My Many Blessings

So over the last few weeks I have did nothing but complain about my pains and annoyances and how crappy I feel. I have never took the time and blogged about the many blessings I have had. So, here goes.

1. My Surgery First off let's take the time and discuss my surgery. It is very hard to get insurance approval for my surgery because a lot of doctors consider it cosmetic. It's also hard to find a good doctor that actually knows what a Pectus Excavaddum really is. My whole life I have struggled to breath and have had heart problems. In Ohio we had it checked out both in the adolescence stage and then again in my early 20's. Both doctors said my case was mild and no severe enough for corrective surgery. In MS, same thing. So, we move to PA and after discussions with my aunt I decided to try again. The doctors here finally took the time to run the proper tests. My case turned out being very severe. The doctor here in PA has not completed the surgery on many adults so I was reluctant to have him do it. He wrote me a referral for a second opinion. My insurance approved my going to Johns Hopkins to see Dr. Columbani, which is one of the best doctors in the field and also JH is the best hospital in the world. So, that was very exciting. Dr. C as I called him had me lift up my shirt and he told me right away that I had a severe case and it could be corrected. So, we decided to go with him. After 2 months of waiting my insurance approved my surgery. If you can believe it, the Friday before my surgery too.

2. My Nerves You may think that this would not be considered a blessing but it truly is. I am a very nervous person. Actually, I normally get so nervous I make myself sick. I was worried the day before surgery when I had to report in for my bar fitting that I was just going to be a basket case. I even had my doc perscribe me happy pills just in case. The day before and even the day of surgery I was so relaxed. I even hate needles. I was so relaxed that tons of weird things happened and it just made me laugh. Some of those being: the day of my bar fitting the doc had no idea who I was and what I was their for; he was also double booked. My surgery was suppose to be at 9:00 and another kids was as well. I was pushed to 11:00)

3. Blessings for Jason & My Mom I only know about these things because mom and Jason both kept a journal for me during my stay at the hospital. So, these blessings were not only for me but they were blessings for Jason & mom.
a. My surgery only took 30 - 40 minutes total to complete. The doc said that when the bar was inserted my chest just popped right up. He said it was the easiest he had ever had.
b. The hotel was another blessing. Not only was the discounted rate amazing but the hotel offered a shuttle. So, they were able to take the shuttle every day as opposed to paying for parking at 2 different locations and having to drive to the hospital. Plus, they were able to have a good nights sleep and take a shower every day
c. The bankcard went missing the day of my surgery. It fell out of Jason's wallet in the parking garage. Now Baltimore is a high crime area but by the Grace of God the parking attendant found the card and turned it into the front desk.
d. The morning after the worst day of my life they wanted to arrive at the hospital by 4:00am so they could be in the room when the doctors made their rounds. Jason only had 7.00 and had to find a cab to take him to the hospital on that amount. The valet parking man told Jason he would drive them to the hospital for 7.00 in his own vehicle. So, they were able to arrive on time.

4. My Mom Mom didn't want me to have the surgery. After she saw me for the first time she realized just how severe my chest was caved in. I was so happy to hear her say for the first time "I'm so glad you had this done". In fact, here's her journal entry: " Amazement: The first thing I noticed was the improvement the surgery made to your chest. I never realized how bad your chest whad been until now. I am amazed at how great you look." Also, it was so great that she was able to come to the hosptial with me and keep Jason company. She also was wonderful to have around for me. I was so excited.

5. My Sister My sister was a huge blessing as well. She was able to come down for 2 weeks along with mom. Stacy watched our furkids for us while I was in the hospital. This was such a blessing because it was 1 thing I didn't have to worry about. I knew they would keep her sain and that they would be in good hands.

6. Jason's Boss After I came home I knew I couldn't stay by myself and would need help. Jason's boss offered to let him work from home for 4 weeks while I recouperated. What an answer to prayer.

7. My church I can't even start to explain how much my church means to me. We do not know many people but the people we know are amazing. The most amazing being my friend Colleen. Words really cannot describe how much she means to me. She is such a blessing and I'm so excited she's in my life.

8. Friends with P.E. Ever since I came home I have tons of time to do nothing but surf the net and goof off. Of course it's the only thing I can really do. Luckily I found 2 friends on the Pectus forum. One lives in California. She had her surgery the day before mine so it's been so nice to talk about how we are feeling and what we are doing. We're pretty much feeling the same and recouping at the same rate. She's a bit more active than I am but then again, we're 12 years apart in age. It's been so nice having a friend through the internet. My second friend is from Florida. She's 34 and had her surgery about a week ago. I have been able to share my experience with her and try to encourage and pray for her as she was counting down the days until her operation. She also had her surgery at JH so I was able to share all my information about the horrible nurses with her. Mainly the morning nurses were horrible. It's hard to find friends on the P.E. forum since most people with P.E. are males. All they seem to care about is the fact that they cannot lift weights any more and how horrible they look. The females are so nice to speak with, when you can find them.

9. Money Last year when I was signing up for my insurance I was asked whether I wanted short term disability or not. At first I marked no but something inside me was telling me I needed to mark Yes. So, I changed it. Good thing too. Since I'm off for 2 months of work I'm still bringing in a paycheck. What a huge blessing.

Anyway, my list of blessings. I am sure I have forgotten some.