I suppose I should catch y'all up on what's been going on the past year. Because I know nothing thrills you guys more than diving into a good recounting of mediocre events as told by your's truly. Where to begin...where to begin....oh, yes...
I graduated from college!
Thumbs up if you're a Theatre Major aka Talented Hobo of Tomorrow!
Ran my first 5K!
FUN FACT: Gatorade commercials were correct about sweat being florescent.
Turned 23...AT DISNEYLAND!
FUN FACT #2: You will get annoyed looks from hat vendors if you only try on hats on for pictures and have no intention of buying them.
AND grew a moustache!!
No pithy comments for this one...just a real hot pic.
Ok, that last one didn't happen, but since my History of 2012 slideshow was turning into How Many of My Recent FB Profile Pictures Can I Post, I figured I'd throw it in. In reality, my Disneyland birthday celebration was followed by the worst Colitis flareup I've ever experienced resulting in --drum roll, please-- 4 weeks of hospital visits at 3 different hospitals within a period of 2 months resulting in the removal of 1 inflamed & diseased colon. (See what I did there?)
You got a sneak peek at these happenings during one of my posts a few months ago about why getting colitis was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me (a fact I still stand by), which I posted during my second hospital visit (the one that came after I almost died--for the second time--by passing out and bleeding to death on my bathroom floor, got to ride in an ambulance for the first time, and wear an oxygen mask that made me sound like Bane when I talked)
When your colon is in ashes, you have my permission to die.
It was getting PRETTY crazy down in the ole' large intestine, so my G.I. figured it was time to get 'er out... which I was down with cause as cool as having two near death experiences within 3 weeks may sound, it gets real old, real fast...especially when you have to get multiple blood transfusions
For all I know, I got four units of dog blood...
So on September 6, my colon was removed and replaced by a "J-Pouch" (aka my small intestine stretched down, made into a colon-esque reservoir, and connected to my butt) with a temporary ileostomy (aka poopin' in a bag). *Side Note* My doctor (Dr. Sack) is THE single greatest, most talented & amiable surgeon who's ever lived.
The face of a colon-less winner.
The face of someone who poops in a bag.
There were some complications after the first surgery (i.e. an undetected UTI that caused my bowels to shut down) resulting in me having to get readmitted 3 hrs after being discharged because of unbearable stomach cramps and incessant vomiting. This was followed by another week in the hospital, 5 days of which were spent with an NG tube that went up my nose, around my brain (they say it didn't really, but it felt like it), and down my throat to pump my stomach...it was as wonderful as it sounded.
FUN FACT #3: You can hear the cartilage in your nasal cavity loudly snapping and breaking if someone forcibly shoves a tube through it!
It sucked, but, once again, was a wonderful teaching opportunity that God used to show me how relying on Him rather than focusing on the bad can make the suck suck suckiest of situations seem like nothing at all.
After that, I spent 7 weeks with the ileostomy while my J-Pouch healed up, then went back to get it removed, get the J-Pouch hooked up, and start pooping like a pro again.
It's been a crazy ride, but, like I've said before, I can't express how grateful to God I am that I was blessed with this disease. I've learned and grown so much just in the past few months; I've grown closer to my family and friends; and have experienced, more times than I can count, the surpassing peace and love of our Heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit working in my life....basically it's been pretty fricken fantastic.
So....yeah. That's been my life the past year. Graduated from college, was healed of colitis, and grew closer to God...no big deal.
looking forward to next year,
mjl
postscript
a note to self for your's truly after the NG tube came out
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