My Donor Experience

     I did it!!  I hopefully saved the life of a patient somewhere in the world that has Lymphoma disease yesterday!  I can't believe it was so easy and pain free (for the most part).

     I got the call back in August. It was my first official day back to work, after having a two-three month summer break.  They first sent me an e-mail that I almost deleted since I thought it was spam.  As I read it, I became very nervous.  I didn't feel healthy or good enough to donate and potentially save somebody's life!  The next day, I got a phone call telling me that I was a potential match.  They told me that if I agreed, they would send me information in the mail, arriving the next day, that would give me more information about the process.  I was very scared and did not feel like I could do it.  I agreed to have them send me the information and I told them I would think about it.  I posted it on Facebook to see if anyone else had donated before and knew what it was like.  No one responded except a few friends that were nurses that knew about the process.  As I spoke with Andrew and my family about the donation, I came to the realization that this patient is a mother, daughter, son, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.  It was a family member to some family somewhere in the world.  I put the situation to my own life.  If my Mom or Dad or sister or husband had a blood disease and there was a potential bone donor that turned it down, I would be devastated!!  I knew then and there that I had to do whatever I could to help this patient.

     I received the packet in the mail the following day.  I immediately called DKMS (the agency I was going through) to inform them that I was willing and able to donate.  Deep down, I was still terrified and did not feel worthy to donate.  I did not feel healthy enough, good enough, brave enough, etc.  Ultimately I did not feel like the hero that I felt I needed to be in order to save a life.

     They asked me to donate blood at a local Lab Corp to send to the patient's doctor to confirm me as a match.  I went the following day to give blood.  I was nervous because I had NEVER given blood.  I was always too scared, but I was willing to help this patient out, so I went.

     I was also a little nervous because Andrew and I have been 'trying' to get pregnant since last summer.  We have yet to plan plan, but we haven't been on birth control since I received my Bachelor degree.  Thankfully, they did pregnancy tests and confirmed that I was not pregnant.  This was another decision I had to make.  Andrew and I had to decide whether we should put a two to six month hold on having a family or not.  We quickly decided that Heavenly Father has a hand in everything.  We felt that we had not been able to get pregnant because I was meant to be a bone donor for this patient.

     After the blood test, I waited just over a month to hear that I was a match!  It was a very long six weeks or so.  The wait was hard for me.  And I can only imagine how the patient and their family felt.  Megan called me to let me know that I was officially a match and that we were ready to move forward and select dates.  There are two ways to donate, one being a surgery to extract bone marrow from my hip (very painful for weeks) or stem cell donation which involved getting shots for five days in a row then to be hooked up to a machine and donate similar to donating plasma.  Neither way sounded great to me, so I was ready and willing to do either.  Megan informed me that the patient's doctor would prefer the stem-cell research method (yay!  no surgery, just shots...).  She gave me the dates they were thinking.  I told her that worked for me and I worked to get a sub.

     They required me to go to the place of donation to get a physical exam from a doctor there (not the patient's doctor) to be sure I was healthy to donate.  While I was there, they conducted more blood tests, an EKG, and a chest x-ray.  When I was speaking with the doctor, he mentioned that my platelet count and white blood cells were slightly high.   He said he wasn't too concerned, but that he wanted me to get more blood work done and sent to him to be sure I was clear to donate.  I left feeling better, and I was not nervous.  I felt that I would be able to donate and that my next blood work samples would be normal.

     The next thing I knew, the first day of my shots were here.  I was told that the shots would make me tired, sore, nauseous, and achey.  I was expecting the worst.  They told me I should be fine to go to work the first few days of the shots, but that it should hit me on the third day of shots and beyond.  I was slightly sore, but not too bad.  Day three came and went, and I still felt fine.  I had some bone soreness, especially in my lower back and occasional pain in my joints, throat, and neck, but other than that, I felt just fine.  I felt normal!  I was worried that they hadn't given me the correct amount of medication because I felt so normal.

