Sinus Surgery: Pre-Surgery

I used to suffer from something called "chronic sinusitis." What this means is that I used to get sinus infections on a VERY frequent basis with beautiful, yellow discharge from my nose, never-ending sinus headaches and fatigue. I have to admit, this was getting old and my body was tired of living on antibiotics that didn't seem to work. I decided to go see an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor. After trying one more intense antibiotic (I had previously tried many from my primary care physician), my ENT doctor decided to do a CT Scan on my sinuses.

This is what he found:

Yes, that is my face.

The ENT found many things wrong (please note that these descriptions are my summary of his medical examination and not his exact words) :

A. Sever sinusitis in the right maxillary sinus, with almost full blockage. Do you see that giant dark spot on the left-side of the screen labeled "B"? That is what my sinus is suppose to look light. Black is good, it means my sinus is clear. As you can tell on the right side, I have no black.

B. Left maxillary sinus with mild to moderate mucus thickening. You can see the gray part near the bottom of that section.

C. Deviated nasal septum to the right. The line that you see in the middle of the screen should be straight and not curved as it is shown here.

D. Large left concha bullosa. That black spot should match the size of the black spot on the other side of my septum. Mine appears to be large and filled with air.

E. Mild ethmoid sinus mucus thickening. The enthmoid sinuses are located near the upper nose next to the eyes. This problem turned out to be a whole array of severally inflamed polyps. A polyp is an abnormal tissue growth within the sinuses, mine just happened to be inflamed. Polyps can be evidence of other underlying issues, but thankfully mine weren't! :)

After completing the CT Scan itself, my doctor and I waiting patiently for all the pictures to load  (about 400... I didn't realize the scans were so thorough!). The loading finished and a picture of my sinuses popped up on the screen. My doctor said something similar to "Woah! You need surgery!". We talked about a couple other options besides surgery, but surgery seemed to be the best one to me!!

We scheduled my surgery for two weeks later during my spring break at school. I only had to miss one class period for the surgery - this was such a blessing!!

My surgery was in the form of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery. Thank you!

I am so grateful for doctor's that listen to patients when they complain and then promptly find a solution to their problems. I am grateful for modern technology that enables people to have quick solutions to problems. I feel so blessed that I was directed to my wonderful doctor* and that I my surgery went smooth and my recovery was quick.

*My doctor and surgery was all through Peak ENT. I have honestly had no complaints about the service or about my doctor. If you are looking for a great ENT doctor, I can give you my doctor's info or you can visit Peak ENT's website at http://www.peakmedical-ent.com/ . Everyone has a different experience with doctors, so please do additional research besides just my recommendation :)

Books, books, books!

So with having surgery I have had quite a bit of free time and therefore I have read a lot. I LOVE READING :) and feel so blessed to have books in my life (and the education needed to learn how to read). I decided to count how many books I have read, mostly for fun ;), since the start of Fall Semester in August. Here are the books that I have read/listened to and little snippets about them. I apologize that it is kind of a long post, but I hope that you enjoy my feedback on them! (I tried to put them in the order that I read the books, just for fun :)

All three "The Hunger Games" books: the books were super intense. I would say a really intriguing story and an honestly addicting series. I read all three books in the matter of a couple weeks, which with school and work is pretty impressive for me. I won't tell you much about the books, but I would definitely RECOMMEND. (Thank you Cara and Derek for letting me borrow your books and recommending this series to me!)

All three "The Mortal Instruments" books: I probably read these books in a couple weeks as well (mostly over my trip to New York for both my parents' surgeries. The books had a great story and a nice twist on the classic fantasy stories about angels, demons, vampires and werewolves. The only caution I would give for these books is that in the... I think first and third book, maybe second and third book there is a lot of swearing (at least more than my preference goes), and there it goes into some teenage chastity topics, but it doesn't delve very deep with the description. The story is awesome and the romance in it is pretty intense!! I really did love these books and would definitely RECOMMEND as well. (Thank you Kasey and Emma for letting me borrow the books and recommending them to me :).

"Food Rules" by Michael Pollan: This is a very short read (maybe 80-130 pages with only part of each page filled) and gives an interesting insight into the classic question, "what foods are healthy to eat?" I can't say that I have the will power to follow all the rules that Pollan lays out, but I did appreciate his insight and research. This book has caused me to make some health changes in my life. If you are looking for a deeper read by Michael Pollan,  "In Defense of Food" goes deeper into his research about why people should eat a certain way. I have read some of "In Defense of Food" and found it a really interesting read, I just never finished the book. (Thank you Daniel for letting me borrow both "Food Rules" and "In Defense of Food," plus for recommending the books to me. Also, thank you for putting up with both my preliminary and following debates about the contents of the books :).

