#28 - That Alaskan Guy Who Gave Me His Last Name.

Did you actually think I would go through my entire month of gratitude without mentioning this guy??

November 28th: I am grateful, beyond words, to have Jake as my hubby. (Warning: You are about to read some sappiness and bragging... Forgive me. I can't help it.)

A few of the many reasons why I love being married to Jake:

1.) Every night is like having a sleepover with your best friend.  Especially if your best friend snores and pulls the covers onto their side of the bed.  :)  I can't imagine a better way to fall asleep than laughing at Jake's hilariousness nor can I imagine a better face to wake up to.

Way back when. :) 

2.) Sweatpants.  If I could wear one thing for the rest of my life, that would be it.  Not that sweatpants weren't a part of our non-married lives together, but I feel a lot less guilty wearing my super-attractive-high-waisted sweatpants with my husband, than I did my boyfriend.

At a Sweatpants Party.  We have pretty awesome friends to think of such a genius idea.

3.) A built-in running partner for life. We push each other to be better athletes and runners, even if sometimes it is early in the morning because a certain wife decides running is far more important than sleep! (He returns the favor when pushing me to go on a run when it's -20 degrees outside!)

Yeah, we're hardcore. (And also slightly creepy, I know).

4.) It's like living with a comedian.  Jake is probably the funniest person on the planet.  Whether it's his awesome take on a rap song, his sweet dance moves when there's no music playing at all, or his ridiculously funny faces - he always can put a big smile on my face.

No words. 

Almost didn't break that stick. Ha.

5.)  A cheerleading squad of one.  See post here. He comes out to support my "nth" running race, and does it with a big smile on his face.  He says things like "you are my hero" and "you are such a rockstar."  Which... even though I am probably the exact opposite of a rockstar, it does make me feel a little Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger deep down inside.

My biggest supporter!

Why you marry your best friend.

6.) Never having to fold clothes again.  Okay, that's an exaggeration. Truth be told, I absolutely love doing laundry because that means I have clean running clothes.  I just hate folding and putting them away!  Jake is a pro at putting clothes away.  Don't worry, I balance out the laundry duties by carrying around my "Shout" pen when we go out to eat and avoiding potentially catastrophic wine/taco sauce/you-name-it stains on Jake's shirts.

7.) I married Mr. Fix It. Can he build/fix/make it? Yes, he can!  There isn't a project I can think of that Jake wouldn't be able to conquer.  He has done so many amazing things with our house in Anchorage, and he's not even done yet!  As his wife, I get to brag about his handyman skills.  The extent of my handyman skills are probably handing Jake the tools while he slaves away.

New siding, new roof, new ceilings, new walls, & best part... a new walk-in-closet! 

8.) I get an excuse to cook anything and everything!  Jake, aka the Hoover Vacuum, will eat just about anything. I can't wait to spend hours looking at cookbooks instead of hours with my face in a medical textbook. Thanks to his visit to San Diego, we have officially adopted Taco Tuesdays at our house. You are welcome to come and eat Tacos with us in 6 months from now when I am back home.  Jake also would like to propose Taco Thursdays, so I may have my work cut out for me.

Did someone say Tacos?

9.) His Faith. Jake proposed 1 week before I left for Stanford- knowing it would be 2 years before I would be with him. A risk? Maybe. But love takes risks. One year ago, he told me he didn't want to wait any longer to get married, so we got married last December, knowing it would be a year and a half before living with his wife. If that doesn't show you faith in us, I don't know what does.

Happiest day of my life.

Sure, it's been rough for me during the past 18 months: Grad school, getting my masters, clinic rotations, moving to a new place, and being away from the people I love the most. But it's probably 1738x harder for Jake. Not only are we miles apart, but he has to listen to me and reassure me that it will all be okay. (Usually 5-7x per day. Haha.) Jake has shown me how to be a better person, and I feel so lucky that he chose me as his wife. (Even if we have spent only 3 weeks of our first year of marriage together!)

I love you, Jake.  More than you will ever know! 

#27- Baby Steps

November 27- Today I am grateful for small victories in what feels like the longest injury in history.