     The day of my flight out finally came.  The following two days I was to donate.  This time, they paid for an extra person to fly out and stay with me.  Obviously, I chose my husband, Andrew.  I was so excited and nervous to finally be able to donate.  As I was packing up, I felt a sudden rush of gratitude to my Heavenly Father.  I remember thinking of the patient and their family and hoping that they had the gospel.  If they did not have the gospel, I hoped that they had some form of knowledge of the sacrifice Christ made for them and their present trials.  I was full of gratitude for all of the prayers that had been made on my behalf.

     Andrew and I flew out that evening.  Our flight was easy and the drive that picked us up was the same driver that picked me up that last time I was at the airport.  He was very friendly.  We arrived at the hotel, and grabbed some food.  We then went to the hotel to eat it and relax.

     The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast.  They told me to eat a high protein breakfast, but all the hotel had was fruit and toast.  I ate what I could and ran out to the street cause the driver had been waiting for us for 10 minutes (he was early).  The driver took us to the hospital from the hotel.

     At the hospital, they asked me if I needed to use the restroom.  I told them I was okay thinking I would have another chance...boy was I wrong!  I sat on the bed and they immediately went to work giving me my last set of shots and hooking me up to the machine.  Next thing I knew, they had me ready to go and I began the donation process.  The time went by pretty quickly.  I watched local television.  The one nurse was so funny.  Each time a show ended, she quickly stood up and asked what I wanted to watch.  I was basically pressured into watching what she wanted to watch.  Boy was she lucky that I am an easy-going person and was fine to watch anything.  The last hour of donating I had to use the restroom!!!  My choices were to use a bed pan or wait until I was finished.  I decided to hold it.  Man oh man, my poor bladder was not happy with me.  That last hour was so long!!  

     Thankfully she hurried and unhooked me so I could go to the restroom.  I made it!!!  I was scheduled to return the next day.  Here are some pictures that Andrew took of me donating.

This is me hooked up to the machine.  The red one is the stem cells and some blood.  The yellow bag is plasma that they will mix with the stem cells.

This is the bag of stem cells mixed with the plasma.  I ended up donating three times what the patient needed.

This is me bandaged up!

I highly encourage you and others to sign up to be a donor.  It was well worth it!

     They called me the evening of donation day one telling me I did not need to come back in because I had actually donated three times the amount needed for the patient.  DKMS told Andrew and I we would still fly home and that we could just rest up the following day.  Andrew has spent the day doing his homework.  We have gone on many walks.  A couple missionary from our ward are picking us up today at 5:30 for dinner.  I am excited to get out and have some company.  I will keep you updated on the patient and my recovery.  So far, I have felt normal with few aches from the leftover shots.  

     The patient and I are allowed to have anonymous contact for one year.  At the one year anniversary, we are allowed to exchange information if we both agree.  I really hope the patient will make it and that I can have contact with them.  I am truly hoping to use this as a missionary opportunity.  My fingers are crossed!!!  :D

4th of July

For the 4th of July, we had the Hardy family over to celebrate.  Bryan, Carolyn, and Mike came up to help Andrew's Taco Time store pass out beaded necklaces to the crowds.  We had so much fun and got an excellent workout!!

  

    

Heidi, Carolyn, and Michael helping out Taco Time at the Kaysville parade.

After the parade, we went to our house to play games and poor Andrew had to work.  We played Settlers of Catan.  As we began to play Bananagrams, Andrew called to say he was off!!  When he got home, we played Bananagrams and Sneaks (a version of Spoons). 

Then the rest of the Hardy family came over (Greg, Pris, Amanda, Hyrum, and Edi) for our BBQ.  When we finished eating, the boys went outside to play Lasso Golf.  Hyrum really wanted to help and play.

Andrew and Mike enjoying some Lasso Golf.

Lasso Golf!!

Aunt Cherri and her dog, Peanut

Heidi, Carolyn, and Hyrum out front watching the boys play Lasso Golf.

Hyrum trying to play.

Michael choking Eva, Holly's dog??

When we finished playing Lasso Golf, Carolyn and Mike and Greg and Pris, went home.  Amanda had brought some fireworks, and we did them out front.  Amanda and Hyrum went home next as Edi, Mom, Dad, Andrew, Aunt Cherri, and I went down to Kaysville to watch the fireworks.