"Pursued - A Maggie McKenzie Mystery": This is the second book in a two book series by Lynn Gardener. I would recommend this book and the first book in the series. The story is a murder mystery that is pretty intense. You always get into some weird murder mystery with overly zealous women reports ;). Both books have some pretty creepy characters in them, but nevertheless are a good/intense read. The first book will be addicting and you will finish it fast. This book is not quite as intense but I still loved it. The love story in the books (because of course murder mystery books need a love story) is wonderful. I LOVE the love story. It is a more mature love story because the books are meant for an older crowd than most the teenage novels which a read, so that is very refreshing. (Thank you Mom for letting me borrow the first book on CD for my road trip and for recommending the books, and also thank you Alisha for listening to the book with me and being as excited as I was when I stumbled upon the sequel to the book!)

"Home Again at Last": Borrowman does a great job at keeping this book emotionally charged throughout each page. The book covers a lot of elements because it is a historical fiction novel. I felt many emotions as I read (I guess listened to the book on CD) the book. The story is extremely accurate according to my study of history and my previous historical fiction reads. It covers an LDS family whose father is in the British... parliament I think... he has a "Lord" title and is involved in politics. Anyways, his son is a naval commander and is put into many life-gripping situations. The book gives a good glimpse into what families and soldiers had to deal with during WWII, especially in the LDS realm. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would RECOMMEND it to you. (Thank you Mom and Dad for letting my borrow this book on CD and for getting me hooked on the story in the first place. What a great Christmas break I had!! I love you!)

The first three "Fablehaven" books: I am still going through this series but am already caught in the series' addictive grasp!!! Brandon Mull lives in Utah and went to BYU (Go Utah writers and BYU students :) !!) and if he is LDS he has joined my list of top LDS writers, which includes Stephanie Meyer (famous for writing the "Twilight" series) and Orson Scott Card (famous for writing "Enders Game"). The first book in the series was a little slow to begin but got better as the book went on. The second book in the series added a whole new level of... absolute craziness to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I finished all the 450 or so pages of the third book in a matter of a two days or so. I hate to use the word intense again, but the third book was intense!! The story was all about darkness verses light. I am excited to get my hands on the fourth book. I would absolutely RECOMMEND this series! If the first book seems slow just push past and you will eventually find yourself in an enchanting magical world. (Thank you so much Rachel for recommending these books and letting me borrow them! You are wonderfully feeding my addiction :) )

Book ?: Two weeks ago when I had my sinus surgery I listened to a book on CD that my parents recommended and mailed to me (Thank you guys!). To be honest, I don't remember the name of the book and I don't have it on hand because I let a friend borrow the book who just had a surgery herself. I will add the review of that book when I get the book back.... I guess I was more out of it that week on my pain medications than I thought since I can't even remember the name :)

My current reads:

"The Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ": This is a book that I try to study out of every day in addition to the "The Bible." This book has truly changed my life and I love reading its words. I feel comforted and happy every time I study the stories or the scriptures themselves. The book covers is exactly what it claims to be - another testament of Jesus Christ. If you haven't read "The Book of Mormon" before, please pick it up and try it. This is the book I would RECOMMEND above all others along with "The Bible."

Talking Hands” by Margalit Fox: I originally bought this book… about 3 to 5 years ago and I sadly haven’t gotten around to reading it until now. The book happens to work perfectly into a research paper that I am writing for my ASL Linguistics class this semester so now I finally have motivation to read it! The book is a linguistic study about a Bedouin village that creates their own form of sign language. I have been enjoying the book thus far due to its intriguing take on the formulations of language. The front of the book says, “In a remote village where everyone speaks sign language, scientists are discovering the essential ingredients of all human language—and uncovering the workings of the human mind.” I will probably do a formal review of the book once I finish reading it, but I would recommend it as a good, slower read if you are interested in either sign language or linguistics.

“The Lightening Thief,” first book in the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series: I picked this up since I don’t have the fourth “Fablehaven” yet. My sister Rachel highly recommended this book and I am excited to get more into it. I have only just started. I watched the movie recently so hopefully this book will live up to my expectations! I am excited to see!

“65 Signs of the Times – Leading up the Second Coming”: I have also only just begun this book, but have found it very enlightening thus far. David J. Ridges has definitely done his research on the upcoming Second Coming! The book is filled with prophecies about the Second Coming from scriptures and words of modern revelation. I am enjoying the book and learning a lot.

"Deaf in America - Voices from a Culture": Carol Padden (one of the authors) is a great linguist and scholar. I have enjoyed other studies that she has done. This is an older book written in the latter 1980s, but it still gives a good insight into the deaf and Deaf worlds. If you don't know much about Deaf culture or about their history, this could be an interesting read for you.

I have a couple other books on my shelf that I want to read during the Summer as well. I must say that I really enjoy reading and feel blessed that in 4^th (or maybe it was 5^th) grade my family encouraged me to pick-up the first “Harry Potter” book even though I wasn’t much into reading at the time. I loved the book and suddenly became addicted to reading!! 

