"Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulity lies opportunity" -Albert Einstein

I think Albert Einstein said it best," Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulity lies opportunity" This quote is one of my all time favorites and will definitely be my "theme" for the month of July. There's a lot going on right now, so I'll catch all of you lovely readers up to speed:

Good News: I'm moving on the 10th of July (Can't wait!!!- Pictures to come).  I'm definitely excited I'll have a new place in time for my 25th birthday! (July 29). I'm having a company come and help me move on the 10th. (I on strict orders not allowed to lift/move much of anything right now because of my heart, so my family's going to help me pack some and the company will help me move- that'll be great!).

Not So Good News: I'm having heart surgery soon. I am NOT thrilled about that whatsoever. I have also had to pull out of school for right now until I have the surgery and make a fully recovery. That was upsetting for me as I only had less than 3 weeks until this semester was over. I'm trying to keep things in perspective though...I may have to delay my graduation date by a few months, but my heart is more important. My doctor (and the head of the respiratory department at my school both told me- School will still be here, but your heart might not- fix it first.) So, I'm taking that advice and going ahead and getting my heart fixed. I hope to go back to school at the end of September when the new semester begins if I'm all healed up by then.

While I'm not thrilled at the idea of heart surgery, I am however greatful that the surgery has a good success rate and that the doctor thinks for the first time in years I will be able to a have a good quality of life that my heart issues have been hindering. Essentially, my Mitral Valve is leaking very badly and needs to be repaired becaues my heart is pooling blood into my lungs. If it's left uncorrected, it can lead to Congestive Heart Failure (and I do NOT want that.). As of this week my physician is weaning me off of my heart medicine. I go to the hospital on Tuesday morning at 6:30am (yuck!) for a Transesophageal Echocardiogram so the doctor can see exactly how bad the mitral valve is leaking and what surgical technique he needs to do to fix it. Please PRAY he can do the minimally invasive surgery (It's a cut between my 3rd & 4th ribs with a robotic arm - heal time is faster, less bleeding, etc...vs the traditional surgery- cracking my sternum down the middle, doing surgery, then closing me up with wires.) The idea of heart surgery is a little nervewracking for me because I'm used to seeing my patients during clinicals when they're in the ICU post op from their heart surgeries all hooked up to ventilators, drain tubes, and off of bipass machines- It's weird to think that I will be one of them soon. I know God has a plan though, so I'm hoping that this surgery fixes my heart so that I can get back to a normal life!

(Also, if any of you ever have to have heart surgery, I would highly recommend that you NOT watch the entire procedure online like I did. I love medical things- I love blood/guts, so I thought it would put my mind at ease if I knew EXACTLY what was going to happen. (I wanted to see it from a medical standpoint- it was interesting for the first 5 minutes, then when I realized I would be the one having it, it freaked me out) The surgery hasn't been scheduled yet, but I'll update when I get a date set in stone. The doctor is having to wean me off my heart medicine first, put me on a holter monitor for 24 hours, and do the TEE test- then they'll decide when to do surgery- probably mid to late July. I'm planning to document as much as I can so that if anyone else has to go through it, they'll know what to expect. If any of you can spare a few prayers for my nerves (and heart) over the next few weeks, I would appreciate it!)