Surgery = Done!

Laura is out of surgery and on the road to recovery.

It was a very long day of surgery, and a very long day of waiting to hear what was happening. I got to see Laura just after midnight tonight.

We've all had a very, very tiring day and are getting as much rest as we can (Laura included).

More to follow I'm sure. Thanks for all of the well wishes.

Wellness Brigade To The Rescue!

Tomorrow is the big day. Laura's at hospital now and prepping for her surgery tomorrow morning. It'll be a long day of waiting around tomorrow, but in the end Laura will emerge victorious!

I'd just like to say thank you to everybody for sending get well messages her way. Along those lines, if you weren't part of the original email list, I'd like to announce the official launch of the Wellness Brigade (http://www.LauraWellnessBrigade.com).

(A special thanks to everyone who has already submitted pictures for the Wellness Brigade.)

This concept was born out of the brilliant mind of Jacob to help give Laura a taste of just how much her friends and family back home are thinking of her and wishing her well.

If you want to contribute, please email me (harwig [at] gmail [dot] com) with your submissions. As you can see from the site, you're welcome to string together multiple pictures into a super-get-well-soon message if you're feeling clever.

I will update again tomorrow evening after the surgery.

A Note from Laura

As some of you already know, I have been battling a gastrointestinal disease for over 3 years now.  I have finally decided to have surgery to take care of the problem once an for all.  While it is a major operation and will mean tons of painful recovery time, I am very excited about the idea of feeling healthy again and getting my life back.  

I saw my doctors last Thursday (the 8th) and they checked me into the hospital because I was experiencing some of the more severe side effects of my disease (like anemia).  I was already in the process of planning my surgery, but it was not scheduled until March.  While in the hospital, I met with the surgical team again and they decided that the date should be moved forward.  I will now be having my operation next Thursday (the 22nd).  After spending 5 days in the hospital (and getting my blood levels topped back up thanks to all the fabulous blood donors out there), the doctors decided that it would be alright for me to go back home and wait for the surgery (I was having a hard time dealing with being in the hospital emotionally and there wasn't really anything they could do for me there anyways other than watch me and wait).  

So, I will be home until Tuesday the 20th at which point i'll go back for surgery prep and the actual operation.  I should be in the hospital for 7-10 days post-op and then home from work for 4-6 weeks after that while I recover.  

I am nervous about the operation, but I know its the right decision for me and I really have complete faith in my doctors.

Bobby has, of course, been amazing about all of this and by my side through the whole thing.  My parents are also coming out to be here for the surgery and the week or so following, so I have lots of support.

Thanks to you for all of your love and well wishes.  Bobby will put updates on the blog about how the surgery goes and my recovery.

Love you all!

Laura

Things I Love About London, Part III: New Traditions

One fun part of living in the UK is learning about and then adopting British traditions into our holiday celebrations.  If you read the blog/look at our pictures, you may notice that, around Christmas time, there are often pictures of Bobby and myself wearing rather silly looking paper crowns.  These come from my favorite and henceforth adopted British Christmas tradition known as the Christmas Cracker. 

Basically it's a little toilet-paper roll wrapped in Christmas paper.  You and a partner each pull on one side (very wishbone-like) and the cracker makes a rather pleasant popping sound as prizes jump out.  These prizes almost always include a paper crown, a ridiculously cheap toy of some kind and a joke or riddle.  

I don't know why I enjoy the Christmas Cracker so much.  I think its just a lot of fun to see everyone sitting around the dinner table in a ridiculous paper crown.  

Christmas in the Country

We had a lovely Christmas week out in the English countryside. There were a few things that Laura and I realised once we got settled out in the cottage for a few days.


First, having space is AMAZING. It wasn't just the wide open fields (filled with sheep!) and hilly farmland that surrounded the house, although that was pretty spectacular. More than that, it was having more than one chair to sit on and more than two rooms to be in that was so lovely.

Second, when left without the internet for a week, I turn into a super-reader. I burned through 5 books during the week we were there, and it was fantastic. Sitting in a comfy chair, feet up, next to a roaring fire, reading a good book. There are few things better than that.

Third, cottages in this area were apparently built before modern humans became normal sized. As you can see from this picture, the house is not appropriately "Bob-sized." I bumped my head on the beams, doorways and ceiling more times than I care to remember. Laura was perfectly contented to walk upright through the doorways and then laugh at my misfortune.


Fourth, proper footwear is important. When stomping about on the hillside chasing sheep, it is vital to wear waterproof shoes. Laura remembered to bring her wellies, but I did not have any, and didn't bring my hiking boots. Luckily, we went into the nearest "big" town on the second day and I bought a pair of wellies for £7 that worked wonders.

Laura, doing her best to catch a sheep

In any case, it was a great week to rest and do just about nothing. We're back in London now and enjoying our second week away from work and the craziness of the city (by staying in our flat and napping as much as possible).

Here are some pictures from our week in the cottage.

We wish you all a Happy New Year and hope 2009 is even better than 2008 has been.

Happy Christmas!

We continue our streak of seeing how long I can go without a trip home while simultaneously suffering from severe homesickness by snubbing our friends and family and not coming back to VA for yet another important holiday. But really, how many times in my life will I be able to celebrate a British Christmas? Probably not many, so we’re trying to take advantage of it.

In that spirit, Bobby and I have rented a traditional British cottage out on the Welsh border for Christmas. The cottage fulfilled my two requirements for being “traditionally British:” 1) It has a fire place 2) There are lots of sheep around. It is, in fact, on a sheep farm. So bobby and I will be spending the week of Christmas sitting by the fire, reading some Dickens, going on walks through the Welsh hills, looking at sheep out the window, and trying to figure out what people do without internet.

We’ve rented a car to get out there, so wish us luck as we attempt to drive on the left (aka wrong) side of the road!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or Happy Christmas, as the Brits would say) and a wonderful new year.

PS- Thanks to my mom who sent us some canned cranberry sauce! I will save it for Christmas day.

Things I Love About London, Part II: Cadbury Eggs

As i'm sure you're all well aware, you can buy Cadbury Eggs in the states as well. But one thing I love about London is the period of time during which I can buy this, my favourite of all candy, in this country. I believe that, perhaps only rivalled by Mac n Cheese, the Cadbury Egg is the single greatest culinary invention of mankind. This Sunday, December 7th, I bought my first Cadbury Egg of the season. I will be able to purchase them until well after Easter.



In the states, Cadbury Eggs are purely an Easter Candy and you can, therefore, only buy them for maybe two months of the year. In London, I get to enjoy them for nearly 6!! It has always bothered me that I cannot buy Cadbury Eggs year-round. Like Girlscout Cookies, I think that if they were always readily available, I would, infact, always be buying them. Hopefully one day the British will recognize this and start selling Cadbury Eggs for the additional 6 months of the year, but, until then, i'll appreciate the extra time I get to enjoy them here.



If you do not know what a Cadbury Egg is, shame on you. Please let me know and I will send you some.