Spring is Breaking!!

I have to say, this week has been one of the most fabulous weeks I've had in a while. AND it's only Wednesday! I am officially on spring break and I have had absolutely nothing to do. I have been able to wake up every morning whenever I feel like it and read, write, journal, clean, TV watch, nap, cook... to my hearts content! I must say it has been such a freeing feeling to be able to do things simply because I want to without feeling the pressure of what I really should be doing weighing down on me. I am currently in my most comfortable of beds with the window open, blinds up, Food Network on, and the sound of a coming storm rumbling in the background... Love it!

So what's been going on lately. Well, not a lot as of the immediate past but since the last post I have done/ been through quite a bit. So my birthday was the 24th of last month and I turned a whopping 21 years old! My actual birthday day and dinner was absolutely wonderful and such a blessing but I'll tell that story later. The late evening of my birthday, however, was a little unexpected and not so pleasant. Bryan and I were enjoying some birthday Godiva chocolates/ Wii Mario Kart with friends when I got a phone call from my mom. I had just had some bloodwork done earlier in the day to check all my levels and the doctors had already called her with the results. This was, at first, a pleasant surprise because they never call back the same day but then when I heard the tone of my mom's voice, I knew it wasn't just speedy service on their part.

Turns out the doctors were calling because they were, more or less, freaking out. When my results came back they saw that my iron levels were once again way too low as well as my potassium this time. Everything was so low that it was in a range where had I had a heart attack at any moment it would not have been a shock... and talk about shock. I was truly feeling so much better that I had in a long time and I was having so much energy as well! It didn't make any sense that all my levels were so low when I was feeling so good. But, the blood don't lie.

So what to do? They said I needed to have a blood transfusion immediately. Now ususally when my iron gets low I just get a few straight iron infusions and that takes care of it but in this case, there were several things that needed a boost and the best way to do that was to do a blood transfusion. I had never done this before because it was a scary thought for me considering my history with blood clots. Introducing a new blood that wasn't mine meant a slight risk of something going wrong even though the doctors are very careful to match the blood exactly with the donor. Still, I was always leary to give it a try when it was recommended before but this time I didn't really have a choice. I needed this transfusion asap or something bad was bound to happen.

Bryan and I were already going home for the weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family so it worked out well, only when mom asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, spending all day in a hospital wasn't exactly at the top of my list :) but it had to be done so off we went. Saturday morning we arrived at the infusion center at 8:30 and buckled in for the 5 hour long infusion of 2 pints of blood. The process itself is pretty much just the same as any kind of infusion so that wasn't scary but seeing a bag of this deep red blood slowly pump through the IV... it was just a little creepy :) but I really immediately started to feel better!

As we sat there, Mom and Bryan were on alert to see if I started breaking out in hives or itchy spots. Which thankfully didn't happen! But still, they were well prepared with books, snacks, and cards to stay occupied while I slipped in and out of consciousness from the benadryl :) I think at one point Bryan was teaching Mom how to play poker! As I sat in my chair, hooked up to the IV, I truly did start to feel better and better very immediately. They said my face flushed and actually had color that I hadn't had in weeks and I could almost feel my heart slowing down as the amount of blood in my system was coming back to normal.

So long and short, God took care of the whole situation and I have been feeling pretty good lately! Lots of energy, which is a HUGE change, and no racing heart rate or anything. Also, still no sickness or anything from being on immunosuppresants so praise God for that! But also not a ton of colon improvement as of now either... I'm not sure why not and if it will start soon but I'm still believing for a healing! One way or another it's going to happen :)

Thank you for your continuing prayers!