Round 2 starts NOW.....

Well, graduate school year 2 begins already!! It seems like yesterday when I moving to Nebraska to start, now I've got 10 months until I am done :) It's crazy to me to be honest. But I love it and I wouldn't change anything....my internship this summer was beyond amazing. I gained a wealth of knowledge, found an amazing mentor and got more practical experience than I ever could have imagined. It was quite the experience. I am beyond blessed to have found such a rock solid community back home in WA.

School started Monday and me, Heidi, Nate and Katie are almost fully moved into our apartment. We got lucky and found a 1,750 sq ft apartment about 8 minutes from campus for a decent price and believe when I say the pictures below DO NOT do it justice at all. We are settling in and thoroughly enjoying our time together. We have some pretty fun stuff planned in the next few weeks, so I will update pictures as I can :)

Things are going okay for me post-surgery. I think that the biggest change for me is being in full blown menopause and all the side effects from it.  I have now started taking a once a day women's menopause pill to try and control some of the symptoms I am getting, so we will see how those work. For me its just one of those things I will have to get use to and anyone who knows me, knows that I adapt pretty damn well considering all of the things that have been thrown my way in the past few years.

 my BH CREW!!!

 Bubba & Millie--two of my oldest and dearest friends

 some of my FAV CWU girls in Spokane

me at the Rainiers game WORKING with my AMAZING internship...

 group out at Whiskey Tango

 some of the girls

 again

 pretty flowers at the house

 this AMAZING church in Gretna

 just gorgeous

 one wall in my room

 desk & bookshelf

 my fav girls

 bed with more pics above it

 gotta love my country cross

 front hall in the apartment

 kitchen

 one view of the living room

 dining room (not done yet)

 another view of the living room

 hall towards bedrooms

 Katie & my bathroom

 Laundry room

So here's to our LAST year in graduate school...the count down to May 5 begins NOW!!!

The toughest decision I've ever made...

For those of you who know me well, you know my medical past and what's currently going on. For those of you who don't you are going to get a quick run down because tonight I feel like telling some of my story. When I was 15, I got diagnosed with endometriosis which is a disease of the endometrium lining in your uterus. About 3 years ago I got worse as far as pain and bad side effects from medication I had been on for years. It was tough for not only me but for my family and friends that had to sit by and watch me suffer. Finally, after about 4 surgeries, countless ER visits, thousands of dollars in doctors & ER bills, 6 doctors and some of the worst days of my life I found out that I had no choice but to have a hysterectomy at the age of 23. I had a little bit of a choice, but with how bad off I was I had to choose to have the surgery. I was 23, scared to death and I knew that this decision could change the rest of my life. And it did, for both the good and the bad. Having a hysterectomy meant I couldn't have kids of my own but it also meant that I would be pain free and have a better quality of life. It meant that I wouldn't have to be in the ER 3-4 times a month getting pumped full of pain meds but it also meant I'd be subjected to hormone replacement therapy for the rest of my life. It meant no more having to skip class or work because I was in too much pain to move but it also meant being at a 30% greater chance of developing breast cancer later in life. It was a decision that only I could make, no one could make it for me. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder what could have been but I made the decision that I thought would work best for me. In September, after I moved to UNO I got sick again and the doctor told me that my L ovary was tied to the side of my abdomen with barely any blood supply so it had to be taken out. That was tough, 1,500 miles from my family in a new state and having to rely on the support of my classmates, who stepped up to the job and helped me more than I could have ever expected them to. When I came home for the summer, I met with my doctor that did my hysterectomy and told her what was going on, she ran test after test and I had another hard decision to make-do I leave my R ovary and be in pain for the next 20 years or do I have the R ovary taken out and finally get rid of all the endometriosis in my abdomen? So on August 1st, I will be having my R ovary taken out just in time to head back to Omaha for my final year in graduate school. I think I wanted to tell "my story" for a few reasons; one being so people can know how I have become the person I am today, another being so I could finally put it all in writing and the final being so people knew that this wasn't easy. Most people who know me well, know that I play off my disease and troubles pretty easily. I make it seem like it's nothing, but it's not nothing and having a hysterectomy at 23 was the TOUGHEST thing I have ever been through. There are plenty of days that I find myself crying for no reason. It happens when I hold my brand new baby niece, it happens when I find out my friends are pregnant, it happens randomly. I want people to know that my decision wasn't made lightly. I sat up many nights with my mom crying and arguing over what the right thing to do was. I went to counseling and talked it over with people I knew I could trust. I don't think that people will ever fully understand what I went through. No one can feel the pain I went through, no one can feel the emotions I have and no one can ever say they understand what this has been like. My family has been my strongest support over the past 10 years but not even they fully grasp how hard this all has been for me. I can't have kids, at least not in the natural way most people do. So if you have kids, count  your blessings and realize there are people, like me who can't have kids and it might be killing them to face that fact. I have been blessed with a good support system over the years. My parents have been my rock and soul and have seen me through the worst times in my life. My mom has sat in ERs for hours on end just to see me cry and scream in pain, all the while feeling helpless. My dad has watched his baby girl hurt and grieve and still put on a brave face. My siblings (all four of them) have seen me fight for the life I still have. My aunt & uncle have given me strength and love each and every day through prayer. And my closest friends have been my northern star and guided me through this storm. Those close friends know who they are because they helped me grieve, they've seen me cry and they've talked about my decision until I can't talk anymore. Thank you to those who have been there, who have been sensitive to my situation and not made it seem easy. Thank you to my family for being my everything when I needed them the most....