It has been almost 2 months since St. George Marathon.  Ugh... I don't even want to talk about that because that means it has been almost 2 months since I had a good run.  Saddest statement of the century.  (Did I ever tell you I'm good at being overly dramatic?) The good news is that I have been very compliant with taking time off from running and allowing my body to recover from my silly knee injury.  Speaking of silly knee injury, I don't think I ever told the exact reason I got injured.  It's so embarrassing I don't even want to say it.

Ready? I got it from a blister on my big toe. There! I said it.  After St. George, I had a massive, painless blister on the bottom of my big toe (from a tiny rock in my shoe rubbing for 26.2 miles).  It was gigantic but didn't bother me at all except that it looked ridiculous.  I decided, being the wise PA student I am, to do the one thing I always tell my patients to avoid doing: I popped that son-of-a-gun.  It felt great until I ran the Nike Women's Half the following weekend. Then... it went from healing to infected. The blister re-accumulated; except this time it was with pus.  YUCK & OUCH.

Note to self: Take care of blisters.  You won't regret it.

At that time, I was also in the middle of the hardest and most stressful rotation of my life where I was in closed-toe shoes and on my feet for 15 hours per day.  Needless to say, I had to walk strangely to avoid limping which in turn  ended up pinching the peroneal nerve on the outside of your knee.  Yep.  That's it.  A silly blister.  I wish I had a better story, but if you can learn anything from my story... DO NOT POP YOUR BLISTER.  It is a natural bandaid and will heal if you let it.  If anything, use Epsom Salt and learn from my mistake.

Okay.  Enough venting over my lame injury story.  The fact of the matter is that all of the hard work and ridiculous training flew out the window approximately 5 weeks ago.  At that point, I realized the most important thing is to be 100% healed to avoid a difficult training season for Boston Marathon in April.

The baby steps started on Sunday when I tried my first run/walk.  Started with 1 min run/2 min walk for about 5 minutes... then since I had no pain I increased it to  4 min run/1 min walk until I finished.  I did that for 3 miles and guess what? NO PAIN. Yippee!  And no pain the next day either!  So today continued with the walk/run combo with my awesome running buddy, Carrie.  We did a total of 5 miles; with probably 3 miles of that running.  Felt great- and surprisingly I wasn't as slow as I thought I would be.  I guess that annoying elliptical and my deep-water running have paid off.

I don't know if you can quite grasp the significance this has in my life.  But... if my lack of sanity in the last 2 months is any indicator, you can imagine it's pretty life-altering.

It's a Wonderful Life

_________________________________________________________________________________

Grandma Update:  She had a HUGE day today!  She walked down the hall and was discharged from the hospital!  She'll be staying in San Diego at a Assisted Living Facility for about 2-3 weeks to get stronger before making the trip back to Salt Lake.  My Mom and Dad are also staying, so I feel very lucky to get this extra time with them, even if it is under these circumstances.  Grandma said she's feeling better tonight, but she is still struggling with nausea.  I'm praying she can get off such heavy pain meds soon so that she has more of an appetite.  Each day it's baby steps for her too...!!

Patience & Patients

A couple days late... but better late than never!

November 25 - I am grateful for the gift of PATIENCE.

Grandma had a rough first day after surgery.  Her pain was horrendous and the medications made her feel very groggy, nauseous, and confused.  Luckily I was able to reassure her that the first day is always the worst day.  And it should get easier each day!  She had a knee replacement two years ago and kept saying how much easier and less painful it was than this surgery.  We had to remind her she a) planned that surgery and b) didn't fall off a curb onto pavement. The ortho surgeon came in and also made a good point: one of the most wonderful parts of the human mind is the ability to forget pain.  If we remembered pain, we would all be only children without brothers or sisters.  Ha!  So true.  It made her smile.

Seeing the small victories such as sitting up, lifting her legs, and taking side steps reminded me about the difficult virtue of patience.  It feels like life has become so fast-paced and "in-the-now" that it is easy to expect change and improvement to happen TODAY and to get there with as little work as possible.  Welcome to America, huh?  Grandma is reminding me that good things come to those who wait and put in the time to get there (even if I have to remind her of that myself).

