This week, I was accepted to work in the Toddler Lab next semester. "What does that mean?" Basically every Tuesday and Thursday I'll be working from 7:45-11:15 with kids aged 18 months to 3 years old in a preschool-like setting. Technically they're too young for preschool (and there's a specific 'preschool lab') but that's at least the general idea of it. I'm really excited for it. That's a fun age group and while I have no doubt that it will be tough, I'm also really looking forward to it.
After receiving this announcement, I went ahead and started looking at the other classes I'll need to take next semester. I'm an Early Childhood/Special Education major. After graduation, I'll be licensed in the state of Idaho (and I can become licensed in other states) to work with children from birth up until the 3rd grade in a variety of different ways. My degree is incredibly flexible and has opportunities in teaching (in both mainstream or special education classrooms), preschool, daycare, or more specific training in the special ed field. There's a whole heck of a lot that I can do with it. The problem is...I don't know what I want to do.
One of the most commonly asked questions up here at school is "What do you want to do with your major?" And honestly...I have no idea. I know it's the right major for me. Without a doubt, I am solid on that point. I'm very excited about it. I just don't really know how I want to use my degree in the real world.
This coming September will start my fifth semester and the beginning of my junior year of college. That honestly and truly blows my mind. I don't feel like I've been here this long... and the fact that I'm almost done kind of makes me a little nervous. College is a very nice limbo between high school and the big scary real world. To think that I'm halfway done with this very comfortable limbo stage is intimidating. I'm going to have to leave the bubble of Rexburg and venture out into the real world and get like a REAL job. Weird...
I guess one of the hardest things to wrap my head around is the fact that I don't really have any plans after graduation. I probably should. I probably should have like 'big life goals' or something adult-y like that. I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on my grad plan and the classes to take between now and then. That much, at least, I feel like I understand. But after graduation...I got nothing. No idea of what I want to accomplish or what field I want to go into...
Thinking that far into the future stresses me out anyways. I probably should focus on this semester and passing the classes that are in front of me here and now. Let's be honest and just say that making up a week and a half worth of work for 6 classes is definitely not an easy task. Nor is it enjoyable. I'm not a big fan of it. We're barely at mid-terms and I already am worn out. The idea of doing this for 4 more semesters... UGH. No bueno.
So I guess for now I'll keep working on the homework that I have now and (hopefully) the higher level classes will point me in the direction of what field I want to pursue. Idealistically, around the time I'm getting ready to graduate some Prince Charming-esque figure will show up and be fabulously wealthy so that I'll never actually have to enter the work force haha. I kid, I kid. Marriage will come in it's own time frame and I am more than happy to enjoy life as a single woman before having to deal with engagements, fiancee/husband drama, wedding plans, mortgages, bills, etc etc. But that's a topic for a whole other rant...
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Piano Guys Concert :D
The past few days, I've encountered some free time which has given me lots of time to do some deep thinking (and napping...and blogging...and Pinterest-ing....and more napping...oh, have I mentioned napping?). Some of these thoughts include:
I've always known that BYU-I was a pretty neat place and I've never once regretted my decision to come here. There have been times (on days where the weather is particularly extreme) that I have wished that the school could be relocated to somewhere with a fairly normal climate, but I truly am happy with my decision to come here. I'll sacrifice my flip-flops for smaller class sizes in a HEARTBEAT. I'm sorry but no shoe style is so important that I'd sacrifice a personal relationship with my professors for it. I'm not that fashion savy... I honestly couldn't care less. As far as the Honor Code goes, yeah it's strict. But we get a whole heck of a lot of benefits and they're really not asking that much of us. They're asking us to live a higher law. Big whoop. I can do that. I'll keep the Honor Code and enjoy the comfort of having a shower within the privacy of my own dojo rather than a coed shower that is shared by an entire floor of strangers. We're pretty dang blessed. One of these blessings, is that the costs passed onto students are very low. This means that when we have awesome guests come (aka Bill Cosby), I can buy myself two tickets and STILL be able to eat a dinner that's a little higher quality than ramen.
Last year during spring semester, we had Bill Cosby come and perform for us. The man is hilarious. Oh goodness. Very good decision to go see him. And this semester we had the Piano Guys come to play for us.
While they're growing in popularity and have been featured on Jay Lenno and the Today Show, the Piano Guys still aren't TOO well-known. Their name is misleading--but it's a guy on the piano (John Schmidt) and a guy on the cello (Steven Sharp Nelson)--but they are SO COOL. If you don't know who I'm talking about, take 3 seconds and pull up YouTube and just listen to one of their songs. They are stinkin' talented.
So when I found out that the Piano Guys were coming, I instantly bought two tickets. Why two? Well...mostly because I don't want to be a loner and be lame by myself... Prideful, I know. But also because the hopeful romantic in me is always like "Oh this is 3 weeks away--maybe I'll find Prince Charming between now and then and he'll go with me". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being single. I loveeeee being single. I probably shouldn't love it so much and I should probably get out there and start dating more but ehh. Anyways, bottom line is this: I buy a second ticket just in case there DOES happen to be a guy that makes an appearance, knowing full well that that ticket will more than likely be used by a roommate or a cousin or something.
After several rounds of "Ok who isn't busy on Thursday and wants to go with me?" I finally ended up going to the concert with my dear wonderfully lovely roommate Stephanie.
Just as a side note in case any of you were wondering: I definitely do not recommend that you make your debut outing after surgery by sitting in bleacher seats for 2-ish hours while listening to a concert. It may sound like a good idea... but you don't end up feeling too great after it. This afternoon I was feeling a little guilty about missing school because, as I puttered around my apartment, I felt pretty on top of things and well-rested. I was able to take the bandages off my stitches and actually take a real shower (so joyous you have no idea) and felt like maybe I should've gone to class. All of that guilt was instantly gone as I finally made it into the Hart gym where the concert was being held. Holy cow. It's not even that far of a walk. Definitely felt like a wuss, but I also felt my school absence was justified because there's NO way I'd be able to make it all over campus for classes.
Regardless of how tired I was and the painkillers I had taken right beforehand, the concert was still AMAZING. Those guys are ridiculously talented. My Mom had first heard John Schmidt perform at a Women's Conference at BYU a few years ago, so we've been listening to his music at our house for years. Watching him play Waterfall live... Dang. I definitely slacked off on my piano lessons by comparison. He said that he wrote that song when he was 17 to impress a girl. I'm approaching my 20th birthday and I've done NOTHING that impressive.
Nelson (the cello player) was equally pretty awesome. I have to admit, I was pretty cynical as I listened to them playing the first few songs in their set. "There's no way that those two men sitting right there are making all of those different sounds live right now". Still impressive for sure---I mean watch a video and see how quick their hands are going--but I was skeptical. During one of the breaks during their song, Nelson explained how while his hands and fingers are going like crazy to work the cello in front of him, his foot is also operating a kickdrum. He was also getting pretty creative with his percussion as he banged on his cello during some songs. Other than the kickdrum, he also had a pedal that would allow him to change the tones of sounds coming out of his cello so he could spice it up that way. And THEN he had this pedal that would allow him to record something LIVE at that exact moment and then play it back so that he could loop several different themes on top of each other all while playing live. Does that make sense? I don't feel like I explained that very well... :/ He demonstrated it--the whole looping several different tracks while playing live--and it was AWESOME.
They played all of the favorite songs they have out on YouTube right now: Rolling in the Deep, Michael Meets Mozart, Charlie Brown Theme Song, Bourne Vivaldi, U2, Pachelbel etc etc etc. But then they had fun just playing around with some new stuff.
Well....I had all of these fantastic plans about being all technologically savy and having all these little videos placed strategically throughout the rest of this post but apparently BlogSpot refuses to allow me this one shining victory today :'( To be far, it IS just after midnight...and I DID just take painkillers to go to bed...So it's very possible that it's user error rather than BlogSpot just hating me.
Anyways, a quick run-down of all of the cool videos that I now have and was planning on posting on here for your enjoyment:
Ok way too much time has been spent on this post. I'm calling it a night and hopefully I'll figure out how to post those videos tomorrow because not only are they really cool, but they're really FUNNY! Fingers crossed I can make that work.
