what a difference a year makes

One year ago today, I began my medical leave. One year ago, I was, for lack of a better term, a hot mess.

But here I am today. I'm still kind of a mess, I suppose, but it has nothing to do with my health! I'm back in school and am in drastically better health. I can't believe the transformation that has happened over the past 365 days! Thank you all for that.

Thank you for the UNMC faculty, deans and support staff who made it possible for me to take the time I needed. Thank you also for continually checking in on me this year to see how I'm doing.

Thank you to my doctors and their teams for dealing with my calls, emails, and my laundry list of questions. And thank you for reminding me what is best for me when I'm being stubborn.

Thank you to my parents for supporting me in every way. Thanks for letting me live at home. Thanks for cooking me food and doing my laundry on occasion. Thanks for putting up with me when I'm under anesthesia and not very nice :) (and the times when I'm not under anesthesia and am still not very nice!). Thanks Mama for the, sometimes harsh, texts reminding me to get my lazy bum out of bed when I'm tired!

Thank you to my incredibly wonderful roommate Megan who has had to listen to me whine about not feeling well ad nauseum. And for not making me feel guilty about leaving the apartment in shambles on occasion when I'm too tired to clean! I promise to clean the kitchen and mop the floors this weekend! 

Thank you to my M2 friends for keeping me in the loop and for periodically checking in with me. A special thank you to Sydney, Brent, Meredith, Megan, Evin, Sally and Nathan.

Thank you to my new classmates for accepting me! A VERY special thank you to Hugh, Cason and Emily for not hating me after I was a know-it-all on the first day of orientation PBL :)

Thank you to my SMDEP students for encouraging me to head back to school!

Thank you to Dr. Edwards for letting me temporarily infiltrate your practice and do some research in my time off. Thanks also for encouraging me to send abstracts into conferences (even though we both know it completely stresses me out!).  

Thank you to Mr. Justin for reminding me to smile and laugh through the bad days. Thanks for understanding when I need to be selfish and go to bed at 8:30 pm, like an old lady, even though it's ridiculously inconvenient for everyone around me. And thank you mostly for understanding that I need to study approximately one billion hours a week (give or take a few hours!). 

It's been a crazy ride. I haven't loved every minute of it, but I'm glad to be back. I have a test next week, so I'll leave y'all and go back to studying. Thanks to everyone who has had a part in my recovery!