Ok. One of these days, I really am going to re-commit myself to keeping up the blog. Time just slips away, and before I know it months pass by and then I think I should blog about something that just happened, but shouldn't I blog about that other awesome thing that happened 2 months ago? And then I feel overwhelmed at the thought of typing up two posts and so I just don't do anything. Maybe I need counseling. Or maybe I just need to be better organized.
In light of that one ginormous post from last August, I'm going to attempt to play catch up in one sitting. Here we go. Let me just grab a seltzer and some snacks.......
Following Some very fun and much needed getaways last August, we returned to a September full of new experiences. Clark started his clinical rotations with a nurse practitioner who specialized in wound care and worked for and on behalf of a plastic surgeon. Clark learned that he does not like wound care, so I feel that this rotation at least helped him identify what he doesn't want to do with his future career as a nurse practitioner.
I got to have basically a second surgery above my upper lip, the first one having taken place back in August. Let me start from the beginning.... In early August, I went to an ENT doc (actually, someone we go to church with) to have a mass removed above my upper lip (just posterior and superior to my frenulum, to give you a reference point). It was something I had noticed months prior, was non-tender, mobile, and really I just wanted it removed because I could see asymmetry in my smile. At the first visit, the doctor cut it out (it was about the size of a grape), stitched me up, and sent the mass for a biopsy. I did it on one of my days off, went to work the next day, and was very uncomfortable the rest of the week. I think there were 4-5 sutures cutting into my oral mucosa and my lip was numb from the procedure. Since my job involves a lot of talking, I had a rough week. At the end of my work week and before I left the office to enjoy the weekend, the doc called with the biopsy results. Most likely CANCER. The pathologist who read the tissue was unsure of the staging so the biopsy was being sent out for a second opinion.
The next 7 days of waiting turned into such a long and emotional week. I was preparing for the worst. Thinking I would need radiation or chemo, Clark was preparing to start searching for a job just in case I couldn't keep up with my work schedule if I was feeling horrible due to side effects and that sort of thing. I kept thinking of everything I hadn't yet had the opportunity to experience. The places I always wanted to explore but had not yet visited. The children I had not yet conceived with Clark. My mind was all over the place and I was a hot mess.
And then we received news that the mass was just a benign growth, called a pleomorphic adenoma. BENIGN. Benign. Benign. The doctor called me on a Thursday morning, the day we were to drive up to Montreal. That morning Clark actually asked me if we would still go see Ivan and Joanne even if we received bad news. I said of course, that we still needed to live our lives. We were so grateful for the good news and that the news arrived that same morning before we left on our drive.
So then we had a great time with our best friends up in Canada and all seemed right in the world.
Then, about a week later the doctor called back and said that the pathologist who gave us the second opinion was not happy with his reading of the tissue. I would need to have more tissue removed, to be safe.
So did I have cancer or did I not have cancer?! Why would I need an additional surgery if the reading was benign?!
I was then scheduled for an actual, real surgery (not just a quick office visit involving local anesthesia) that would involve general anesthesia and everything. September 16th was the date. I experienced my first ever IV (nursing school IV's do not count) and my first ever general anesthesia. The results came back completely negative. NOTHING. Margins were completely clear. So I still don't know if I had cancer or not. Truth be told, I'd like to think it was a low grade cancer for what I had to go through. Recovery was not fun. I had a horrible response to oral pain medication like I thought I would (based upon my previous experience with pain meds after having my wisdom teeth out in high school) and ended up vomiting all day and into the night following my surgery. At least I know I will never have problems with narcotic drug dependency!
So if you ever feel ugly or just really bad about yourself, just take a look at my post op day 2 & 3 pictures and you will without a doubt instantly think more positively of yourself. I guarantee it.
Here I am, right after surgery. Looking fairly normal if not just a little loopy. Clark said that I was being pretty silly as I came out of the anesthesia. Clearly he didn't care about covering me up a bit more before taking the picture.
Post op day 3. Still incredibly swollen.
My procedure even prompted some people to send me flowers! These beautiful blooms really did brighten my recovery!!
It wasn't until day 5 or 6 post op that my upper lip started to reappear and my nose shrank back to it's normal size.
I'm so glad to have this health scare behind me...........what a blessing it has been to really help me put things into perspective. Health is wealth, people. How grateful I am that Clark, myself, and our families are for the most part extremely healthy.
A few weeks after my surgery I went down to Delaware. I captured the most adorable photo of my niece and nephew. I just can't get enough of it. I even have it framed at work. Well, a better composed, cropped version of this photo.
October was a busy month mostly due to the fact that I was the sole provider at the dermatology office. The doctor I work with had her baby in early October, so I took on some additional work responsibilities. I was so grateful for the opportunity. Now I know that I never want to own my own practice. I am perfectly content working for someone else!
We found some time to get out and enjoy nature with our good friends whom we met while living in Philly.
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Hopewell Lake
The next 7 days of waiting turned into such a long and emotional week. I was preparing for the worst. Thinking I would need radiation or chemo, Clark was preparing to start searching for a job just in case I couldn't keep up with my work schedule if I was feeling horrible due to side effects and that sort of thing. I kept thinking of everything I hadn't yet had the opportunity to experience. The places I always wanted to explore but had not yet visited. The children I had not yet conceived with Clark. My mind was all over the place and I was a hot mess.
