shoot

Last night I threw up my dinner. That's the bad news. The good news is that I didn't keep going. I'm pretty sure what happened is that I let my pain get out of control, and my body just decided that it didn't want to cooperate any longer. So I just threw up.

I'm feeling my better this morning, and praying for NO repeat performances from yesterday evening.

I'll admit, I was a little frightened that throwing up once was going to spiral me into this horrible cycle of vomiting out of control for another year...but that is NOT going to happen again. I just need to remain calm, trusting that God's got me in his loving arms, holding me tightly, and gently speaking to my intestines, encouraging them to work properly. :) That's what I like to think anyway. He's God, He can do what He wants, right?!

Anyway, I'm feeling good, and loving life.... and I've gotten to re-connect with oodles of friends lately, and I'm really feeling alive again. Yes!! :) Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Hugs to all--
brelin

anybody wanna buy a car?

We're selling our beloved 2001 Toyota Corolla... it gets excellent gas mileage, and would be a great car for a first-time driver, or for someone who has a long commute, or who just wants to save the world. Marcus didn't fit in it, that's why we're selling it. Interested? Let me know.
Moving on...

I'm still eating like a PRO! I even spoke to the GI doc yesterday, and he said that I can get a part-time job, so I am in the midst of applications now. I will keep it a big surprise as to where until I actually get a job. :)

I'm really enjoying being able to live again... :) It's marvelous. I'm still thanking God daily (hourly) for the gift of food, and yesterday, I even ate more than I needed to--just to see if I could. :) Marcus wanted me to "go over" my necessary amount to make sure that I can. And I did it. (yes!!)

All in all, I'm a super happy camper! Please continue to pray for me and for discernment as I figure out God's call for me now.
Love and hugs.
brelin

ripped out stitches again.

i managed to rip out my stitches holding my tube in again. this time i didn't even do anything fun, and i can't blame it on my cute nephew either. i'm not sure how it happened, but it hurts.

i will call the surgeon again on Monday morning and see if they can squeeze me into the schedule and sew me up again really quick in the office. It's mostly just annoying. The tube could fall out, potentially, but I have it taped down really well, and I am not doing anything active or fun until I see the doctor just in case so it doesn't come out. (boring)

on a more fun note, marcus and i drove down to olympia yesterday and got to see lots of relatives. it was a super fun day, and we spent a good chunk of it on a lake--which made it even more fun! yay!! :)

i'm still eating like a CHAMPION!! i haven't had to do my tube feeding for about a little over a week now, since i've been able to eat enough calories by mouth! yay!! thank you, God~!!! Woo hoo!! :)

that's all.
love brelin

me and my feeding tube went hiking

My new photo, which shows off my tongue--which is helpful in digesting my food now. It also shows my feeding tube, which, for the last two nights, I have not even had to hook up--because I have had sooooooooooo many calories during the day!!!!!! Hooray!! MEANING--I ate the whole amount of calories that I needed all by mouth--and it all stayed down! YES!! Praise God!! Woot!! Woot!! My photo also shows off the really fun (not super strenuous, but still pretty tiring) hike that Marcus and I went on Saturday. We hiked to the Second Buroughs on Mount Rainier. I think that all might be spelled wrong, but you get the idea. Round trip it was about 6 miles, and I felt fabulous afterward!!

Yesterday, which was Sunday, we went up to Marysville and worshipped at Bethlehem Lutheran, where our friend Abby is the worship leader. The church was rockin'!! We had a great time, and then went out to lunch with them. While we were way up north, we went to the outlet mall, and I scored some board shorts at Pac Sun for $10 each (sweet)--and then we came home. Last night we went and played some tennis, I was doing really bad, and then we ran around the track at Eastlake. I ran for 1.5 miles!! Yay!! :) I even kinda pathetically sprinted at the end. :)

I LOVE feeling good. Thank you Jesus. My hope is that I can stay on this path of wellness, and get my feeding tube out soon... returning to work, eventually. Please pray for clarity and direction for me... knowing where God would have me go know next. This has been such a long year, it would be so wonderful if it was all coming to an end soon. :)

Hugs,
brelin

"take it easy"

For those of you who know me well, the words "take it easy" and "Brelin" don't often get put together in a sentence... especially when I am feeling good. And I am feeling FABULOUS!! Back before my 11 month bout of vomiting, I was known for running, jumping, and playing with middle school students, and sometimes doing cartwheels on the top floor of the church office.

I have missed doing all of these things since I have been sick. Now that I am beginning to digest, and since I am getting food through my feeding tube--I have so much energy--it's wonderful!! I have started playing a little tennis. (not hard-core tennis, just hitting the ball around), and yesterday I even went running!! The doctor did tell me that I need to stop playing ultimate frisbee, because I could get a hernia that may require additional surgery. Although my flying grab in the end zone was almost perfect--my ultimate days are over for 3 more weeks until I am not at risk for a hernia, thus "taking it easy."

I am eating like a champion!! I have been eating about 800 calories by mouth consistently each day for the last couple of days! Yay!! The rest of the calories that I need, I get from my tube feedings each night. The goal is to get all of my calories by mouth soon, so that I can get my feeding tube out. The soonest I could get it out is 3 weeks... but that is probably a bit unrealistic. It will probably be a bit longer.

The only ridiculous thing to report is that the stitch that was holding my feeding tube into my body came out yesterday, so the surgeon had to re-sew it back in yesterday. Ouch. I was really in a lot of pain at the site yesterday, but seem to be feeling better this morning.

Praise God for the healing that is FINALLY taking place in my body!! Yay!! Thank you for all your prayers, love, and words of encouragement. Hopefully we're nearing the end of this battle.

Marcus and I were talking the other day, and we shared just how much this past year has brought us closer to God and closer to one another. We feel like we can tackle anything together, with God right there with us. :) Yay. Amen.

happy days are here again...!

I cannot begin to express how fabulous I am doing! :)

I wake up in the morning with just a little pain..., I disconnect my feeding tube around 10 am, and then enjoy the day--munching on whatever my little heart desires! In general, my heart is desiring mostly low-fat foods in small portions. For example, I have 1/2 a turkey sandwich with some applesauce. I also really like cottage cheese, I just had that yesterday. I ate 10 cherries the other day!! :) I am keeping a food log, monitoring each thing that goes into my body, counting each calorie, hoping that sometime I can lower the tube feed--eventually decreasing it to NOTHING. :)

For right now though, we can celebrate that I finally have energy!! I have been running and jumping and playing!! Marcus and I joined his family in Sun River for biking & hiking. I even played some frisbee!! :) It is so nice to feel alive again!!

I am still having some surgical pain, but it is fairly minimal. I go see the surgeon one more time on Thursday, and she'll check to make sure that everything looks good, and is healing well.

That's all for now. Thank you for your continued prayers! :) Praise God that I can finally share this good news with you! I am so glad to finally have something to celebrate with you all!! (11 months later..... sheesh!!)

Hugs and love!
brelin

like night and day...

today is a new day... and i have renewed hope again.

The docs changed my formula again last yesterday... they have put me on a lower calorie formula, similar to the one that I was on in the hospital, with different components. This one seems to be doing MUCH better. Previously, I was either asleep, or feeling like I was going to throw up. Now, I am doing a lot better... in fact, I think I can I say I am doing great--drinking water (finally!!) and I even had some crackers and half a piece of toast today!!

And I'm starting to feel hungry! What a wonderful feeling!! :)

Keep those prayers coming!
brelin