Crazy Connections, part 2

On my way home from work yesterday, my phone range and the number was from Dr. F's office, my neurologist. I was immediately wondering what is wrong. I have not talked to his office in quite some time, so I was suspicious.

Apparently, a current patient of Dr. F's found my article in the paper and wanted to talk to me. D, has an AVM too, and he is very apprehensive about going through the surgery. He has put off the surgery for about five months now, and his symptoms are worsening. Surgery is imminent for him. He went in to Dr. F's office yesterday with the article asking if he could be put in contact with me. Since there is no assurance that the surgery will turn out successfully, he want to talk to someone who came through OK.

I was SUPER excited when Dr. F's secretary told me the story. This is what I've been waiting for! I want to share my story, and I hope to encourage or bring comfort to other AVM patients with what God has done in my life.

I prayed before I called D as I was really not sure what to say now that the time had come. Turns out, I didn't say too much. I mostly let D vent. He is quite scared and rightly so. He has a family to take care of, and the outcome of this surgery could take away his ability to provide.

To say I felt inadequate to offer comfort is an understatement, how do you comfort someone twice your age with way more responsibilities on his shoulders?

As the conversation was drawing to a close, I offered a quick prayer up asking God if this was a witnessing opportunity or not. I didn't see how the conversation could be lead in that direction naturally. I know that God could still use me even if I didn't tell him that Jesus loves him. Literally, the next comment from D was:

So I was raised Baptist. I believe that God has a time for everyone. When that time comes, there's no stopping it. God's taking you home. 

How about that? I think it was God saying, "You have no idea of my power. It is not a large feat for me to change the direction of a conversation."

From then I was able to introduce the possibility to D that God can use other people and modern technology in his life. Maybe God isn't ready for you to die, and He is going to use this surgery to keep D alive. I told him that God created his brain, AVM and all, and who is D to say that God can't heal it. Hoping not to overstep my bounds, I also mentioned that there is a very real possibility that he will die if he doesn't try to take care of this problem. D didn't see upset by anything I said. So I hope I didn't do any damage to the situation.

I hope that God uses my babble to bring D and his family comfort through this time.

Crazy Connections

Last night, I got a friend request on Facebook with the following messsage attached:

Emily, I just finished reading your story in today's paper and I am also a believer and a survivor of the removal of an AVM in the brain. I live in Hudsonville and go to church at Calvary in G.R.

How crazy is that?? I happened to be online when she sent it so we ended up chatting for a while on Facebook. She had her AVM removed in 1986 when she was about my age. Our stories are very similar: newly married, no kids, have a dog, etc.

Dan and I will be getting together with her soon, I hope, to swap stories. She is quite excited to encourage me with her story, and I hope I can do the same for her. She now has two kids which wouldn't have been possible if her AVM hadn't been removed.

Isn't it crazy how God works?

Another AVM Article!

The Grand Rapids Press decided to publish my story in today's paper. Below is a link to the article on mlive. You've got to love action photo they have of us. It super lovely!

AVM Article on Mlive

Another AVM related note, I found out through a friend that I can potentially get an EEG at her office pretty much on-demand. The reason this might be helpful is my neurologists have been somewhat concerned that my recurring headaches are being caused my mild seizure activity. The hard problem with that is catching the seizure activity. It takes 2 weeks to get in for an EEG at the hospital, and my headaches are not predictible at all. 

So Dan and I are considering this option. I'm not 100% sure it's necessary, but it might be nice to know if a seizure is causing the headaches. I'm not too concerned anymore though. The headaches continue to gradually decrease in intensity. I'm not even taking prescription painkillers anymore, so I'm not sure the extra effort is even necessary. 

I continue to hope that I can reach out to people in need and encourage them through my experiences. Dan and I occasionally have walks down memory lane about the whole AVM ordeal. We had one such talk last night. It's amazing how long it takes you to process an experience like this. It has truly made us stronger people - stronger in our relationship with each other and with God.