Every one of us is trying to accomplish something; maybe it is walking after a hip surgery, losing that 5-100+ extra pounds, starting a family, running their first marathon (or mile for that matter!), landing that perfect job, getting out of debt, meeting the love of your life, fighting a difficult illness, drowning through never-ending PA school, or something as simple as making it to the weekend. What does it take to get there?  Patience.

 Remember Grandma's wisdom: Good things come to those who wait. 

November 26 - I am grateful for all of my PATIENTS.  

You'll be happy to hear that Grandma had a much better day on Monday!  She made it out of the bed a few times to sit in the chair and walk to the bathroom.  Her mood was much improved and we had a great talk while my parents were at dinner.  Although she is in a great deal of pain, it's slowly becoming more tolerable.

Throughout the past 10 months of clinical rotations, I have seen hundreds of patients.  Although many of the patients have similar diagnoses: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, I learn something new from every patient.  Some days can be hard: patients don't always comply with the treatment you think is best for their health, you have to diagnose someone with a life-changing condition, PA-S somehow translates to therapist, patients self-diagnose and demand medications that aren't indicated and you work at your best for free.

But the good moments far outweigh the bad moments: a smile from a sick child, a hug from a thankful patient, seeing a patient make changes to their life and feel 100% improved, and leaving work each day knowing you helped someone who puts their trust in you.  Scary? Yes.  But worth it?  Even more so. 

To all of my patients out there... Thank you for being my guinea pigs and being patient with me as I learn this crazy world of medicine. 

#24 - Thankful for a Mother's Wisdom

November 24th - I am grateful for heart-to-heart talks with my mom.

How is it that a mother knows just what to say when you need to hear it?  It amazes me.  After a long, emotionally trying day, it was just what I needed!  It seems that in time of stress and high emotions that a persons' true colors shine through. Sometimes the colors you don't like to show, but all it takes is a mother's reassurance and everything seems to turn out okay.  I feel so lucky to have her :)

Yesterday my Grandma had surgery to repair her hip fracture.  She had a partial hip replacement which should heal quickly and has a much better prognosis than if they were to have pinned the fracture.  Her surgeon, Dr. Tonks, was top-rated and very friendly! She couldn't have been in better hands.

Teaching Moment: Femoral neck fracture (the weakest part of the joint) fixed with a new hip! 

It is so humbling to be the one on the other side of the operating room.  As much as I love being in the OR, it is nerve-wracking to watch the clock tick by as your loved one undergoes a major surgery.  Grandma did very well and there were no complications with the repair.  She was extremely groggy last night, but I was so grateful to be there to support her.  After a day in the hospital, my night was filled with airport runs to bring my sister and later my Grandpa (my mom's dad- not married to my Grandma!).  It was SO hard to see them go!  :(  There is no greater support than the ones you love.

My Grandma had a rough night last night as you can imagine.  She has got to be the strongest person I know.  If falling off a step onto pavement wasn't enough, she had a new metal hip put in!  I don't think anyone can anticipate the amount of pain that causes, so she was very distraught over how painful it has been.  I wish there was a magic fix for pain.  It is just so unfair to see her in such pain!  She made great strides this morning with her PT when she stood up and took a few side steps.  She's definitely on the right road to recovery, I just wish it were an easier, less bumpy and twisted road.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.  I am overwhelmed with the love I feel from all of you!

A Split Second

I'm not going to lie.  I don't have an individual "Thankful" post for each day this week.  There was too much to be thankful for!  Mostly involving my wonderful family that came to visit me :) This week has been wonderful - lots of good food, laughs, conversation, and reminiscing with my 86-year-old Grandpa, 83-year-old Grandma, my parents and my sister.  It has been just perfect.

That is... until today.  A split second is all it takes to change a perfect visit into a not-so-perfect stay.  That second, which is still engrained in my mind, was when my Grandma fell and broke her hip this morning.

