Sunday, February 26, 2012

Repeat scenario...

As many of you have probably heard through the grape vine, 
I spent 3 nights here last weekend...
Chiang Mai Ram Hospital

... and it definitely wouldn't have been my first choice for weekend plans. ;)

I don't really have the energy to rehash everything that happened but let's just say, it all started with excruciating acute lower back pain (that made its way to my lower abdomen as well) and eventually had me (almost) incapacitated.  A complete repeat to what happened during my pregnancy with Callie a few years ago.  The Thai doctors were equally as "stumped" as the North American doctors were the last time this happened, simply because the pregnancy made everything more complicated when trying to get answers.  They couldn't do a CT scan (obviously) and so they had to work with what they had-- ultrasounds, urine samples, blood work and observing me.  I saw an OBGYN, a surgeon, a urologist and my maternity doctor.  At one point, they were fairly certain it was appendicitis and were prepared to do an appendectomy, but thankfully, the ultrasound and bloodwork ruled that out.  Then they figured it was either a kidney infection, kidney stones or a ureter obstruction and were thinking of doing a minor surgery in which they insert a stint into the ureter to clear any type of blockage.  But again, thankfully, they didn't go ahead with it.  I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of surgery just a couple of months before I will be delivering a baby.  And thankfully, the results they had weren't conclusive enough to go ahead with it.

Anyway... after 3 nights and almost 4 days in hospital, the pain had subsided enough that they were able to send me home.  They still weren't sure what the cause was, but gave me some (baby-safe) muscle relaxants and told me to come back if the pain came back worse than the last time.


I'm happy to say that I've been feeling much better (though I have had a few more "pain episodes" since being home).  Overall, I'm hoping and praying we're "in the clear" now and have tried to get back to normal life as much as possible.

I also just want to say thank-you again for everyone's concern and all the prayers that were prayed on our behalf. Both Jon and I feel richly blessed to have such a strong support network behind us.  Although its tough to be away from loved ones in situations like this, there is comfort that comes with knowing how many people care about us and are interceding for us.  So, thank-you!
I'm now just 1 week shy of being 7 months pregnant and would definitely covet your prayers for a healthy remainder of this pregnancy and a safe, smooth-as-possible delivery when the time comes.  I'll continue to keep you updated as much as I can.

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend!  Blessings for the week ahead.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Celebrations

Yesterday was a happy day. 
We completed our Module 2 Thai exam and it went amazingly well!
Trust me... when you're learning a language as tough as Thai, its important to celebrate the successes.
So, we figured it was only fair to celebrate another milestone in our language learning journey.

And nothing says "YES! We did it!" quite like a big ol' juicy burger from BK...

Oh yeah...

And then today was another day to celebrate.
We finally got our couch!
After months of sitting on nothing but wood and tile surfaces, 
today, our butts are celebrating to say the very least :)

And.......
 to finish off an already great week, our wonderful (future) teammates are here for the weekend!
Looking forward to hangin' with the Sanchez family for the next few days and watching their girls rip up the basketball court at Chiang Mai International School.

Have a great weekend everyone.  We know we will!

Monday, February 6, 2012

I'm telling you...

... everything is prettier in Thailand. 



FYI:  We actually, truly saw this car in the parking lot at the Chiang Mai Night Safari last night.

It just adds something special... don't you think?? 

Thursday, February 2, 2012

You decide...

Here in Thailand, we get delicious, yellow watermelons-- but, here's what I want to know.

Based on this picture we took the other day, which would YOU classify as a yellow watermelon?

Do you judge this 'book' by its cover or by its inside

Tricky question, isn't it!?