Surgery Date Set

I can hardly believe I've let so much time pass since my last post. A lot has happened since February.

In the interest of keeping this blog focused on things pertaining to surgery, I will put details on that first. My surgery has been set for Friday, June 3rd. There was some switcheroo and a day of confusion, which resulted in surgery being bumped up from the 6th to the 3rd. My pre-op appointments at Swedish will be on Tuesday, April 31st.

Pre-op appointments start with having updated x-rays taken. Following this, I will meet with my surgeon to discuss the particulars of my surgery. Then I go for a full physical and blood-work, to be sure I am fully fit and healthy.

In addition to this, I will be going twice to have my blood "banked" in the four weeks leading up to surgery. This process, technically called autologous blood donation, will make my own blood available, if I should need a transfusion. A surgery like this does involve a lot of blood loss, but in a controlled hospital setting, a transfusion is not always necessary.

  As of now, I am fairly at peace about the date being set. God has shown me, already, that He is going to provide everything I need to get through the surgery and recovery.

  I recently found out that I will be done with all of my finals on Tuesday, May 24th. This affords me a few more days of summer, since my last final could have been on Friday the 27th. Because of this, I will have a full week to simply enjoy summer and get my "ducks in a row" before I have to go through pre-op appointments. I am overjoyed at this fact!

  Many new friends have been brought into my life, and pre-existing friendships have been strengthened, recently. I know these people were sent to help walk me through this journey. A few young women have been placed in my life who have dealt with serious health issues and surgeries, and they have shared the things they learned from their experiences. I have been blessed with wonderful listeners, a few in particular that have spoken the Lord's truth into my life and helped to get me through some pretty rough days as of late. Others have been there to simply listen, providing acceptance and loving me right where I'm at. My gratefulness to the Lord for sending these people to surround me is beyond words.

A huge blessing has been the friendship of my housemate, and dear friend, Hailey. She is an awesome young woman who has a heart and passion for the Lord that I greatly admire; she feels called to go into the missions field when she has completed her nursing degree, to work in medical missions.

Hailey had plans to go to Spain this summer to study medical Spanish. Unexpectedly, the door was shut on this opportunity for her. Rather than moping, she quickly determined that she should use the money intended for her trip to live at our house near school this summer. She intends to take part in an internship through our campus ministry group, and has offered some of her time to take care of me, which will give my mother some much needed "me" time during my recovery.

Most of all, I am thankful for Hailey's offer to be at the hospital, with my family, on the day of my surgery. I have no doubt that the way God made her, (as both an incredibly calming presence and a prayer warrior,) will be a comfort to my family. She and my brother Jake will be sharing in updating my blog during the time that I am in the hospital and during my early recovery.

A last note; my parents and I went to Arizona over spring break and had an absolute blast! It was wonderful to get some sunshine, go on some red rock hikes, and have uninterrupted time together. A few of my favorite pictures from the trip are below :) I will post again soon!