Alright soo I have not posted anything in here in about a year, but looking through here I realized I have friends on here I only keep updated with through livejournal...sooo here goes a year long update. LOL
Ok so a very great deal can happen in a year and it looks like it was May 2008 since I posted last.
Let me start by saying around my 24th birthday, December 6th 2008 I decided that my life had become redundant and rather dull. Changes had to be made, because in some things I was burning out and in others it was just time to move on. In May, I quit my job at Citi, and decided to return to school. I first tried out those strange online schools for one and a half semesters, which was only a nightmare....I really think they are a scam, then moved on to an Albuquerque school, for 2 semesters which was great and I am hoping to return.
I broke up with Nate in April, and left my house. Jazzy and I moved in at this time with her grandmother, in Los Lunas for a period while I attended school. That experience was interesting. It definitely gave me the opportunity to focus on school without the burden of bills. I took a trip in May to see my parent's new house and watch my younger sister graduate highschool. It's insane how fast they grow up, that trip of course was wonderful, and their new home is beautiful. During this time my beautiful sister, Alexandra also got married to her high school sweetheart, Billy... and I was fortunate to be apart of their wedding as a bridesmaid.
It also brought an old friend back into my life.
Ok this part is fun, in June of 2008 after being single for approximately 2 months, I was at my home....when my mother in law announced that a mutual friend of our past would be stopping by. Seeing as how I had not seen this friend in a few years, it was rather exciting news to me. He arrived with his nephew and was intending on staying the night. We flirted...b/c it's me and talked a great deal at the house before we decided to drive into town and get some coffee. We continued talking a lot that night, and returned home. We exchanged phone numbers the next day and returned to our busy lives.
A couple weeks later a few friends of mine asked me if I could come to Santa Fe to have a girl's day with them. After the shindig was over, I gave Lance a call....he lives in Santa Fe so why not. We met up and St Francis, had coffee and talked probably up until the bar closed, once more having a great time. This wouldn't seem like a big deal however seeing as how I lived in Los Lunas, Santa Fe was a 1 1/2 hour drive, hardly something I would want to do late at night. So I stayed the night at my old friend's house...I already had a great trust from him seeing as how we had been friends at this point for about 8 years.
That night, Lance said he had interest in me and asked me out. Earlier in the year I had decided that all of my problems I had with men were due to the fact I was searching for the wrong thing in relationships and would need to discover who I was before others could make me happy, thus my decision for the first time in my life was to be single. So as you can see this interest he spoke of came at a very inopportune time. But...it is Lance, and anyone who knows Lance knows he can be very, very persuasive. He convinced me to date him.
For the next few months I focused mostly on Jasmine, Lance, and school. A couple months after starting to date him, Lance convinced me to move in with him and his mother. Jasmine and I wanting to be a bit closer did so. I also got a job at the Garrett's Desert Inn, and worked there part time. I continued going to school...commuting to Albuquerque twice a week, which was made easy because of the railrunner and a good Albuquerque friend willing to give me rides. I got good grades my Fall 08 semester...but sadly not so good my Spring 09 semester due to the baby:
Around January 15th 2009, I became pregnant with Elizabeth Delyla Marie Mackey. She is due on October 5th 2009. So far it has been quite the exciting pregnancy, from kicks and baby bumps to odd diseases:
When I was almost 5 months pregnant, I went to the ER thinking I had the flu...here is that story:
What the whole ICU thing was about
Ok sooo for everyone who is not connected to the circle of friends who posted information regarding this, I guess I should finally tell you what it was all about.
May 6th: I spent the entire day in severe pain, a lot like flu like aches. I was coughing so hard I could not eat, and I had a mild fever. I figured I had a flu for a couple days to this point but this was ridicules, so I went to the ER. I was worried it would take the usual forever, but none the less felt too sick to bring any snacks or entertainment. When Lance, Jassy and I got to the ER, we were surprisingly rushed right in, I think the doctors were scared it was the swine flu. We spent a couple hours in the little ER room as the doctors poked me with IVS and ran tests. They determined then that I had pneumonia and checked me into the ICU. I vaguely remember sending out text messages that I was in the ICU, calling Sasha to come, and having my mil come pick up Jazzy.....but yeah it's a pretty big blur after that. I was admitted around midnight...so May 7th.
*sleepy time*
May 13th: Ok so I woke up on May 13th, unaware that I had been placed in a coma for the past 6 days. They told me I had Hantavirus, More on hantavirus a disease you get from mice, and now
I was in a new hospital room in Albuquerque in the ICU.
So what happened:
May 7th: I was taken to the hospital in Albuquerque in an ambulance, put in a coma, placed on a machine that took all the blood out of my body ran through oxygenation and pushed it back into my body, this procedure is called ECMO, More on ECMO. So anyway the machine allowed my lungs and heart to heal along with all the medicine they had me on.
Pics:
The ECMO Machine
Me, I still have a great deal of scars from this experience...but I think for Elizabeth's and my life, scars are a fair trade.
So back to May 13th, I woke up and couldn't speak. I was on so many drugs that day, I hardly even remember any of it. I was just told they took me off the ventilators and I woke up a couple hours later.
May 14th-May 18th was spent recuperating. I was told I couldn't leave until I knew how to walk.... and well... I'm a mommy and a fiancé, I really wanted to leave. So I got my muscles strength back, first with a walker, then finally on my own.
On May 18th I left the hospital.
The next couple days were soooo hard, I had sooo little energy and I fell on my stairs twice. Once I even fell on my chin, just another bruise to add to my collection. Lance put in a ramp, which helps immensely....unless it rains. Very sweet of him.
Through this entire thing the baby was not affected in the least. The placenta just sort of ate the infection up before it touched her....yes...her.
Anyway, I am doing much better now, I got the staples out of my femoral artery a couple weeks ago, I can walk almost normal (even though it sometimes hurts), my energy level is better everyday.
Anyway...that's about it. I feel extraordinary lucky to be alive. I am very grateful the baby is alive. I have the most amazing group of friends and family ever. And the last month has been an adventurous one.
I apparently was even all over the local news:
Santa Fe New Mexican Paper
KRQE News station
Since then I have just been recovering and staying at home, Christina and her friend visited last week which was an interesting experience.
On June 14th we had a birthday party for Jasmine who is now five:
We rented out the Banquet Hall and the Pool at my work to have the party.
Jassy waited forever for this bike, since the party had to be postponed due to my hospitalization.
And she of course had to go swimming.
I however got the best gift of all at the party:
I knew something special was going to happen at the party because Lance kept telling me so, but still...it was even more special. After Jasmine had opened all of her gifts he asked me to close my eyes. I hate closing my eyes in front of a room full of people. I just remember this leading in a mean bully putting bubble gum in my hair or something, but of course I still did. When I opened them....there he was on one knee in front of my chair holding the loveliest ring I had ever seen. So a week shy of our one year anniversary we got engaged. And hope to have our wedding on June 26th 2010.
The beautiful ring.
The dress I plan on getting:
The bridesmaids dresses:
Basic idea for his ring:
Needless to say, I am very very very excited.
Alright so after this extra ordinarily long long long post, I am done filling all of you in, for more timely updates you can find them at my myspace...
http://myspace.com/amiage If you wish to add me as a friend their just send me a message, I check it everyday.
Anyway much love,
Tiffany