Today we went to Pacific Beach to walk along the boardwalk. We had just arrived and as we were walking from the car to the boardwalk, my grandma got caught up in the sights around her. As she stepped off the curb, 3 (idiotic) kids on bikes came in her path and to avoid hitting them she fell directly onto her left hip.  The worst part is I was turning to tell yell to be careful and watch her step when the stupid bikers got in her way.  It is in slow motion in my brain... I knew the moment she fell that she had broken her hip.  It was a horrendous fall and I am so grateful that she was okay otherwise.  Luckily her granddaughters are a PA student and a PT, so we were able to stabilize her until the ambulance came... but it is a whole different ball game taking care of those close to you instead of patients you don't know.  It broke my heart into 3,429 little pieces to see my sweet, loving, and strong Grandma crying in pain.

Can you believe that the kids on bikes just rode off?  Horrible.  The guilt settled in quickly, "I should have been there to help her on the step" or "I should have yelled sooner" or "I shouldn't have suggested we go to Pacific Beach" or "Why did I have to choose San Diego for my rotations- they wouldn't have come here if I were somewhere else." Unfortunately, the time machine invention has not been perfected, so I can't change that moment.  But one tiny little second changed both hers, and our lives in a big way.

The ambulance brought us to the hospital and her fracture was confirmed.  She's having surgery tomorrow morning, so PLEASE say prayers for her.  She is one TOUGH cookie and I know she'll do fabulous, but thoughts and prayers are appreciated.  The good news is that I get more time with my family in San Diego, just not in the circumstances I would have asked for.

So on a day of difficulty, I am grateful for this very real wake-up call of what is truly important in my life: The love, support, and health of my family.  

With Grandma after my UAA Graduation.
 Get well soon, Grandma! We love you!!

#18 - My Thanksgiving Visitors!

November 18 - I am grateful for my parents, sister, Grandma, and Grandpa who traveled to be with me for Thanksgiving!

My parents live in St. George, UT during the winter, so they decided to make the 9 hour drive to San Diego to celebrate Thanksgiving!  My Grandma lives in Salt Lake City, so she was able to tag along for the road trip.  Then my Grandpa, who lives in Florida, decided that it had been WAY too long since we'd seen each other (almost TWO years! Eek!), so he flew in yesterday.  Then... to make the whole Thanksgiving extravaganza even more exciting, my big sis will be flying in on Wednesday!!  Was that way confusing, or was it just me?! In summary, my family ROCKS and I am so grateful that they wanted to come all this way to see me!  If that doesn't make you feel important, I don't know what does :)  They rented a VRBO within a mile of me, so I will get lots of much-needed family time!

Grandpa!

Best Family Ever. 

All of us together at Amber's PT school Graduation 2.5 years ago! 

We all went to church yesterday morning, and I heard the best sermon in the history of sermons.  No exaggeration.  It's amazing how God knows just what you need to hear. I just wanted to share this amazing poem that the Deacon used for the theme of the sermon:

Live the life that matters. Starting NOW.

It is hard to focus on the big picture when life is filled with little tiny moments of temporary stress.  What will matter in the end?  Acts of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice.  

I am so grateful to have my family here (even if I have to work, study, prepare a presentation, write papers, and take a test, haha).  Seeing their faces each night will make it much easier!  

I hope you all get to do something fun for Thanksgiving!!! 

A week of Thanks...

This week was CA-RAZY busy.  And stressful.  And I couldn't run. All of these things add up to Brittany the nut-case.  But, enough complaining!  There was PLENTY to be grateful for!

November 12: I am grateful for all of the selfless veterans that have served our country, especially my Grandpa Walker and his heroism.

My Grandpa died when I was in 7th grade and it was the hardest thing I had gone through in my 12 years.  He was always my bestest bud. We talked for hours on the phone, snuggled during thunderstorms in Utah, he listened to my wild child stories, snuck out to the garage when my Grandma wasn't looking to raid his candy stash (he had diabetes), and most of all, he just loved others more than I knew possible.  He was soft spoken, had a giant heart of pure gold, and gave the greatest soul-warming hugs.  All the things that are important in life. 

Family fun.

He fought in WWII and was sent to Hiroshima to clean up post-bombing.  Unfortunately, he was exposed to so much radiation in the process, he, years later, developed Leukemia (AML).  He fought the great fight and will always be my hero.  

Alaskan Glaciers with Grandpa.  

