A Vacation Well Slept

Picture, left to right: Me, Scott, Katy, Rayne, Michelle.
I really should have blogged over the week, but I was either sick and/or sleeping or out seeing the sights. Or often chasing rats and bothering Rayne.

Tuesday the 20th I had a few pre-op tests at UNMC (University of Nebraska Medical Center) to prepare for my port placement the following Tuesday.

After the tests were done and some lunch was eaten I was dropped off at Rayne's house for a week of vacational bliss. True, I was sicker than usual, but that was why I needed the vacation. And there's no better place for someone like me to vacation than Rayne's house. My friend Staci commented that she was sure Rayne and I were breaking out the tequilla and playing poker. I replied by saying no, it was more along the lines of syncronised napping and the swallowing of prescription drugs. That kinda sums it up.

Rayne, like me, suffers from a bowel disease and chronic pain. We share many of the same medical woes, not to mention our shared love of writting, art, rats and spirituality. Needless to say, I'm very comfortable at the Mazur household. There's everything I need from cats to rice milk to padded toilet seats. Did I mention all the awesome books?

I spend a lot of time shopping with Nathan and Michelle. I chatted online with Katy while she sat three feet in front of me. I made Scott go pick me up a prescription. I terrorized the animals.

I ended up sleeping quite a bit. I could have slept a lot more but I just couldn't let myself when my friends were in the other room doing interesting things. Still, I managed to complete most of the projects I had intended to do like burning CDs for Rayne, making Scott an origami turtle garland and playing with Rayne's art things. I made a couple pictures which Rayne then photoshopped into what you see above. Isn't it beautiful? I mean, my paintings were okay but she made them look really cool.

I got to go to Ren Faire twice. Once with Michelle and Nathan and once with Rayne, Scott and Katy. The fresh squeezed lemonade was divine. I bought a skirt, raw honey, a wooden bowl, wood roses and a bunch of my favorite soaps.

All too soon my vacation came to an end. I usually get very homesick but this time, had I been a toddler, I would have thrown and tantrum and begged to stay longer. However, I had surgery scheduled early today so my mom came to get me yesterday and we got a room at the Lied Transplant Center so we would just have to walk a short way (indoors) to the admissions desk in the morning. Like, the early morning when God isn't even up yet.

Our room was beautiful. It has a living room and kitchenette suite, a large bathroom, two TVs, huge windows and lots of storage. I had a horrible time trying to sleep, though, and so did my mom. Luckily, neither of us get too cranky in the morning.

My surgery went fine. Apparently they had to poke around quite a bit. So now I have a lovely port, which feels really weird. It goes up into my neck so I can't move my head that well right now. Rayne assures me this will pass. I am now just like my three sick friends who also have ports. I gotta keep up with the trends, you know?

To see some more pictures of my trip click here.
Videos to be posted on my YouTube account soon.