Let's just say it was a busy year

2015. What a year. I'm grateful to made it through, but I would not want to repeat it. 2015 was a stressful year. But it was also a year that I was greatly blessed.

 As I sat on the bus this morning one last time for the year as it trekked through Research Park, I thought how I had my first procedure that I had the second Friday of then the new year. The night before my procedure I realized I had forgotten to ask Jay for a priesthood blessing before he left for Idaho to attend to our brother's needs. The procedure went well despite an unplanned procedure that had to be performed to do the procedure that was planned. As I was recovering over the weekend, I thought of how my family and friends prayers had been answered. I felt gratitude for those prayers. 

I had another procedure before January was over. Just a few hours before the procedure I found out that I would not be numbed as I had been told by my primary care doctor. Because I would be put to sleep I would not be allowed to leave the hospital without a responsible adult accompanying me home. So much for hopping on the bus for the trip home. I was glad that Jay was readily available. I didn't have to cancel and rescheduled the procedure. 

In February, I had another procedure that was related to the one I had two weeks before. My good friend, Jewel drove me to the hospital and was there when I got the news that the procedure had to be aborted because of a tear in my esophagus. I spent an uneventful night in the hospital. Jay came to visit me and we watched the planes fly in and fly out of the airport. It might have been a bad night, but I was grateful for the view I had. Although it didn't seem that prayers were answered during this procedure, they were. I healed quickly from my ordeal and taught six year olds in Primary the next Sunday. It also wasn't the time to take care of this problem. Sometimes prayers aren't answered in the way we want them, but answered in the way we need them. 

Toward the end of March, I had the big one; the surgery that required a leave of absence from work. The November before my mother died I had a MRI because the doctors were concerned about a mass that had been detected in my body. At that time I had asked my Facebook friends to keep me in their prayers, which at that time prayers were answered. Whatever was bothering my body at the time needed to be put on hold for a few years. God knew that it would have been too much for me to handle recovering from a surgery, coping with my mother's death and working on her estate. When it was time to care of the situation I was able to know. The doctor I went to at that time scheduled the procedure I had that second Friday of the year. Although procedure in Jan didn't take care of the mass that was detected in the MRI I had in 2011, the surgery in March did. Once more I went under and the doctor discovered the mass wasn't what the doctors had originally thought. My appendix also took a hike. The doctor later told me that everything had been caught in time; my appendix had never burst. Some prayers just take time to be answered. 

Shortly after returning back to work, I visited with the doctor who would be taking care of problem with swallowing. The tear in my esophagus happen because my throat had shrunk in size. I also found that I was allergic to potato starch (and later other foods). I also realized that I probably had the same condition that took my mom's life. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, she had problems swallowing. I was glad I had made a decision earlier not to bitter about my mom's death. I found myself fighting away bitterness that wanted to consume me. 

I took the summer off from procedures that required losing consciousness. It was a nice vacation, even when I took an actual vacation. While I was relaxing with my family on the Oregon coast, a verse in Psalms kept sneaking into my thoughts. "Be still and know I'm God".  Not actually sure why I got this prompting in July and not January.

Shortly after I returned back to Utah, my oldest brother's health declined rapidly. Just before my double procedures I had in August, my brothers rushed home to Idaho to convince Mike to go to the hospital. He refused their advise, but a neighbor from home (a CNA) kept checking on Mike. At the end of August, Jay rushed home again and Mike went to the hospital. He ended up being transferred to the same hospital where I had my surgery in March. I left work early to meet Mike when he arrived. While I waited I noticed that one of my neighbors was performing surgery on another patient. Although he wasn't Mike's doctor, it was comforting to know that he was there. Before he left that night, he stopped to talk to John and me. (Jay was still in Idaho tidying up loose ends.)

Mike eventually left the hospital and became a resident in a care center. I had two more procedures for my throat. After the one at the end of November I realized why the procedure I had in February was aborted (beside the fact the food slide got a bit crowded) was that I needed to focused on one health problem at a time. After my procedure in September, I finally took my eye doctor's advice and saw an allergist. I had more food allergies besides potato starch that were probably affecting my condition. Since my appendix was no longer distracting me, so I could now focus more on my throat. 

In December I was able to have the procedure I had aborted in February. It went well. I left the hospital soon after the procedure. The nodule in my stomach that had been discovered in the second procedure in January had not grown or had any activity. I felt my mom's relief when I entered the recovery room. When I was a teenager she had told me in a smart mouth way (moms are human too) that I would get ulcers because she had and so did her mother. Even though my mom was human, I think she could tell then what problems I would have in adulthood and she was trying to warn me.

The day before Thanksgiving I had my annual exam. Since the doctor I saw the year before had closed her business I found another doctor who had her office in the same building as my first procedure. As I left the building, I passed the surgical center doors. I looked quickly and the thought came to me "it could have been worse." I had been fortunate After each procedure and surgery, I heard the word "benign". Cancer was never diagnosed. In fact, blood tests had shown a weak sign for cancer. Prayers had been answered, thoughts were rewarded and love had been sent. Through out the stress I had been blessed much. I just had a busy year, even though the throat doctor said I was having a hard year. My Savior was with me in every step in 2014 and 2015.

(Side note or just a FYI - The only time I was diagnosed as pre-cancerous was at the dermatologist, but after the second office visit she declared my condition as benign. At the end of July, I had another annual exam. The day after I got a call to come in for a second opinion. After a doctor looked at the results of the second exam, she decided I didn't need a biopsy I feared I would need. I was definitely blessed this year. And before I forget Jay did find employment before I had my surgery in March. And Mike's health improved also. He's talking about moving back to Idaho, but he'll probably end up at John's house. 2015 wasn't all doom and gloom. My adopted niece came from her mission and married a few months later. Her best friend older brother also got married, a month after she did. Another nephew became a father to a darling and curious little girl. I celebrated my 10th anniversary of employment at the University of Utah.And I was blessed beyond measure. )

Following the Star

December 24, 2014

I was downtown Salt Lake on Tuesday when I decided to stop by Temple Square. I wanted to see if I could get a picture of the Wise Men who were part of a display outside the North Visitors Center and the Christus who is inside the North Visitors Center. At night, this is possible,but during the day, the buildings on South Temple reflect on the windows where one can see the Christus from the outside. So I decided instead to take a few pictures of the Nativity display which the Wise Men were included.

I saw the stable where Mary, Joseph and Jesus were and a few animals. And I saw the Shepherds with their sheep coming to the stable. On the east side of the display, ahead of the Wise Men were a women and young girl.They were not apart of the Wise Men or the Shepherds, but coming on their own to see Jesus. And it made me think. There were others who came to visit to Jesus. It made sense. Every one saw the unusual star that showed in the sky that night. The Star guided those who were seeking the Christ child.