Also as a side-note, my parents are coming to see me tomorrow!!! :D :D Yeah, yeah I know I left them like not even a month ago...but I'm still excited. And for once, I'M not going to see THEM. They are coming to me. I don't know why that's such a big distinction in my mind, but it is. No idea why, but there you have it.
And if you don't understand a) why I'm freaking out about "What Makes You Beautiful" or b) you didn't take my advice at the beginning of the post and refused to YouTube them like I told you to--WATCH THIS VIDEO.
- There IS in fact an end to Pinterest. Like eventually if you scroll down too far...there IS an end... No one should ever come to know that fact. I'm ashamed to know this.
- Drugs SERIOUSLY give you wacked out dreams. Like holy cow.
- Sleep is a very underrated coping mechanism during college.
- When I take Vicodin, I get very cuddly and snuggly and begin to inform my roommates just how badly I want a man to cuddle with.
- My roommates are incredibly patient people
- I am SOO blessed to be going to the school that I'm going to.
I've always known that BYU-I was a pretty neat place and I've never once regretted my decision to come here. There have been times (on days where the weather is particularly extreme) that I have wished that the school could be relocated to somewhere with a fairly normal climate, but I truly am happy with my decision to come here. I'll sacrifice my flip-flops for smaller class sizes in a HEARTBEAT. I'm sorry but no shoe style is so important that I'd sacrifice a personal relationship with my professors for it. I'm not that fashion savy... I honestly couldn't care less. As far as the Honor Code goes, yeah it's strict. But we get a whole heck of a lot of benefits and they're really not asking that much of us. They're asking us to live a higher law. Big whoop. I can do that. I'll keep the Honor Code and enjoy the comfort of having a shower within the privacy of my own dojo rather than a coed shower that is shared by an entire floor of strangers. We're pretty dang blessed. One of these blessings, is that the costs passed onto students are very low. This means that when we have awesome guests come (aka Bill Cosby), I can buy myself two tickets and STILL be able to eat a dinner that's a little higher quality than ramen.
Last year during spring semester, we had Bill Cosby come and perform for us. The man is hilarious. Oh goodness. Very good decision to go see him. And this semester we had the Piano Guys come to play for us.
While they're growing in popularity and have been featured on Jay Lenno and the Today Show, the Piano Guys still aren't TOO well-known. Their name is misleading--but it's a guy on the piano (John Schmidt) and a guy on the cello (Steven Sharp Nelson)--but they are SO COOL. If you don't know who I'm talking about, take 3 seconds and pull up YouTube and just listen to one of their songs. They are stinkin' talented.
So when I found out that the Piano Guys were coming, I instantly bought two tickets. Why two? Well...mostly because I don't want to be a loner and be lame by myself... Prideful, I know. But also because the hopeful romantic in me is always like "Oh this is 3 weeks away--maybe I'll find Prince Charming between now and then and he'll go with me". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being single. I loveeeee being single. I probably shouldn't love it so much and I should probably get out there and start dating more but ehh. Anyways, bottom line is this: I buy a second ticket just in case there DOES happen to be a guy that makes an appearance, knowing full well that that ticket will more than likely be used by a roommate or a cousin or something.
After several rounds of "Ok who isn't busy on Thursday and wants to go with me?" I finally ended up going to the concert with my dear wonderfully lovely roommate Stephanie.
Just as a side note in case any of you were wondering: I definitely do not recommend that you make your debut outing after surgery by sitting in bleacher seats for 2-ish hours while listening to a concert. It may sound like a good idea... but you don't end up feeling too great after it. This afternoon I was feeling a little guilty about missing school because, as I puttered around my apartment, I felt pretty on top of things and well-rested. I was able to take the bandages off my stitches and actually take a real shower (so joyous you have no idea) and felt like maybe I should've gone to class. All of that guilt was instantly gone as I finally made it into the Hart gym where the concert was being held. Holy cow. It's not even that far of a walk. Definitely felt like a wuss, but I also felt my school absence was justified because there's NO way I'd be able to make it all over campus for classes.
 |
| Pretty decent seats as far as bleachers go :) |
Regardless of how tired I was and the painkillers I had taken right beforehand, the concert was still AMAZING. Those guys are ridiculously talented. My Mom had first heard John Schmidt perform at a Women's Conference at BYU a few years ago, so we've been listening to his music at our house for years. Watching him play Waterfall live... Dang. I definitely slacked off on my piano lessons by comparison. He said that he wrote that song when he was 17 to impress a girl. I'm approaching my 20th birthday and I've done NOTHING that impressive.
Nelson (the cello player) was equally pretty awesome. I have to admit, I was pretty cynical as I listened to them playing the first few songs in their set. "There's no way that those two men sitting right there are making all of those different sounds live right now". Still impressive for sure---I mean watch a video and see how quick their hands are going--but I was skeptical. During one of the breaks during their song, Nelson explained how while his hands and fingers are going like crazy to work the cello in front of him, his foot is also operating a kickdrum. He was also getting pretty creative with his percussion as he banged on his cello during some songs. Other than the kickdrum, he also had a pedal that would allow him to change the tones of sounds coming out of his cello so he could spice it up that way. And THEN he had this pedal that would allow him to record something LIVE at that exact moment and then play it back so that he could loop several different themes on top of each other all while playing live. Does that make sense? I don't feel like I explained that very well... :/ He demonstrated it--the whole looping several different tracks while playing live--and it was AWESOME.
They played all of the favorite songs they have out on YouTube right now: Rolling in the Deep, Michael Meets Mozart, Charlie Brown Theme Song, Bourne Vivaldi, U2, Pachelbel etc etc etc. But then they had fun just playing around with some new stuff.
Well....I had all of these fantastic plans about being all technologically savy and having all these little videos placed strategically throughout the rest of this post but apparently BlogSpot refuses to allow me this one shining victory today :'( To be far, it IS just after midnight...and I DID just take painkillers to go to bed...So it's very possible that it's user error rather than BlogSpot just hating me.
Anyways, a quick run-down of all of the cool videos that I now have and was planning on posting on here for your enjoyment:
- A performance of their new song "Home" by Phillip Phillips (they said they're finishing up work on the video and they'll release it soon)
- A performance of a mash-up idea they enjoy tossing around entitled "Don't Worry, Be Psycho" (aka 'Don't Worry Be Happy' combined with the theme from 'Phantom of the Opera')
- Another mash-up of 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow' and the Imperial theme from Star Wars
- A mash-up of Dan Fogelberg's "Longer Than" and another song ;)
- A brief clip highlighting their ability to make Pachelbel's Canon in D sound pretty dang cool
- A live performance of their viral video "What Makes You Beautiful" (also their finale)
- About 3/4 of their encore performance of "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis (then I got sick of recording and gave up)
Ok way too much time has been spent on this post. I'm calling it a night and hopefully I'll figure out how to post those videos tomorrow because not only are they really cool, but they're really FUNNY! Fingers crossed I can make that work.
Also as a side-note, my parents are coming to see me tomorrow!!! :D :D Yeah, yeah I know I left them like not even a month ago...but I'm still excited. And for once, I'M not going to see THEM. They are coming to me. I don't know why that's such a big distinction in my mind, but it is. No idea why, but there you have it.
And if you don't understand a) why I'm freaking out about "What Makes You Beautiful" or b) you didn't take my advice at the beginning of the post and refused to YouTube them like I told you to--WATCH THIS VIDEO.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Word Travels Quickly...
Word travels quickly in a small town. Now I think my hometown has a population of about 2 million people. I don't think that necessarily equates to 'small town' mentality, but my apartment complex up here at school really does have a small-town feel to it. On top of that, we're all LDS. And I think the only place where word would travel faster than in a small town is in a Mormon ward. But if you combine the two---a Mormon ward inside a small town atmosphere---I'm pretty sure word travels faster than the speed of light.
On the one hand, it's pretty weird to stumble my way out to the mailbox with Stephanie in order to get some walking in for the day, and have all these people 'Oh my gosh--how are you feeling?' 'Can I do anything?' 'How's it going?' I'm not one for putting my personal business out there for the world at large. And having the whole apartment complex know about my recent ER trip is pretty personal. But at the same time, I do feel very loved and supported.
