Hey guys!!  Hope your week has been great!  I am sure thankful that it is Friday!  We don’t have much on the agenda for this weekend except a small house project (I’ll show you when it’s finished!) and some pool time at my mom’s with my mom and aunt who is in town then a dinner at our house on Sunday evening.  I’m hoping the weather is nice so I can get in a few long walks with the pups too!  It has been awhile since we have been home for a weekend with no plans and that I have been feeling good.  

Speaking of feeling good… I actually had a follow up with the surgeon earlier this week and it went well.  She does want me to get another CT scan with contrast soon because I have been having random nausea and stomach pain.  It is nowhere near what it was before the surgery and it only happens every once in a while, but we are just checking everything out to be safe.  Thankfully I haven’t lost any weight (I’ve been gaining pretty quickly actually… I started doing strength training again and can already see some muscles popping through!) and my appetite has been really good.  

While I am still recovering from my bowel resection surgery, I am taking extra precautions to making sure I get back to healthy very soon.  Most of these I did before my surgery, but now they are more important than ever.  So today I am sharing my top ten tips for living a healthy lifestyle this summer!

1. Hydrate!  I go through phases where I am very good about hydrating and phases where I barely drink any water at all.  Lately I have been getting dull lingering headaches, which I figured out are from a lack of water intake.  During the week at work I have been tracking my water and trying to get around 100 ounces of water in during the day.  This is on top of any water I drink before, during, and after my workouts.  I notice that I am WAY less hungry and just feel so much better overall when I am well hydrated.  
2. Walking.  While recovering from surgery, my walks have been precious to me.  For the first month after surgery, all I did was walk in the park with my dogs and walk on my treadmill at an incline.  I am still incorporating a lot of walking into my day-to-day life.  My pups LOVE walks and I like to catch up on my shows while I walk on the treadmill.  The time passes by so quickly and it makes me feel better that I didn’t just plop down on the couch after work for hours mindlessly watching tv (don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of days I still do that). 
3. Meal prepping.  Taking the time to meal prep leaves me stress-free throughout the week.  I have my lunches and dinners ready to throw in the oven or assemble quickly so I don’t snack all day long on sugary treats.
4. Healthy snacks.  I always have healthy snacks on me wherever I go to ensure I don’t get hangry.  I know my husband appreciates this one. 😉 . A few of my favorites are: raw almonds, grapes, protein bars (think thin, rx, quest, and one are my favorite brands right now), greek yogurt, apples, veggies and hummus, and watermelon.
5. Greens powder.  While recovering from my surgery, I was told to eat a low-fiber diet.  If you know me, you know this was miserable for me. 🙂 . I LOVE all fruits and veggies.  I tried to keep my diet lower in fiber than normal and one way I was able to do that was by using greens powder instead of actual greens.  I just put it in my smoothie each morning and it hides the taste pretty well.  Greens powder is SO good for you as it is alkalizing, helps the digestive system and is high in antioxidants.  I use THIS kind. 
6. Upping my protein intake.  You may know that I don’t eat meat (I haven’t since I was 14 years old), but I make sure to get a lot of protein from fish or plant-based sources like nuts, seeds, eggs, quinoa, beans, protein powder, etc.  I try to have protein with every meal and snack so that I stay full for a longer time.  I usually have 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day.  I feel like I am always eating, which is good because then I am never starving and rarely get hangry.  
7. Wearing sunscreen.  This one is hard for me.  I usually apply it once then forget to reapply throughout the day.  I am trying to be better about it and I know my skin will thank me later. 
8. Taking a daily probiotic.  I know a lot of my tips have to do with digestion, but that is just because mine has been completely messed up after not eating for nearly 3 months and trying to get it back to normal.  I always feel better when I take a probiotic every day.  I also take B12, D3, vitamin C, iron, and a multivitamin.  
9. Eating plenty of fruits and veggies.  This one is not hard for me, but there are definitely days when I eat less than I should.  I put greens in my smoothies in the morning, I usually have a salad for lunch, my snacks usually incorporate fresh fruit, and dinner always incorporates a couple types of veggies.  
10. Keeping stress levels low.  This is really important to me.  After being in the hospital so long and having surgery, I now truly realize how precious life is and how important it is not to sweat the small stuff.  If the house isn’t perfectly cleaned, the bed isn’t made, I don’t have time to get in a workout or the day just didn’t go the way I had planned, that is OKAY.  I’m not saying I stay stress free all the time, but I have been working on letting things go and not getting caught up on things that really don’t matter in the long run.  A stress free mind is a beautiful mind. 🙂

