Stressful summer

It’s been quite a while since I wrote an update. Thankfully, my health has been pretty stable lately. It’s been 2 months since my last immunoglobulin infusion and my levels have remained steady, so hopefully I won’t need it more than 2-3 times a year. I still have some lingering pain and discomfort from my surgery in January, but it’s sloooowly improving, and is very manageable. After the medical nightmare I went through in the winter, I’m so grateful that things are FINALLY settling down in terms of my health.
 
Unfortunately, everything else has gone to hell in the meantime.
 
In the beginning of June, Katherine’s twin brother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. The aftermath has been indescribably horrible for her and her entire family. We’ve pretty much just been trying to keep our heads above water and manage basic life tasks ever since, with varying degrees of success. It didn’t help that Katherine’s birthday was a couple weeks ago, which of course was also her brother’s birthday. The last few months have been excruciatingly difficult, and it’s going to be a long time until life even comes close to being somewhat normal again.
 
And then, almost 3 weeks ago, my Zeide died. This was not a surprise, as baruch Hashem (thank G-d) he recently celebrated his 100^th birthday! He lived a wonderful long life full of love and family, including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I wasn’t able to join them for the birthday celebration, but fortunately I was able to visit my Zeide the following month, which ended up being about a month before he died. It’s been less than 2 years since my Bubba died, and it was very sad to once again find myself at Cedar Park and Beth El Cemeteries in Paramus, putting a stone on my Bubba’s grave while laying my Zeide to rest in his. Once again, it was beautiful to see how many people came together to pay their respects and share their love, and I really appreciated seeing my family and comforting each other, but we all wish it wasn’t under these circumstances. He was my last living grandparent. I miss him, and I’m grateful for the many years we had together.
 
I’m thankful that at least my body has been behaving while we’ve been dealing with so many stressors and heavy emotions. Honestly, this last year has been absolutely terrible. I pray that next month Rosh Hashana ushers in a new year that is full of sweetness and leaves all the bitterness behind.

Happy birthday to me!

Between the pain and exhaustion and general medical shenanigans, yesterday’s birthday definitely ranked towards the bottom of the list. But despite everything, we were able to squeeze some celebration in. Katherine and I managed to pull ourselves together and go on a brief excursion to Classic Cake for some yummy treats. Then my mom got a delicious steak dinner for me from Cherry Grill, and brought a bunch of food over here to share a nice birthday dinner with us. And because you can never have too many sweets, my friend Debbie Friedner brought over a box of mouthwatering donuts. With all that plus the heartwarming well wishes via Facebook and direct messages, I definitely felt very loved! I also really appreciate all the donations to my Facebook fundraiser. Thank you all for helping me celebrate despite everything I'm going through right now!

Dairy treats for me

Vegan treats for Katherine

Steak!

Chocolate chip lava cake

Feeling thankful

I am so fortunate to have such a strong safety net supporting me through these difficult times. I don’t mention them enough, but I absolutely don’t know what I would do without them. Huge shout out to my good friend Shira Baratz, who set up a meal train for me a couple weeks ago. We kept it small because I have so many risk factors around food safety, so I wasn’t comfortable opening it up to the community at large. I also only wanted meals a few nights a week so I didn’t get overloaded with too much food that I couldn’t eat. But within those parameters, Shira and my other friends who signed up for meals really came through! It made such a difference having hearty meals readily available when I was too exhausted to think straight. I’m so grateful to my friends for their help!
 
Then of course there’s my mom, who has been my supporter and advocate for my entire life. I can’t imagine how stressful and challenging it was raising a child with intensive medical needs who wasn’t even expected to live to adulthood, but somehow she did it! Squeezing numerous hospital visits into a busy work schedule isn’t easy, but she was there during my recent inpatient stay just like she always is. And I also know that my stepfather, Frank, is always up for a Shoprite run when I need one, which was particularly helpful when both Katherine and I were laid out with RSV! I’m very blessed to have such a supportive family and I am very thankful for them!
 
And then of course, last but not least, there’s Katherine. However complicated you think my life is just from reading these updates, I guarantee you don’t even know the half of it, and Katherine is right here by my side every step of the way. Not only does she have to handle her own stress and exhaustion, but she’s also always there supporting me both physically and emotionally every single day. I don’t know how I got so lucky to score such a strong and amazing partner! I love her to pieces and thank G-d for her every day!