THE SHORT VERSION... OF THE STORY. AND ITS SIMPLICITY.

We all have our challenges in life...some big, some small...that we can either learn and grow from, or let them set us back.  I have recently experienced one of those challenges.  It started with a certain motorcycle ride in Pensacola, Florida back in May.  Now, you might not think this is a challenge until I tell you that after the ride, I burned my leg on the exhaust.  Sure it hurt, but it wasn't THAT bad.  Or so I thought, at the time.  Three weeks went by and I was back in Salt Lake City.  After those few weeks of pain and sleepless nights, I finally took myself to the emergency room and it was there that they attempted to clean the 'hole' in my leg, as I called it.  I was then referred to the University of Utah's Burn Center.  One of THE best Burn Centers in the country.  I guess you could say I was lucky to live so close to such an outstanding hospital with its amazing nurses, doctors, and surgeons.  But, it was there that I learned this burn that I was living with was a 'deep' burn, as every single person I spoke with said so.  And that no matter of when I would've gone in, the outcome would've been the same.  I needed surgery.  A skin graft.  When I heard those words for about the 4th or 5th time, it pretty much hit me.  Surgery!  The burn was so deep that it couldn't heal on its own and the risk of infection was great.  The surgeon came in to talk with me about the procedure.  She would take the skin from my hip and put it on my leg.  There was no getting around it.  She comforted me as my eyes started to fill up with tears as the reality of it all was setting in.  My surgery was scheduled for a few days later.

The surgery has come and gone now.  The staples have been taken out.  (Yep, 7 of them!  I called my leg "frankenstein leg".)  The days of Lortab, ibuprofen, ginger ale, crackers, and crutches are done.  The surgery was a success! The graft took 100%, which I have learned, does not happen all the time.  I was definitely blessed.  But, the week, or 2 weeks, or even 3 weeks after my surgery were the hardest.  I had to learn to depend on others.  A lot.  I am used to being the one that others turn to for help.  But, it was my turn.  My turn to take this experience and make sense of it all.  In other words, this was all backwards for me.  It was not easy for me to be laid up in a bed, not being able to do anything for myself.  Except to go to the bathroom and I even needed crutches for that.  So needless to say, the surgery took a lot out of me.  More than what I expected. 

And as much as I hate to admit it, it was a depressing and discouraging and emotional time for me.  Why, or how, could a split second of my life turn into...well, this.  I am still, to this day, in the healing process.  Both my leg and my hip, where the donor site is.  I now wear a compression sock for the scarring process and will need to wear it for about a year or two.  I still 'baby' my graft to make sure I am doing everything I can to continue to heal properly.  I have done and am still doing all of what my doctors say that I need to do.  But, at times right after my surgery, at the most stressful times, I felt as if I was losing a part of my graft.  And I simply had lost hope, still wondering why I needed to go thru this.  But it was during these hard moments that I tried to just remember that it's out of my hands.  I was doing everything I knew how from what I was told, but I knew that I also needed something else.  Faith.  Faith that it will all be alright.  Many prayers were said.  By me and by my friends and family.  And I was comforted.  I knew that everything would be okay.  It may not be easy, but I knew, just knew, that everything would turn out the way that it should.  And whatever the outcome, I was going to be alright.  And every time I felt discouraged or down, I held on to that faith.  And it got me thru.  It is still getting me thru.  I am very grateful for the prayers and encouragement from family and friends and also the faith that I was able to rely on with my Heavenly Father above, who I know was watching over me and helping me in my time of need.  Without them, there is no way that I could've made it....that I would still be making it....thru this experience.  I have learned a lot about others and most importantly about myself.

We all have our challenges in life...some big, some small...that we can either learn and grow from, or let them set us back.  I am choosing to learn and grow... Not just from this experience, but from my every day to day experiences that may lie in my path.  

Life, to me, is simply all about the basics in what we believe.  And believing in ourselves.  And the simplicity of it all.  We can't do everything on our own.  And if we remember to have faith in ourselves and in each other, I believe that we will all become a better person and individual.  It is up to us.  And thru this, we will be able to overcome life's little challenges whether they be big or small.  

And as I write and read my own little story here, my eyes just want to fill up with tears again.  Like I said, it wasn't an easy time for me and it was definitely an emotional one for me as well.  But, most importantly, I know that I have been blessed.  Been blessed with a successful surgery and also with an amazing and supportive family and group of friends around me.

Here I am sporting my compression sock.  And yes, it's true, some people really think that I am trying to start a new fashion trend.  Really.  And the funny thing is, I actually think it's working!  ;)

I want to thank the University of Utah's Burn Center and all its people there.  You are all simply wonderful.  You have become a part of my family and your support has helped me greatly.  And I also want to thank my family, especially my Mom and Dad, and also my friends.  You have no idea how much your love and encouragement have helped me.  And is still helping me.