That’s is all I’ve got for today!  I would love to hear all the ways you are staying healthy this summer in the comments!!! Have a great rest of your Friday and a wonderful weekend!!! xoxoxo

Hey friends!!!  I hope you all had a great weekend!! We had so much fun at the lake with family.  It was so relaxing and just what we needed.  Like always, it went by way too fast. 😦 

We left early Thursday morning and arrived in the afternoon.  For dinner on Thursday night, we went into town to our favorite restaurant, Fortify

I got the scallops and they were AMAZING!! 

My husband and my brother-in-law on a boat ride!

Sunsets at the lake are the best!

Callie loves them too. 🙂

Evening boat ride!

Friday was spent hanging out at the lake house after a long walk with the pups.  More family arrived Friday afternoon and some of the boys spent the morning playing golf while the girls lounged at the house.  

Saturday morning after a quick walk with the pups, we headed to the boat dock to hop onto a pontoon boat for the Lake Burton home tour!  We got to tour 4 amazing homes on the lake and it was so fun getting style inspiration.  They were fabulous!

Beautiful day!

The rest of Saturday was spent lounging…Callie’s tongue cracks me up. 

Playing ping pong and water pong in the boat house!  Riley found the perfect resting spot.

Callie did really well with the family this weekend.  She is always a little timid around strangers, but she warms up pretty quickly these days, which makes us just so happy.  

Riley getting some love. 

Riley got a few paddle board sessions in this weekend.

This dog just LOVES the water, unlike most small dogs I know.  We seriously have to drag him out of there or he would be in there all day long.

Lunch on Saturday was leftover grilled salmon, fresh berries and a costco quinoa salad! yum!

Saturday night we boated over to the marina for dinner with the family.  

I got the red snapper special and it was really yummy.  I cleaned my plate!

The family. 🙂

My sweet husband.

We spent Sunday morning packing up and saying goodbye to our family. We had to get a few more family photos before we left!

The whole crew!

The cousins.

Us with my in-laws.

We arrived home in the early afternoon and quickly unpacked, did some laundry, my husband went grocery shopping, and we meal prepped for the week.  Dinner was burgers, a new green bean recipe and a carrot salad recipe we love.  We spent the rest of the evening catching up on The Staircase on Netflix.  Have any of you seen it? 

Questions:

1. What was the highlight of your weekend?
2. What is your go-to side dish?
3. Tell me something you are looking forward to this summer!

Hey guys!!  How is your week going so far?  We will be on the way to Georgia when this posts (I write my posts a day in advance) for a long weekend with family, which we are really excited about.  I’m hoping for some nice long walks with the pups and some sunny weather!! I have never loved being outside more than these days.  I could stay outside all day even in the crazy hot temperatures if it means never having to see the inside of another hospital room again. 🙂 

Late last week I headed to my dad’s lake house for a couple days with my pups and my daddy!  His lake house is just over an hour away from Nashville so it is really easy to get to.  My husband was away in St. Louis for a bachelor party last weekend.  

After a quick dinner, we relaxed on the couch with the pups while watching some Jim Gaffigan.  He’s our favorite comedian and we are actually going to see him in Nashville later this year.  Have you guys seen one of his stand up routines?  Do yourself a favor and watch one (or all of them) on Netflix and you can thank me later.  He is HILARIOUS!

My dogs are both obsessed with my dad.  It is quite funny because he claims he is “not a dog person.”  Lies.

See… they are always next to him… he is way cooler than me so I get it.  

The most gorgeous view from the lake house.  Isn’t nature just beautiful?  

I started my mornings at the lake with a long walk with the pups to wear them out.  The lake house is out on a country road and the residents there let their dogs just wander around and one morning we picked up a friend.  He followed us for a few miles before finally heading back home. 🙂 

After our walk, I caught some rays while listening to a podcast while my dad finished up some work.  This view isn’t too shabby. 😉 

Later in the afternoon we headed to the lake for some boat time!  There is nothing like being on the water on a hot summer day. 

