Five years ago on this day was the happiest day of my life. Miranda Leigh Robertson became Miranda Leigh Dudley. Yep, she did it! She took my name! what a glorious day. We got married in the Washington, DC Temple on a perfect day. Pink flowers (for Miranda of course), clear skies with a slight breeze (for me), family and friends. it was perfect!
Family and friends make these days so special. thanks to all who came and sharing that special day with us!
Fast forward five years...
Well, this anniversary didn't quite turn out the way I had planned! No traditional dinner or gift exchanges. In fact, nothing was ordinary. The ONLY thing that I could count on was being with Miranda, and neither one of us wanted to be where we were...
I had three tests that had to be taken in preparation for more surgery and chemotherapy. One of these tests was a Pulmonary Function Test. It would let the doctors know how effective my body is with the amount of oxygen it takes in; how deep I can breathe; all that fun stuff. I get to go in one of those space ship capsule looking things.
The next test is the Arterial Blood Gas Test. The nurse takes this huge needle, feels around for the pulse in my artery, and stabs "blindly" into my arm, hoping to hit the artery and identify how much oxygen I have in my arteries. this can be done through two areas, my wrist or my arm. Both hurt.
The third test is a heart test to test the left ventricle. One of the chemo drugs can do some damaage to the left ventricle and so they wanted to make sure that I would be strong enough to handle it.
So the nurse began by putting me in the PFT chamber, then opted to perform the ABG test. She didn't move me from the chamber, and so i was slouched over as she tried to take my blood. Not the most comfortable of positions. To make a painful story short, she couldn't find the artery through my wrist, and eventually came out.
Now we get to the good stuff. She went in through my arm, which was totally painfl. She used the needle as a joystick, trying to find the artery, and failed miserably. On her last attempt, she struck a nerve, and it sent excruciating pain all down my right arm. I told her to take out the needle, and she did so reluctantly.
I put my elbows on my knees, said I didn' t feel well, and that was all I remember.
In comes Miranda memory. I begin to fall over, and MIranda runs over to catch me before I face plant into the hard cold floor. the nurse has no idea what is going on because her back is turned. I am now vomiting all over the place, still unconcious. The nurse finally turns around, and helps Miranda put me back in the capsule. She closes my mouth to contain the vomit, and by then, we have a full group of people in the room.
After explaining the situation and what happened, the doctors asked Miranda if she wanted to take to me home or go the ER. What a dumb question!! We have no idea what just happened. She is scared to death. I am sill incoherent and throwing up everywhere, How are we going to make a wise decision? So eventually, we did the only thing we could do...
We went to the Emergency Room. We waited, and waited, and waited, and then I was seen by some nurses. and then we waited more, and then a doctor or two came in and said hi. But it was quite an ordeal. I still sat in a pool of my vomit. Eventually I got some paper scrubs to change into.
We continued to sit in the ER until the doctors were comfortable that my heart was ok. Once that got done, we were discharged. But we still had the problems of getting those tests done. One thing I knoew, I REFUSED to get that ABG test done again.
I was able to do the heart test, but the PFT had to be postponed. I was ok with that.
Another horrible outcome of this was that Miranda and I missed our second appointment with the Jones Institute for more cryopreservation. We just want to make sure that we get all our kids here. It would eat us apart to think that we couldn't get them all here. So this news broke our hearts.
It had been a long, hard day. But we still had some celebrating to do. It was, in fact, still our anniversary! And so we went out and bought some shrimp. cheese, bread, and fruit, and had a picnic on our family room floor where we watched a movie. It was good to be together.
How grateful I am for Miranda in my life. While she not perfect, she is the most amazing person I have ever met. She makes me happy everyday. Her quirky dances in the kitchen, and squeels of excitement make my smile. Life could not be better without her. Happy Anniversary Miranda. I love you!
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