Nike Free Shoes

To be honest, I have never really liked Nike running shoes. I tend to veer more towards the companies who make shoes strictly for runners. I know those shoes will almost always be great for my needs.

Well, Nike sparked my interest first with their line of "free" shoes, and next by giving customers the ability to design their own shoes. I may actually consider purchasing a pair.

Here are the shoes that I designed while playing around on their website:

     

Yup, I pretty much love them. Some tweaking needs to be done, but they have a great setup to design the shoes.

Check out their website at: www.nikeid.com

Oh, and I feel very blessed for running shoes! I don't know what I would do without them.

Online Banking

Have you ever thought about how convenient online banking is?

In the last five minutes I was able to not only check the balance on my bank accounts, but also pay bills, transfer money and view pictures of checks that I have written.

I love online banking. Thank you so much to the person/company who created it.

Oh, and a random side note, spell check is wonderful.

Sinus Surgery Teaser ;)

I will be writing a better post about my sinus surgery, but here is a little teaser before I release that...

 Both taken on the car ride home after the surgery...

Let there be light!

I feel blessed because I have electricity available to me all day long, whenever I need it.

I have been reflecting back on Spring 2006 when I lived in Uganda, and as I do I feel exponentially more blessed. 

First, did you know that?

• Electricity travels at the speed of light - more than 186,000 miles per second!
• A spark of static electricity can measure up to three thousand (3,000) volts.
• A bolt of lightning can measure up to three million (3,000,000) volts – and it lasts less than one second!
• Electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the ground.
• Electricity can be made from wind, water, the sun and even animal manure.
• Burning coal is the most common way electricity is made in the United States.
• One power plant can produce enough electricity for 180,000 homes.
• The first power plant – owned by Thomas Edison – opened in New York City in 1882.
• Thomas Edison didn’t invent the first light bulb – but he did invent one that stayed lit for more than a few seconds.
• Thomas Edison invented more than 2,000 new products, including almost everything needed for us to use electricity in our homes: switches, fuses, sockets and meters.
• Benjamin Franklin didn’t discover electricity – but he did prove that lightning is a form of electrical energy.

Thank you http://www.alliantenergykids.com/EnergyBasics/AllAboutElectricity/000418 for you great energy facts described at a kid's level! The actual electricity sites used words a little too complicated for me... 

Electricity is AWESOME! And in my opinion, quite the miracle. Now, what does this have to do with Uganda?

First, a geography lesson:

For those who don't know where Uganda is (especially the city Mukono where I lived), I have created these nice little maps to demonstrate:

Map of Africa with Uganda circled in blue.

Map of Uganda with a small, blue circle showing about where Mukono is.

Second, some background:

When I entered kindergarten my mother decided to go back to school. She first earned her Bachelor's Degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) and then her Master's Degree from BYU as well. Following this degree she decided that she should also earn her Doctorate Degree (I know, she is an AMAZING woman :) ). She searched out the universities which carried the degree she wanted and found George Mason University in northern Virginia. In 2006 it was time for her to complete her dissertation study. Her Ph.D. was in international literacy, so we moved to Uganda for her to implement a new literacy program.

We went from: 

Our beautiful home in Virginia...

...to our bright turquoise, all concrete and brick, Ugandan home.

Our huge dining room and kitchen...

...to this.

Third, a disclaimer:

Okay, so I don't want you to think I am complaining here, because I am most certainly not. Although, I did complain a lot when I lived there. Living in Uganda was hard and certainly made me appreciate all that I have now. My experience in Uganda changed my life and looking back, I loved it and am so grateful for it. The area is absolutely beautiful and the people there are so loving.

Finally, why I feel blessed to have electricity:

Due to various political and economic issues in Uganda, we were not afforded the privilege of electricity 24/7 like I currently enjoy in the United States. To best show how I felt while I was there (and why I feel so blessed now), here are some excerpts from my journal:

2.10.2006

"... we ate a re-heated dinner since you can never trust the electricity out here, so Mom cooked the meal this morning. The electricity went out at 6:09 PM and came back on at about 10:50 PM. Yesterday it was off almost all the whole entire day, and a few days ago it was off for fourteen hours!"

2.11.2006

"... the electricity just went out..."

2.12.2006

"Yesterday was crazy. Our water was off until this morning, our electricity was off for most of the day and night, and is off right now. This morning we had a cockroach in our house... Sorry that I'm just rambling on, but when the electricity is out, what else is there to do? The electricity being out sure ruins everyone's plans."

2.13.2006

"The electricity was off all day until late this afternoon. So basically I was stuck at home a lot of the day."

2.14.2006

"...the internet wasn't working good... plus the electricity was off part of the time!... And now the power is out [again] and I need to go to bed before it gets dark."