Saturday morning we headed to the boat before the temperatures got too hot.  We took the pups with us this time since we knew we would only be out there a short time.  Riley found the perfect spot to cool off. 😉

My sweet girl.  Her kisses are my favorite. 🙂 

Riley catching some rays. 🙂 

I have been easy back into being active these last few weeks.  My incision is almost all healed up and I was given the go ahead to walk and exercise (not lifting over 10 lbs.).  I have been doing some light weights (5 lb dumbbells) in the mornings and I always have some spectators.  Callie just watches while Riley wants to play fetch the whole time.  He’s so cute I don’t mind. 🙂 

 

Saturday night my dad had a birthday party to attend so I got to have some sibling time with my little brother.  We are 17 years apart, but it sure doesn’t feel like that.  He is such a kind kiddo and I just love being able to spend time with him.  My dogs are also obsessed with him too. 

I’m chopped liver when this kid is around. 😉

We opted to make dinner at home on Saturday night and watch a couple movies.  One of them was the emoji movie, which I hadn’t seen.  It was pretty cute!

Sunday morning we got up early to make breakfast before my dad came over.  Jacob went all out with decorations and chocolates at each seat.  The cutest! 

Breakfast was followed by our very own stand-up routine by my brother.  He is super into comedy this days and loves combining different comedian’s routines to make his own.  He is getting really good at it!  He did a comedy routine for me while I was in the hospital, which made me laugh a lot.  I needed it!

A little while later we go ready to head to the movies to see Incredibles 2!  It was really good!!  After I said goodbye to my dad and brother, I still had time to meet my momma to get our nails done.  I have never been one to keep my nails up… just getting them done for special occasions, but since living near my mom, I have been a little spoiled.  We have a lot of fun chatting while getting pampered.  🙂

 

Earlier this week my husband took me on our first date night since before I was in the hospital! It was much needed! We took out the convertible since it was a nice evening.  

We had a gift card to The Southern to use so that’s where we decided to grab dinner.  We both opted for fish entrees, which ended up being very good decisions.  I got the salmon special and my husband got the halibut.  So delicious. 

I hope you all have a great rest of your week and an amazing weekend!!!! 

Questions:

1. Any fun plans for the weekend ahead?
2. How often do you go out to dinner or order in?
3. What is your favorite type of cuisine?

Good morning, friends!!!  I hope you all had a nice weekend!  I spent mine relaxing and enjoying family time.  I’ll have a weekend recap up later this week.  This week is a short one for me as we are heading to Georgia to my in-law’s lake house for a family reunion later this week.  We are excited!! 

While I was in the hospital it was really hard to not continually think about all the events and things I was missing.  At the end of the day, I am so glad to be alive and healthy, but hey, I am human and it was difficult to not be super depress about missing some of life’s biggest moments for our friends at family.  Unfortunately, I had to miss two different weddings of our very good friends.  They all completely understood, but that was really sad for me.  

The hardest event for me to miss was my sister’s graduation from SMU law school.  She has been working tirelessly these past 3 years and all her hard work finally paid off.  Thankfully my mom and dad were both able to escape the hospital to see my sister graduate while my husband, mother-in-law, and two best friends took shifts staying with me at the hospital.  Obviously my sister totally understood that I could not be there (I kept telling my mom up until the day she left that I was GOING to my sister’s graduation and there was nothing that was going to stop me… except a blockage in my intestines ;)).  I am so proud of this girl who graduated summa cum laude at the top of her class and already has a job in corporate law waiting for her after she passes the bar this summer.  We are still all waiting for her and her boyfriend to move to Nashville so we can be neighbors.  I keep telling my sister that we moved to Dallas for them so it’s their turn. My mom and I try to bribe her daily. 😉

I may have mentioned on here that my bestie, Rachael, got engaged recently.  Her sister, a couple friends and I planned to have an engagement party for them back before all of my health complications.  There were over 50+ people that had rsvp’ed and a couple evening coming in town for the party so as soon as I had my surgery, I texted Rachael that the party must go on.. 2 weeks after I got home. I had already missed enough events and I wasn’t going to miss another one (or try to reschedule with that many people). 

