Hope

For those of you that may be having one of those days where you just want to go to bed and wake up with a new day, watch this. It reminds you of the happiness you can feel and experience. It reminds you that you have a father in Heaven that knows you and gives you what you need. I've had some rough days lately trying to stay positive despite having had 5 surgeries in a year. I was so grateful that this surgery went so much smoother than the first. Then 2 weeks post-op, I developed welts on my arm starting around the incision, then spreading over my whole shoulder. Anyone that knows about joint surgery knows that if an infection gets into the joint, it's bad news. Luckily, this surgeon is VERY proactive about even "possible" infection. So, 6 hrs in the ER, after almost draining all my blood for all the tests they are running, one PA, an ER doctor, and the surgeon all came to the same conclusion. I'm "having some kind of reaction to something." Specific, huh? Well, they may not know exactly what I'm reacting to, but they've ruled out all the really nasty possibilities. Now, because he's so proactive, I'm on 2 antibiotics, I've had one dose of IV Benadryl, I'm taking 50 mg of Benadryl every 4 hours, 1 steroid, Allegra 180, and Zantac (apparently it has an antihistamine effect too)...and going in weekly to make sure it doesn't take a turn for the worse. While this is very stressful, and I just want to be done, I admit, I've had my days of every emotion...anger, fear, sadness, frustration, helplessness, etc. But this video reached me at just the right point in that day. Hopefully it can help someone else out there too.
The-Tender-Mercies-of-the-Lord

Lots of randomness

So, I am EXTREMELY blessed. I met with the newest surgeon yesterday, and he is "qualified" to fix my shoulder. So, they scheduled it...for TOMORROW!!! Talk about not wasting time. After dreading having to break the news to my bishop/stake president, I called Mission Medical to update them. The nurse I was talking to put me on hold for quite a while, then when she came back on, she had the best news ever (other than finding a surgeon that can fix my shoulder)...THEY CAN EXTEND MY COVERAGE BY TWO DAYS...mainly because the surgery was pre-authorized...but who cares what the reasons were...the surgery is covered! SO, I have a little over 12 hours until I have to be in pre-op (at 6:45 in the morning...yuck!) and I decided to write a few of my random thoughts over the past week. I don't know how often I will be updating my blog for a while, because I'll be back to typing with one hand. Here it goes:

1-I've "come out of retirement" of babysitting. I LOVE it...I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I also found out I haven't lost some of my old quirks...i.e. I am terrified of having the blinds open at night while in someone else's house. Maybe a little OCD, but it's CREEPY!!!

2-I have thoroughly enjoyed starting the Harry Potter series again. They are a fairly fast read, and they are just so enjoyable! I was also surprised at how close the first movie was to the book. Just a few details were change, but overall, it's pretty dang close.

3-While watching the Harry Potter movies, I came to another realization. I didn't realize how much better DVD's are than VHS. We have all the movies, but the first one is VHS...the quality was SO different!

4-I was also surprised...maybe it's from my recent stay at the MTC, but there are a lot of things in these books that can be compared to basic gospel principles...Dumbledore knows what all the students are going to do ahead of time, but let's them make those decisions themselves. Voldemort...I mean you-know-who...is trying to ruin the lives of those that possess what he cannot have/feel...pure love...and is trying to bring whoever he can over to his side. Everyone is preparing for the grand battle of good vs evil/ truth vs deception/whatever you want to call it.

5-While I'm home, without a job, or a life for that matter, I have compiled a list of projects to take advantage of this "spare" time. I have been collecting/keeping old jeans to make a denim quilt. I also have a ton of t-shirts that I want to put together to make a quilt. I have a scrapbook and lots of pictures to put in the scrapbook...like paramedic school/work, all my EFY's etc. If I can get everything accomplished that I want, it'll be AMAZING!!!

That's about it for now. Wish me luck tomorrow...I get to start the 'wonderful' experience that we lovingly call H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS...ie recovery from shoulder surgery. YAY!!!