Six Chances: October 2017

Hello to all of my wonderful followers and readers!

Yeah, it's been a really long time. Almost three months to the day. But it's been a crazy time these past few months, so I am finally here to update all of you, because I know a lot of you have been waiting for a new post.

So I guess I should start from July 10th, since that's the last time I updated you guys.

Last time I talked to you guys, my mom and I were going down to Florida the next day to see my aunt and cousin for a vacation. And vacation we did. We had so much time, but honestly anytime I am with those people, it's a great time. We ziplined in the blazing heat, took boat rides, spent hours on the beach reading gossip magazines and good books, ate some delicious food (homecooked and out to eat), went shopping downtown, and went on another tour of the city. It was all pretty perfect!

On the following Tuesday, my mom and I headed to Gainesville to see my doctor while my aunt and cousin went to the beach (must be nice). We made the trip and got into the room. The doctor walked in and immediately her eyes widened like I've never seen before. She gave me a huge hug and said I looked great. She ordered a ton of bloodwork (9 vials of blood the following week) and said I needed to have another MRI later in the year to see if everything was still as it should be. And that was that. She said she would see me in December, and I went on my way.

The next day, we drove my cousin and aunt to the airport and made our way back to Fort Mill, which is where I stayed for almost a full four weeks. It was wonderful. I got to do everything I had missed doing and so much more. I saw so many friends and family and was able to relax and conquer my next goal. Gain weight.

Not many people can say that they want to gain weight. But I needed to. I was literally skin and bones and even though I was ten times healthier than I was just a couple months before, I still looked unhealthy. So I upped the protein shakes and ate healthy, but didn't shy away from much.

I then returned to Florida in the middle of August. I came back and got everything back to normal at my apartment (my plants, cleaning, buying groceries, etc.) and then waited for my new roommate to move in. She came on Thursday, and then I was almost back to my usual self. I had an apartment to take care of, a roommate across the hall, and goals for myself and the coming semester.

And then life kind of halted.

I had decided to show Ashley (my roommate) around St. Augustine. We started downtown and walked around the streets while looking around, shopping, and just talking. We were on our way back to my car when I got a call from my mom. I knew something was up immediately because it was during school hours and she never called during that time. She told me she was on the way to the hospital to see my dad, who had been in a freak accident. So here is what she poste don Facebook. It's the best way to explain it...

"So...on Wednesday, Chris was in a freak accident while he was playing golf at one of his events in Denver, NC. While he was playing, a storm came up pretty quickly. He stopped to wait on the guys he was playing with to tell them they should go to the closest shelter and as they were taking off lightning struck a tree and the tree fell on his cart. He was knocked unconscious for about ten minutes and had to be cut out from under the tree and cart by a chainsaw. He was taken to CMC Main in Charlotte. After many scans it was determined that he had no major head trauma, but he has two fractured thoracic vertebrae, fractured C6 vertebrae, and swelling from T7 down his spine. He has a gash and bump on the top of his head and bruising across his shoulders and in odd places all over his body. He's in a "turtle shell" back brace and his BP is running really high. He is still in the hospital but we are looking to go home tonight or tomorrow.
My little family has been through a lot this past year. We have faith that there is a reason for our misfortunes and that we will soon see what God's plan truly is. We are strong and through God's work, we will remain strong. Please pray for our strength, health, healing and that someday we can find humor in these events."

After getting this news, I told my roommate I didn't quite want to go home because I just had too much on my mind. I decided to drive her around Anastasia Island before we went to get gluten free pizza at Mellow Mushroom.

As I was showing her around, we saw the truck in front of us go across two lanes of traffic. It was like he had forgotten his turn and because there was no one coming towards us, just decided to cross from our lane. Ashley looked behind us and saw that he had jumped the curb and had crashed into a parked car, pinning it between his truck and a palm tree.