And then we received news that the mass was just a benign growth, called a pleomorphic adenoma. BENIGN. Benign. Benign. The doctor called me on a Thursday morning, the day we were to drive up to Montreal. That morning Clark actually asked me if we would still go see Ivan and Joanne even if we received bad news. I said of course, that we still needed to live our lives. We were so grateful for the good news and that the news arrived that same morning before we left on our drive.
So then we had a great time with our best friends up in Canada and all seemed right in the world.
Then, about a week later the doctor called back and said that the pathologist who gave us the second opinion was not happy with his reading of the tissue. I would need to have more tissue removed, to be safe.
So did I have cancer or did I not have cancer?! Why would I need an additional surgery if the reading was benign?!
I was then scheduled for an actual, real surgery (not just a quick office visit involving local anesthesia) that would involve general anesthesia and everything. September 16th was the date. I experienced my first ever IV (nursing school IV's do not count) and my first ever general anesthesia. The results came back completely negative. NOTHING. Margins were completely clear. So I still don't know if I had cancer or not. Truth be told, I'd like to think it was a low grade cancer for what I had to go through. Recovery was not fun. I had a horrible response to oral pain medication like I thought I would (based upon my previous experience with pain meds after having my wisdom teeth out in high school) and ended up vomiting all day and into the night following my surgery. At least I know I will never have problems with narcotic drug dependency!
So if you ever feel ugly or just really bad about yourself, just take a look at my post op day 2 & 3 pictures and you will without a doubt instantly think more positively of yourself. I guarantee it.
Here I am, right after surgery. Looking fairly normal if not just a little loopy. Clark said that I was being pretty silly as I came out of the anesthesia. Clearly he didn't care about covering me up a bit more before taking the picture.
Here I am, post op day 2. Looking like an entirely different human being. I never knew my nose could double in size! And where did my upper lip go?!
Post op day 3. Still incredibly swollen.
My procedure even prompted some people to send me flowers! These beautiful blooms really did brighten my recovery!!
It wasn't until day 5 or 6 post op that my upper lip started to reappear and my nose shrank back to it's normal size.
I'm so glad to have this health scare behind me...........what a blessing it has been to really help me put things into perspective. Health is wealth, people. How grateful I am that Clark, myself, and our families are for the most part extremely healthy.
A few weeks after my surgery I went down to Delaware. I captured the most adorable photo of my niece and nephew. I just can't get enough of it. I even have it framed at work. Well, a better composed, cropped version of this photo.
October was a busy month mostly due to the fact that I was the sole provider at the dermatology office. The doctor I work with had her baby in early October, so I took on some additional work responsibilities. I was so grateful for the opportunity. Now I know that I never want to own my own practice. I am perfectly content working for someone else!
We found some time to get out and enjoy nature with our good friends whom we met while living in Philly.
Hopewell Lake
These pictures don't do autumn in PA justice. The fall foliage was amazing this year. This coming fall my hope is that we can make it up to Vermont to witness some beautiful color changes there.
Right in our neighborhood, so many beautiful trees!
We made it to Valley Forge one evening, just as the golden hour slipped by.
And we were also able to get some family pictures in while the autumn colors were still around!
We carved pumpkins with some friends from church who put on a huge community pumpkin carving event yearly (actually, it is my ENT doctor and his wife who do this), and we carved some pumpkins with good friends from Philly!
Margot and Todd
The "Just Married" couple
We celebrated our birthdays in early November with way too much cake..... and letter candles spelling out "LOVER" for Clark because "OVER THE HILL" candles were on clearance for $.50 and I knew I could make those clearanced out candles work to our advantage.
Our poor pumpkins rotted so quickly. I don't think they even lasted 2 weeks.
We adopted two kittens from Delaware! My sister-in-law really helped us find kittens by networking on Facebook. Gotta love social media for bringing humans and pets together!
Adopting pets on the East Coast is no joke. Agencies treat it so seriously, needing to come visit the home on multiple occasions and needing to know annual income. ( I'm sorry but a pet adoption agency does NOT need to know our finances nor do they need to step inside our home.) Once we experienced how bureaucratic the whole experience was we decided to just adopt from individuals needing to find a new home for kittens or adult cats. We weren't picky and we ended up adopting the two cutest sisters ever!
Looking back at these pictures, I can't believe how little they were. This one is Ruth Ellen, or Ruthie for short.
Doris Ann is the one on the left getting ready to cleanse her downstairs. We just call her Doris.
I would say they adjusted well to their new surroundings.
Clark AKA the "Kitty Whisperer"
The love between a grandma and her grandkitty (or grandkittens) is just indescribable.....
It was so much fun having Jan visit. The plan was to play around Philly for several days and then head down to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.
First stops were the Art Museum, and the Temple.
We also spent some time at Hopewell Furnace, trying to capture photos for Christmas cards. We ended up using photos from our family shoot at Valley Forge but Jan did capture some really fun shots!