I had so much fun celebrating the 4th of July and spending the day with family.  I decided that July 4th is my favorite holiday!  It is so much fun, and I get such a rush from the day.  :)

June 2012

Our summer started June 1st, when I got out of school for the summer!  I don't really remembering doing anything super fun that weekend.  I went to work the following Monday to get some extra money through Legislative Days.  I then went to work the following Tuesday for a few hours.  I then kicked myself out, and reminded myself that I was no longer allowed to return to school until I needed to.

Tuesday evening, Andrew and I headed up to Mount Pleasant to go camping for the night.  We pulled into the parking lot at 9:05.  Apparently, we need to be there by 9 o'clock.  We had to spend the night in the parking lot.  Holly and Nick came up late, late that night to spend the night since she was doing Carolyn's hair in the morning.  We woke up and got ready for the day.

Wednesday, June 6th, was Carolyn and Mike's wedding day!  We were so excited for them to be sealed for eternity in the Manti temple, and I was so proud of Andrew and I for being able to be there.  (We had renewed our temple recommend for this wedding, our first renewal!!)

Thursday was Mike and Carolyn's wedding reception.  Andrew and I, combined with my parents, got Carolyn the Poppy picture you can see above.  My friend and a paraprofessional in my classroom, Joli Curdie, is an artist.  I asked her to paint them a large picture of a poppy (a flower that is important and special to Carolyn).  She did a beautiful job, and it was displayed at their reception in Utah.

Friday, June 8th, Evan Lewis and Bekki Monson got married.  They got married at Hooper Park on a baseball diamond.  It was such a clever idea, and it was a lot of fun.  This is the only picture I had of the wedding, but it was a lot of fun.  Yes...I did decorate their car.  :)

Saturday, June 9th we left for our fun filled vacation.  We went from home and flew to Dallas.  We landed in Dallas and got our rental van.  We wanted a mini-van and had reserved one.  However, when we got there, there was no vans left.  They tried to get us into a SUV, but we told them we wanted, and had reserved a van.  He said he would go check on it and let us know.  He came back to us with a van!!  Imagine that!  We drove from Dallas to Fort Walton Beach where we attended Mike and Carolyn's reception in Florida.  Here is a quick rundown on our trip, not in any specific order.

Andrew and I at Fort Walton Beach

Andrew and I at Fort Walton Beach

View from our hotel in Pensacola Beach, FL

Bourbon Street!  (Not impressed and do not plan to go back to Bourbon Street, although I totally loved and plan to return to New Orleans!

Holly and I in New Orleans

Holly and I in New Orleans

While we were in New Orleans, the rest of our family ate at Subway.  Holly and I did not want to eat at Subway when we were in New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter.  Holly and I ate at Huck Finn's.

Our suite in Biloxi, MI.  It was across the street from the beach with a direct view right out on the porch.  While we were in Mississippi, we wanted to go to the beach.  Mom tried to drive out onto the beach in our van.  We got stuck, and it took forever to return to the street.  Thankfully we were able to get out.  Silly mom!!

House in New Orleans

House in New Orleans

House in New Orleans, I believe the Mayor's house???

Superdome in New Orleans

House in New Orleans

St. Andrew's cathedral (I believe)

View from our hotel in Pensacola Beach, FL

We returned home Sunday, June 17th late at night.  We had a lot of fun, but I feel like we could have had a lot more fun without all the technology.  At the dinner table, etc. we would all be on our phones and not interacting with one another, so sad.

I started school the following Monday.  I had school all that week and am having school all this week.  On Friday, I will be completely done with school!!  Yay!

Hardy Happenings

It makes me laugh that I have two draft posts.  I swear I have good intentions to update the world on my life!   :)

Wow, I think that every post begins with me stating how little I blog. I have been a very huge slacker, although I have definitely kept up on my blog-stalking.