Me being me, I quickly u-turned and went back to the truck. I quickly parked and threw my keys to Ashley. I ran over to the truck and saw a woman calling 911 and another woman banging on the window of the truck. I tried the passenger door and after finding it was locked, decided it was time to break the window because the man was clearly not responsive. So as I was about to break it, a contractor stopped to ask if I needed help. I asked if he would break the window in the left corner on the passenger side and he pulled out a mallet and after a few hits, it finally shattered. I immediately climbed in and put the car in park and pulled out the keys. I grabbed his wrist and counted his pulse while giving him my spiel (my name and that I was first aid certified and was willing to help). He nodded slightly and then I got him to look at me. I suspected that he had had a stroke, so I was looking for hemi-paralysis. I counted his breaths while trying to calm him down, and told him to hang on until the paramedics showed up. They showed up shortly after and got him on his way within seconds (I was super impressed!). I gave the police his phone and keys and told them what happened and then realized I had blood going down the backs of my legs. In my high-adrenaline state of mind, I didn't even think of all the glass. I ended up with a few cuts and the police got glass out of my leg and patched me up pretty quickly. I then gave them my information and we were free to go. I couldn't believe I had just done that. It was all a blur and felt like seconds, even though it had been about 45 minutes. I called my mom and she told me to go home because she didn't need any more surprises that day. We got our pizza, played bingo (much to my annoyance), both won, and then went home. My day was finally over and I was still shaking from the craziness that was my day.

So a couple days went by and we started school. We were in school for all of ten days and then Irma came. As soon as I got the news that our classes had been cancelled, I packed my bags and drove home. I got to spend 10 days with my family, including my banged up dad and his ninja turtle shell. While I was there, I found out my blood results from forever before. They were all wonderful. My hemoglobin level was 12.6, which was the highest it had been in a long time. All my vitamin levels were completely normal, except for one. My vitamin D levels were incredibly low. I was told I had to go on an extreme amount of vitamin D before I could start any medication to hopefully reverse my osteoporosis. The doctor put me on a prescription version and that's what I will be taking until December.

I came back to Florida after the school was deemed safe, and it was so strange. Just like last year during Hurricane Matthew. Water was everywhere. Almost every sign around town had been torn down. Restaurants were closed. Water was everywhere. Yes, I said that twice because it was literally just standing in places it shouldn't have been. We weren't even directly hit, and we had so much damage. I can't even imagine living in a place that did get directly hit.

Since then I have started working out with my trainer again. I have taken 3 exams (which I got all A's on). I've gained 15 pounds. I've turned 26. I learned that I could still play golf at my birthday party. I've started watching Game of Thrones. I went to the Jaguars vs. Panthers pre-season game.

It's been a great time! And honestly, I didn't realize how much I was missing out on when I was feeling so crummy. It's been a long time. A very long time. And I feel good now. And it's wonderful. Beyond wonderful. I can study. I can retain information. I can hang out with friends. I can work out with no issues. And most importantly, I can eat :)

It's just all so wonderful!

I wish I could say when the next post will be, but honestly I can't. It's hard to tell what is going to happen in the coming weeks. And I kind of like it like that. I like that life is a mystery. It's more fun that way. No matter when my next post will be, I have the topic ready. And it's an important one. Hopefully one that will inspire you. Hopefully one that will give you hope. Hopefully one that will help you better understand me as a person.

Until then!

XOXO,

Kayleigh

The following pictures date back to July 10th! It was just a lot easier to add them all here! Hope you enjoy!

My roommate, Ashley, and I before our first day of 17th grade :)

Cappie is ready for the eclipse!

This is what the cart looked like after it crushed my dad!

Seeing a very dear friend before I went back to school. I've known her since I was born and she was a very special lady. I will forever miss you TaTa.

Socks was not pleased I was going back to Florida, so he sprawled out next to my feet all day.

My best friend, Maddison, has been in Africa for more than two years, and I got to surprise her when she came home. She thought I had already returned to Florida after the hurricane. Thanks Mama Hall for helping me surprise her for the 3rd time in her life!