And the internship keeps on rolling

I never thought I would be so in love with something so quickly. I have been at my internship for about a month now and I am just madly in love. I have found what I truly think I could do for the rest of my life. I have been able to observe surgeries, eval patients, sit it on physician lectures and learn from one of the BEST ATC's I have ever met. I am a VERY lucky girl to have found such a great internship to learn at. I can't believe how fast it is flying by though, I just never want it to end.

I have had some great times at home as well. As busy as I am, I have tried my best to connect with the people I have truly missed the most. I have family dinners 3-4 times a week with my parents and siblings, I attend church every saturday with my aunt, uncle and my two cousins, I see Steph, Justin & Hudson as much as I can (although it has been tough lately). I am just trying to soak it all in.

I was lucky enough to travel to Spokane last weekend to witness Rachel & Dave get married. I saw Ashley, Bo & Sadie for the first time in a year and got to see Rae again. Ash and I had a girly day Friday with Sadie, then I watched Ash, Nate, Tony & my NEW friend Kat play in hoopfest before we went to the wedding. I had a GREAT date for Rae's wedding in Brett (a long time college friend) and definitely made some memories with some people I havent seen since I moved to Omaha. All in all, I'd say that the summer thus far is going great. I truly do love it here, but I do miss everyone back in Omaha as well. I can't wait to get back and start my last year in graduate school with some of the best ROOMMATES-Nate, Heidi & Katie, and also have more adventures with my amazing classmates.

It's funny because ALL of the stuff I have done this summer has kept my mind off the fact that I have to have my R ovary taken out and have to go through another surgery and now be on some heavy duty hormones for the rest of my life. It sucks, it truly does and there's not a day that goes by where I don't question why I had to get so sick but I am lucky in the fact that I have amazing support in my family and close friends....

here are some updated pics :)

 and truly the best friends I could ever ask for..

 some of my fav girls out in Spokane

 best reunion to date...

 Brett and I at the reception

 my adorable nephew and me

 awww Rae, I love you so much!!

 Kat & I out on the town...

 our tent at Sound to Narrows

 my desk at work :) full of "suggested" reading material from the docs

 us girls reunited at the wedding :)

 Steph & I at Spencer's grad

 Rae, Dave & Me after the ceremony

Bo, Ash & Sadie at hoopfest-cutest family ever

Home....

And I am FINALLY home for the SUMMER!! Yay!! Quick little update to start-I started my internship a week ago and am loving every single minute of it. The docs like to challenge me and question me but I find it fascinating to learn things from them that I would have never learned in the athletic training room. I am also working at the Boathouse which will probably be an interesting situation but that's okay it will be nice to have some money to do things with. My sis graduated CWU this past weekend and Spencer graduated from WHS!! SOOOOO proud of them both!! One quick other thing-I will have to have my right ovary taken out before I head back to UNO. Unfortunately, my doc thinks she found some more endometriosis and if it is endo, my ovary is causing it to flare up and increase my pain. So she did a biopsy and I will get the results early this week. However, even if it isnt more endo then she will still take out my ovary since it is causing me so much pain....Anyways, that's that!!!