I just finished up my last day of class for the Spring 2012 semester.  Yay!  I just need to finish up my paper and I will be done for the semester!  I am so excited to almost be finished with school.  Although, it is also very scary to think that my life will be moving forward come July.  I am very afraid of change, and will not be surprised if I re-enroll in school next Spring.  It is scary to me that I am now old enough to be completely finished with schooling.  That is such a huge step!  It is crazy, and I definitely do not feel that old.

Andrew and I have been watching all of our high school friends get married, and have children.  It seems that we are the only ones that have been married for almost 3 years, and still have no children.  Maybe the time will be right soon, who knows.  I love stalking all these new moms and seeing all their fun pictures!  Someday I will be one of those people :)

I am so proud of Andrew!  He finally is finished with all of his science courses.  Andrew isn't very excited to be in school.  In fact, I think if he hadn't married me, he would not be in school.  This is a good and a bad thing.  I am oh so proud of him for realizing the importance of schooling and that he needs to go to school to support our family.  However, because he doesn't want to be there, he doesn't put forth much effort.  I do have sympathy for him.  Generals are very hard to get through because they aren't that interesting...at least not for the most part.  It is just another hoop to jump through.  He is getting there though, and I am so proud of him!!  He is thinking of getting his degree in Forensic Science, which means we would most likely have to move out of Utah since crime isn't super prevalent.  Since we need to live in Utah for another 2 years to finish the requirements for my T.H. Bell Loan/Grant, it is a good thing he has taken so long :)

My little sister moved out this past weekend, again.  It makes me pretty jealous that she is able to move out.  But, then I look at how much we are saving and able to do since we live in the basement, then I feel better about it.  I am really hoping that we will be able to move out in the next year into a house of our own.  That would be really nice :)

It is hard for me to believe that I have been teaching for just over a year now.  So crazy!!  I am still loving my job, and cannot wait for year two.

Andrew's brother, Michael, came home from his mission from Thailand last week.  It is fun to have him home and get to know him.  He served in the military for four years before his mission, so he was either deployed or living in Florida.  He met a girl in Florida, and she moved here about six months ago.  She has been my temple buddy each week, and she has been a blast to get to know!  Mike prosed to her last Monday, and they are planning a wedding for June 6th!  Andrew and I are planning on making a trip, for the Gayler family vacation, to New Orleans and Florida for their reception in June.  I am so excited for this trip!  Hopefully I will take pictures and post them next time :)

Happy June!

Wow, this was a fun fun month! We had lots of celebrations for Father's Day, My Birthday, Our 2nd Anniversary, and just celebrating June.

I wish that I was a better picture taking person, but I am not, so all of the blog posts are quite boring, and for that I do appologize. So...here goes my boring blog...

Today, I received my first check for over $1,000.00. It feels so nice to know that my schooling has finally paid off!! I love it! We finally are able to pay off all our credit cards (and stay out of debt), pay off Andrew's ortho bill, and pay off our bed! Best of all, we are finally able to save up for a house and get a 'good' pre-approval! I cannot wait to get started on being more financial stable. Now...I say this all without complete enthusiasm because I am only a teacher...but it is better pay than I received working as a T.A.

My birthday was on Father's Day this year. As much as I like to be selfish and have that day be MY day, I secretly love it! I love it because I get to spend time with my family. I love my family and I have been very blessed to have such great family members.

For our anniversary, we typically have gone to Park City (our honeymoon) and stayed at the same hotel for a few days. This year, we were out of money. Andrew got a deal for Real Salt Lake tickets. We were able to celebrate our anniversary a few days later having fun in the sun! I love spending time with him, and I cherish it even more since it rarely happens. I cannot believe how fast 2 years has gone, and I am so excited to spend forever more years with him.

I am excited to say that I finish my job tomorrow! This last week has been very hard to stay dedicated and keep the students busy. I have completely lost all motivation, especially since anything I teach will be lost over the next break. I teach at a year round school, but I am trying to get my classroom to be on a traditional schedule for next year. Partially because I think it is B.S. that my 'summer break' is three weeks long...not long enough!! But also because with my students, they forget a lot over three week breaks throughout the year.

This has been my June month. I look forward to July! :)

A Fresh Start...The Beginning

A lot, a lot has happened the last few months. It is always amazing to me how much the Lord is there to help us out, when we need it and ask for it. I am so blessed with all that He has given my little family.