I feel like I'm pretty good at matching faces with names. I can remember faces pretty well and generally have a pretty good grasp at all of that. But I have been absolutely blown away at how many COMPLETE STRANGERS have been texting me and stopping by to check in on me as I recover on our couch. I love my apartment complex here at school: it's a pretty tightknit community and it's very easy to strike up a conversation with someone in the laundry room. We really do have neighbors rather than just strangers living across the parking lot. I've known for a long time that I love the community here...but my oh my I had no idea what that all really meant.
Don't get me wrong--it's been incredible to see how Christlike these people are. I just feel bad because I either can't remember how I know them (say no to drugs, kids), or I just have honestly never met these people before. Either way, I can't really thank them as well as I would like to!
Last night, my roommates Stephanie and Caity were enjoying the warmer weather and doing homework out on our front porch after they went to the gym. I was curled up on the couch on my makeshift bed attempting to get through an episode of "The Middle". The window was open and I heard some male voice outside ask my roommates how I was doing. They told him I was doing well and said I was in on the couch if he wanted to come talk. I was expecting an FHE brother or someone from the ward...but the guy who walked in the house I didn't recognize at ALL.
"Hey Sydney! How are you feeling? Appendicitis? That is NUTS--I mean you could've DIED! Are you doing better?"
I mean, what do you say to that?
"Well...thank you kind sir... Yes, I'm doing quite fabulously despite my stomach being stitched together... Um...who are you?!?!"
I didn't want to be rude! So I just smiled and answered the questions as politely as I could without actually using any pronouns or overly detailed descriptions of our friendship. I have a new respect for amnesia patients. It was WEIRD. I sat there in silence as he went over and started talking to my roommate Hannah about some project that they had in business or accounting or marketing or one of those classes. I don't remember the exact details because I was frantically trying to figure out how this guy knew me. Well-dressed, dark-haired, charitable...that describes almost every guy up here at BYU-I. I sat there in silence for a little bit. Looking back on it, I'd like to think that I was being polite and well-mannered as my mind was reeling...but I'm pretty sure I was just staring at the guy.
"Hey wait.... You're the guy who drove me to the ER on Sunday, huh? That was you...right?"
I probably should work on my transitions. I think I interrupted him and Hannah discussing homework and it probably wasn't my most tactful moment, but I was pretty excited to have finally solved The Case of the Mystery Guy. He grinned and agreed that yes, he was my chauffeur and I got a chance to thank him for driving me. So that at least was good from all of this, even though I felt like a total crazy person because of it.
I woke up this morning to like 3 text messages each from an unknown number wishing me luck and to feel better. Who are these people and how did they get my number? Not a clue. But it has been amazing to receive such an outpouring of love over the past 24 hours.
I have more people than I could ever possibly remember to thank offering to help me out in any way possible. "Let me know if you need anything, ok?" Ok... I will. But I can't really think of anything that I can be helped with. The biggest blessing for me today was my roommate Caity helping me wash my hair in our sink. I didn't want to get my stitches wet, but I really really really wanted to so I didn't get my stitches wet. She paused her homework to do that. She didn't need to--but she did. It was very simple, but meant so much to have her help me like that. I appreciated it.
All in all, Day 1 of recovery is going well. Got up and walked around outside for a bit. If I had any classes in one of the buildings closest to my apartment, I'd probably start going to class. But they're all located really far up the hill on the second or third floor...and I don't think I'm up for any hiking of that kind just yet. I feel pretty good--everybody keeps asking me that. While I'm hanging out on the couch, I feel totally fine---I mean, maybe like I did 1 too many sit-ups the other day--but nothing excruciatingly painful. So when I'm lying on the couch and watching each of my roommate trickle out to go to class, I can't help but feel a little guilty. From that position on the couch, I feel like I should be up and going about my daily life too. It's only once I sit up and start moving around the apartment that my body is like "Ahem, excuse me--remember how we were just inflated with air and sliced open and poked and prodded and cut and then stitched back together?" Ah yes...that just happened. And then I slink back to the couch feeling weak and defeated.
So far, my abdomen/stomach/tummy/appendix-region hasn't even been the most painful. I've had the most pain in my right shoulder. Weird, right? Apparently it's totally normal after this kind of surgery though. The surgeons inflate your stomach so they can get in there and 'laproscopically' (again, no idea how to spell that) do their thing and take out your appendix...but then there's no way to just deflate all of that gas out of you. So it bubbles around and pushes on all your other internal organs and eventually rises up to your right shoulder and settles there, painfully, until it decides to work its way out of your system. The nurses all said it's pretty typical stuff. It just feels like I slept on my shoulder wrong or that there's a big knot up there... But go figure! I get my appendix out and my shoulder is in the most pain. It's a strange, strange world. In the words of my dear Aunt Cynthia: "They pump you full of air and then don't even bother to burp your poor unconscious body?" Uhh nope. Guess not.
Each of my professors have been incredible to work with. All have told me not to worry about anything until next week and have been willing to let me make up tests and presentations when I get back into the swing of things next week. Will I have my hands full next week? Oh absolutely. But everyone has been so kind and flexible. It's taken a lot of stress off of me and allowed me to really take it easy guilt-free.
I've been very, very blessed with fantastic family members, roommates, ward family members, neighbors, classmates, teachers, bosses... All of you guys: you all rock! I love you all! You're just the best :)
I felt like I had more to say in this post... I guess I don't. I guess that's what happens when you blog 2 days in a row and there's still not a whole lot to say....
I'm very well-taken care of and have been shown more love and support than I could ever possibly thank everyone for. But for now...I think it's time for a nap.
On the one hand, it's pretty weird to stumble my way out to the mailbox with Stephanie in order to get some walking in for the day, and have all these people 'Oh my gosh--how are you feeling?' 'Can I do anything?' 'How's it going?' I'm not one for putting my personal business out there for the world at large. And having the whole apartment complex know about my recent ER trip is pretty personal. But at the same time, I do feel very loved and supported.
I feel like I'm pretty good at matching faces with names. I can remember faces pretty well and generally have a pretty good grasp at all of that. But I have been absolutely blown away at how many COMPLETE STRANGERS have been texting me and stopping by to check in on me as I recover on our couch. I love my apartment complex here at school: it's a pretty tightknit community and it's very easy to strike up a conversation with someone in the laundry room. We really do have neighbors rather than just strangers living across the parking lot. I've known for a long time that I love the community here...but my oh my I had no idea what that all really meant.
Don't get me wrong--it's been incredible to see how Christlike these people are. I just feel bad because I either can't remember how I know them (say no to drugs, kids), or I just have honestly never met these people before. Either way, I can't really thank them as well as I would like to!
Last night, my roommates Stephanie and Caity were enjoying the warmer weather and doing homework out on our front porch after they went to the gym. I was curled up on the couch on my makeshift bed attempting to get through an episode of "The Middle". The window was open and I heard some male voice outside ask my roommates how I was doing. They told him I was doing well and said I was in on the couch if he wanted to come talk. I was expecting an FHE brother or someone from the ward...but the guy who walked in the house I didn't recognize at ALL.
"Hey Sydney! How are you feeling? Appendicitis? That is NUTS--I mean you could've DIED! Are you doing better?"
I mean, what do you say to that?
"Well...thank you kind sir... Yes, I'm doing quite fabulously despite my stomach being stitched together... Um...who are you?!?!"
I didn't want to be rude! So I just smiled and answered the questions as politely as I could without actually using any pronouns or overly detailed descriptions of our friendship. I have a new respect for amnesia patients. It was WEIRD. I sat there in silence as he went over and started talking to my roommate Hannah about some project that they had in business or accounting or marketing or one of those classes. I don't remember the exact details because I was frantically trying to figure out how this guy knew me. Well-dressed, dark-haired, charitable...that describes almost every guy up here at BYU-I. I sat there in silence for a little bit. Looking back on it, I'd like to think that I was being polite and well-mannered as my mind was reeling...but I'm pretty sure I was just staring at the guy.
"Hey wait.... You're the guy who drove me to the ER on Sunday, huh? That was you...right?"
I probably should work on my transitions. I think I interrupted him and Hannah discussing homework and it probably wasn't my most tactful moment, but I was pretty excited to have finally solved The Case of the Mystery Guy. He grinned and agreed that yes, he was my chauffeur and I got a chance to thank him for driving me. So that at least was good from all of this, even though I felt like a total crazy person because of it.
