Life in the fast lane... almost 2 years and counting!

Ok, so I still can't sleep.... I'm going to continue my rant of the day.

I have been an avid journal writer since I was in the 9th grade. When I started keeping a journal, I wrote almost every single day up until the end of my mission. After my mission, I let things get in the way and got lazy.... now I'm lucky if I write once every few months. So, this is going to become my new journal of sorts....

Here's an update on what's been going on since Natalie posted that I graduated... She failed to mention that she also graduated in December 2008 with her bachelors degree in Speech Pathology and Communicative disorders. So, we're both college grads :) Since graduating, we've both been working and are applying to graduate school. Natalie hopes to get a masters in speech therapy, and I'm shooting for a master's in healthcare administration...Although there's still a little part of me that wants to dive into med school, but we'll see what the future brings.

While we're figuring out some big things for the future, we've both been working and enjoying not being in school. Natalie was working as a speech pathology aide at Intermountain Medical Center, and recently started a new position as an administrative secretary in the Heart and Lung Clinic at Intermountain medical Center. I've been working at Regence BlueCross BlueShield for almost 3 years now. I'm looking for something a little more challenging and where I can put my degree to use. So, if you know anyone that is looking for a motivated, hard-working college grad, send them my way!!!

We spent the first year and a half of our married life living in our little box of an apartment in Sugarhouse. I could never have survived there without Natalie's creativity and turning that little place into quite a nice home for us newlyweds. We had great times being so close to the shops in Sugarhouse and enjoying being so close to downtown Salt Lake City. We have so many great memories, and I am so glad that was our first place. It was especially fun serving as nursery leaders in our little ward. It will be great to tell our kids how we couldn't walk around our bed because it filled the room, and how we had to get dressed in the living room because our clothes wouldn't fit in the very small bedroom closet. And who could forget the convenience of the bathroom. You could give yourself a bath without even getting off the toilet! :)

To save a little money, In October 2009 we decided to pack up our little apartment and move in with my parents and little brother Darren in Draper. It was fun being so close with family and we couldn't have asked for better landlords than my parents :)

Since then, we decided to leave the nest again and get another apartment in Cottonwood Heights. This place is a PALACE compared to our little apartment in Sugarhouse. We feel like kings with our dishwasher, washer and dryer, and oh yes, even a garbage disposal! Our clothes fit in the closet too!

So, we are having fun. We are excited for the changes coming in our family... my brother Brandon and his wife Loren will be having a baby any time now, Natalie's brothers Matt and Michael are off to serve missions in Brazil in May, and my brother Darren and his bride-to-be Dezi will be getting married in May! We have so much to be thankful for, even with the recent trials with my heath. We are still being blessed in so many ways.

Anyways, You really are a trooper if you made it through this... Thanks for reading! Until next time....

My Story with Crohn's Disease

Well, I've been looking for things to do with my recently acquired insomnia. Natalie reminded me that her friend Paige created this blog for us. I thought this might be a way for me to fill some of those sleepless hours....So here goes....

I thought I'd start my first post with why I am not able to sleep in the first place.... I've been taking medications to fight a flare-up I have been having with crohn's disease. For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with Crohn's on my mission in Sweden in Spring 2005. If you don't know what Crohn's disease is, it is an autoimmune disease that attacks the digestive system with ulcerations and fistulas that can develop anywhere from your mouth on down. There's no cure, but it can be managed with medication and surgery as a last resort. NOT FUN!!!

It was really weird how it all started. All of a sudden, I just started losing weight without even trying... Then other symptoms started... an almost constant fever, sharp abdominal pain, loss of appetite, diarrhea, even more weight loss, and even a weird eye infection. With the help of a dear Swedish person, I was able to work through the cracks of socialized health care and find a doctor that was with it enough to come to my diagnosis. After a colonoscopy that showed some pretty major inflammation in my large intestine, I was hospitalized in Malmo, Sweden. I went for a week without food, being fed nutrients through an IV to give my digestive system a rest and allow the prednisone and antibiotics to do their magic and let me heal.

I came home from Sweden taking a few different medications waiting to get into a specialist in the States. I weighed almost 50 pounds less than when I had left on my mission. It turns out I have one of the worst forms of Crohn's disease, where I can develop fistulas where growths connect from my intestines to other organs or make new openings in the skin. I started to develop these fistulas, and my doctor immediately placed me on the IV therapy treatment Remicade.

I would receive Remicade infusions every 8 weeks, and this worked a miracle for the next 3 and a half years. I was virtually symptom free and I was enjoying being in remission. After some time, I started to develop the same symptoms that I had above. My doctor increased my IV infusions to every 6 weeks. I had a colonoscopy and it showed mild inflammation had returned.

In January 2009, I started seeing a different gastroenterologist to get another opinion on how I might get Crohn's under control.... I started a new drug called Cimzia, where I get a shot in my belly once every 4 weeks. It really worked wonders like Remicade the first few treatments, but to my dismay, I started to feel the nasty symptoms coming back.

Since then, I have been trying out different drugs to try and get things under control. These past couple of months have been especially difficult. I have lost about 25 pounds total in that time frame. I have experienced the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I was hospitalized with dehydration and pancreatitis due to another medicine that I tried. I have made 2 visits to the ER as well. IT'S BEEN CRAZY!! During my last meeting with my doctor, I have learned that it is now coming down to surgery to remove the inflammed parts of my intestine. My doctor wants me to give Remicade one last try since it worked so well for me before. He tells me I have about a 40% chance of it working, but risks of having a reaction are greater when going back to it. It's been quite the emotional roller coaster I must say.

I hope that this post wasn't too negative. Along the way, I have had such great support from my friends and family. I couldn't have gotten through this without Natalie. She has done so much for me to keep me comfortable and happy both physically and mentally. She's my guardian angel! So, I'm waiting to have my "first" remicade treatment sometime this week. I should know within a couple of weeks whether or not it's going to work for me. We'll keep ya'll posted!! :)

Nate Graduated!

We're so happy Nate finished his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

Way to Go! We are excited to see what our next adventure will be.