Healing Rain: You're as Brave as a Button!

I just want to mention my super awesome best friend, Laura! She has been here for me through everything, and still continues to be. I know it isn't easy to be friends with somebody who is sick, but she has told me that God gave us our best friends to help us carry our burdens. She stayed with me after the surgery, and helped me do the things that were impossible at the time, walking, sitting up, brushing my hair, even spending the night for a few nights. When I became discouraged and terrified and overwhelmed, she stayed up just crying with me. I had questions that neither of us could answer, and it was difficult for both of us I'm sure. I was reassured that I'm not alone through all of this. When we went to Winter Park to play, she even made sure to stay behind me on the slides, that way nobody would run into me. I could have fun and be safe at the same time!

Before I went in for surgery, we went to see our 2nd mom here, Kathe, and we were pretty much just saying goodbye, chatting and laughing and being silly. The surgery subject came up, and Kathe was just reminding me that I'm strong and brave, and I'll get through like a champion. Then out of the blue.. "Yea Danielle, you're as brave as a button!" I don't know where it came from, but it made us all laugh. It's an inside joke now, whenever I get discouraged or scared, "remember, you're as brave as a button!" It makes me laugh and I feel better.

While I have my best friend with me through this whole mess, I just have to say, I'm surrounded by amazing people! My friend Nicole went with me to the hospital for the procedure, she drove to and from without any sleep, she stayed there with me while I was fighting with the nurses, and drugged up and confused. Last night I passed out and went to her. She stayed with me, and her and one of our co-workers made me go to the ER.

When I say I'm surrounded by amazing people, I truly mean it. I was always scared to let anybody in on my condition, but here I can be totally honest and open about it. Everyone asks me everyday how I feel, and I love that they understand that I can't stay cooped up. They know that I know my own limits, and they respect that and still allow me to be myself and have fun! I have so many 2nd mothers here, even my own mother told me about it when she came for a visit! I absolutely love how my closest friends and my best friend make me laugh when I feel bad. Just last night at the hospital, my friends were playing with the medical equipment.

At one of my cardiologist and CT appointments a few months back, Laura went with me, so of course we were goofing off. We had an older guy with us, and I handed him cuddles (the unicorn) so we could go skipping down the hallway with linked arms. We embarrassed him, but it was funny! At the doctors, we were playing salad fingers with the gloves (another inside joke) and Laura sat on the exam table holding cuddles. When my doctor came in, she was very confused (I didn't see, but apparently she had a very confused look). The whole time my doctor was examining and talking, we were just cracking up for no reason. Even when the nurse was trying to draw blood, we couldn't even look at each other. The doctor even mentioned that I was definitely not in any distress on my summary, and she mentioned that me and my friend were laughing through the whole visit. We joke about it now that she made it into a doctors report without being a patient. I'm very well known in the cardiology department, and the doctor and nurse love me. My other friends that have accompanied me to appointments find it hysterical that they know me so well. And because I love to make others laugh, that's a great feeling!

I don't know why I wrote, I just feel very grateful and surrounded by love. I absolutely love it here. I love that when times get dark and discouraging, like last night, it always gets better just by being surrounded by friends. Last night it was the hospital, tonight it was standing around a campfire with friends singing swing low, I'll fly away, and total eclipse of the heart, very dramatically I might add. It's a weekly thing, we get so into the singing, last week it was herman the worm and lean on me. There's clapping and dancing and shouting, and it's just so fun and for a little while, I forget that anything is even wrong. And I got to come back from campfire and laugh even more at my best friends role playing a parent and a kid trying to explain to the kid why she should eat the carrot she made into a bear (which looked like a frog to me). It involved bears needing to hibernate, and how this particular bear/carrot wouldn't be waking up since he'd be chewed into a million pieces. Idk, just little random ridiculous moments shared with my friends, that's really whats keeping me going and helping me to stay strong and happy.