My oxymoron of a week

Needless to say, this past week was very eventful for me- which is ironic, because I spent majority of it complaining about how bored I was. Ha. As you may have guessed, I'm going to tell you about it. Now...where to begin?

Let's start Wednesday, December 17th. I had to report to the hospital at 6 AM for an upper endoscopy. In layman's terms, they put a camera and light down my throat and looked at my stomach. I went under for it, so I had a very nice nap that day. We found out that I have gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach, as well as a hiatal hernia. Basically, part of stomach has gone up into the bottom of my esophagus. Most people don't know that they have one until a procedure like this finds it, AKA me. How is it healed?? Cut back on coffee, chocolate, caffeine, eating late a night before bed, spicy foods...things that I love. No Starbucks for a while. :( But it's ok, it should be healed in about a month or so...just gotta be careful. The gastritis will heal too. It was most likely a result of the hernia and my gallbladder.

Speaking of gallbladders, I no longer have one. :) I had it removed laproscopicly last Thursday, December 18th. I had to be at the hospital at 6 AM for the second day in a row. I also had to clean myself out the night before by drinking a magnesium citrate juice. It worked...I'll leave it at that. They put me under around 7:30 and took me back right after. The surgery took about an hour. They made 4 incisions- one in my bellybutton (weird, I know), one about 2 inches above that, and 2 more to the right of that one. My gallbladder not only worked at only 15%, but it was also infected...it needed to go. I felt a difference that afternoon- I felt so much better, despite the pain from the surgery. I went home around 1:30 that afternoon, and they sent me home with some Vicadin...very good stuff. A couple friends and family came to visit me that night. I got visits Friday and Saturday too- I really enjoyed seeing everyone and knowing that they cared. I slept on the couch propped up on a pillow because I couldn't lay down, and slept there until Christmas Eve...my back was ready for my bed.

Anyway, more about my week. Friday night, the night after surgery, we went to my aunt and uncle's house for the Routt family Christmas, my mom's side. I couldn't eat, and stayed on the couch and didn't move. Fun, I know. Saturday night, it was Peace family Christmas, my dad's side. Got to eat maybe a spoonful of mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll, and a tiny piece of turkey. Again, stayed in a chair and didn't move. I coudln't get comfortable though and started hurting and got REALLY tired. Sunday morning I went to church and was doing good until I walked in, got hot and about passed out. I took a nap on dad's shoulder during the service- I did NOT care what people thought. If they wanted to comment, I was prepared to show off my stitches. I was thinking "Say something, go ahead." (I can be kind of aggressive when I don't feel good haha) I got home from church and took a 5 hour nap...guess I was tired, haha. Monday is when the boredom struck. I couldn't leave the house, and wasn't moving around very well because of the soreness. I got to take the tape off of my stitches though, so that made me feel better. Tuesday, I got to leave the house and get my stitches out. You won't believe how much better I felt after they came out. Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I was in a very bad mood from being stuck in the house all week. We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, and despite almost passing out again (I just got hot again and wasn't used to that much activity), it was a really good service and much needed by the whole family. Christmas Day arrived bright and early. We opened presents, and went to my grandparents house for Christmas dinner, and that was really good. I ate the most I had since the surgery. I had a plate full of green bean casserole, corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, ham, meatballs and gravy, Ike salad, fruit salad, and BBQ weinies....and it didn't hurt me at all. :) And today, I made my debut back in the real world- we went to the mall and Wal-Mart. I hadn't been around so many people in days, and truthfully got a bit lightheaded. I even ate Mexican for dinner. Eating food again feels so good. :)

I know this post is a bit long, but I really just had a lot to get off my chest. Sorry if the surgery details were boring- I could talk about it for a while, haha. But I'm feeling much better. The soreness gets better each day, and my incisions keep looking better and better. Now, I'm just looking forward to hanging out with friends and celebrating the New Year!!!

I'm gonna be a dentist!!

As of today, I am a member of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry's Class of 2013!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am!! All of my friends from WKU, and some others, have all been accepted to U of L too. Some have been accepted by both U of L and UK; as of right now, I haven't. I'm ok with that though: U of L has always been my first choice. It feels so good knowing that my 4 years of hard work at WKU have paid off and that I get to pursue the career I've dreamed about since the 7th grade. It's also great knowing that I'm going into school with a solid group of friends who will be there for me and who will be going through it all with me. Not to mention all of my other friends from home and WKU, and my amazing family. I'm so blessed.

The embarassing part of all of this is that in all of the excitement last night (I found out at 11:30 pm CT) I forgot to thank God for this opportunity until at least an hour after I got the news. I was too preoccupied with calling all of my family and friends and spreading the news. It wasn't until I took a break from the calling (so I could take a breath!) that I even thought to pray. I was reveling in the congratulations and the fact that I'm going to dental school rather than thanking the One who made it all possible.

I should have thanked God right off the bat, but I let my pride get the better of me. For the last 4 years, He has been the One who has given me the strength to make it through my toughest classes. More than that, He's the One who gave me such a passion to be a dentist in the first place. NONE of this would even be possible without God laying my plans out before me. I am so thankful and AMAZED that God works in these ways. It's an incredible feeling knowing that my plans and God's plans are one in the same; there are no words to describe it. Our God is an incredible, gracious, and giving God. I am so thankful for this awesome opportunity He's blessed me with.