Health Journey

The past five months of my life has been a living hell. I spent more time in doctor offices, emergency rooms, hospitals, and in surgery than school work and wedding planning. I have had three surgeries in the past five months, two minor and one major. And finally, I have answers.

I went to see a general surgeon on May 2, to discuss my next plan of action. After having a chat with the surgeon he agreed that my gallbladder needed to come out. (I had been having gallbladder attacks since February) Gallbladder disease ran in the family. My mom had hers taken out nine years ago, and her sister and mother had theirs taken out. Like I said, it runs in the family. So naturally it was my turn. I was currently seeing four different doctors at the time. Two said take it out and the other two said leave it in. I, of course wanted it out. After all, I was the one in pain and miserable. I ultimately had the final decision. And I did NOT want to have an emergency on my honeymoon. Can you say miserable? Not happening. We scheduled the surgery for the soonest time available. May 14, the day after Mother's Day.

Three months after my gallbladder attacks began, I finally had my gallbladder surgery scheduled. I called my mom informing her of the day and time. She booked a flight that night so that she could be with my during and after my surgery (Mom of the year award). She was to arrive on Mother's Day. I was shocked that my mother would drop everything to be with me during surgery. Adam and I picked my mom up from BWI airport and drove back to the house. I asked her what she wanted to do on Mother's Day since it was her holiday (Although I truly believe Mother's should be appreciated and celebrated every day). Adam, my mom, Tora, and I set off on a walk to downtown Annapolis to eat lunch. It was my last day eating normal food before the surgery (I was not allowed to eat after midnight). We had brunch at Armadillo's outside. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We walked back to my house and spent the rest of the day watching movies and catching up.

We left to drive to Leesburg, Virginia on Monday at noon. My surgery time had been moved up to 3:00pm instead of the 4:00pm scheduled time. Meaning I needed to be there by 1:30pm to start pre-surgery shannanigans. Upon arriving at the hospital, I was informed that I needed to be in isolation before and after the surgery because of my MRSA history. That bomb that was dropped on me made me even more nervous than I was to begin with. Which I did not think was possible. I was put in a special room. My mom and Adam had to wear these silly yellow gowns.

I do not remember much from that day. Apparently I was really cranky after surgery and yelled at my mom and Adam. I think they are lying, I would never yell at them. :) The ride back to Annapolis was the hardest. I was really nauseous after surgery and weaving in and out of traffic did not help.

Having my mom there made a huge difference in my recovery. I would have just laid in bed, but she made me get up and walk around. We spent most of our time watching I Love Lucy. I should not have been watching Lucy because it made me laugh, but laughter is good medicine. We tried to go on a walk at least three times a day to get me up and moving. She made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was so wonderful to spend that time alone together. I have not spent that much time alone with her since high school. It made me appreciate her more. I love you, mom. Thank you for coming to take care of me. 

A week later and I am almost back to normal. I can eat a burger without throwing up and I can eat fatty foods without getting sick! I am so happy to be back to normal! :)

My battle wounds. Apparently they stuck the camera through the hole beneath my belly button.

These will take some time to heal. I am really sore on those exact spots. I cannot laugh, sneeze, cough, or blow my nose yet. Melanie Oberkrom taught me to use a pillow for all of the above. Also hiccups are my enemy! 

Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement during the past 5 months. I could not have made it all this way without your support. Thank you.

Brazilian Butt Lift

1. Plie

Minutes 0:00-1:00

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, arms at sides, toes turned out.
• Tuck tailbone under and contract glutes.
• Lower body into a plié squat as low as you can go without allowing knees to creep past toes.
• Simultaneously raise arms to shoulder height in front of body, palms down. Hold for 2 seconds, then return to starting position.
• After 20 reps, pulse at the bottom for 20 seconds.

2. Touchdown

Minutes 1:00-2:00

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward. 
• Squat down until knees are bent 90 degrees.
• Squat down until knees are bent 90 degrees.

• Step left legback into a deep reverselunge, placing right hand along outside of right thigh or touching thefloor.
• Raise left hand in front of face, palm facing out.
• Return to starting position and repeat, alternating sides.