I was in charge of food (the party was at my house so I figured it would be best if we didn’t have to transport food :)).  Thankfully, my mom came to the rescue and was the best helper ever.  She really is the best.  

I love this girl and am soooo excited for this upcoming year for her and her fiance, Eric.  

My husband loves them just as much as I do!  Eric was upstairs getting in a game of ping pong.  Boys will be boys. 🙂 

SO MUCH FUN!!  

I LOVE THESE GIRLS!!! 

Rachael’s sister got the prettiest cake from a local baker so we made Rachael and Eric practice cutting it for their big day. 🙂

And practice feeding each other without smashing it in the face.  (Fun story…I literally told Jon about 100 times that I would kill him if he smashed the cake in my face at our wedding… He went ahead and did it anyway and half of it ended up down my dress.  I still haven’t forgiven him ;)).

Callie hid upstairs in our bedroom during the party, but this little guy wanted none of that.  He was the life of the party going from person to person to get cuddles… and food. 🙂

Another fun event (the same weekend as the party) was the CMA Fest.  If you haven’t been, it’s a long weekend of country concerts.  It is super fun and I’ve been going since I was little.  My husband’s office has a suite at the stadium, which is much appreciated during this event because it is so darn hot!  

We got to see a bunch of different artists including Blake Shelton.  

Old Dominion.

And Carrie Underwood!  

They were all amazing! 

Another fun thing I did recently was help my little brother with his lemonade stand.  It was THE cutest thing ever.  He was so proud. 🙂 

 

 

 

That’s all I have for today!! Hope you all had a nice weekend and I will be back soon with my weekend recap! xoxoxo

Questions:

1. How was your weekend? Any fun plans? 
2. Have you been to any concerts lately?
3. What is your favorite part about summer?

Good morning!!  I can’t start this post without saying THANK YOU for all the love all my last post.  You guys are truly amazing.  I am so lucky to have the best friends (blog friends included!!) and family in the world.  I have cried a LOT of happy tears with all the support I have received over the last few months.  It truly means the world to me.  

As promised, today’s post will detail all the crazy physical and emotional changes I have been through over the last few months.  While the physical changes are drastic, the emotional roller coaster I have been on is even more crazy.  

I never have been a fan of the scale.  Personally, I have always just gone on how my clothes fit and how I feel.  To me, this allows me to have a better mindset and relationship with my body.  The number on the scale can be misleading and it’s just not something I have cared about for a long time.  

I have never been one to share my weight online…not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t think it matters and I don’t like the idea of people comparing themselves to others.  But for the purpose of this post, I will share my before and after weight to detail the dramatic changes my body has gone through since I first got sick.  It has been 3 months since I first got sick and began losing weight.  

Before I got sick, my weight was 132 lbs (I only know this because of doctor visits).  I have maintained this weight (give or take a few pounds) for around the last 10 years.  My body is happy at this weight and I was proud of all the muscle I worked hard for over the last few years.  After about a month of being sick (throwing up for 3-4 days every week for 5 weeks (before I ended up in the hospital), I had lost 15-20 lbs.  I felt sick every time I would eat and once the throwing up episodes would begin, they would last for days and it felt like they were never going to end.  I didn’t have much to throw up most times, but I think just the lack of eating for that many days caused me to drop the weight so quickly.  By the end of my hospital stay I weighed 107 lbs (I got on the scale the day I got home).  I credit the IV nutrition ( I was on it for over one week) for not losing anymore weight.  

This was the day I arrived home from the hospital.  As you can see, I was as white as a ghost and scary skinny.  After about 2-3 days at home, I lost more weight, which we assume was from getting off all the fluids at the hospital (IV nutrition and saline).  I checked my weight again and I weighed 97 lbs (now up to a 35 lb weight loss).  This was very scary for me to see as I haven’t seen that number since… I’m guessing middle school.  I could feel people judging me everywhere I went (I even had complete strangers ask me if I eat and tell me that I am too skinny).  

