I woke up to darkness and a petite brown haired lady standing next to me. I had finally broke out of my deep anesthetic sleep and she must have been the reason why.

It was too late for visitors; I wouldn’t be seeing Mitch until morning. He took my phone home with him, so I wasn’t able to call him and let him know I was out. I noticed most of the things I went in with (jewelry, socks.....clothes) were all gone. I wasn’t so worried about them quite yet though.

It was nearing midnight. Great... I just woke up and I had the whole night to lay in a cold, scary, dark hospital room across the world BY MYSELF?! I was worried about how I would get ahold of my mom, if my family knew what had happened, if Mitch was doing okay. I wasn't even sure myself what the surgeon had done or if I was going to be okay.
The sweet little nurse explained briefly what was going on, put something through my I.V, and just like that, I was out again.

Around 5 AM, the surgeon came in to explain the situation. They found a kidney stone stuck in my ureter, and it had been lodged there for so long my kidney filled up with fluid and was shutting down. There was a horrible infection spreading through my kidney, and unfortunately they couldn’t remove the stone because the infection could spread throughout my body. So that’s how I got my very first stent. A long, rubbery tube that went from my kidney, down my ureter to my bladder. The stent was meant to drain the fluid and infection until they could get the stone out safely. Along with the stent, I had a catheter. Yes. Those things you see commercials about, the things we grow up thinking are for old people. A tube to drain my pee. And there, hanging from the bed, was my own personal toilet. Filling up and I didn’t even know.

Mitch was through the door as soon as visitors were allowed. I was so happy I wanted to jump out of the bed and squeeze him. He was extremely worried about me and just wanted to hug me and make sure I was okay and feeling better. He held my hand and asked if I’d eaten, if the pain was better, if I had any news. And then he saw it. My personal pee bag. And my new, tall, young blonde nurse goes “bet you’ll never want to drink Rosé again!" Nice.


I can’t say I remember much else of that day, other than watching the World Series on Mitchs phone and sleeping.

The next morning I was woken up in complete darkness by a ray of sunshine named Lillian. She was a beautiful lady from Zimbabwe with a very strong accent. She told me she’d be my new nurse for the day as she checked my vitals. She kept calling me her precious baby, as I was the youngest in my ward. It did make me feel a bit better. That is one of the only times I was okay with being woken up before 5 AM. After everything was taken care of, she left me to hopefully get a couple more hours of rest.

Around 7, another lady brought me breakfast. She left a small carton of milk and this thing called Weet-Bix in a wrapper. I had never had Wee-Bix before but I knew it was an Aussie/New Zealand. I tore open the wrapper and started gnawing on what I thought was a granola bar of some sort. It tasted like chewing on an inch thick piece of cardboard.

There was no taste at all. I spat it out and could not believe people ate this!!


A few minutes later I FaceTimed Mitch and his best friend Jarod. I held up the dry bar of nothingness and asked "what the heck is this all about?!" I told them I couldn’t bite through it and it was horrible, completely bland and awfully dry. They both burst out laughing! Apparently you are suppose to put it in a bowl with milk and sugar and it turns into almost like a cereal/oatmeal thing. They told me people actually eat them whole as a challenge! So here I was doing the Aussie version of the cinnamon challenge thinking that’s just how you do it.
I happily sipped my milk and pushed the chunks of wheat to the side.

I spent about 4 days in the hospital. I was able to have my catheter removed on the 3rd day, but I had lost a lot of strength and spent a day relearning how to pee on my own (TMI). Good times, good times. Sadly, I had to keep the stent because it wasn't safe to remove yet. The stent was the most excrutiating pain I had ever felt. I honestly don't remember much else other than watching the World Series, sleeping and occasional chats with Lillian when I wasn't too out of it.

On my final day, my nurse was a young girl from Scotland. She was spunky and made me laugh a lot. She got me out of bed, helped me get dressed, and even had all of my jewelry and everything that I thought had gone missing ready for me!

I was wheelchaired out and Mitch helped lift me into the car. Everything was loaded and we were on our way. Me, a stent, and about 10 puke bags just in case.

Until next time,
Tay

There was a time in my life when I thought the farthest I might venture away from home was Eugene, or maybe even Bend. The world was a small place and 80,000 people seemed like plenty. I never questioned the mountains that cut me off from the rest of my state, let alone the entire planet. I drove the same main roads every day without any thought of taking a new route. I've gone to the same diner on Sundays with the same employees who have served us since I was in diapers. Every day I'd say hello to the same neighbors who watched me grow. Medford, Oregon was all I knew, all I needed, and a Saturday spent in Ashland was enough adventure to get me by.

Back to school shopping in Eugene felt like going to Disneyland. That 2 hour drive through the mountains and country. The trip officially starting in Grants Pass with McDonald’s and Dutch Bro’s. The quick bathroom break in Sutherlin. Then just like that, I-5 makes a big curve left then immediately right and you’ve made it. You’re in a new town with new restaurants, new shops, new people. And of course, my favorite stop- Autzen Stadium. My heart would race while driving down Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Oregon always seemed so big to me. And I was in no rush to leave.

Now here I am, 9,184 miles across the world. 30 hours of flying over ocean and islands. Living in a city of 2 million people. The smells, the tastes, the people, the scenery. It’s all so different. From paradise of white sand and the ocean breeze to the marvelous show of city lights shimmering off the river. I've camped all along the south western coastline from Geraldton to Albany. Even across the world I find myself visiting the same coffee shop with the same friendly faces. Funny how quickly we adapt. Like a hermit crab, I made this new shell my home.

I’ve learned so much and changed more than I thought possible. I overcame battles I never imagined dealing with. I had to be in situations that were foreign to me and sometimes uncomfortable, but from that I grew. I’ve met incredible and caring people with all different backgrounds.
But most importantly, I’ve been able to share stories of the amazing place I’ll always call home, Oregon.

Until next time,
Tay