3. Explosive Lunge

Minutes 2:00-3:00

• Lunge forward with left leg until knee is bent 90 degrees, directly over ankle, right knee pointing toward floor.

 

• Jump up, pushing off the floor with both feet. Switch legs in midair, landing with right foot forward in a lunge. Continue, alternating sides.

4. Single-Leg Squat with Towel

Minutes 3:00-4:00

• Stand with feet together, toes pointed forward,arms at sides with right foot on top of a small folded towel.
• Shifting weight to left leg, bend left knee 45 to 90 degrees while sliding right leg and towel slowly out to the side as far as is comfortable for a count of 4.
• Slowly draw right leg back to start for a count of 4 while straightening left leg.
• Repeat for 30 seconds; switch sides.

5. Squat with Kick-Back

Minutes 4:00-5:00

• Stand with legs shoulder-width apart, arms at sides.
• Sit back into a squat keeping weight on heels, then lift right leg straight behind you, keeping hipspointing forward while extending arms.
• Return to start and switch sides.

Taken from:

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/butt/exercises/5-minute-brazilian-butt-workout/?page=1

Styles for less

My target find! What a steal for only $9.98

Man's Best Friend

It has always been known that man's best friend is a dog. We see posts in the news how dogs will not leave the sides of their master. 

I met my best friend almost 2 years ago. She was a birthday present from Adam. We were both missing our Golden Retrievers back home and wanted a companion in Annapolis. After some solid research we picked out what we thought would be the perfect dog, a Shiba Inu. A small Japanese dog that remains under 25 pounds. The perfect traveling companion for a Navy family. 

I traveled down to Salisbury, NC to pick up my beautiful birthday present. The moment I set my eyes on her, I fell in love. She was so perfect and chose to ride the whole way back to Maryland in my lap. 

Trying to introduce her into her new home was slightly difficult. Crate training was difficult as well. Well, difficult for me anyways. I could not bear to have her sleep alone and cry all night. So Tora started sleeping with me in the bed. She has slept with me every night since. And has been the perfect cuddle buddy. We share such a wonderful bond, she is almost like a daughter to me. I love her so much and she is so special to me. Every night when I lay my head down on my pillow, she curls up on the one next to me. In the middle of the night, she curls up and snuggles against my stomach. I know she will get me through the hard times of deployment. She is truly my best friend.

5 Years Together

Yesterday, Adam and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary together. I still cannot believe that we have been together for 5 years! It seems much, much longer than that. But in the best way possible. Yet with each day I fall more and more in love with him. He is always continuing to find new ways to make me fall in love with him each day and finding ways to keep surprising me. Even when he knows how much I hate being surprised. I cannot wait to start our married life together. If these past five years of dating have been this great, I cannot wait to see how AMAZING married life will be. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives as well to start us off successful in our married life. I was blessed with a wonderful bridal shower that supplied most, if not all of my kitchen necessities. I cannot wait to get down to Charleston to organize and cook in our new place together! I have always dreamed of this day! And now it's finally happening in a few short months.

On another note I am finishing up my school semester here in Maryland and waiting to hear back from Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, and Trident Tech. I am hoping to transfer to one of those schools in Charleston to continue my education in nursing. Adam and I are back and forth on when we are going to move to Charleston. He is going Subs and will be entering Nuclear Power school in August. He can report as early as August 9. Until then he will be stationed in Annapolis with the Systems Department at the Naval Academy for a month and then the sailing department until he reports to Power school. Sometime in between we will be attending weddings, moving, getting married, and honeymooning. We are aiming to move sometime in mid-June, but we will see how that will work out. Until then Adam is soaking up every last minute he has and making the most of his time left at the Academy. Graduation is just around the corner.