The crazy part of this was that I was actually eating more than I ever have and eating things I haven’t eaten in years.  I was eating milkshakes (see below!), chips, very high calorie smoothies, ice cream, chocolate, etc. Because I basically hadn’t eaten in 3 months, my stomach shrank so I would get very uncomfortably full VERY fast so I had to eat food just a little bit at a time.  It was hard not to get to the point of almost puking every time I ate because I was SO hungry, but would get super full after just a few bites.  My body was craving salt and carbs and sweets like I never had before.  I would get full really quickly, but then hungry (RAVENOUS) after about 30 minutes so I felt like I was eating constantly.  My family said they have never seen me eat like that before in my life.  

These pictures were taken a few days after I got discharged from the hospital.  You can see the weight loss and also where they made the incisions.  The two strips on the right are where the went in laparoscopicly (with a camera) for the procedure and the strip over my belly button is where they eventually made the large incision to be able to resection my bowel.  At this point I didn’t care if the incision was over my entire stomach, I was just beyond grateful they found something they could fix.  That being said, the incision is much smaller than I thought it would have to be, which I am thankful for.   

I am really looking forward to fitting back into some of my clothes and being able to wear my wedding rings again.  As of this week, I am up about 7 lbs since my lowest weight, which I think is a really good start!

There are quite a few other physical changes that have occurred over the last few months.  The next one is exhaustion.  While in the hospital, I was exhausted all the time (the medications definitely played a role in this) because I was still not eating.  I have mentioned this before, but the way doctors usually deal with a partial bowel blockage is to starve the bowel (aka fasting in hopes the obstruction will disappear).  The whole time I was in the hospital I was not eating (which was extremely hard because I was STARVING).  After every 4 or 5 days, they would try to begin me on a liquid or soft food diet, but I would get sick very quickly so it was always back to fasting.  This made me extremely exhausted all of the time.  I slept a lot because of this, which was good so it would pass the time.  Once I got home from the hospital, I was exhausted.  I wasn’t feeling bad, just very tired all of the time.  I spent most of the first few days at home in my bed or on the couch.  I would have to lay down after walking up one flight of stairs or standing for a few minutes.  I contribute not being able to eat full meals at lots of calories (because I would get full so fast) to this level of exhaustion as well.  Thankfully, by the end of the first week I was able to take my dogs on short walks around the block and able to stand for longer periods of time.   By the second week home I had much more energy and was also able to eat more food in one sitting.  

Another big physical change that occurred while I was sick was hair loss.  I was shedding hair like crazy while in the hospital and still am now.  The lack of nutrition really had an effect on my hair, but thankfully I have a LOT to spare.  I have always had really thick hair so I have been lucky you can’t really tell a difference.  I finally got my hair cut last week, which was so very needed.  I can’t even begin to explain how good it felt. 

The first time I have done my hair in a LONG time.  A task I used to dread has now become something I look forward to.  

My teeth went through a big change too.  With the lack of nutrients, my teeth were not as white as they usually are.  Thankfully some crest white strips are helping with this. 🙂

My skin has always been more oily rather that dry, but every since I wound up in the hospital my skin was extremely dry.  The whole time I was in the hospital and up until now, I have had to use a lot of moisturizer to keep my skin hydrated and keep it from peeling.  I definitely contribute a lack of hydration from water and food to this issue too. 

Another physical change I didn’t think much of was the color of my eyes!  While in the hospital they were very dark and dull, but ever since I have been home and fueling my body properly, they have been bright and almost a greenish color.  It sure is amazing what good nutrition can do to our bodies (and what a lack of nutrition can do too).  

Besides the physical changes I have been through, my emotions have been all over the place.  It was hard not to have the attitude of “why me” while dealing with this sickness before and while in the hospital.  I take great pride in my health and have always been a very healthy person eating nutritious foods and exercising daily.  It was very emotional to go from really healthy to basically bed-bound and needing assistance for even the very small tasks like putting my slippers on.  I had good days and bad days while in the hospital, but overall it was a very stressful situation not knowing what was going on and how long I would be there.  I was very emotional seeing my family so stressed and upset about my situation too.  It was really rough on all of us.  It may seem silly, but I was really emotional being away from my doggies and feeling like they think I had abandoned them. 😦  My emotions have been much more steady since I have been home.  I still have good and bad days, but many more good days than bad.  I will share a little more about how my perspective has changed since being home in another post coming soon.  Overall, I am happier than I have ever been and so grateful that I was able to make it through this situation without losing my mind. 😉  I am so happy to be alive and to just be back to living my normal life.  

