Today in...
1314 - Frederick III is named King of Germany.
1745 - Gulliver's Travels author Jonathan Swift dies.
1781 - Lord Corwallis' British forces surrender at Yorktown, VA, as the American Revolution winds down.
1812 - French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte begin to retreat from Moscow.
1937 - Women's Day magazine is first published.
1954 - Britain agrees to end its occupation of the Suez Canal.
1959 - The Miracle Worker opens on Broadway, starring 12-year-old actress Patty Duke.
1960 - The US begins embargo on exports to Cuba.
1977 - The supersonic Concorde jetliner touches down at New York City for the first time.
2002 - After experiencing strange, shooting pains in her brain for about two months, that had become more frequent and more painful as time went on, Heidi Wilcken experienced one while by herself on a church campout that was so painful it made her pass out, and she remained passed out for at least a half-hour.
This is what I have decided really started it all. After this happened, my parents were convinced that it wasn't just migraines or muscle spasms like I kept pinning it off to be. We went to the chiroprator first, thinking that maybe something was just out of place so it was pinching a nerve or something. But after there was no improvement, the chiropractor said that there must be something else wrong and we should go see our doctor as soon as possible. This is what started all the testing, the 8 hours of MRIs, 4 blood tests, 8 more hours of MRIs because the first ones didn't turn out, 2 more blood tests, an EKG, and then 4 more hours of MRIs. The time between October 19th and the surgery, but mainly between October 19th and finally finding out what was wrong with me November 7th, was the scariest time of my life. When I first met with my family doctor, I was told that it could be as little as just a chemical imbalance, or it could be an inflamed atery/blood vessel or a brain tumor which would need a complicated and high risk brain surgery to fix and I should start preparing myself emotionally for the worst. I was only 15. I had no idea how to handle this. Luckily, I had my family, my friends, my church leaders, and my teachers, all standing by me, letting me know that no matter what happened, they would be there.
From today til December 12, my surgery anniversary, I am constantly thinking about all the little things that happened now 5 years ago that led up to the surgery. All of the little miracles that have changed my life forever. Was it scary? Was it a trial that I didn't think I would make it through? Yes, but would I give up any part of the WHOLE experience for anything? Never. It is what has made me who I am. In a way, I grew and matured just as much if not more mentally and spiritually in those 2-3 months than I have in the rest of my life combined.
I love this time of year :)