Documenting the Journey

It's a migraine day. It's 1:30 pm and I finally dragged myself out of bed to eat food and take meds and drink caffeine to turn this day around. It's a big one and it's drained all my energy and changed my plans for today.

Other health updates: An ultrasound found a kidney stone which made me miserable for a few weeks and still has to come out in 4-6 more weeks. I'm not looking forward to that.

I had another gastro appointment last week. Usually I make appointments in the morning when I'm more comfortable being out in public and my stomach is behaving because I haven't eaten much yet. That day, my appointment was in the afternoon and I waddled in with an enormous painful stomach after a small low Fodmap meal that shouldn't have caused problems. My doctor agreed something is clearly still wrong. We are not going to use more SIBO antibiotics right now, but maybe later in the year I can try them again. I was told each round should have given me 2-3 months of relief, but I never got that, so another round would probably have the same results and might damage my stomach at this point.

The doctor ordered an enzyme test to see if my body stopped making certain enzymes to break down food. If it did, I can start taking prescribed enzymes. She ordered a fructose intolerance breath test that will be done in a hospital. She also ordered a gastric emptying test to see if my body moves food too slowly as it digests and needs medicine to speed up the process. I will eat a meal with radioactive tracer inside it, and then we'll watch that meal get digested over four hours.

If all those tests come back normal, and there's still no change after all the things we've tried, the doctor will have me start a very low dose of an antidepressant to calm my gut-mind connection and relax everything. That sometimes works for stomach problems. 

Saving Bees

I was weeding the front yard last night when I heard a very loud buzzing. I turned around and the sky was black and full of hundreds of bees flying and swirling around. It was quite terrible but fascinating to watch and hear them. When they eventually calmed and landed, I discovered they were hanging out in our tree and very close to the sidewalk and unsuspecting neighbors who might walk by. 

Instead of spraying them, we did the right thing and hired beekeepers who gently took them away today to a new hive. The process took an hour and a half and was super interesting to watch (from a safe distance). The beekeepers told me lots of bee facts I didn't know. They showed me pictures of hives and shared stories of collecting them. They talked so fondly of bees, I almost started liking the insects too. And then they finally loaded the bees into their van and drove off to collect more hives.

Touring Planes

We got a private tour of this B-17. Dan was so excited. We climbed through the whole plane and he asked lots of questions and was fascinated by all of it.

Paige showed us some collections she's processing.

We also toured the SOFIA, a modified 747 plane that became a flying telescope and classroom from 2010 to 2022. This is rarely open for tours, so we didn't expect to go inside. It was very interesting.

Thoughts

I have no pictures from the funeral, and very few pictures from the two weeks in Utah. There were tender mercies but also the most difficult moments to get through. Reunions of family and friends but also such loss and sadness and goodbyes too. The hardest questions to grapple with but also the sweetest impressions. 

Carson was near the cemetery the day after the funeral and was able to stop and visit the grave, a way he could feel close to family at this sad time while still being a missionary. He was also able to watch the funeral online. 

Leah came to the funeral in person. Paige watched the funeral from home. She just started one of her jobs and doesn't have time off yet. And Colby tried to change his work travel plans and come back earlier, but it didn't work out. He was flying back from Europe during the funeral.

This week and next week I have five appointments. I really hope my gastro doctor has more tricks to try. 

I passed an allergy test this week. My asthma/allergy doctor wanted to test me now that I've been in Arizona for every season. Something makes my asthma flare up every fall. We still don't know what.

Another doctor ordered blood work. Results show I have some low levels that I need to boost, and I found out my a1c levels put me into the prediabetes group. I also have another persistent problem I'm trying to figure out, so an ultrasound was ordered.

My left hand and arm have been constantly tingling and feeling numb since the first week of January. It's driving me crazy. This may be due to deficiencies that showed up on blood work results, and supplements should fix that. It may be carpal tunnel syndrome due to repetitive actions, and this brace should help that. If the tingling and numbness persist, there are more tests we can do, other specialists I can see, and some neuropathy medicines to try. I don't know why my body won't behave.

I don't recommend being distracted and clamping a 365-degree straightening iron on your arm instead of your hair. And I don't recommend having sensitive skin that rashes and itches with every bandage I try. This was a painful and unnecessary wound, and I wish I hadn't carelessly done it.

Colby came home from his work trip to Greece and London. It was so fun to look through his pictures and hear about his experiences. Dan and Colby played in the desert while I was still in Utah.

The backyard is coming along! At the last moment we ended up making the whole yard different levels, so there are small steps down to break it up and make it more interesting. 

Dan already LOVES his fake grass he'll never have to mow.

This post is all out of order. Our first stop in Utah was to see Leah briefly before getting to my parents' house late at night.

Leah and I spent some time at BYU's Museum of Art. We saw the Gates of Paradise which were cast from famous baptistry doors that date back to the 1400s near the Duomo in Florence. 

We also visited my favorite painting "The Forgotten Man" by Maynard Dixon. He is me at times, and he is others I've come across in my life. 

We shopped thrift stores and a favorite store, Tabulah Rasa.

About every other week I almost break down and dye my hair again. I dyed my grays for 12 years. In May it will be two years of no dye, which I love for lots of reasons, but also sometimes I feel it's too gray and makes me look too old. A few days after this picture which made me want to dye my hair again, I was in a mall with Leah and a lady stopped me to talk about my gray hair, compliment me, and encourage me to keep going.

My dad loves to joke around. There is the funniest story that involves Dan and my dad and this helmet, so my dad put it on while I was on a video call with Dan who laughed pretty hard when he saw it.

Look at the cutest pictures of my parents!

Leah and I watched a middle school play and cheered on my sister's daughter. She was fantastic! The whole cast was so talented.

Here's something that brought me joy in a waiting room this week. This grown man was confidently wearing pirate Crocs!! So fun! They are made to look like pirate boats with sails and other decorations. I kept looking over and smiling at them. **Update: Colby tells me these are from a popular online game. I don't know anything about that.

A nephew missionary made this keychain for my mom of the countries where her three missionary grandkids are serving. One finished and came home this week! Carson will be the last of the three to come home, but it's getting closer!

This

A casket should never be this small. It was a hard week. 

Dan flew home this morning, and I'm staying another week to spend time with my family and then driving home.

Mourning

It's not my story to share. We're mourning a loss in Dan's family and heading to Utah to gather and support. It's too sad, too hard, too shocking, too unfair, too unexpected and sudden, too young, and how do people move forward?

Daily Situation