Re-Staging/Re-Decorating Part 4

I sunk the most effort into our master bedroom. It truly needed the most work. I had done NOTHING to this room since the day we moved in two and a half years ago. There are nail holes and old picture frame hooks in the walls to prove it!

As you will see in the pictures below, the walls are warm beige-y/brown which is the same as our furniture which is the same as our duvet which is the same as the carpet which is the same as the trim. There's not a whole lot of variety if you get my drift.

I tried to make big changes without buying too much or doing too much work (i.e. painting). Hence, the wall color stays. I'd love to change it, but that is another project for another day.

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After 

 

So there you have it. I love it. I think it is a huge improvement. Here is the rundown of the things I changed/bought.

1. Blue flower duvet - $39.99 from Ikea
2. Shear curtains - $9.99 from Ikea
3. Tan linen curtains - $24.99
4. Double curtain rod - $49.99 from Lowes
5. Teal ruffle pillow - $19.99 from Kohl's
6. Paper for pictures and new glass for one frame - $7 from Hobby Lobby

Grand Total - $151.95 plus tax 

Well worth it if you ask me! If we do sell the house, I'll be able to take all but the curtains and rods with me. I might even be able to take the curtains if the new buyers don't want them. 

Re-Staging/Re-Decorating Part 3

The next rooms to tackle were our guest bedrooms. We have a twin bed in the smaller one, and a queen in the larger one. The issue at hand is we need to fit a desk somewhere so that I can keep our house in order and pay bills every once in a while. 

Solution: After much debate, it was decided to dismantle the large L-shaped desk from the office/family room and store half in the basement and half upstairs in the small of the two guest rooms. This solution is functional in the short term. My biggest complaint is that the filing cabinet is in the basement. :( So if I'm paying bills and want to file all of my papers afterward, I have to walk down two flights to get to the filing cabinet. I foresee a messy desk in my future...

Small Guest Bedroom Before

I'm not so good at this whole camera thing...pardon the SUPER dark picture. 

Small Guest Bedroom After

 

Large Guest Bedroom After

I did not think to take a before picture of this room because I didn't intend to change anything in it. What we did do was switch out the light fixture, and we put our old duvet cover on the bed. This room is pretty hodge-podge, but it's the best we can do!

 

Up next, the biggest changed room yet: the master bedroom!

Re-Staging/Re-Decorating Part 2

I think our dining room looks decent how it is, not spectacular but tolerable nonetheless. I wanted to brighten it up for spring. We also shrunk our table to as small as it can go to make the room look bigger (Sorry, no pictures of that change!).

Dining Room Before

**Please take note of all the junk on the counters. We had just returned from a trip to Chicago where we apprehended most of the items I'm showing you. Keepin' it real!**


Dining Room After

Isn't that flower fun? It was $0.99 at Michaels, and the vase was $5.99 at Ikea. The table cloth and napkins are from Marshall's. 

I'm reading all kinds of DIY (do-it-yourself) type blogs, and I'm so inspired to re-do/update my house. I hope to re-do the table and chairs once the weather warms up and my actuary exam is over. I'll post pictures if it isn't a disaster! 

Re-Staging/Re-Decorating our House

Dan and I have been frustrated to watch houses smaller and not as well kept up sell before our house. God is definitely teaching us patience and learning to be content where we are, but we figured it couldn't hurt to do some re-decorating to make our house more attractive. 

Our realtor suggested converting our office back into a family room. Since we had no need for a family room when we moved in (and still don't!), we made that room into a large office. Needless to say, most people do not need a home office, and people generally have trouble imagining a room as something other than what it appears to be.

Office/Family Room Before

Office/Family Room After

 

It's nothing too dramatic, but it's definitely a family room now and not an office. The loveseat is only a temporary fixture. We have a small sectional on order. When that arrives, the love seat will return to the living room.

More rooms to come...