No Longer a Teenager

Well this is it!  I am no longer officially a teenager.  I am now 20 years old.  I don't think of birthdays the same as everyone else.  I typically don't like my birthday.  When I was 4 years old my mom was cleaning out my closet and she took away some of my favorite clothes because I had out grown them.  I was so upset that I couldn't wear my favorite clothes anymore so I decided I didn't want to grow up.  I wanted to stay little and have everything be the same.  Well my opinion hasn't changed.  I still don't relish the idea of growing older.  The reason for my opinion has changed but I still feel the same.  I would rather just stay a teenager.  Teenagers can have responsibility but if they mess up then it is easily forgiven.  When you are older you have responsibility and if you don't follow through... big problems!  Anyway, I will stop grumbling now.

My family came to my school and had dinner with me to celebrate my birthday.  I was very happy to spend time with my family.  I love them so much!  The rest of my day was filled with writing papers and completing assignments.  I will have to celebrate more fully after finals.

Ice Skating

I got to watch my sisters and brother skate today at the ice show.  I love skating myself so getting to watch them was a great treat.  I am going to try to put up the videos I took.  Michael, my brother, looks like he is having a pretty good time... especially when he slides on his knees on the ice!  

Well I am feeling the pressure now at school.  So many final paper due at once and I am a closet procrastinator. :)  Right now I am working on the theory of the Multitude by Hardt and Negri.  Quite interesting but now I have to put my thoughts on paper.  Hmmmm...

My pain is still unchanged.  No relief but I haven't had any bad breakthroughs of pain in the past couple days so I am counting my blessings.  

Lasik Consult

I saw Dr. Allen today to see if I am a good candidate for Lasik surgery.  He said I was and that he could get both of my eyes done at the same time if I wanted to.  Right now I am undecided.  Luckily the doctor said that I can choose to do one or both eyes the day of the surgery.  Surgery is scheduled for May 13.  I have just enough time to heal before I go to Camp Singing Hills to work for the summer.  

The Homestretch

Well the semester is almost done and I cannot wait! Spring is in the air and I am getting anxious to be outside. I have been tempted to skip class but I will use all of the will power I have not to. I will still diligently attend all of my classes even though I wish to be frolicking outside in the weather that is finally warm enough to not need a jacket. Less than a month and I will be free from homework, deadlines, and exams until September. We are now in the homestretch of the semester. The end is in sight.

My pain level is still higher than normal. Normal before surgery was hanging around a 4-5 on a 1-10 scale. Now its a little more intense and of course annoying. I just refilled my Vicodin so I should be set for a while. I am still eating really soft foods however I may have to push myself a bit because Grandma Rierson is here and she is an amazing cook. I don't want to miss her cooking because we don't get to eat her cooking that often. Her food is worth having some pain for.

I have a doctor appointment on the 22nd for my eyes. I am getting Lasik in one eye this May. We are doing one eye at a time because medical things always seem to go wrong and my eyes are pretty important since I cannot hear. I would just live with glasses but they are causing problems with my "special" ear so I have to do something and mom says no to contacts.

Trying to Stay Positive

Well I am still in a lot of pain from surgery.  Basically everything from my shoulders on up is hurting along with nausea.  I don't think all of the anesthesia has exited my system yet and that stuff makes me pretty sick.  The muscles under my tongue are still swollen so moving my tongue much is a no no.  A banana is difficult to eat.  I am pretty much stuck with soup like foods for now.  Luckily today I don't have to babysit Tori (like I normally do Mondays) so I can relax and focus on catching up with assignments and getting well.  I found a song with lyrics that really speak to me in my situation and reminds me that this pain I have is only temporary.  One day I will go to heaven where there is no crying, pain, or burdens and I look foward to that.  The song is "There Will Be A Day" by Jeremy Camp.  In the mean time I will try to remain positive and live life to the fullest.

American Sign Language University

I found this awesome website that will help anyone learn American Sign Language for free!  The ASL University offers a lot of resources.  There are free lessons complete with new signs, finger spelling practice, and history.  After each lesson there is a quiz to see how much you have learned.  Along with the lessons (which is totally cool!) there is also a library, dictionary, jokes, and so much more.  I have enjoyed using this site and I am sure you will also.

Surgery

Well I had my mouth surgery on Thursday April 9th. The surgery was expected to be 3 hours but it ended up being 6 1/2 hours. It went better than I expected although now I am pretty sore. I haven't yet been able to eat anything solid. It hurts too much to chew or to open my mouth wider then the width of a finger. I am hoping it will get better soon!

After I got out of surgery and became more aware of my surroundings I checked some blogs that I regularly follow. I am sad to say that Erin Buenger passed away while I was in the operating room. I never met this amazing girl but I have been following her story for quite some time. She was a strong and courageous girl who fought neuroblastoma for 82 months. Everytime I checked her blog, it lifted my spirit. She was fighting for her life but she always had a smile on her face and encouraged others to live in each moment. Erin, you are greatly missed.

Car Light Story

I thought I would share one of my stories about being Deaf.  One of my fears of driving is being pulled over by the police.  I am afraid that they won't believe that I am Deaf because I speak so clearly.  Well about a year ago I just got my license.  I was driving back home from a babysitting job.  It was getting dark and I wasn't paying very close attention to my driving as I probably should have.  I pulled up to a stop sign about a mile from my house.  I stopped and saw a police car to my right stop after I did.  I made a left turn to head home and then lights started flashing.  My heart sank into my stomach.  I wasn't speeding I knew that!  After I pulled over he pulled up behind me.  He had a bright light from his car shining into my side mirror and when he came to my window he had a flashlight shining into my eyes.  I couldn't see a thing!  Lipreading was impossible with all the light pouring into my face.  Right then I made the decision that I wouldn't make a sound.  I handed him a card that said "I am Deaf."  After he read the card he started to flail his arms and try to act out what he wanted.  Finally he communicated that something was wrong with my lights.  I don't know exactly what because his miming was difficult to understand.  After everything was figured out he told me I could go.  During all this time I was so scared that I was going to get arrested or something terrible like that.  I was so relieved afterwards I almost sped home.  Thankfully I haven't had to go through that again!