Swine

So, I was supposed to go to Mexico this coming Saturday. After hearing so much on the news about the "Swine Flu," I became a little weary. Dan flat out told me, "You're not going." Then, the CDC said it was fine to go to Mexico--just stay away from the sick people. Great. How were we supposed to run a medical clinic AND stay away from sick people? Several emails and frustrated phone calls from students and parents convinced the nursing program to cancel the Mexico trip. Thank goodness.
As of now, "nonessential" trips to Mexico are to be postponed if you listen to the CDC. 150 people dying of the same flu within a few weeks seems like adequate evidence to keep us away from the border. I really didn't want to bring that bug back to Biola or to my patients at the children's hospital (CHOC). Phew.

Speaking of patients, I have my first night shift at CHOC tonight...on the Peds Oncology unit. I'm thrilled! Though, I'm going to crash when I get home :)

Dan is finishing up his observation hours for teaching and trying to catch up on tutoring hours since kids keep canceling on him. Oh, and he's 3 weeks from graduating. Yay!

The semester is finally slowing down. I feel it. Oh, summer come quickly!

Unremarkable

The CT was essentially unremarkable. There were no remarks to be made about it. It was the same.

Basically, that means nothing new has grown in the past 4 months. Nothing is a good thing, in this case.

3 more months of unremarkableness means I won't check for remarkableness for another 6 months.

This is quite good. Though unremarkable.

Tremble

Tomorrow, I will feel a very familiar feeling. The feeling in which every nerve in my body twitches ever so slightly so that I am never sitting still. Shivers will cascade down my spine every few minutes. My breathing will quicken along with my heartbeat. My focus will scatter and disappear. Every click-clack of shoes walking by will pump more adrenaline into my blood stream. I will probably eat at least 3 pieces of gum in rapid succession.

The CT scan is done and probably even read by now. Someone knows whether or not we will rejoice or mourn. Someone knows whether or not the nervousness welling up in my soul is justified. If only that someone, a radiologist, knew he was so lucky.

As is usual, Dan is confident and calm. I am neither of those--not because I don't trust God to be faithful, but because my humanity doesn't deserve any more grace.

Of course, we never deserve grace, yet God gives it freely.

Tomorrow, we will know. Until then, I tremble.

8 Months

I'm still having a hard time believing it's really April...but I'm glad it is.
April means baseball season and Resurrection Day and Spring Break and home! As of today, April also means that Dan and I have been married 8 months. (No snickering from the 25 years+ crowd). Pretty exciting to us.

This semester has been a crazy one for sure, but one that leads us both closer and closer to graduation. Dan can actually say, "I'm graduating next month!" I can say, "I'll be a level 3 next month!" Oh, we cannot wait.

We have a lot going on before the cap and gown and celebration. Some good, some not so fun, but all necessary.
Tomorrow: we go home! First Lodi for Good Friday and Resurrection Day.
Monday: Santa Rosa for the rest of Spring Break...including a Red Sox game!
Tuesday: Stanford (CT)
Wednesday: Stanford (Meet with oncologist about CT and deciding when to replace his hip) (I'm nervous, Dan's not. Story of our life.)
Saturday: Back to our La Mirada home.

After break, Dan has teaching observation, papers, projects, etc. But luckily, no more PT. He's on a home regimen until he gets his new hip. By May 23rd...he's a Biola grad!

After break for me, Peds rotation, trying to convince the nursing department to let me do two oncology preceptorships, work, CNSA Treaurer (kind of like nursing school AS), and figuring out how to schedule this summer. By May 23rd...I'm a level 3!

So, as you can see, April means a lot of busyness and hopefulness. It means one month from "freedom."

Oy! If I want to go home tomorrow, I need to pack before work. Apparently, everybody and their brother decided to have surgery today and the floor is packed. It's going to be a busy night.

Good thing Dan is driving tomorrow...that means his passenger can just sleep her way to NorCal :)

Pata Pata Pata

We are tired.

I have pink eye (again) and a puffy face.

Dan has a time-consuming job and a cane.

How old are we?

On a side note, there is a light slightly visible now for Spring Break. 

Dan just watched Titanic out of his own volition.

Somehow, Urlacher is still alive.

Oh, and we have ducks: Leopold and Patricia (they go pata pata pata).

God is good and sustaining.

Pots and Dan

I realized tonight that I had failed to update our little blog since January...then I saw that Dan had helped out with a brief quip that should shed light on our feelings regarding our current area. Perhaps only quietly, I feel like we both our looking forward more than ever to the time when we get to "go home." It is when I feel like this, though, that God's grace gently reminds me that my home is where Dan and I are together. How blessed are we to be surrounded by Biolan friends and and "family."

Well, in case you couldn't guess, our apparent inability to write more frequently must be attributed to school. By the end of the first week, I already felt overwhelmed. But hey, overwhelming might be a synonym for nursing school! I just finished our first clinical rotation: OB! To say that I loved it would be an understatement. To get the opportunity to help moms and dads welcome in new life is an unforgettable experience. Also, I am never the type to turn down bathing, feeding and cleaning babies. My love for babies sometimes concerns my husband, but he generally reminds me of the great Goliath called school.

As I am more than a year from graduation, Dan is closer than ever. He will graduate in May with his Bachelors in Film...how will he use that? Not sure he knows yet! However, he will be going back to get his teaching credential at UCI next year. One of my friends told me credentialing is a rather painful process with pages and pages of papers. For some reason, I am more than certain Dan will excel. He's much smarter than he admits, though he truly loathes papers. By next summer, God willing, we'll be entering the work force at the same time!
For now, however, we are still plugging away at the tasks before us. Nursing school, work (CNA for me and tutoring for Dan), marriage, etc. Unfortunately, we've been pretty busy with doctor's appointments lately. Amazingly, they weren't for Dan!

I was recently diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). My autonomic nervous system is slacking a bit in conducting appropriate messages to my heart to get blood from the lower half of my body to the upper half when I stand. This causes my heart to compensate by beating really fast constantly, which gets worse when I do strenuous activity or even stand up. Thankfully, I've only fainted once, though I've come close often--including once at work. For safety's sake, my boss and doctor have put me on leave from work for a bit. After weeks of tests and different doctors, a very understanding Nurse Practitioner finally started me on medication today. I should feel a difference within a week or two. After another meeting with my cardiologist, I'll be clear to work again! Even better: I've been given permission to start running again :) It's good timing as my legs have begun to literally ache with boredom.

Though I truly dislike visiting doctors for any reason, these appointments have reinforced in my mind the absolute loyalty of my husband. He has taken me to the ER twice, 3 cardiac tests, 2 cardiologists and even an early morning primary appointment. Not once has he complained about the time taken or my limited ability to do things around the house. All I hear from him is how much he loves me. And, very sweetly, he helps me stand up and holds me until the dizziness fades.
How appropriate our wedding song was: Stand By Me.

Sometimes

I feel like LA is Babylon and Northern California is like Jerusalem.

That's all.

---Dan