I woke up this morning to like 3 text messages each from an unknown number wishing me luck and to feel better. Who are these people and how did they get my number? Not a clue. But it has been amazing to receive such an outpouring of love over the past 24 hours.
I have more people than I could ever possibly remember to thank offering to help me out in any way possible. "Let me know if you need anything, ok?" Ok... I will. But I can't really think of anything that I can be helped with. The biggest blessing for me today was my roommate Caity helping me wash my hair in our sink. I didn't want to get my stitches wet, but I really really really wanted to so I didn't get my stitches wet. She paused her homework to do that. She didn't need to--but she did. It was very simple, but meant so much to have her help me like that. I appreciated it.
All in all, Day 1 of recovery is going well. Got up and walked around outside for a bit. If I had any classes in one of the buildings closest to my apartment, I'd probably start going to class. But they're all located really far up the hill on the second or third floor...and I don't think I'm up for any hiking of that kind just yet. I feel pretty good--everybody keeps asking me that. While I'm hanging out on the couch, I feel totally fine---I mean, maybe like I did 1 too many sit-ups the other day--but nothing excruciatingly painful. So when I'm lying on the couch and watching each of my roommate trickle out to go to class, I can't help but feel a little guilty. From that position on the couch, I feel like I should be up and going about my daily life too. It's only once I sit up and start moving around the apartment that my body is like "Ahem, excuse me--remember how we were just inflated with air and sliced open and poked and prodded and cut and then stitched back together?" Ah yes...that just happened. And then I slink back to the couch feeling weak and defeated.
So far, my abdomen/stomach/tummy/appendix-region hasn't even been the most painful. I've had the most pain in my right shoulder. Weird, right? Apparently it's totally normal after this kind of surgery though. The surgeons inflate your stomach so they can get in there and 'laproscopically' (again, no idea how to spell that) do their thing and take out your appendix...but then there's no way to just deflate all of that gas out of you. So it bubbles around and pushes on all your other internal organs and eventually rises up to your right shoulder and settles there, painfully, until it decides to work its way out of your system. The nurses all said it's pretty typical stuff. It just feels like I slept on my shoulder wrong or that there's a big knot up there... But go figure! I get my appendix out and my shoulder is in the most pain. It's a strange, strange world. In the words of my dear Aunt Cynthia: "They pump you full of air and then don't even bother to burp your poor unconscious body?" Uhh nope. Guess not.
Each of my professors have been incredible to work with. All have told me not to worry about anything until next week and have been willing to let me make up tests and presentations when I get back into the swing of things next week. Will I have my hands full next week? Oh absolutely. But everyone has been so kind and flexible. It's taken a lot of stress off of me and allowed me to really take it easy guilt-free.
I've been very, very blessed with fantastic family members, roommates, ward family members, neighbors, classmates, teachers, bosses... All of you guys: you all rock! I love you all! You're just the best :)
I felt like I had more to say in this post... I guess I don't. I guess that's what happens when you blog 2 days in a row and there's still not a whole lot to say....
I'm very well-taken care of and have been shown more love and support than I could ever possibly thank everyone for. But for now...I think it's time for a nap.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Syd's Superb Surgical Story
To start off with, I'd like to apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors in this post. I didn't realize I was so tired until I started typing but I want to stay awake as long as I can so I at least have a chance of sleeping all the way through the night tonight. I've been dozing off all day, but I think a few consecutive hours of sleep would really be the best thing for me.
Well I am now missing one of my internal organs! Phrasing it like that is still really weird for me to wrap my mind around, but it is the truth. I figured I'd write the whole story out in a blog post so I don't have to tell the story a million times. I'll try and keep all the icky details out because honestly, no reader really cares if I puked or not.
When I went to bed Saturday night, I was feeling totally dandy. I was excited for fast and testimony meeting at church on Sunday and the Break the Fast that my ward was having afterwards. No pain or anything. I felt really great. But I was woken up around 7:30 on Sunday morning with this dull throbbing pain in my gut. I tried to ignore it for a while but around 8 am I woke up and went the bathroom, hoping I'd be able to crawl back in bed for another hour or so. But NOPE! I sat in bed and watched a show on Hulu as I waited for the pain to go away. It wasn't excruciatingly painful or anything, I just felt...well, gassy for lack of a better term.
Around 9 am, I decided to go for a walk but when I came back I felt worse than when I left. I curled up on our couch and knew that there was no way that I was going to make it to church. Stephanie (my amazing roommate) was already up making cheesecake for the Break the Fast and she suggested that I should go hop in the shower to see if that could help me feel better. I took a hot shower, but it didn't help at all. I got really dizzy and nauseous, but nothing really happened.
By this point, I figured I was either suffering from food poisoning or some version of the flu. After my shower, I sent a few texts to some of of the guys in my student ward asking if they had time to drop by for a priesthood blessing before church. I waited for a response, but eventually I caved and asked my roommate Hannah to go get someone for a blessing. I had praying all morning for strength and help, but knew that a priesthood blessing would really be useful.
Ever since I've moved up to Rexburg and started going to BYU-Idaho, I've been amazed at just how willing the men are to give priesthood blessings at literally a moment's notice. Our apartment managers and church leaders are always urging us to create Zion here in Rexburg and I honestly can think of no greater aspect of Zion than to have worthy priesthood holders always ready to serve their fellow brothers and sisters. It is such a great blessing to have in my life and one that I am incredibly grateful for.
Anyways, I was given a blessing for the healing of sick by 3 of my amazing FHE brothers before everyone headed over to attend church meetings. Before the blessing, on a scale of 1-10 I would have put my pain at about a 5 or 6. But as soon as the blessing was over, the pain instantly dropped down to about a 2 and I was able to have relief from it---even for a short while.
At this point, as I was curled up on the couch, my roommate Kara and I began jokingly discussing what it would be like if I had appendicitis. As a kid, I remember reading the book "Madeline" about "12 little girls in 2 straight lines" and "rain or shine" or something like that. I just remember that she woke up in the middle of the night with her tummy hurting and it turns out she has to get her appendix out. I remember that, as I read that book, I thought it would be SO COOL to get my appendix out and have a cool scar like Madeline! Kara and I had this full-blown conversation about how much we loved that book. At this point, I was still convinced that I had the flu...so I had no idea how ironic it really was.
The three hours that I spent at home while my roommates and neighbors were at church were full of intense pain and sickness. They left around 10:30 for church and by about 1:30 I knew that this was more than just the flu or food poisoning. I spent a while on the phone with both my Uncle Dave and Mom, discussing different possibilities regarding what I could do at home and how much insurance would cover if I really needed to go to the ER. Hannah and Steph were sweet enough to check back in on me between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School, telling me to text them if I needed anything. The only thing that I could think of that would possibly help my situation was a bit of carbonation. Mom used to give us Sprite or 7-Up whenever we got sick, and I figured it was at least worth a shot. I texted Hannah and Steph asking to see if they could find someone with any type of carbonated drink. They brought me some Club Soda (thank you Aaron!!!) and I took a few sips. I knew within about 30 seconds that the carbonation was not going to be the solution for this problem.
By this point, my pain scale was in a constant state of flux between 6-9. It would build to an 8 or 9, I'd get nauseous, and it would drop back to a high 6. But there was no relief. It was constant pain for like five hours. I felt pretty good about my ability to handle pain, but man oh man was yesterday miserable.
Steph and Hannah were now hurrying to spread some cherries and strawberries over the cheesecake to take over to break the fast. I barely had to ask if they would find someone to drive me to the ER before they immediately went to find someone. I slid on some sandals and grabbed my wallet and cell phone. I hadn't ever met Matt before. He lives in my apartment complex but isn't in my ward, so our paths had never crossed. Honestly if he hadn't stopped by to check on me earlier today, I totally would've forgotten what he looked like. But this total stranger took time out of his Sunday afternoon to drive this miserably silent girl over to the ER. It was amazingly kind.
