Here We Go Again...

Kenzie was hospitalized after contracting a severe UTI. After turning purple, getting 104 fever and freaking out both the night nurse and my mom, Kenzie got to go on a trip to the E.R. Because of the shunt in her head they want to keep her for a few days because it's a possibility that her body's natural response will attack the shunt that's in her head/stomach. Of course she'll have awesome company and anyone is invited to stop up, say hi or be mean to her!

I swear we've spent so much time in hospitals in the last year and a half that we could write an etiquette book. Here are a few tips, tricks and rules that I've learned:

Ask questions, its better to look dumb than to feel helpless and confused.
Use the nurses and CNA's to your advantage, that's what they are for. If you need something, ask for it.
If you're gonna get hurt/sick, go to Great Falls, the Lewistown hospital has Facebook blocked, ridiculous.
Don't be afraid to question doctors decision's, they can only make decisions with what they know.
Hospital beds can sleep two.
Friends are everywhere.
Caffeine can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.
Buy expensive Kleenex, your nose is worth it.
Doctors and nurses work really hard, be nice.
Write everything down, survival mode doesn't include long-term memory.
Don't forget to eat, it puts everyone in a better mood.
Laugh and be inappropriate, serious-ness will kill you.
Drink water, it does a body good.
and
Waiting rooms are an awesome place to play pooch or pregnant.

Small Town, USA

I decided to include a guest blog I've written for a local realtor.

"I used to think it too small to spend a life in, but now I'm not so sure." - Mary Kelly

I left Lewistown, Montana two days after I turned 18. I moved to Billings, the biggest city in the state with a culture shocking 100,000 people. 10 months later, I moved to Bismarck, ND, which wasn't as big, but with the oil boom happening, it wasn't as safe either.

When I came home for my first long visit, it was like I was looking at home through new eyes. When I was a teenager, I assumed that every adult I knew was waiting for me to mess up, then they would call my parents. It took a little growing up to realize that the adults in my life were more worried about keeping me safe than getting me in trouble, and in that small town, I had a lot of guardian angels. Now, it felt more like the entire town was a huge, albeit unconventional, family.This idea was made into a reality quickly after I left again.

My little sister, Kenzie, was in a car accident during the summer of 2011. The little community that I couldn't wait to run away from, turned into the place I ran to, and they welcomed me with open arms. Strangers were putting on fundraisers for my family and everywhere I looked there were green and yellow "Pray for Kenzie" magnets.

After being gone for two and a half years, I am finally coming full circle and moving back home where I belong. Where life a little slower and a little simpler. People genuinely care about one another and differences are embraced as opposed to discriminated.