No visit to Philly is ever complete without a stop to the Reading Terminal Market.
Clark ordering from Dinic's. One of America's best sandwiches.
Christmas Village opens it's doors just after Thanksgiving. I was bummed Jan didn't get to see the little Bavarian village with all it's vendors in full swing.
We ended the night with Clark posing on Thomas Jefferson University's campus. Only 5 months to go!!
Thanksgiving in Fayetteville, NC was so fun. Jan presented Greta and Kim with matching aprons! So cute!
The womenfolk prepared a meal fit for kings and queens alike.
Clark got to play Santa and distribute gifts to the kids. Only his wedding band gave him away and even Georgie said: "You not Santa, you Clark."
Little Margot, she is so cute.
Go TEAM TOBLER!
The weather was so nice that we were even able to enjoy meals outside.
One evening we sang Christmas carols with Karl on guitar.
Charlie and Greta are not shy at all and loved soloing or just singing together.
Fall foliage and a cute niece in late November.
Oh. My. Cuteness. I have about 500 photos of these girls. Sorry, a random photo or two might slip in because they are just that dang cute and I can't help it.
They spoon so good together!!!
We got our Christmas tree set up just after Thanksgiving. Since we took a vacation at the beginning on January, we felt like we barely had a Christmas tree up at all. This coming season we are getting a tree as soon at they are available. Yes, we are going to become those people that prepare for Christmas before Thanksgiving is even over!
The stamps this year were just awesome. I even bought enough so I could have some ready for next year.
My Mom covered the tab to fly her girls to Las Vegas for a Selbicky (my Mom's maiden name) family reunion (of sorts). It wasn't a big reunion but I was able to meet family I've never before met and I got to spend time with my Mom, sister and cousin. It was fantastic.
My Mom couldn't get enough of the free sampling of facial creams.
Selbicky family and some of their close friends.
We went to see KA. Great seats and just a wonderful experience, even if the story line was a bit confusing.
The Bellagio seasonal display is always impressive.
AWWWWWWWW! I was happy to be back with these special ones.
We finally made it back into Philly for our traditional Christmas activities. Christmas Village and the Wanamaker Organ. And we finally bought our star tree topper!
There were lots of kitty snuggles during this time.
Christmas was spent down in Delaware and we had traditional Slovakian food. It was delicious.
I got to snuggle a new baby so I was pretty content.
Doris and Ruthie can do no wrong.
Except for when they throw up while perched upon the windowsill. That makes me kind of mad.
In early January we took a trip to Argentina! We had a layover in Quito, Ecuador for a night. Aside from the horrible, immediate altitude sickness (story for a different post), we were mesmerized by Quito. I hope we can return some day soon.
Here is Clark as we are walking to find food near our hotel. We were both feeling quite ill so when we took the city tour earlier we didn't really take many photos of the city during daylight hours. Plus it rained the day we arrived.
Traditional Ecuadorian fare. One can never go wrong with Ceviche.
We stayed in the San Telmo neighborhood in Argentina. I loved our hotel and we had a great time exploring all the different neighborhoods in the city. I will have to post our better pictures later. These photos are from our phones.
Our hotel balcony.
Running and working out in Puerto Madero.
Puente de la Mujer
A really neat corner of a city block in San Telmo.
Plaza Dorrego, Tango (not pictured), and carne.
Casa Rosada
Fasion in Buenos Aires. Am I wrong or were sandals like these popular in the states back in the late 90's?
Steak at El Desnivel.
The Pope giving his blessing.
A ship museum mid run.
Medialunas
Beautiful arrangement of produce on a street corner.
The Don Julio steakhouse.
Tomato salad. I meant to order a salad with tomatoes but, you know, my Spanish is not so good yet.
Drum circle and dancers.
Citizen protest at the House of Congress.
Protesting what? We were never exactly sure.....
We loved the bus tour of the city. We are totally inspired to do one wherever we visit. I don't care how touristy it makes us look. I even want to do one in Philly. It was so much fun.
Yes! We are going to get more steak!!
Back on the bus, looking like tourists.
Chinatown!
Cheap hotdogs even exist in BA.
Enjoying our last Alfajores of the trip. At the airport.
My parents came back East right after we got home from Argentina. They spent time in Delaware, then spent a few days with us. They got to experience the massive snow storm while here.
Our mailbox. Full of snow.
The streets were a total mess.
I shoveled the front walk.....
And Clark shoveled the back walk.
My Mom and I tried to go on a walk down to the canals but there was no way we could get to them.
So we walked along bridge street instead.
There is a car somewhere in there.....
In February we went ice skating with our friends in the city at Penn's ice rink.
And I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets at Valley Forge while walking with a friend.
Life is good. That sums up September 2015-February 2016. I'm exhausted.
Next up: a more thorough recap of Argentina and our recent Spring Break trip!
2 comments:
I loved getting to live your life through pictures. I'm so sorry I didn't know about your lip surgery!! I'm glad you're okay, and also really happy about seeing the pictures of your swollen nose - you're cute even all swollen up!
Love your Summary! We miss you guys!
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