I'd also like to take a moment to thank my roommates. Not only did they miss the Break the Fast for me, but they didn't even change out of their church clothes before they were helping me out to the car and rode with me to the hospital. I didn't even ask them to go with me. They just volunteered. I truly am blessed to have these two in my life. Once at the hospital, they patiently waited in the Waiting Room until the nurse brought me back. They even worked hard to keep my parents up to date on everything going on as I was fading in and out of consciousness (I apparently don't handle my drugs very well).
It couldn't have taken very long for the guy at the front desk of Madison County hospital to take down my information but man it felt like it took hours. He got my basic information and told me to go sit down. On the car ride over, I had texted Uncle Dave, Mom, and Dad to tell them that yes, I had decided to go to the ER. Dad called while I was in the waiting room and I really didn't mean to be short with you, dad. I really didn't. I just wasn't feeling good enough to be able to hold a conversation. I know you were just concerned, so I do feel really bad about being so short with you.
It was such a blessing that the hospital wasn't busy. They were able to take me back really quickly. The nurse spoke with me about all the basics: symptoms, if I'd eaten anything, any allergies to medicine etc etc. I got one of those wonderful hospital gowns that have no back and crawled up onto this really narrow hospital bed. The nurse wrapped me in a warm blanket (blanket warmers: my new favorite thing EVER!) and tried to find my veins. She kept apologizing for taking so long as she tried to stick the IV into me, but honestly I was just ready for the painkillers. I remember gritting my teeth as she tried to find my veins and asking how long it was going to take to get the painkillers. She assured me that as soon as my IV was up and running, she had the painkillers right there with her and she'd give them to me. By that point, I knew that there was a definite light at the end of the tunnel and that relief was coming. My biggest fear was coming to the hospital only to have NO ONE know what was wrong and send me home in just as much pain as I had started with.
I'm not a Nursing major. I have no idea how an IV works or how the nurse was giving me painkillers through the IV, but man oh man am I grateful. She warned me that I was going to get pretty sleepy, but I thought she was exaggerating. I didn't realize how loopy I was until the nurse brought Hannah and Steph back to my room. Steph was on my left and Hannah was on my right. I remember them asking me questions and checking in on me. In my head, I was responding very calmly to all of their questions. It took me a while to realize that my lips weren't moving and that my eyelids were closing. I THINK I was able to get out a mumbled apology about not being able to stay awake...but everything from that point on is a bit of a blur. I vaguely remember Hannah tucking the blankets around me tighter... But I dozed off while I waited for the nurse to get back with the results of the blood test.
At some point, the nurse came in and told me that they wanted to do a CAT scan. I remember the bars on the side of my bed being pulled up and being wheeled down the hallway. The guy working at the CAT scan room was really nice. He helped me off of my bed and onto the stretcher. He talked me through everything that was going to happen. He told me he was going to send some type of CAT scan medicine through my IV and told me which symptoms to expect, as well as which symptoms I needed to tell him about because they were bad symptoms. I remember him repeatedly warning me that one of the symptoms would feel like I was peeing myself. I thought he was joking! But he wasn't! Only being half-conscious was odd enough, but then having this warm sensation like I had suddenly lost all control over my bladder... It was just odd. I remained in full control of my bodily functions but it definitely was a weirdddd feeling.
I think I slept through the actual CAT scan. My eyes were closed at least. The CAT scan guy helped me back to my bed and then wheeled me back to my room. By this point, I felt much more awake. I was able to sit up a little and talk to Hannah and Stephanie. Steph told me that Cameron had called and that there was a group coming over to check on me in a little bit.
Just before they showed up, though, my nurse came in and very nonchalantly was like "Ok well we looked at your CAT scan and it looks like your appendix is inflamed so you'll be going into surgery tonight". Cool as a cucumber. Not a problem. Whatever. We're just going to be cutting you open and taking out one of your organs.
I'd like to think that it was due to my faith in the priesthood blessing that I'd gotten earlier that morning that helped steady my nerves. Honestly, I think I was just drugged out of my mind and wasn't really very emotional at that point. But whatever the reason, I was very calm about the whole thing. I wasn't in any pain and the doctors KNEW what was wrong. That was comfort enough for me.
At this point, I was able to send out one group text to Mom, Dad, and Uncle Dave (the big 3 that I had been talking to throughout this whole thing) to let them know the diagnosis and that I was going to be going into surgery. I had less than 10% of my cell phone battery left so I warned them that I wasn't going to be able to text much so at this point Stephanie and Hannah were fantastic at keeping communication open between me and my family.
It was just a few seconds later that my visitors stopped by. Cameron had been kind enough to grab my cell phone charger from my apartment so I was able to charge my phone. I plugged my phone in and saw that I had had several people from my ward text me and ask where I was, why I was in the hospital, and if they could do anything to help. Note to self: when trying to make an inconspicuous escape to the ER, don't stumble out to the car in your pajamas when your whole ward is on the lawn eating taco salad. At this point, I posted a Facebook status to respond to all of the questions I was getting. I got teased by several members of my family for turning to Facebook, but I promise there was a reason for it!!!
I was only allowed 2 visitors at a time, so they took turns. Caity, Kara, MeKenna, Cameron, and Steve all cycled through to check in on me. I remember that telling Cameron that he looked like a Newsie and Steve started singing a few lines "I'm the King of New York". It was at this point, that my roommates told me that Hailey had heard I was sick and so she had made me a card with some soup. The soup was in our fridge at home, but they brought me the card and it was super cute!! Thank you Hailey!!! You almost made me cry, no joke! I think I was conscious through my conversations with everybody...but for some reason I don't remember any concrete details. Steve and Cameron offered to give me another priesthood blessing since this whole 'surgery' thing was happening, but didn't have any oil. Honestly, where in the world will your nurse immediately jump up saying "Oh we have some here!" and run to grab some consecrated oil that the hospital keep on hand? Pretty much Utah Valley and Rexburg. It was a huge blessing though. Steve and Cameron gave me a blessing. Steph and Hannah left with that group to go home and pack me an overnight bag.
All that socialization was quite exhausting, so I dozed off until the surgeon came in with paperwork and explained how it all was going to work. He said it was going to be done laproscopically (no idea how to spell that) and gave me a whole bunch of details that I don't remember. One of things he DID specifically warn me about is that because he was going to have to run a tube down my throat once I was asleep, I would probably wake up with a voice that's really scratchy and hoarse, and that it would probably feel like I had a sore throat. The idea of having a tube down my throat really freaks me out...but I was asleep so it didn't really bug me.
After he left, the anesthesiologist came in with some paperwork to sign as he explained what to expect from that process. I don't remember too much of that conversation...but I know he had a Batman hat. Random, right? After he left, I slept again. Then a lady came in with the actual anesthesia. There were 3 different types of anesthesia they were going to use and she warned me that one of them was going to act as amnesia so I wasn't going to remember much. She wasn't kidding! I remember her saying that the last 1 (the "good stuff") she was going to hold off on running through my IV until she could see the surgeon prepping the OR for me. I was the only one schedule for surgery last night, so I was pretty quick to be taken into the OR. I remember her saying that they were ready for me and giving me the last dosage through my IV...and that's all I remember.
Waking up is a bit of a blur. My first conscious memory is that everything was blurry. I knew that was weird because I had my contacts in before I had fallen asleep, but I wasn't awake enough to question it. I was on a bed being wheeled somewhere. I vaguely remember an elevator. I knew I was being taken to a different patients' room because I somehow realized we were going to a different part of the hospital. Inside this new room, I saw Hannah and Steph and our wonderful neighbor Cortney waiting for me.
Everything I remember about these next few conversations are all because of things Hannah and Step have told me. I asked about my contacts--and the nurse told me that they had gotten me to take them out. Somehow I found my glasses on my face (according to Hannah and Steph that's because Hannah literally put them on my face). I was freezing cold, so I was wrapped in about a million blankets. The nurses kept trying to tell me something about drug information but I was literally falling asleep as she was talking. Again, good thing that Steph, Hannah, and Cortney were there. I don't think anything crucial was said...but I don't remember much of anything. At some point in this conversation, I remember the nurse trying to show me a picture of my appendix...but I don't remember what it looks like.... I'll have to ask to see that picture when I go back for my consultation in a few weeks.