Thank you all again for all your kind words.  I hope you guys all have an amazing weekend!!! 

Questions:

1. Any fun plans for the weekend?
2. What are some ways you take care of your health?
3. What are some things that helped you get through a very emotional time?

Hi friends!!  I am so excited to get back to regular blogging.  It may take me a little while, but I have missed blogging so much.  With all the free time I had in the hospital, you would think I would have blogged more, but honestly there wasn’t much to talk about.  I also had very little energy every day, which was saved for my laps around the nurse’s station with my IV pole. 🙂

Life has been nothing short of beautiful and amazing since I have been home.  I have spent a LOT of time outside, which has been so wonderful (I only went outside twice during my whole stay in the hospital).  I seriously feel like I got released from prison when I got discharged.  It is so nice not to be attached to anything and to be able to spend so much time out in nature.  The fresh air has never felt so good.

Today’s post is going to be a little update since getting out of the hospital and being home.  I have a few different posts planned to discuss what has been happening around here since being home (I have a whole post on all the crazy physically changes I’ve been through), but today we will just start with the first few days after being discharged and what they looked like.

My surgery was on a Friday and I got released from the hospital on Sunday.  I was ready to go HOME!  I was BEYOND excited to see my sweet babies.  I missed them so much while I was in the hospital.  Hospitals should be dog friendly.  I would have been a lot less sad if my puppies had been with me. 😉 

Sweet Callie had to be on a leash because she LOVES to jump up on me and we had to be really careful with my incision.  They were just as happy to see me as I was to see them.  They followed me everywhere and Callie did not leave my side for the next week.  

My sister flew in from Dallas a couple days after I got home to help take care of me.  Last time she was taking care of me she was studying for her law school finals.. this time she was busy studying for the bar!  She got all the smarts in the family. 😉  My little brother and dad spent a lot of time at my house, along with my mom too who cleaned and cleaned so that I would just rest.  

We spent the days relaxing and even made it to my mom’s pool a few times to lay outside, which was so nice.  My mom took us to get our nails done, which felt amazing.  I felt so gross and grungy while staying in the hospital so it was nice to get a little pampered.  

My mom invited my besties, Lissa and Rachael, over on Friday night for a girls night.  She bought my sister and I matching pajamas for her graduation and made sure to get some for Rachael and Lissa for our girls night.  My mom is the cutest.  

We made lots of appetizers and pizzas to munch on while we puzzled.  

My sister’s boyfriend’s mom sent me this fun puzzle that you get to color once it is all put together.  

We all had a blast chatting and completing the puzzle.

Then we celebrated some birthdays with some chocolate cake!

Rachael and my sister’s birthdays are in June and Lissa’s is in July so we had lots to celebrate! 

We pulled out some champagne for the occasion too.  These four girls are so important to me.  They all rallied and were beyond amazing during my stay in the hospital.  I am so lucky to have them all in my life.  

The finished product!!

How amazing is the rest of the care package that my sister’s boyfriend’s mom sent to me??  So thoughtful and sweet of her.  It made me feel so loved. 🙂 

The pups were not ready for my sister to leave either.  

I missed these kisses while I was away.  

This dog loves his stuffed friends. 🙂 

Before dropping my sister off at the airport on Saturday, we lounged at my mom’s pool for a couple hours.  

On Saturday evening I went to dinner with my mom and step-dad and our family friends (my husband was in Michigan for our friends’ wedding… I wasn’t able to travel that soon after surgery).  

 

 

While I have a post coming on all the physically changes/challenges I went through/am still going through, I will say that the biggest challenge the first week after surgery was extreme exhaustion.  I couldn’t walk up the stairs without having to sit down immediately or stand for very long without having to lay down.  My body was so fatigued so I spent a lot of time watching shows and movies in bed or on the couch with my pups. 🙂  

I took off two weeks from work after surgery, but started back on Monday this week.  I have never been more excited to work in my entire life. 🙂  My work is very flexible and my boss is extremely understanding so I am just taking it day by day and doing what I can.  I really love being back at home, in a routine, and most of all, being able to eat normally without getting sick or winding up in the ER.  Life can change in the blink of an eye, so I sure am appreciating my health like never before.  

