Hi guys!
As I sit here getting my infusion at the doctor’s
office, I realized I haven’t written a new blog since April of 2018. I promise
I didn’t do it on purpose. This past (almost) year has been absolutely insane,
and I just haven’t had enough time to spend typing basically an essay on my
adventures and how I am doing. So, as I sit here with no Wi-Fi for about 4
hours, I figured I would type something out for you guys.
Where to begin? Well I guess I will start with how I am.
Thankfully there isn’t really anything to report. Which is a HUGE change for
me. There used to be something to report every day, but now that I am healthier,
there isn’t really anything. I continue to get infusions every 6 weeks for my
Crohn’s and arthritis. I had my last appointment with my doctor in Gainesville.
It was a little bittersweet. Bitter because I’ve been through so much with her,
and she’s the person who basically saved my life. Sweet because I don’t really
need her anymore. I have my regular gastroenterologist, but I don’t really need
a specialist because of how well I am doing. She is moving to Mississippi to start
a gastro program there, so I said my goodbyes, hugged her, and asked her a very
complex question.
“Am I in remission?”
“Yes. I’d say you are.”
I will be honest with you guys. I cried like a baby right in
front of her. I think she even shed a tear or two. And then I left the office
and didn’t look back. I’m hoping I never have to go back to Gainesville ever again
😊.
In other related Crohn’s news: I celebrated a big
anniversary on February 17th.
It’s been 15 Years since I was diagnosed with Crohn’s
disease.
15 YEARS
How can that even be? I thought it was yesterday. But in
reality, I’ve been through a lot, so I actually can believe it. Tiny 12-year-old
me would never believe where I am today. Living in Florida, working on my
Master’s, and healthier than I have ever been in my life. How proud she would
be.
So, let’s talk about all the stuff that has happened since
last April.
In no particular order…really just the order it comes to
mind honestly…here it is.
1. Evan graduated high school. How is that even
possible? I still look at him as an annoying 5-year-old. I mean…he is still
annoying as ever, but he definitely isn’t a 5-year-old. He started at USC in fall 2018. GO COCKS!
2. I went to my wonderful friends’ wedding in June.
Amanda and Jeff are friends from college, and their wedding was absolutely
gorgeous.
3. My grandparents came to visit from Virginia, and
yes, my grandma and I shared a frozen margarita.
4. I went to a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp baseball
game, where they actually give away shrimp stress balls.
5. I celebrated my best friend’s birthday in two of
the best ways. Once on the day of at our favorite Mexican restaurant. And a
couple of days later, we celebrated with Taylor Swift. BEST CONCERT EVER. (sidenote: this is a very small amount of pics from this night compared to my phone)
6.
Becca and I went to the Atlanta Zoo and partied
with the pandas.
7. I saw The Lion King on Broadway for the 5th
time. It just keeps getting better and better every time I see it.
8. I went kayaking down the Catawba river with my
mom and some friends.
9. I celebrated my last first day of school in
September.
10. I celebrated the Carolina/Georgia football game the
best way I could, despite the loss.
11. I celebrated my 27th birthday at the
happiest place in the world. And Mickey Mouse sang me happy birthday, which was
awesome.
12.
I went to Tybee Beach on a long weekend getaway
with my grandparents and Becca.
13. I dress up as Betty Cooper from Archie Comics/Riverdale
for Halloween with Becca as Cheryl Blossom (and yes, her hair is indeed pink
and not red like we had hoped) and Tyler as Jughead Jones.
14. My parents got a new dog, and he really is
bigger than me. Welcome Marshall (Marsh for short) to the family!
15. I celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom’s family.
And Shelby (the little girl) wouldn’t let me go 😊
16. I made an orthotic for class. Our case study was
about an 8-year-old who had broken her elbow, so we decorated it with a Frozen
theme.
17. I GOT PINNED. Now I know this can be confusing
because when I posted pics on Facebook, a lot of people thought I had
graduated. But no. That’ll come in August. Being pinned means you are done with
the didactic part of your schooling and ready to go on fieldwork. It’s a pretty
big deal. My advisor asked for my name (because normally it is random) and made
me wait until the very end to call my name to get my pin. She said I had waited
long enough, so I might as well wait until the end of the ceremony.
18.
I celebrated the LAST DAY OF CLASSES EVER!
19. I celebrated mom’s birthday with a surprise
party (where there is no picture evidence that it actually happened).
20.
I celebrated Christmas with family. Shelby was
attached to me again. But I loved it.
21. The family drove to Pennsylvania to visit my dad’s
family and we surprised mom with the best trip ever. We went to New York City
with my aunt Steph and cousin Mia. My mom hadn’t been to New York wince her
senior year of high school. We basically walked about 14 miles the first day and
adventured all around the city. Did all the sight-seeing: Times Square, 9/11 Museum,
Bryant Park, Central Park, The Met, all the places. And Mia and I acted like we
were Serena and Blair from Gossip Girl the whole time. We ended with seeing
Anastasia on Broadway, which was amazing!
22.
I stopped in Savannah on my way back to Florida
to catch up with Tyler and Becca.
23. I started fieldwork at St. Vincent’s Medical Center
in Jacksonville. It’s been an amazing experience so far. I just finished week
5, so 7 more weeks to go!
24. I made new friends at fieldwork and showed her
around St. Augustine on the windiest day ever.
25. I found a place to live in Charleston for my
summer fieldwork session. It’s so close, yet so far away!
I started an Instagram page with my best friend Becca Riner.
Go follow it now! @girlsgoneguts
It follows our adventures through life with Crohn’s and
Ulcerative Colitis. The good, the bad, the ugly, but more good than anything
else!
And that’s all the important stuff that has happened in the
last 10 months. So much other stuff has happened, but these were the best
moments.
Like I said, it’s been a crazy insane but beautiful year full
of memories.
I can’t promise when my next blog will be, but I can promise
that I will be back. I hope everyone is having a wonderfully beautiful 2019 so
far! Can you believe it’s almost March?
XOXO,
Kayleigh