I realized that I was in a completely different bed than the one I had started in. My first bed had been super narrow and short, but this one seemed enormous and luxurious by comparison. I have no idea how I got into a completely different bed... I still think that's weird. I thanked Steph and Hannah for bringing me my bag, and told them they could go home. I knew I was just going to sleep and there was no reason they needed to stay with me overnight. After they left, I slept for about an hour or so. The nurses had these compression pads on both of my legs. They were Velcro-ed around my calves and lower thighs. They would compress and squeeze my legs, before inflating with air and releasing them. They were to prevent blood clots or something...but all I know is that it was like getting a leg massage all night. That part was pretty nice.
I slept for about an hour. When I woke up, I was only awake for a few minutes before our Relief Society president, one of her counselors, and this guy were there to visit me. They checked in on me and asked how everything was going. I don't remember quite what we talked about, but I remember that I was at least able to respond to them... When they left, my nurse came in and told me she was going to be in checking my vitals every hour. At this point, I was pretty awake since I had been sleeping pretty constantly for the past few hours. I turned on the TV and found "The Blindside" on, so I started watching that. At around 10 or so, my nurse came in to check on me and I asked if I could get anything to eat... She brought me some tomato soup, toast, and crackers with some apple juice. It was like manna from heaven. It was SO GOOD!
I fell asleep relatively quickly after that dinner. The nurse would come in and check my blood pressure and temperature every hour until about 1 am. Then at 1 am, she told me that she was now going to only come in every 4 hours. So at about 5 am she came in to check on me. I told her that I had gotten a little pinch in the nerves right where my appendix was, so she gave me a few pills. I was lucid enough to realize that 5 am is about the time that my dear Stephanie likes to go to the gym and running. Thinking that I was WAY more sober than I really was, I decided it would be a good idea to text her: "Wake-y Wake-y! Eggs and bake-y! Don't forget to go run today so you don't get FATTTTTTTTTTTTT!" She's given me quite the hard time about that...
I fell asleep until about 7 am until the hospital changed shifts and a new nurse came in. Her name was Cassie (no idea why I remember her name). She took out my IV and bandaged up my arm. She told me that she'd be in with breakfast in about an hour or so. I fell back asleep until a nurse came back with a tray with very light breakfast (aka a jello cup). This nurse looked at the notes next to my bed and realized that I was eating big kid food, so she took the jello cup back and came back with this intense platter of toast, bacon, and eggs. It was quite delicious. I finished eating and dozed off a bit more until Cassie came back and told me the doctor wanted me to go for a walk around the floor to make sure I was stable enough to go home. She took away my breakfast tray and I set around on this walk on the second floor.
By the time I came back, the surgeon was back to check on my stitches (still covered by gauze and bandages) and give me some final instructions. He gave me a note excusing me for 3 days of class and warned me not to get the stitches wet or lift anything heavy. When he left, I crawled back into bed and slept until lunch came in around noon (beef stew, corn, pineapple, and wheat bread w/ butter). Cassie gave me another dosage of pills and I watched Mythbusters until my dear sweet roommates showed up.
At about 12:30 this afternoon Steph, Hannah, Caity, and Malia came to rescue me. I got dressed and was wheeled out to the car (thank you SOO much Cody!) in a wheelchair. Hannah drove me over to Walgreens' so I could pick up my prescription. I thought I was doing pretty well at handling my painkillers until I realized I wasn't really walking in a straight line out of Walgreens'. Steph helped me back to the car. Caity helped me into the house and made me a bed on our couch. I was planning on going into my room onto my bed but our beds are high enough that climbing onto that would NOT be comfortable.
Hailey and Melanie stopped by with some flowers shortly after I got home and talked with me for a bit. The flowers are GORGEOUS and are in a vase on our coffee table right now. Hailey let me borrow the movie "Letters to Juilet" and I had never seen it before so Steph and I decided to watch it. I passed out before we were like 10 minutes into the movie. But I have plenty of time to watch it later this week. My visiting teachers stopped by with some apple juice, soup, and pudding. I felt like I needed to get out of the house so I went to FHE with my roommates. We have a fun group :) And I actually stayed awake the whole time!!! When I came back, I curled up on the couch and my sweet friend Beth dropped by with some homemade bread. Soon after she left, the compassionate service leader for the ward stopped by with some ice cream and chocolate chip cookies from the elder's quorum president. I've had Aaron (provider of the Club Soda) and Ben (Aaron's roommate and my old FHE brothers) stop by to check in on me earlier this afternoon. Matt (my driver to the hospital) stopped by literally minutes ago to check in on me. I'm sure I've forgotten people... I've had cousins, aunts, and kids from my stake back in California who are up here at school offering to help me out. I have been SO blessed!
I was able to send emails to all of my professors explaining my situation and all have been very gracious and flexible about giving me the week to recover and willing to work with me when I get back to class next week. Such a blessing. I've had several family members offer to come stay with me or pick me up and take me back to their spare bedroom to recover. I had our ward Elder's Quorum president text me last night and ask if I needed a blessing. My mentors at the Reading Center were INCREDIBLY flexible when it came to giving me the week off of work to recover. The girls in my group for one of my Special Ed classes were really gracious about me missing our group project later this week. The family I babysit for were all very sweet to give me the week off (thank you Kierra!).
All in all, I have been SO blessed with such amazing support! I have had so many people ask what they can do to help. I have just been overwhelmed with love and support. You guys are all so great :) I'm doing really well right now. Right now I am just tired and sore, which is to be expected. But all things considered, I feel pretty dang great.
I don't remember this, but apparently according to Steph and Hannah the doctors were saying that my appendix was pretty close to rupturing and that they were lucky they operated when they did. I think it's a pretty big tender mercy that I DON'T remember that conversation...because that definitely freaks me out. But I have been blessed and am continuing to be blessed. I have the best roommates, best family, best ward, and best neighbors that a surgery patient could honestly ever ask for. I am one very lucky girl but I am recovering very well :) I may have lost one organ, but it has been more than compensated for with the amount of love I have been shown in the last 24 hours.
Well I am now missing one of my internal organs! Phrasing it like that is still really weird for me to wrap my mind around, but it is the truth. I figured I'd write the whole story out in a blog post so I don't have to tell the story a million times. I'll try and keep all the icky details out because honestly, no reader really cares if I puked or not.
When I went to bed Saturday night, I was feeling totally dandy. I was excited for fast and testimony meeting at church on Sunday and the Break the Fast that my ward was having afterwards. No pain or anything. I felt really great. But I was woken up around 7:30 on Sunday morning with this dull throbbing pain in my gut. I tried to ignore it for a while but around 8 am I woke up and went the bathroom, hoping I'd be able to crawl back in bed for another hour or so. But NOPE! I sat in bed and watched a show on Hulu as I waited for the pain to go away. It wasn't excruciatingly painful or anything, I just felt...well, gassy for lack of a better term.
Around 9 am, I decided to go for a walk but when I came back I felt worse than when I left. I curled up on our couch and knew that there was no way that I was going to make it to church. Stephanie (my amazing roommate) was already up making cheesecake for the Break the Fast and she suggested that I should go hop in the shower to see if that could help me feel better. I took a hot shower, but it didn't help at all. I got really dizzy and nauseous, but nothing really happened.
By this point, I figured I was either suffering from food poisoning or some version of the flu. After my shower, I sent a few texts to some of of the guys in my student ward asking if they had time to drop by for a priesthood blessing before church. I waited for a response, but eventually I caved and asked my roommate Hannah to go get someone for a blessing. I had praying all morning for strength and help, but knew that a priesthood blessing would really be useful.
Ever since I've moved up to Rexburg and started going to BYU-Idaho, I've been amazed at just how willing the men are to give priesthood blessings at literally a moment's notice. Our apartment managers and church leaders are always urging us to create Zion here in Rexburg and I honestly can think of no greater aspect of Zion than to have worthy priesthood holders always ready to serve their fellow brothers and sisters. It is such a great blessing to have in my life and one that I am incredibly grateful for.
Anyways, I was given a blessing for the healing of sick by 3 of my amazing FHE brothers before everyone headed over to attend church meetings. Before the blessing, on a scale of 1-10 I would have put my pain at about a 5 or 6. But as soon as the blessing was over, the pain instantly dropped down to about a 2 and I was able to have relief from it---even for a short while.