I am still battling my disease, whatever it may be, daily. I am going back to the doctor next week to schedule my surgery to have my gallbladder removed. I am hoping this will solve most of my problems. Until then I will keep popping pills like nobody's business. ;)

I have just two months and change until our wedding day. Almost everything seems to be finalized. Everything has fallen into place the past several months without my stress level hitting the fans. Actually, I have not been stressed out yet, well... Until now that is! Hey, I am not bridezilla quite yet and I hope I will not get to that level. The flower girl dresses are bought, the bridesmaid dresses picked out and ordered, MOB dress is ordered. All that is left is to buy a few last minute decorations and decide what to do with my hair and makeup. Not too shabby! I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM GETTING MARRIED! :)

Simple Ways to Stay in Shape

1. Park far away. Walking is healthy.
Instead of nabbing that parking spot closest to your destination try parking further away. The walk into the store burns more calories!
2. Take the stairs.
Walking up the stairs is a great way to exercise and stay in shape! Plus it tightens the muscles in your butt! Who doesn't want a cute butt?
3. Walk.
Walk everywhere. If things are not more that 2-3 miles away try walking to your destination instead. Walking is a great form of exercise.
4. Wear heels while walking around the house.
It is known that heels strengthen your calf muscles, and lets be honest. Who does not want better calf muscles? I DO!

I'm a Traditional Kind of Girl

I am a traditional kind of girl. I prefer the same thing over something new. When it comes to trying something new, I cannot do it with ease. It takes convincing and time. I like my favorite restaurants, my favorite foods, my favorite candies, and my favorite brands. 


When I cut my hair, I stick with two styles: long with side-swept bangs and long layers, or a long bob with side-swept bangs.


I like to stick with family recipes instead of buying cookbooks or looking up recipes on the Internet. I prepare my favorite meals and rarely try anything else. It is almost a mental issue. My mind is already opposed to trying new things. New recipes, new meals, new foods, etc. 


So this new lifestyle change is killing me. Growing up in South Carolina, I went to the same doctor for most of my life. When we moved to North Carolina, I was skeptical about a new doctor, but I did not have a choice. I could not drive 10 hours there and back just to see "my" doctor. Now living in Maryland, finding a doctor that will take care of me is harder than ever. Being told that you have an illness that will "drastically change your life" is like a death sentence to me. For those who know me, they know I am not exactly the most healthy of eaters. I graze here and there. I would rather eat junk food over meals and I have a HUGE sweet tooth problem. 


I also have a problem with people not telling me the truth, or the whole truth. My doctors are neglecting to tell me my diagnosis. Which to me, is super frustrating. At the beginning of every test, the technicians would ask how long I have been diagnosed with Chron's or Celiac or Ulcerative Colitis. And I would stare blankly at them in utter confusion because I had not been diagnosed with any. I had only taken medication that treated that disease. So which is it? 


Based off the medication I am currently taking now, I am making an educated guess assuming that I have Chron's disease. Chron's is an autoimmune disorder meaning your body is attacking itself in the location of the digestive system. There is no way to cure Chron's disease, but merely learn how to manage the symptoms and flare ups. What causes it? Well the cause is unknown (yippee). Scientists lean towards genetics and environmental factors for the causes. It targets mainly Caucasians between the age of 15 to 30 years old. 


What next? The next step for me is to learn how to live with this disease (if I am diagnosed with it completely after my upper GI scope). Most people adjust their diets, take medication daily, and try to avoid stress. Ha. That is a joke. My life is full of stress. Stress from work, stress from school, stress from the wedding, stress about moving, the list goes on and on. And of course, there are always complications with the disease that could lead to more surgery. JOY!


How am I supposed to be positive about this? So many thoughts are racing through my mind! Am I going to pass this to my children? Do I need genetic counseling to have this gene removed so that my future children are not affected? (I already have to have genetic counseling for my IgA deficiency). How am I supposed to remove stress for my life? That means just sitting around and doing nothing forever? What about nursing school? Future nursing career? Moving from state to state with the military? I mean, it is almost impossible to remove all stress from my life. I am trying to be positive in that I do not need to change my ENTIRE diet compared to Celiacs where you cannot have anything with gluten. As long as I take my medication, I will be fine. 


This is basically my life in a nutshell right now. I feel like an old person because of how fatigued I am. I am putting all my energy into healing and the wedding. 


Tomorrow I have my upper GI scope which will determine if I have Chron's or not. Wish me luck! Because I am awfully tired of being stuck with needles!


Sayoonara