Legos, again. With props.

MIA. For so many reasons, including their extended hours tomorrow. Love you, MIA! 💜

MIA will be open Friday, Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. We are open to all and admission will be free, as always. Everyone is welcome to join us and to view artwork that has the potential to inspire, challenge, celebrate, and stimulate us. Art is the expression of what it is to be human and we are therefore a great place to visit, whatever your mood.

Figuring out a way to combine my strongest skills…making things fun and doctor-appointment-attending! Since my dad and brother both have a bunch of appointments this month, too, I decided we should at least have some fun! I made up a set of MDFUN (which is played like BINGO) cards for us.

It was Sarah’s awesome idea to make it even more fun by suggesting I use a randomizer and spreadsheet to generate the different cards. (Plus she had some excellent suggestions for the cards!) I am telling you. We really know how to have fun around here! #imserious #everythingisfun

After an extremely rough evening with Crohn’s complications (the pain of which triggered a PTSD-type panic attack), my heroes Katie and Cina once again came to my rescue and drove 🚑 me to the ER at 11:45 Thursday night. While I’d prefer not to be so very familiar with this drill (and I’m sure the girls would appreciate it if I could time my hospital adventures for DAYTIME once in awhile), there are lots of things to appreciate about the experience. 😄

The amazingly helpful effects of morphine, which brought my pain level down from 10+ to a paltry 5. Whew.

The ridiculous effects of morphine on my thought process…and the fact that Katie knows I’ll be delighted to hear about them later and takes notes!
Me: “Did I accidentally lop of the heads or something?”
Katie:”…what?”
Me: “Of the snow men…”
Katie: “….”
Me: “…that’s not it.”

The view from my 6th floor room at FSH and the magic of watching winter appear out of nowhere…and not even having to drive in the snow! ❄️❄️❄️

The taste of chicken broth and apple juice after a steady diet of IV fluid and ice chips.

The taste of cream of rice cereal after a day of broth and juice!

The helpful effects of steroids in managing symptoms. I super hate being on them, but super LIKE feeling better. In an effort to find even more good stuff about prednisone, I’ve decided to be elated that my tennis elbow pain is almost gone – and that with my new, puffy face, it looks like I have fewer wrinkles….

The wonderful staff at FSH. I always seem to end up working with the most interesting, funny people! I especially liked talking with my nurse Carrie about the healing effects of laughter yoga and appreciation. It was also fun to talk to the woman who drew my 3rd blood sample on Saturday. She had such a pretty accent and told me what it’s like for her living in MN after growing up in Paris. She loves everything but the snow! ❄️ Oh! And it was sweet to talk to the volunteer who came in to give me a hand massage about her transition from living in Russia to living in MN (5 years). Another gorgeous accent! What interesting folks!

Getting to spend the day napping, watching HGTV, and watching the Harry Potter marathon while I recovered. More restful than hospital time usually is. It helped that I hadn’t slept all night… I was ready for rest!

Feeling so loved and supported by the numerous offers of rides home from the hospital. I have the sweetest family and friends!

Coming back home after a couple days in the hospital. Sleeping in my own 🛏! And coming home to newly vacuumed floors (thank you, Mckenzie!). So nice to see Sarah and Ida again, too. Oh, and the cats, of course.

How strange my perception of time is after not sleeping for a few nights and having my normal routine turned upside down. Add to that the fact that when I was admitted, it was autumn and when I left (2 days later) it was winter 🌨… and I have a super interesting sense of time, what day it is, and what season it is. It’s kind of hilarious.

Today’s new prednisone perk…since it affects my sleep, 😳 I was awake early enough this morning to see Sarah and Ida before they left for the day. What a lovely way to start the day!