Seeing the Good

In May we returned to the Mayo Clinic.

Me, my parents, and Tom.

Yes, Tom came along and stayed with my parents in a hotel.

I of course stayed in the hospital. This first surgery was a difficult one.

I don't remember much. I do remember barely waking up a few times in the ICU after the surgery. One time I woke up for a few minutes to be surprised by a couple of my friends that had driven to Mayo to see me. That meant a lot to me. And I woke up to my parents coming in and Tom coming in.

I heard that it was hard to look at me because I was hooked up to so many machines and had tubes coming from everywhere.

After a couple of days I was moved to a regular hospital room.

I was on pain medication, but still in a lot of pain. I remember not liking my nurses because they would make me get up and walk around. They wouldn't let me lay in my bed to eat, I had to sit up on the side or in a chair.

I know they were doing this for my own good and to help me heal, but at the time I did not appreciate it. But there are so many things that I look back on and see the good where at the time I didn't.

The day that started out with a flat tire and ended in a collapsed lung, is now a day that I see as very important and life changing.

It was as if God was telling me to slow down and rethink my path. I was about to let go of a man because I was not ready for a relationship. But that day I began to see how special Tom was. He was there both times that I needed someone that day. And he stayed with me through this difficult part of my life. He was right by my side helping me through it.

And through all of this, our relationship grew strong. We spent every day together and honestly became each other's best friend.