Don't be jealous of my sweet fanny pack.  You can be jealous of my awesome Grandpa though, he rocked. 

Grandpa, not a day goes by that I don't miss you!  Love you to the moon. Thank you for being my hero!

November 13: I am grateful for the supportive people in my life. That includes you.

I know you know those days.  The ones like this:

Those days that you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you look in the mirror and say... "Wow! I'm a grump, but for some reason I can't snap out of it!"  Then you look at your To-Do list and contemplate going back to bed and not leaving it for approximately 5.5 months.  Tears are shed, dramatic exaggerations are made, and ultimately, you know every minute of your ridiculous negative mood is unnecessary, but it still sticks to you like a leech.  

Yep, that was my Tuesday.  As I'm nearing the end of the quarter, the assignments are stacking up for both PA school and my Master's program.  Plus the usual studying for finals, and the added pressure of my board exams nearing in just 5 short months.  The main factor missing in this equation is my motivation.  For some reason, I am struggling to have quality study sessions.  It's the "in-one-eye-out-the-other" syndrome.  Call it burn-out, call it straight lazy... I don't know why I've hit a cement wall, but that's where I am!  Luckily, Jake is the most supportive husband in the world and helps reason with me when I have weak moments. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have cheerleaders in the longest PA "game" in the history of time. (Perfect example of my dramatic over-exaggerations. ha)

Noted. 

I am swimming along like Dori from Finding Nemo, and I know the stressful times make the good times THAT much better.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. 

November 14: I am grateful for my love of cooking.  And these delicious morsels of Pumpkin goodness that I whipped up.

Pumpkin-mousse-filled cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  All from scratch! 

November 15: I am grateful for the hostess with the mostess, Carrie.  And her PHENOMENAL Pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  

My Thanksgiving table will never look like this. I didn't even know such creativity existed outside of the Food Network channel! 

How does it get better than this?!

Dessert Heaven

November 16: I am grateful for Fridays.  Even if I have to work on Saturday.

Seriously.

What is it about Fridays?! They are phenomenal.

November 17: I am grateful for my new road running replacement: deep-water running.  

Okay, I have a secret.  I'm still not back to running.  My half marathon last weekend felt fabulous, it's true.  But 4 hours later, I did not feel fabulous.  My PT ordered me to stay off it for two whole weeks to allow it to heal completely.  I was at 95% healed before the race... then I thought it was wise to run a half. Now I'm probably back down to 70% again.  Oh well.  Lesson learned. 

To save me (and those around me) from my lack-of-running-induced psychosis, he also introduced me to my new found running replacement.  You know those awesome people that you see in the pool that look like this??

Insert Brittany Here. (You'd better believe I bought a sweet flotation belt.)

Well, it turns out that this really funny looking sport actually is the closest replacement to running you can find.  Many injured world-class elite runners do this while recovering and they actually come back stronger and faster than when they were training on roads.  And let me tell you... it is NOT easy.  Boring...?  Well.. maybe.  But by incorporating intervals and imagining you are running on a track, you can almost feel the ground under your feet.  Okay, that's a complete exaggeration- unless you regularly run in a sumo suit against a brick wall and can't escape from a giant raincloud splashing water in your eyes, it is nothing like running outside.  But it does mimic the running movement and it is a killer workout.  So, be ready.  I will be back in action - and hopefully stronger - in about 2 weeks!

For more information, this is a GREAT website: HERE

Overall, it was a week of learning more about myself than anything which is something to be VERY grateful for!  Thinking of all of the amazing people in my life... I miss all of you!

#11- Silver Strand Half Marathon

November 11: I am grateful for a PAIN FREE run in the Silver Strand Half

Yesterday marked the first day of running (longer than my 3 mile jaunt on Monday) in 2 weeks.  How did I chose to test my knee?  By doing a half marathon, of course!  Okay, I admit.  It was not the wisest distance choice.  But... I was literally pain free and feeling mentally and physically ready, so... my alarm woke me at 4:45 and I jumped out of bed to put on my much-loved running skirt, WCRR shirt and beautiful pink Nikes.  I even remembered my timing chip this time too (unlike HERE) but probably because it was attached to my race bib.  (I did, however, leave my Garmin watch in the car).

