Coffee Break with Katie: Our Adventure

About one month ago I announced that I was going on an adventure (see the post from Feb. 9th)...an adventure that would last a considerably long time, but bring new excitement, adventures, and promises into my & my husband's life.

Something that I don't readily share is my daily fight...I was born with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) the day I was born.  While I won't go into the details of CF in full, I will say that it is a life-long struggle, process, and daily fight to stay healthy.  In November of 2010, we had a realization from my doctors that my right upper lobe of my lung was extremely sick and unhealthy.  This one unhealthy part of my lung was causing the rest of my respiratory health to suffer.   After many consultations and visits to Cleveland Clinic and meetings with the transplant team, it was decided that the only course of appropriate action was to have the right upper lobe of my lung removed.

So, on  Feb. 10, my husband and I faithfully made the drive to Cleveland Clinic.  This is where our adventure begins.  I sat awaiting my surgery with my husband, Mom, Dad, & Pastor.  We did not know what the outcome of this surgery would be.  We knew that the surgery would save my life in some regards by adding up to 20 years of GOOD lung health.  But we also knew that the recovery would be excruciating, hard, painful, and very difficult to get through...and would last about six months to one year.

The surgery went very well.  I spent the 24 hours after my surgery in ICU, and was then moved to a surgical recovery wing for the next 3 days.  When I was released from surgical care, I was then transfered down to Akron Children's Hospital, where I spent the next two and a half weeks recovering.  Because of the amount of medicine and need for constant care, my hubby and I temporarily moved in with my parents for the next several weeks.  I have had severe limitations placed on my activity and general "every day" living.  Perhaps the hardest is that I can not drive for 8-12 weeks, I can not got grocery shopping because I can not reach, nor am I allowed to lift anything over 5 pounds...or carry laundry baskets.  You can see how all this might hinder my general "every day" life.  So by temporarily moving, my hubby can still work, I can get rest, and I can be taken care of.


So far, the adventure has been a grand one: excitement, tears, joy, laughter, hardship, aches, pains, but more love and prayers than I could ever have expected.  So while I settle into my "new lungs" and my "second chance" at health, I am excited at all the new adventures and experiences that I will get to have with my husband.

So for right now, while my custom orders are temporarily on hold, I was plenty busy before my surgery to keep some new things coming into my store.  My sketch pad has been plenty busy getting designs ready.  So while I spend the next few weeks recovering and sketching designs, this spring we will be sure to offer some fantastic new designs and concept art to all of our buyers.

For all of you who offered up prayers, well wishes, and offerings of good luck last month, we sincerely thank you.  We would also like to ask that you continue to lift up those prayers that my recovery time will be lessened and that we can be back into "full swing" really soon!