At this point, as I was curled up on the couch, my roommate Kara and I began jokingly discussing what it would be like if I had appendicitis. As a kid, I remember reading the book "Madeline" about "12 little girls in 2 straight lines" and "rain or shine" or something like that. I just remember that she woke up in the middle of the night with her tummy hurting and it turns out she has to get her appendix out. I remember that, as I read that book, I thought it would be SO COOL to get my appendix out and have a cool scar like Madeline! Kara and I had this full-blown conversation about how much we loved that book. At this point, I was still convinced that I had the flu...so I had no idea how ironic it really was.
The three hours that I spent at home while my roommates and neighbors were at church were full of intense pain and sickness. They left around 10:30 for church and by about 1:30 I knew that this was more than just the flu or food poisoning. I spent a while on the phone with both my Uncle Dave and Mom, discussing different possibilities regarding what I could do at home and how much insurance would cover if I really needed to go to the ER. Hannah and Steph were sweet enough to check back in on me between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School, telling me to text them if I needed anything. The only thing that I could think of that would possibly help my situation was a bit of carbonation. Mom used to give us Sprite or 7-Up whenever we got sick, and I figured it was at least worth a shot. I texted Hannah and Steph asking to see if they could find someone with any type of carbonated drink. They brought me some Club Soda (thank you Aaron!!!) and I took a few sips. I knew within about 30 seconds that the carbonation was not going to be the solution for this problem.
By this point, my pain scale was in a constant state of flux between 6-9. It would build to an 8 or 9, I'd get nauseous, and it would drop back to a high 6. But there was no relief. It was constant pain for like five hours. I felt pretty good about my ability to handle pain, but man oh man was yesterday miserable.
Steph and Hannah were now hurrying to spread some cherries and strawberries over the cheesecake to take over to break the fast. I barely had to ask if they would find someone to drive me to the ER before they immediately went to find someone. I slid on some sandals and grabbed my wallet and cell phone. I hadn't ever met Matt before. He lives in my apartment complex but isn't in my ward, so our paths had never crossed. Honestly if he hadn't stopped by to check on me earlier today, I totally would've forgotten what he looked like. But this total stranger took time out of his Sunday afternoon to drive this miserably silent girl over to the ER. It was amazingly kind.
I'd also like to take a moment to thank my roommates. Not only did they miss the Break the Fast for me, but they didn't even change out of their church clothes before they were helping me out to the car and rode with me to the hospital. I didn't even ask them to go with me. They just volunteered. I truly am blessed to have these two in my life. Once at the hospital, they patiently waited in the Waiting Room until the nurse brought me back. They even worked hard to keep my parents up to date on everything going on as I was fading in and out of consciousness (I apparently don't handle my drugs very well).
It couldn't have taken very long for the guy at the front desk of Madison County hospital to take down my information but man it felt like it took hours. He got my basic information and told me to go sit down. On the car ride over, I had texted Uncle Dave, Mom, and Dad to tell them that yes, I had decided to go to the ER. Dad called while I was in the waiting room and I really didn't mean to be short with you, dad. I really didn't. I just wasn't feeling good enough to be able to hold a conversation. I know you were just concerned, so I do feel really bad about being so short with you.
It was such a blessing that the hospital wasn't busy. They were able to take me back really quickly. The nurse spoke with me about all the basics: symptoms, if I'd eaten anything, any allergies to medicine etc etc. I got one of those wonderful hospital gowns that have no back and crawled up onto this really narrow hospital bed. The nurse wrapped me in a warm blanket (blanket warmers: my new favorite thing EVER!) and tried to find my veins. She kept apologizing for taking so long as she tried to stick the IV into me, but honestly I was just ready for the painkillers. I remember gritting my teeth as she tried to find my veins and asking how long it was going to take to get the painkillers. She assured me that as soon as my IV was up and running, she had the painkillers right there with her and she'd give them to me. By that point, I knew that there was a definite light at the end of the tunnel and that relief was coming. My biggest fear was coming to the hospital only to have NO ONE know what was wrong and send me home in just as much pain as I had started with.
I'm not a Nursing major. I have no idea how an IV works or how the nurse was giving me painkillers through the IV, but man oh man am I grateful. She warned me that I was going to get pretty sleepy, but I thought she was exaggerating. I didn't realize how loopy I was until the nurse brought Hannah and Steph back to my room. Steph was on my left and Hannah was on my right. I remember them asking me questions and checking in on me. In my head, I was responding very calmly to all of their questions. It took me a while to realize that my lips weren't moving and that my eyelids were closing. I THINK I was able to get out a mumbled apology about not being able to stay awake...but everything from that point on is a bit of a blur. I vaguely remember Hannah tucking the blankets around me tighter... But I dozed off while I waited for the nurse to get back with the results of the blood test.
At some point, the nurse came in and told me that they wanted to do a CAT scan. I remember the bars on the side of my bed being pulled up and being wheeled down the hallway. The guy working at the CAT scan room was really nice. He helped me off of my bed and onto the stretcher. He talked me through everything that was going to happen. He told me he was going to send some type of CAT scan medicine through my IV and told me which symptoms to expect, as well as which symptoms I needed to tell him about because they were bad symptoms. I remember him repeatedly warning me that one of the symptoms would feel like I was peeing myself. I thought he was joking! But he wasn't! Only being half-conscious was odd enough, but then having this warm sensation like I had suddenly lost all control over my bladder... It was just odd. I remained in full control of my bodily functions but it definitely was a weirdddd feeling.
I think I slept through the actual CAT scan. My eyes were closed at least. The CAT scan guy helped me back to my bed and then wheeled me back to my room. By this point, I felt much more awake. I was able to sit up a little and talk to Hannah and Stephanie. Steph told me that Cameron had called and that there was a group coming over to check on me in a little bit.
Just before they showed up, though, my nurse came in and very nonchalantly was like "Ok well we looked at your CAT scan and it looks like your appendix is inflamed so you'll be going into surgery tonight". Cool as a cucumber. Not a problem. Whatever. We're just going to be cutting you open and taking out one of your organs.
I'd like to think that it was due to my faith in the priesthood blessing that I'd gotten earlier that morning that helped steady my nerves. Honestly, I think I was just drugged out of my mind and wasn't really very emotional at that point. But whatever the reason, I was very calm about the whole thing. I wasn't in any pain and the doctors KNEW what was wrong. That was comfort enough for me.
At this point, I was able to send out one group text to Mom, Dad, and Uncle Dave (the big 3 that I had been talking to throughout this whole thing) to let them know the diagnosis and that I was going to be going into surgery. I had less than 10% of my cell phone battery left so I warned them that I wasn't going to be able to text much so at this point Stephanie and Hannah were fantastic at keeping communication open between me and my family.
It was just a few seconds later that my visitors stopped by. Cameron had been kind enough to grab my cell phone charger from my apartment so I was able to charge my phone. I plugged my phone in and saw that I had had several people from my ward text me and ask where I was, why I was in the hospital, and if they could do anything to help. Note to self: when trying to make an inconspicuous escape to the ER, don't stumble out to the car in your pajamas when your whole ward is on the lawn eating taco salad. At this point, I posted a Facebook status to respond to all of the questions I was getting. I got teased by several members of my family for turning to Facebook, but I promise there was a reason for it!!!
I was only allowed 2 visitors at a time, so they took turns. Caity, Kara, MeKenna, Cameron, and Steve all cycled through to check in on me. I remember that telling Cameron that he looked like a Newsie and Steve started singing a few lines "I'm the King of New York". It was at this point, that my roommates told me that Hailey had heard I was sick and so she had made me a card with some soup. The soup was in our fridge at home, but they brought me the card and it was super cute!! Thank you Hailey!!! You almost made me cry, no joke! I think I was conscious through my conversations with everybody...but for some reason I don't remember any concrete details. Steve and Cameron offered to give me another priesthood blessing since this whole 'surgery' thing was happening, but didn't have any oil. Honestly, where in the world will your nurse immediately jump up saying "Oh we have some here!" and run to grab some consecrated oil that the hospital keep on hand? Pretty much Utah Valley and Rexburg. It was a huge blessing though. Steve and Cameron gave me a blessing. Steph and Hannah left with that group to go home and pack me an overnight bag.