53% done

According to my degree works I am 53% done with my master's degree. How crazy is that? I can't believe that this time next year I will seriously be graduating from UNO with my master's degree. Just amazing. We are on the last leg of our first year right now. Doing a 4 week course called Ortho & Med in which we also get to follow our team docs both in their offices and during surgery. I was fortunate enough to get to observe both our shoulder and our knee doc during surgery this week. And boy let me tell you it was simply amazing. I just absolutely LOVED being in the OR and for once it wasn't me having the knee surgery!! I just might consider getting a physician's extender license or maybe doing an athletic training fellowship with some ortho docs after I graduate. I absolutely just love that aspect of our job. It also made me really excited to start my internship for the summer since I will be working with my ortho docs back home in WA. 3 more weeks and I am home!!! Can't come soon enough. Speaking of, Katie & I are in the midst of moving all our stuff to storage for the summer since we are moving in with Heidi & Nate next year. We still havent for sure found a place, but we did put a deposit down to be on a waitlist for one place we really love and we are going to look at one more today!! We'll see. Finding a 3 bedroom apartment is kind of tough to come by to be honest. But we will see what we can do....other than that nothing much new here, just getting ready to come home for the summer and continue doing what I love near the people I love the most!!

Relay for Life

We participated in Relay for Life this past weekend and it was a VERY intense experience for me being that I am now a cancer survivor. Which is just crazy for me. I think overall it was a great experience for me but at the same time it was very hard and emotional. We had a GREAT time though (as you will see from the pics below) and overall, the entire Relay at UNO raised just over $40,000 which is AMAZING!!! Our team (team Hawaii) participated in the volleyball tournament they offered and actually won it ALL :) We had fun, none of us slept, I walked about 8 miles today--my roommate walked an entire half marathon (a little over 16 miles) and we enjoyed some tasty treats and GREAT company!!

Here are some pics of the event :)

 Our team (minus Heidi since she left early)

 Stacy, Jill, Heidi & I with Masa (one of our athletic trainers)

us after we WON the vball tourney (VERY excited as you can see)

Heidi, Katie & I before the "Survivor Lap"

 Heidi, Stacy & Me :)

One of my biggest supporters, my roomie Katie

better pic of all of us :)

Spring Break 2011

Wow, Spring break was just simply amazing. We had so much fun in Kansas City I don't even know where to begin. Our first day we got to the hotel before check in time so we had time to kill so we decided to just go explore and actually stumbled on the City Market, which was amazing. It reminded me of Pike's place market back in Seattle so we strolled around there, ate food and hung out for about 2 hours. We got back to the hotel, took a dip in the pool and hot tub and then just relaxed the rest of the night. On Monday, we got dressed and headed to the Plaza for some shopping (150 stores & restaurants, most of which we couldn't afford lol), which was fun as well. LOTS of window shopping, however we did find a ring for Heidi at Tiffany's but I don't think Nate will be going there anytime soon :) Then we got back to the hotel and got ready for our BIG casino night. As part of our hotel stay we got 3 free buffet coupons to Harrah's casino, so we made a night of it and got all dressed up in pretty dresses and had some fun. I was the only winner that night, winning a total of $13 dollars on the Lord of the Rings Penny slot!!! The next day we enjoyed the college basketball experience which I think was my favorite part :) being a HUGE college bball fan I was in HEAVEN the entire time we were there. It was a VERY fun and exciting interactive museum!! Then we got all fancy again to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday (early). Had dinner at a place called Gordon Biersch and then went up to Howl at the Moon for some birthday drinks and dueling piano fun :) We sang, drank and I got to dance on stage to "low" which was embarassing but we defintely had the time of our lives. Then Wednesday we found some amazing BBQ food on our way out of town and headed home!! Overall, it was a GREAT trip. I wouldn't change anything at all!!

 us girls at the City market

 Katie & I shopping at the Plaza

 right before we went into the college basketball experience

 us girls on "center court"

 Heidi & I having dinner at the casino

 the Lord of the Rings Slot Machine :)

 us at my birthday dinner

 Heidi & I having pre-dinner drinks

 my wing span :)

 Power & Light District (in the day time)

 Power & Light District

us girlsa at Howl at the Moon