I am SO glad to be back.. I have missed yall!!!  Tell me in the comments what you guys have been up to and how your summer is going!  I would love to hear!

Questions:

1. What is new with you?
2. Any fun summer plans on your agenda?
3. Have you ever been hospitalized before?  Ever had surgery?

Hi yall!!  I sure have missed blogging over the past couple months!  I have some really good news to share today!  You may have heard through my family, but it not, I am so excited to share that I had a very successful surgery on Friday!  

My sweet friends, Liz and Casey, got me this healing crystal that promotes vitality and removes blockages.  Little did they know the findings that were about to come. 

The surgery that was scheduled (laparoscopy) was an exploratory surgery to see if they could possibly find what was causing my nausea/vomiting/pain.  There was a chance they could find nothing wrong, a possible blockage, or something worse. 

I can’t even count the number of xrays, CT scans and specialized tests I have had over the past two months.  They all showed abnormalities, but even the radiologists couldn’t pinpoint the issue. 

My sweet family was there with me through it all.  I got to take a long nap (anesthesia), while they vigilantly checked the waiting board to see when I was finished with surgery.  It ended up being just over 2 hours in the operating room.  I can’t say enough good things about my family during this entire process.  I have said it before, but I will say it again…. I was never left alone for the entire time I was in the hospital (over 5 weeks).  My mom, dad, mother-in-law, best friend Rachael, best friend Lissa, and my sweet husband all dropped their plans to be with me at a moments notice.  They slept on the most uncomfortable chairs, watched an ungodly amount of HGTV, Food Network and murder shows, and just sat with me while I comfortably slept in bed.  I am one really really really fortunate girl.  

They say through sickness and in health, but man… that was tested this Spring.  This guy has bathed me, brushed my teeth, washed my hair, held my hand, and been my biggest supporter ever.  He had a list of questions a mile long for each and every doctor that came in my room (at least 10 per day).  I will never ever take for granted this man’s love for me.  I got a good one (sorry, ladies ;)), and I plan on keeping him forever.  He said I will repay him when I am taking care of him when we are old and grey. 🙂 

I woke up to the best news ever!  They did have to make a bigger incision vertically over my belly button, but they were able to clearly see a stricture/narrowing in my small intestine.  It was very inflamed/dilated above that point and normal beyond it.  The stricture was 6 centimeters wide so they cut about two inches of my small bowel (intestines) out and re-attached it.  I got very lucky that it was high enough that no colostomy was needed and the incision is relatively small so the healing process should be just a few days in the hospital and some rest at home.  

For now I am resting comfortably in the hospital.  I am really excited to have some real food for the first time in a long time.  I have a lot of catching up to do. 😉  I am really excited to gain back some weight at a healthy pace and put some muscle on my fragile little frame.  When they checked my weight this week, it was 102lbs.  I don’t think I have seen that number since middle school and I don’t plan on keeping it that way for long. 🙂 I also plan to get back to regular blogging as soon as I can.  I really have missed it.  I anticipate being at home for about a week to recover and then depending on how I feel, I will head back to work.  I can’t wait!

This entire experience has completely changed my outlook on life.  Health is so important and I will never take it for granted again.  I was in the hospital about 5 weeks and I can’t imagine being here any longer.  I can totally sympathize with those that have chronic illnesses that keep them hospitalized for months and even years.  I do not know how they do it.  Physically this experience was difficult, but mentally and emotionally was the toughest part.  Going from being so independent and free to pretty much bed-bound in the hospital was such a mental struggle.  It really tested my patience.  I am so so so lucky that my journey is coming to a beautiful end.  I made a promise to myself that I will not sweat the small stuff and I will live each day like it is my last.  Health is something I absolutely took for granted and I never will again.  This is just a small hurdle that I thankfully have been able to conquer.  One thing is for sure… I have the most amazing support system that anyone could ask for and I plan on making them each feel appreciated and loved every single day because you never know when things can change in the blink of an eye.  

I love you all so much and can never thank you enough for all the love and support you guys have shown me throughout this journey.  From the bottom of my heart, I am so so so grateful for all of you. xoxoxo