Beautiful morning for a half marathon!

The "Silver Strand" is a stretch of beach extending from Coronado to Imperial Beach.  It is flat, scenic, and like all other beaches in Cali- just gorgeous.  The course is a point-to-point race, so you get to see new scenery the entire way.  An added bonus is that the sun rises ahead of you.  (Nothing like being blinded by the sun beaming directly into your eyeballs for 13.1 miles). Luckily I had my sweet knock-off Ray Bans from Peru to save the day.

I had a plan to walk half of the race, and run the other half; if I was in pain sooner than at mile 6.5, I would stop and walk the rest of the race. Well... I felt amazing and didn't feel an ounce of pain, so I may have continued running after the 6.5 mile mark.  And the 7.5... and the rest of the race. I wouldn't have done this, but I was literally in no pain. YIPPEE!  I felt myself speeding up multiple times, but I forced myself to slow down and enjoy the beauty around.  

Beautiful!

This race is also unique because it is one of the last races in SoCal that allows (and encourages) walkers, hand-cyclers, inline skaters, and people with other disabilities.

So inspirational

If running pain free was not enough to bring pure happiness to my life, it was the inspirational runners around me.  I am the first to admit that I teared up when I came up on this runner.  

Deaf and Blind. And running.  

Not just running a 5K.  He's running a half marathon, and doing it at a fast pace.  I cannot even begin to explain just how inspired I was by this man.  I have no reason to complain about temporary injuries, lack of motivation, or running slower than I wanted to.  I am so inspired by his passion, perseverance and talent.  Never give up on your dreams, no matter the obstacle.

I don't care what excuse you have.  It's not too hot/cold out, you're not too tired, and your day was not too stressful.  If he can run, you have no excuse but to get outside and run. 

Finish line!  

Imperial Beach Pier

The crooked Ray Bans really make this picture, don't you think? :)

It was probably one of my favorite half marathons to date.  I've run races with more scenic courses, but the inspirational athletes reminded me to be grateful for every single step I took!  

*** FYI - I've been posting new entries to my blog - even if I don't post the link on Facebook.  Someone asked me how to be notified of when I write new entries.  (I was shocked too! haha). If you like what you read, you are welcome to subscribe.  (Enter your email into the "Like it? Follow it!" button in the upper right corner). Thanks for your support! *** 

#10 - Just Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ring-a-ling...

(Do not hate me for what you are about to read...)

November 10: I am grateful for the next 6 weeks of Christmas 

I know, I know... it's only the second week of November.  It's not even Thanksgiving yet.  But guess what?  Christmas is BY FAR the most wonderful time of the year... snowflakes (How do Californians survive without it?!), hot cocoa, Christmas carols, baking cookies and of course the star of the whole event... it is the celebration of Jesus being born into the world :)  So to all of you who are disgusted with the Christmas ads, bright Christmas trees at Target, and amazing movies like "The Holiday" on TV - don't hate. It's far more fun to get wrapped up in the joy of the season.

After working yesterday, I had (and by had, I mean I needed one thing) to stop at Target.  Somehow, an hour later, I came out with three shopping bags.  Interesting. My shopping adventure was especially long because of my detour to the following aisles:

Candy Cane deliciousness

Hard to tell thanks to my iPhone photography skills , but those are little Gingerbread Peeps.
I bet the Easter ducks are jealous.

WHY didn't I think of that.  YUM.

Just like I decorate my tree at home.  (ha!)

And in case Target didn't make it clear what season it is, while I was studying last night, my 'Maroon 5' Pandora station decided to play this song:

"Baby, it's cold outside" - Apparently Maroon 5 and Johnny Mercer are in similar music genres. 

As we get closer to Christmas, you can look forward to:

1.) Many Elf Movie references. 

2.) Pictures of hot cocoa, likely with an accompanying medical textbook

3.) My favorite Christmas treat recipes

4.) Perfect gift ideas for your loved ones... like this:

For that special someone who can't seem to get that banana peeled.
It's just so difficult.

5.) And last, but not least, I will try to share my love of Christmas with you.  After all, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear (See #1).