Blessed

Today, I can honestly say despite the pain and all that's happened in the last two weeks, I am blessed.

A few of the chemicals excreted from the kidneys are still out of whack, mainly, creatinine which is now at 9.3. And I am told I just need to be patient awhile longer.

I woke up this morning thinking of things that remind me of home. Chocolate pudding my mom used to make -- how the steam would rise from the little bowls as she covered them with cellophane and placed each one gently in the refrigerator to cool; the smell of autumn, the sounds of my dogs. Simple joys that make life worth living.

There have been so many people who have nursed me back to this point over the last two weeks. Dr. Gretchen Clark, who rounds on her OB patients early at 6 a.m. and was always the first face I'd see. Dr. Sweet from Internal Medicine, who listened when I could hardly talk. Dr. May, who kept me from dialysis, despite being a nephrologist, Dr. Richardson, Dr. Cody, and countless nurses and nurses aides: Carrie, Lainie, Ali, Lauren, and all the others who left me alone to sleep at night because they knew I was tired and my patience was wearing thin. And Sue, who patiently worked for 45 minutes in the pre-dawn to find a vein from my tired arms for blood draws.

So many people work tirelessly around the clock, day and night, to help others. I owe my life to them.

I am humbled. I know repairing my life will likely take a few months of rehabilitation to get back to where I was once. But I am here, and I am getting stronger. And there is hope. I am blessed.