Ah yes, a week in the life of Uganda electricity :)

Again, I am so grateful that I live in a country, city and apartment where I have electricity whenever I need it. Electricity is such a blessing!

Am I missing something?

This past Friday I had a "fun" experience. Well, at least I can say it is now fun and I enjoy laughing about it :)

Part 1: The Temple

I try to attend the temple as frequently as possible, but of course I can always do better. I was excited because on Friday I did have some time to dedicate to going to the temple. What was even better is that it was a dress-up day at work so I was already in my church clothes. Too bad things kind of went downhill from there :)

I left work late, and it was then that I realized I really had to use the restroom. I drove as quickly as possible to school and barely made it to class on time. The entire class period I suffered due to my negligence. By the time class ended I of course had forgotten I needed to use the restroom (surprisingly enough). 

After class I started talking to a woman in my class and I offered her a ride home because we only live a few blocks away. As soon as I sat in my car I remembered about my restroom needs, but it was too late to run inside. Instead I drove the woman home (by-the-way, she is a blog post in herself. She is awesome!), and then continued on to the temple. 

I parked my car, quickly gathered my belongings, and starting booking it to the temple so that I could use the restroom. (And here is where my story actually gets good). I was crossing the crosswalk below and...

all of a sudden I realize that my skirt is at my ankles! How does that even happen to someone without them noticing?! I was obviously very shocked and dropped everything that was in my hands and quickly pulled up my skirt. *Phew* I was in the clear! Except, in my frantic state I accidentally pulled my skirt on underneath my slip. This left me in the middle of the road, with my slip on the outside and my belongings strewn across the road. 

I tried to bunch up my slip a little bit around my stomach so no one would see that it was on the outside, while at the same time trying to hold my skirt up to keep from another hazardous situation, as well as picking up my scriptures and journal and other items from the street. I finally managed to gather my belongings and I booked it right back to my car. I tried to fix my skirt but it was too difficult to just fix it in the parking lot, so I had to get in my car. 

So you remember how I mentioned earlier that I really had to use the restroom? Well by this time my bladder felt like it was going to explode. I made the decision to just drive home as quickly as possible (I only live about 5 or so minutes away from the Provo Temple). As I was driving away I decided to turn on my phone which had been previously turned off. When I pressed the power button I got an error message. Obviously I was not able to read it because I was driving and had my mind on finding a restroom quickly. I pressed power again, I think, and this ending up resetting my phone to factory settings. So not only am I stressing out about my bladder and my skirt, but now I am driving and trying to stop my phone from deleting all my settings.

Well, I made it to my apartment complex, up the stairs while trying to hold my skirt up and hide my slip (which I still hadn't taken the time to fix), and home to my apartment. Don't worry, I luckily made it to the restroom in time :)

So one little detail I forgot to mention. There were thankfully only two people to my knowledge that witnessed the skirt incident. Luckily it was not a missionary temple day!! (Or at least they weren't outside a the time if it was). There was an older man crossing the crosswalk at the same time, going in the opposite direction. Although, I am not sure if he noticed my misfortune. The other person was a woman at the bus stop, who did watch ALL steps of the incident, probably in confusion. Me crossing the crosswalk, loosing my skirt, running back to my car, trying to fix my skirt, and then driving away. I am sure that is a story she told at the dinner table that night :)

Part 2: The Verizon Store

My phone ended up entirely resetting myself, so I decided to go to the Verizon store and see if they could retrieve any data. By this time I had decided to not go to the temple, which I felt bad about, but I was going to be heading out of town the next day and a working phone was really important to have. Oh, and I changed out of that ridiculous skirt (I think the elastic broke in the skirt when I washed it, and that is why the issue occurred).

I went to the Verizon store, and of course waited for quite a while. They were able to return all my contacts as well as my fast dial list - I was really grateful for this.

Part 3: Blessing or not?

So, was I blessed on Friday? I would say YES!! 

When my skirt dropped I did have a slip on, which was a wonderful blessing, as well as black tights and spandex shorts. This means that anyone observing at least didn't see any of me that I didn't want them to see. That was a blessing.

I was able to make it to the restroom before my bladder decided to give in to the pressure. Such a blessing!

Also, I was able to retrieve all my contacts from my phone. This was a HUGE blessing as well! Turns out some of the newer phones automatically backup all your contacts. Thank you technology!! :)

Last, but not least, I had a great story to laugh about that night! My parents enjoyed hearing it as well as others. If you look at life in a positive manner, then stressful or negative experiences can become ones that you learn from, grow from, and laugh about! :)

If you want to learn more about temples of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the "Mormon Church" and the "LDS Church") you can watch the videos below or follow the links. Enjoy!! I LOVE temples! I feel so blessed because of them :)

Mormon.org FAQ - Temples

LDS Temples Website