Dear friends,
It’s been a long time since new content was posted, and I’m sorry for that. I wanted to drop in with a quick update and let you know what’s been happening.
When I began this blog I fully intended to continue creating and posting additional content on a regular basis. However, my family unexpectedly hit a bit of a rough patch.
In a period of about half a year, both of my in-laws passed away, requiring my husband to be out of state for months at a time.
In the middle of that time, after 10 years of hoping for another child that never came, and 3 years of trying to adopt through foster care (it turns out social workers are reluctant to place a child in a home where there is already a special needs child), I unexpectedly discovered I was pregnant. We were overjoyed…until I lost the baby. Over the course of about a year, I experienced two more unexpected pregnancies that also ended far too soon. The last one occurred between about Thanksgiving (give or take) of 2012 and the New Year of 2013.
The day after Christmas I developed a headache, which worsened over the next several days. After seeking medical help several times and being told it was just a migraine, I finally insisted that they check a little closer, and a CT scan at the emergency room revealed a bleed in my brain. Further scans showed that a clot had formed in the main vein leading out of my brain, and no blood was circulating in the entire right side of my brain. The pressure building behind the blockage had caused a vessel in my brain to burst. We don’t know how long it was like that. I spent several days in the hospital being treated and evaluated. Our family is very grateful that the damage was much less than it might have been, and that I have no serious long-term neurological effects from this stroke, just some lingering minor annoyances.
Shortly after I was released from the hospital, we learned that I had lost this baby too. Due to my somewhat complicated medical situation, the miscarriage was completed surgically under close medical supervision.
Over the next few months, further testing revealed that I have two rare genetic blood disorders. It is likely that the combination of the two is responsible for the multiple miscarriages, and also that the pregnancy hormones contributed to causing the stroke. It was very strongly recommended that I not attempt further pregnancies.
In the spring, my grandfather passed away. Over the summer, my husband’s business tanked due to shifts in the market and his absences dealing with family issues.
It was a difficult time.
But my husband has found new work, I am recovering well, the two children we have are strong and well, and life is going on.
Needless to say, I have had a lot to sort through, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am still figuring out how to get things back to what passes for normal around here, sorting out priorities, learning my new limitations, and taking things one day at a time.
So for those of you who are wondering, no, I don’t know if or when I will be putting up new content. I have some that’s mostly ready to go, and some that’s in the planning stages, but I’m not yet at a place where I can take it on. I don’t know if or when I ever will be. I am sorry if I left you hanging. Some days are like that–even in Australia.
🙂
 
Awakening Wonder 