All that socialization was quite exhausting, so I dozed off until the surgeon came in with paperwork and explained how it all was going to work. He said it was going to be done laproscopically (no idea how to spell that) and gave me a whole bunch of details that I don't remember. One of things he DID specifically warn me about is that because he was going to have to run a tube down my throat once I was asleep, I would probably wake up with a voice that's really scratchy and hoarse, and that it would probably feel like I had a sore throat. The idea of having a tube down my throat really freaks me out...but I was asleep so it didn't really bug me.
After he left, the anesthesiologist came in with some paperwork to sign as he explained what to expect from that process. I don't remember too much of that conversation...but I know he had a Batman hat. Random, right? After he left, I slept again. Then a lady came in with the actual anesthesia. There were 3 different types of anesthesia they were going to use and she warned me that one of them was going to act as amnesia so I wasn't going to remember much. She wasn't kidding! I remember her saying that the last 1 (the "good stuff") she was going to hold off on running through my IV until she could see the surgeon prepping the OR for me. I was the only one schedule for surgery last night, so I was pretty quick to be taken into the OR. I remember her saying that they were ready for me and giving me the last dosage through my IV...and that's all I remember.
Waking up is a bit of a blur. My first conscious memory is that everything was blurry. I knew that was weird because I had my contacts in before I had fallen asleep, but I wasn't awake enough to question it. I was on a bed being wheeled somewhere. I vaguely remember an elevator. I knew I was being taken to a different patients' room because I somehow realized we were going to a different part of the hospital. Inside this new room, I saw Hannah and Steph and our wonderful neighbor Cortney waiting for me.
Everything I remember about these next few conversations are all because of things Hannah and Step have told me. I asked about my contacts--and the nurse told me that they had gotten me to take them out. Somehow I found my glasses on my face (according to Hannah and Steph that's because Hannah literally put them on my face). I was freezing cold, so I was wrapped in about a million blankets. The nurses kept trying to tell me something about drug information but I was literally falling asleep as she was talking. Again, good thing that Steph, Hannah, and Cortney were there. I don't think anything crucial was said...but I don't remember much of anything. At some point in this conversation, I remember the nurse trying to show me a picture of my appendix...but I don't remember what it looks like.... I'll have to ask to see that picture when I go back for my consultation in a few weeks.
I realized that I was in a completely different bed than the one I had started in. My first bed had been super narrow and short, but this one seemed enormous and luxurious by comparison. I have no idea how I got into a completely different bed... I still think that's weird. I thanked Steph and Hannah for bringing me my bag, and told them they could go home. I knew I was just going to sleep and there was no reason they needed to stay with me overnight. After they left, I slept for about an hour or so. The nurses had these compression pads on both of my legs. They were Velcro-ed around my calves and lower thighs. They would compress and squeeze my legs, before inflating with air and releasing them. They were to prevent blood clots or something...but all I know is that it was like getting a leg massage all night. That part was pretty nice.
I slept for about an hour. When I woke up, I was only awake for a few minutes before our Relief Society president, one of her counselors, and this guy were there to visit me. They checked in on me and asked how everything was going. I don't remember quite what we talked about, but I remember that I was at least able to respond to them... When they left, my nurse came in and told me she was going to be in checking my vitals every hour. At this point, I was pretty awake since I had been sleeping pretty constantly for the past few hours. I turned on the TV and found "The Blindside" on, so I started watching that. At around 10 or so, my nurse came in to check on me and I asked if I could get anything to eat... She brought me some tomato soup, toast, and crackers with some apple juice. It was like manna from heaven. It was SO GOOD!
I fell asleep relatively quickly after that dinner. The nurse would come in and check my blood pressure and temperature every hour until about 1 am. Then at 1 am, she told me that she was now going to only come in every 4 hours. So at about 5 am she came in to check on me. I told her that I had gotten a little pinch in the nerves right where my appendix was, so she gave me a few pills. I was lucid enough to realize that 5 am is about the time that my dear Stephanie likes to go to the gym and running. Thinking that I was WAY more sober than I really was, I decided it would be a good idea to text her: "Wake-y Wake-y! Eggs and bake-y! Don't forget to go run today so you don't get FATTTTTTTTTTTTT!" She's given me quite the hard time about that...
I fell asleep until about 7 am until the hospital changed shifts and a new nurse came in. Her name was Cassie (no idea why I remember her name). She took out my IV and bandaged up my arm. She told me that she'd be in with breakfast in about an hour or so. I fell back asleep until a nurse came back with a tray with very light breakfast (aka a jello cup). This nurse looked at the notes next to my bed and realized that I was eating big kid food, so she took the jello cup back and came back with this intense platter of toast, bacon, and eggs. It was quite delicious. I finished eating and dozed off a bit more until Cassie came back and told me the doctor wanted me to go for a walk around the floor to make sure I was stable enough to go home. She took away my breakfast tray and I set around on this walk on the second floor.
By the time I came back, the surgeon was back to check on my stitches (still covered by gauze and bandages) and give me some final instructions. He gave me a note excusing me for 3 days of class and warned me not to get the stitches wet or lift anything heavy. When he left, I crawled back into bed and slept until lunch came in around noon (beef stew, corn, pineapple, and wheat bread w/ butter). Cassie gave me another dosage of pills and I watched Mythbusters until my dear sweet roommates showed up.
At about 12:30 this afternoon Steph, Hannah, Caity, and Malia came to rescue me. I got dressed and was wheeled out to the car (thank you SOO much Cody!) in a wheelchair. Hannah drove me over to Walgreens' so I could pick up my prescription. I thought I was doing pretty well at handling my painkillers until I realized I wasn't really walking in a straight line out of Walgreens'. Steph helped me back to the car. Caity helped me into the house and made me a bed on our couch. I was planning on going into my room onto my bed but our beds are high enough that climbing onto that would NOT be comfortable.
Hailey and Melanie stopped by with some flowers shortly after I got home and talked with me for a bit. The flowers are GORGEOUS and are in a vase on our coffee table right now. Hailey let me borrow the movie "Letters to Juilet" and I had never seen it before so Steph and I decided to watch it. I passed out before we were like 10 minutes into the movie. But I have plenty of time to watch it later this week. My visiting teachers stopped by with some apple juice, soup, and pudding. I felt like I needed to get out of the house so I went to FHE with my roommates. We have a fun group :) And I actually stayed awake the whole time!!! When I came back, I curled up on the couch and my sweet friend Beth dropped by with some homemade bread. Soon after she left, the compassionate service leader for the ward stopped by with some ice cream and chocolate chip cookies from the elder's quorum president. I've had Aaron (provider of the Club Soda) and Ben (Aaron's roommate and my old FHE brothers) stop by to check in on me earlier this afternoon. Matt (my driver to the hospital) stopped by literally minutes ago to check in on me. I'm sure I've forgotten people... I've had cousins, aunts, and kids from my stake back in California who are up here at school offering to help me out. I have been SO blessed!
I was able to send emails to all of my professors explaining my situation and all have been very gracious and flexible about giving me the week to recover and willing to work with me when I get back to class next week. Such a blessing. I've had several family members offer to come stay with me or pick me up and take me back to their spare bedroom to recover. I had our ward Elder's Quorum president text me last night and ask if I needed a blessing. My mentors at the Reading Center were INCREDIBLY flexible when it came to giving me the week off of work to recover. The girls in my group for one of my Special Ed classes were really gracious about me missing our group project later this week. The family I babysit for were all very sweet to give me the week off (thank you Kierra!).
All in all, I have been SO blessed with such amazing support! I have had so many people ask what they can do to help. I have just been overwhelmed with love and support. You guys are all so great :) I'm doing really well right now. Right now I am just tired and sore, which is to be expected. But all things considered, I feel pretty dang great.
I don't remember this, but apparently according to Steph and Hannah the doctors were saying that my appendix was pretty close to rupturing and that they were lucky they operated when they did. I think it's a pretty big tender mercy that I DON'T remember that conversation...because that definitely freaks me out. But I have been blessed and am continuing to be blessed. I have the best roommates, best family, best ward, and best neighbors that a surgery patient could honestly ever ask for. I am one very lucky girl but I am recovering very well :) I may have lost one organ, but it has been more than compensated for with the amount of love I have been shown in the last 24 hours.
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