Oh well. At least now I have to get used to caring for myself before he leaves cold turkey.

Well that is all it takes for an update in our life. It's pretty boring... :) but i love it! Until next time!

Fresh Start

Happy New Year!!!

I thought this year was going to be the same as the others. I would make a few new years resolutions and then break them all by the 2nd week. I would have the same job and do the same things as I do now, day in and day out. I would count down to the exact hour (if I could) that I could leave this place.

But turns out this year is different!!!!! I will be making new years resolutions this year. However, they will be different. I was vowing to make my self a "healthier me." Yes I am going to work out, change my diet, brush my teeth before bed, floss, and take better care of myself. But i didn't set a time frame. It will be ongoing and not as hardcore as usual. This time (as i say every year) will be different!

I also can finally say that I got a new job! WOOO HOO!! I applied for a position at the Houston Hospital ( about 5 mins from our house) back in November. They waited a while to call me (about 3 weeks) but they finally did! I didn't even think twice about it! I have been wanting to get a job closer to home that way I can meet Dan for lunch or come home. (It's the little things). I will be the main Outpatient SLP with the hospital. I start on Jan 31st.

I hope this is the start I was looking for. I have been so....lost... the past few months. Just stuck in the same old rut doing the same old things. But I didn't have a way out so I was just sucking it up and going day-by-day to make it. But now I'm looking forward to something new and different. Something for me!

I will keep you posted on the new job! Until next time! :)

Grateful!

I haven't posted a lot since before Christmas... but a lot has happened!! I'll try to keep this short and sweet!

I am so grateful that I could go home for Christmas!! I had been asking for the time off for about 2 months but was unsure if I would get it until the beginning of December. Luckily, I found a great person that was willing to drive 2 hours to my building to cover my very small caseload. I thought it wasn't worth the drive, but he was glad to do it and glad to have something to do!

We went home for a week (Dec 22 thru Dec 29) and it went by so fast, as usual! We spent Christmas at Dan's parents house. We wanted to get there before his deployment to make sure he could spend time with his family. We also went to his Aunt and Uncle's house and his grandma's house. Then finally at his Father's house. Whew! It was the longest Christmas ever!

On the 26th, we drove to my sister's house! I surprised my whole extended family by showing up at our Christmas party. My dad lied to everyone and said "oh no, she can't come" so they were all surprised! Then we spent the rest of our time hanging out with my parents, friends, family, and of course my nephews!!! JT was beginning to walk shortly before we came so I got to see him take a few steps. Grant hasn't caught on to this whole walking thing yet. I may be biased, but I think my nephews are the cutest things in the whole world!!!  I hope to have some pictures up here sometime soon!

For New Years, we went to our friend's house, Rachel. It was low key, but very fun!!!! We have delicious snacks and good drinks! And of course, excellent company!!!

We had a very busy holiday season and we are glad to get back to the grind without all that hustle and bustle!!

I have so much more to tell you, but it can wait until my next post! Until next time!

Scar Tissue

Well I went to the doctor today and it was all good news! He was happy with how the incision looked and was amazed about the lack of swelling he saw. I guess he was excepting my neck to be big and giant. Although I think it is big, I guess he doesn't. He said the biopsy was normal! YAY!

Then the bad part happened. He took my stitches out. It really didn't hurt, but the whole time he was taking them out I was thinking about how they were coming out and it made me very light-headed. He had to almost stand me on my head for me to not pass out! lol. Oops!

But now that I have the stitches out, he gave me the go-ahead for working out and resuming normal activities. I have never wanted to hit the gym like I do now! Here is a picture of my incision with the stitches still in place.

I ran right out after my appointment to get mederma for this monster of a scar I'm going to have. I didn't realize how much that stuff cost. But I guess it will be worth it if it really does make this scar disappear!

I am glad all this stuff is behind me now. I just have recovery ahead of me!

Until next time! :)

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! :)