More like week, but who's counting?
My best friend got married over the weekend. It was INCREDIBLE! The ceremony was beautiful, she was even more beautiful, and there was more love floating around than anybody could ever take in! Fabulous!
Thursday morning, I went to the doctor for a follow up on my meds and stomach issues. Gonna stay at my current dose of Topamax (50 mg twice a day), since my memory isn't as sluggish anymore and the cobwebs in my brain are starting to clear. Still having some mental delays and trouble coming up with words sometimes. I'm hoping it's just a matter of more time, because it's beyond frustrating when I can't come up with normal words in very important situations (trying to give report to a nurse when I can't generate a word or phrase is ridiculous, plus people look at you like you're nuts). I'm having headaches again, but not like I was 3-4 months ago, and not full-blown migraines. At this point, I'd rather deal with weekly headaches than trying to switch meds. That's just a scary thought to me. Knowing what I went through to find one that worked the first time....
We also talked about my stomach and the conflicting consultations. It came down to me needing to go in and see the specialist. Because just looking at my scans means nothing when there's not a patient attached to it. Which I know and understand. So I called and got an appointment made as soon as I got home.
I went to Matt's after the doctor, showered, and slept. We had supper and left for KC. Got to Kat and Adam's before 10, chatted for a while and went to bed. (our air mattress deflated halfway through the night and Matt jumped ship lolol)
Friday, we drove from KC to Omaha. Talked, rested, rehearsal, dinner. Picked girls up from the airport, went to buy alcohol and went back to the house for a mini bachelorette party (there were 3 total for this wedding, because of the widespread geography). 10 girls packed into two rooms (we were staying at the groom's family's house, girls upstairs, boys in the basement, parents and the rest of the house in between), it was a blast. Went to bed around 2.
Saturday, people started waking up at 5 (that's when I heard the first shower). I woke up at 6:30, went to wake the bride up at 6:45 (squish!hug!kiss!), we all quickly got ready and headed to breakfast. Amazing breakfast (country kitchen with fresh ingredients and beautifully made food). Hair appointments started at 9. We got a little rushed during hair. There were several of us with very thick and long hair who took longer than expected, but we still had the bride and all but 3 of the girls back at the church by 11:15 (and the bride had done her makeup at the salon while the others were getting their hair done). Got the bride dressed, talked to the photographer, and started taking pictures. Just before we started, the tears started. Everyone was dressed, and looking at the beautiful bride in her white gown, and it just got real; it was pretty awesome. It hit everyone right then. Prep and pictures (LOTS of pictures) for the next couple hours. While the bride was doing family pictures, the bridesmaids managed to sneak a 15 minute nap in the bridal room (at that point, it was 3pm and we were running on no sleep, and no food or drink since breakfast -a granola bar and sips from the water fountain don't count - so we were exhausted). At 3:30, the whole bridal party closed themselves in their rooms (the boys were down the hall), and waited. A great prayer and a few more tears and we walked to the sanctuary to line up. The ceremony was beautiful. And my best friend, the goofy girl I love so much, was dancing around on the altar while she was saying her vows. She dances around when she's happy or excited. The fact that she was in a wedding gown did not change that. She reverts right back to that happy little girl! Me and the other bridesmaids all laughed. After vows, a kiss, bubbles, church cleanup, and more pictures, was the reception! A fabulous party! Great speeches, great food, great fun time!!! They made $150 at the dollar dance, my boyfriend was talking to my best friend about rings while they danced, I danced until I hurt (that didn't take long)....dancing was a great part of the night! Bride and groom left around 10:30, we jumped in on the cleanup shortly after. Bed around 12:30 or 1.
Sunday we woke up and had breakfast and waited for the newlyweds (as I expected, they were much later than they planned *nods approvingly*). Talked for a while then they opened gifts. Then everybody started heading out around noon. Very long drive home. Nearly 9 hours in the car....every joint in my body hurt. Hurt. Hurt. But it was worth it, for the wedding, it was worth it. And me and Matt passed the time and made lots of good distractions along the way.
It was all so fabulous!
Today, after much sleeping and unpacking and cleaning, I went to the gastroenterologist. We talked for all of 10 minutes before he was recommending surgery. He's going to send me to the university hospital for a consult. There's a surgeon there who has done the procedure (called a laparoscopic nissen fundoplication...it's an anti-reflux/hiatal hernia repair surgery) a lot and has an incredibly high success rate with it. Even though it's 40 miles away (there are 3 hospitals within 10 miles of me), this doc would be better. So I'm hoping I can get an appointment for a consult soon. They're going to call me tomorrow.
I was hoping to have this done before Matt had to start back to work, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. He has to be back at the end of next week to start prep. But if I can get it done near the end of a week, my dad could stay with me for a couple days (I hate for him to have to sacrifice his vacation time) then Matt could stay with me over the weekend. Hopefully I won't need much baby sitting after the first 3 days (it's the narcotics and lack of eating that do me in).
Anywho....I'm sure there will be more when I find out about dates and times and everything revolving around my stomach. And I still have that rheumatology appointment to deal with in a couple weeks as well. [A nurse told me today that I'm too young to be having joint pain, in reference to the hinged knee brace I was wearing. I absolutely hate it when people say that. I realize I'm young, I realize I shouldn't be in pain so much for my age. But that doesn't change the fact that I am. Saying things like that is just stupid and makes me feel bad.]
For now, just more days in the world.
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And praying for a friend and her family. I think about everything I have gone through with my health and what it costs, even with insurance. Now they're going through something terrible, and they have no health insurance. I can't imagine ever not having health insurance for that reason. But I hope they can stop worrying about their finances for a while and just focus on their family and mending fences. Because things are very fractured for them right now.
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Live, love, and prayer all around.
