Movin' Home

You read the title correctly...I am officially moving back to Oregon mid-June. I am trying to pack up my room as we speak, and I can confidently say that I am terrible at this moving stuff. I have zero motivation to do it and I really loathe it all together. So if anyone loves moving please just give me a ring--or just show up to my apartment and do it for me...I won't mind.
For those of you who don't know why I am making my way back to Oregon here's the story (the shortened version).
As you may or may not know I have been blessed (uh...) with diseases such as Hereditary Spherocytosis, Crohn's Disease, and Systemic Lupus to name a few. So esentially what this means for me is that my body has absolutely no idea what is friend and foe and pretty much attacks itself. Despite being on the darn steroid Prendnisone for over 18 months now as well as Remicade infusions (7+ years), Plaquenil and Methotrexate (immunosupressant) among other things I still have flares up quite often and tend to be sick more often then not. I don't mean sick as in the flu, but sick like disease exacerbation or flare ups, which for me means tummy aches, joint pain, insane fatigue, nausea and just feeling blech nearly all the time. Yes it gets old very fast. Despite pushing and pushing and doing all that I could mentally and physically to keep myself going my body has officially thrown up its little white flag and is practically begging me to stop or atleast slow down. So after many nights of thinking, negotiating with myself and crying many a tear I finally came to terms with the fact that my diagnosis have taken the lead at this point in my life and I need to get back into tip top shape so I can get myself back into gear and healthy. My docs have been telling me for months that I need to slow down and give myself a break, but I am of course stubborn and just want to be 26 and work like most people my age are able to do without any problems. Unfortunately that is not my reality and I have now come to realize that Lupus especially can be rather tough. So I will officially be leaving my full time job at The Painted Turtle Camp as the Hospital Outreach Coordinator and move back to Oregon to take some much needed time off for my health and then start my new adventure, which is operation: Mandy wants to become a child life specialist! Until then I have a rather busy and wacky schedule. I just got back from a work trip in Northern California bringing camp to the kids at UCSF and Lucile Packard, and I will once again be leaving on Wednesday the 1st for Oregon for my dear Claire's birthday/pre-wedding party. I am home from the 1-6 then fly back to Oregon mid day on Monday (june 6th), work Tuesday the 7th, and then on Wednesday the 8th I have my final rheumatology appointment at 12:00, my last Gastroenterology appointment at 2:00 and my last Remicade at 3:00pm. When I say last I mean my last in California for a while. So I will bid my glorious team of UCLA docs farewell and go back to my also glorious docs in Oregon...however I am on the lookout for a great rheumatologist in Oregon for the ole' Lupus...who wants me?! Back to the schedule--then I am back to work until the Monday the 13th where I will have my final Outpost visit at Shriner's Hospital. My mom, sister and cousin (practically sister) will be flying into the LA area on the 17th where I will pick them up and the 4 of us will venture on down to Disneyland for a final hurrah trip before the 18 hour drive back to Oregon...yikes! I am hoping to be completely packed and moved out of my apartment by June 10th...fingers crossed!
I am feeling overwhelmed just thinking about how much I have to do in such a short amount of time while trying to keep myself upright for my last week or so of work. I am determined to finish work strong and leave on a high note, but I would by lying if I said that I wasn't tired. My body is exhausted and in desperate need of a loooong rest. I feel like I am running a marathon with no end in sight. Yes, it is as exhausting as it sounds. I will do it though...I made it 2 years, so whats another week or so? Although this post seems a bit Debbie Downer I do have quite a lot to be thankful for...such as:
-Spending my 1st summer in Oregon since 2004
-The St. Paul Rodeo (man it has been forever--good ole' Rodeo)
-THE ART FAIR--I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about this one...I can't wait to get my hands on those darn chi-ohs (I don't know they spell it--sorry St. Pauls Church crew who makes them)
-Spending some much needed time with my family (mom, dad, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and of course my nana)
-Volunteerng with CET (hoping to reconnect with the theater camp I worked with after highschool)
-Having absolutely no agenda (just winging it and taking each day as it comes)
-Getting HEALTHY
-Tennis with cousin Claire (and other family and friends I am sure)
-Madrona Swimming Pool
-Hanging out my mom and dad (man I miss them a lot)
-Cousing Claire's wedding--woohoo!
I am sure there is a lot more to be thankful for, but those are the main things I can think of right now. Now to be fair I need to list the things I will miss about living in Los Angeles:
-Working for The Painted Turtle--this place has been my heart and soul since 2005
-The Vargas Family (this is going to be the toughest for me)
-All my "adopted" family members--you know who you are
-Improv classes at the Groundlings
-Sunshine nearly everyday
-Broadway Club
-Literally having anything and everything at my fingertips (museums, beach, big city, mountains, comedy, the Ellen show, Hollywood, DISNEYLAND)
-Disneyland--I know I just listed it above, but frankly it deserves its own category
-All my kids in the hospitals I worked with (you have all taught me so much and it has been an HONOR getting to know you and bringing a bit of camp to you)
-UCLA--yes it sounds silly, but I have really gotten some great care at this amazing hospital while living in LA. All (7) of my doctors have been quite amazing and although I am one heck of a confusing case they certainly tried to make me feel better. (Never a good sign when your doc at UCLA says, "Well Mandy, no offense but you are the kind of person that we only read about in medical books"...uh thanks?)
-Pinkberry (oh goodness I love that coconut yogurt with strawberries, almonds and mini chocolate chips, mmm
Again I am sure there is more that I will miss, but I don't want to overwhelm myself with all the sad things about leaving LA. Remember Mandy this is a new chapter, a new beginning and God has a plan for you!
Alright,alright I will close this post up since it is now becoming a short novel and probably very boring to read (if it's even being read by anyone).
Along with my journey back to Oregon, quite a few people have encouraged me to blog about my day to day life with medical stuff--so I suppose I will give it a go. I am not too sure how exciting it will be, but what the heck it will keep me busy for a bit each day or a few times a week I guess. Sooooo tune in until next time. Below are some pics from my days in good ole' Los Angeles California...a state/city I never imagined I would live in.