First of all, I am almost finished with my degree! I am so excited to finally be finished with it! However, as soon as I finish my B.S., I will be starting at the U to get my M.Ed. I will be working full-time and going to school full-time, just like I have before. The degree is a 30 credit degree, which means I should be finished by Spring 2012. I am pretty stoked about this!

Secondly, I worked at STRIDE, which is the most restrictive behavior unit in Davis School District (best place to ever work!!). I was doing my student teaching at STRIDE, as well as being a paraprofessional. I was working on a teacher prep day, and the principal kept coming in and having private conversations with Angela (STRIDE teacher). I was getting very nervous because I thought it was something bad since Angela told me my student teaching may not count because she wasn't 'qualified' to be a cooperating teacher.

Well...the following work day, my advisor from the U, Kathy Hill, was coming to do a final observation for my student teaching. At the end of the observation, she told me that the principal wanted to talk to both her and I immediately following. I went into Glaucia's office, scared as can be. Well...it turns out that an elementary school had some problems and the teacher needed to be replaced. She told me that they were going to offer it to me!! I was sooo shocked and sooo excited! Of course, I accepted the offer immediately. She then preceeded to tell me the dynamics of the classroom. Then she told me that they would keep my pay the same, 11.18/hour at 6.5 hours per day. :( I was not excited about this, but I knew that it would be worth the experience. I have been working 8 hour days at Bluff Ridge Elementary, and getting paid crap! However, I have LOVED being here. I have learned so much and loved every minute of it.

Last week, I was able to interview for the position I am currently working in for next year. The interview went great, it was by far the easiest interview I have ever had. Traci, the principal, informed me later that day that they were offering the position to me. I immediately accepted the position.

Today, I got an e-mail telling me that the District decided to pay me teacher pay beginning May 18th, the day I accepted the position! I am sooo excited! This means that Andrew and I can start saving for our house sooner than expected. I cannot wait!!

Andrew's job at Stephens Hot Chocolate finally ended, and he quickly got a job at Taco Time in Kaysville. He has enjoyed working there, but the pay has been hard. He has also decided to continue his education at Weber State University come Fall semester. I am excited for him to begin at Weber again!

January

Wow, January has come and gone! It's always so nice to start off a new year with a fresh new start. Sadly though...scheduling doesn't really allow for a new start.

We started the year off at our house with friend and family around us. It's always fun to ring in the new year with those you love around you. We played games, ate food, and had fun together.

Then it was time for me to return to reality, after having a 2 week break. It is always hard for me to come back after a break, my poor students were a million times worse than me. :( At work, we've had a rough transition back to real life. We're finally starting to get back to the familiar scheduling of coming to school. I have had fun observing a new student and figuring out the programming for the student.

I also started a new semester of schooling. I will be walking on May 6th! I am so so excited to finally be finished. Although, I still have one class to take summer semester...which is a huge bummer. I am debating whether or not I should do my Master's degree. I am thinking I will do it, especially if it won't take me long. But...we will see...

Another change for me is that I got a new church calling. I used to be in the Relief Society activity committee. I loved the calling. I got to plan all the activities, and it was only once or twice a month, which worked well with my schedule. Well...I am now a Sunbeam teacher. The kids are adorable, but it is so hard working with students all week, then on my weekends, I have to be with more kids for two hours. It is rough, but they are cute to make up for it.

Andrew's schedule hasn't changed at all. He is still in Young Men's, going to DATC, and working at Stephen's Hot Chocolate. He will most likely change the last two this year. He was given two weeks notice that he will lose his job last week. He has been busy applying for jobs and he now has an interview with the county doing what sounds like GFS (Lagoon). He is debating about returning to a college, and depending on where his job is will probably determine his school. We are thinking Weber again, but he may go to SLCC, who knows...

We are anxiously waiting for the first week of April to come. Andrew and I have booked a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean. We were going to go, just us, but we decided to invite my family. Now that Andrew is out of a job, we are hopeful he can get the week off, but we will see. So if anyone wants to take his spot...ha ha