Before I get there though: one of the reasons I stopped blogging was for fear of losing my job due to my "public" notices regarding my health. That can't be any further from the truth at my job. Not only is the company I work for supportive and caring, but the office I work in makes sure I am taking care of myself so I can continue to do my job to the best of my ability. It's also a perk that our campus is 100% non-smoking. No longer concerned!
Pics at the END of the post, some of them semi-graphic/gross blister pics-- just as a warning!!
HEALTH UPDATES:
Let's get the boring health updates out of the way first. Then we can move on to life!
-Overall, doing well.
-Hospitalized summer of 2013. Rashes, blisters, the usual. I remember my dressing having to be changed multiple times, even in one day. Definitely NOT fun.
-Hospitalized late December of 2014, which of course is always no fun, especially around Christmas time. Instead of the typical PICC, I got a midline to see if that would prevent the itching/blisters (see HERE for what I'm referencing). I also prepped ahead of time by working with my father-in-law (what?! I'll get there) who was in contact with a 3M rep and got me samples of different dressings/tapes, etc. A huge THANK YOU to the rep and 3M because what I did use was much nicer on my skin than what the hospital provides. They also recently (in the last year or so) changed what PICCs are made out of, but I still went with a Midline. Result: no major rashes and no blisters at all. We changed a lot of things from the last visit, but it worked. I can't say I like the Midline over the PICC though. My line wouldn't draw blood so they had to set another IV very carefully in that arm to draw levels. The Midline was much easier to put in though. I'll have to make a decision for next go-around, whenever that may be.
-My CF doc and primary NP level the clinic. It wasn't anything major political so everyone parted ways on good terms, but I'm sure going to miss them! I go back to my clinic in Nov. to meet the interim doctor, so we'll see how that goes.
MAJOR LIFE UPDATES:
This is really what you've been waiting for anyways, right?
-11/9/2013: Andrew proposed to me. It was as low key and sweet as I could have hoped for. Long story short, we spent the weekend in our college town with some friends to watch a football game and see our bricks in the Alumni Walkway. Sunday morning before we went back home, we went to a park that we took walks in back in college. He took me to a bench and proposed. He was so nervous and it was precious. Little sister Morgan was there to take pictures, of course, creeping from the bushes. The whole thing was precious and apparently everyone knew ahead of time except me! My parents were just waiting for me call at home, watching the clock. I knew I didn't want the wedding to be far away so we called our wedding planner and set a few temporary dates. Final date was set a few days later when we found out venue availability: March 29, 2014.
-During the short time between proposal and wedding, it's a blur. An absolute wedding-planning filled blur. My mom, who was not working at the time, did so much of the leg-work while I was sitting in the office. There wasn't a single day that went by that wasn't at least partially dedicated to the wedding. Without my mom, this wedding would not have been as perfect as it was.
-3/29/14: My wedding day! It was held In the Round and couldn't have been more beautiful and perfect. It was exactly what I wanted, dreamed about, and we worked to bring it to life. So many special people helped pull it off (music, flowers, etc.) and we were surrounded by ~300 friends/family to help us celebrate. It was wonderful. And most importantly.. I'm married to my best friend and better half.
-Soon after that we had a little one... a FLUFFY ONE! We got a Maltese puppy who we named Zoe
and she is a handful. She was born 3/13/14 and she is a WILD ONE. Stubborn, smart, and incredibly agile and athletic, she keeps me on my toes. Couldn't have asked for a funnier pup with a bigger personality though.. she's a mess!
-Andrew and I lived in a rented townhouse for about a year. He lived there since Oct 2013 and I moved in after our honeymoon cruise. On February 27, 2015, we closed on a home!
-Current status: Andrew and a friend are remodeling our hall bathroom. It's very loud, but I'm going back to work tomorrow (Happy Labor Day!) so I won't be here to listen to it.
RANDOM OTHER UPDATES:
Other things I feel like mentioning
-Andrew shot his finger with a nail gun. I have a pic (see below) and it was a big deal for a little while. He's got almost full ROM back now thankfully. When the cold weather picks back up, we'll see if it still hurts him.
-I'm coaching soccer! Last year (Oct 14-May 15) I assisted with a U14 girls team through our local soccer club. They were also RPL (Regional Premier League) so we traveled a good bit. This year, I'm assisting with a U17 girls team.
-We did a Spartan Race! It was held in Austin, TX, in early November 2014. Our team was me, Andrew, both of my brothers, and one of my sis-in-laws. It was hard work but a lot of fun! I posted some before/after pics below.
-I went to Vegas in Aug 2013 with little sister Morgan to celebrate her 21st birthday! Since then she went a grew up on me. She just completed her Masters Degree in Dublin, Ireland, and has since found a full-time job over there. I'm incredibly proud, but miss her TONS. She just came back to visit for a bit.. yay!!
I think that's all for today! Pictures below... sorry for the major gap!
2013 Hospital Blister pics
Weekend of the Proposal!!
Spartan Race Nov. 2013
Wedding!!!
Zoe joins the Family!
Midline
Andrew's Injury
New Home/Car
Morgan comes to visit!!
Construction has begun..
Thanks for catching up with me!
-A
