The Sealy Story: Just What I Needed

You know, sometimes we need something, but we don't know that we need it until we get it. Did that make any sense? It does to me. What I am referring to is that Matt and I really needed some time away - from everything - but I don't think we really realized it until we did get some time away at the beginning of this week. Kids, life, jobs, ministry - all of it can keep us so busy that we don't take as much time as we should to just get away from everything. Don't get me wrong, Matt and I try to go on dates and such as much as possible, but it is hard when your schedule is predictable and yet unpredictable at the same time. We have our basic every week events - church, youth group, kid's meeting, visitation, prayer meeting, etc., but then you also have things that pop up unexpectedly - counseling, funerals, hospital visit, etc. And that can make life a bit unpredictable at times.

But God knew what we needed, so He provided a way for us to have some time away this past Monday and Tuesday. You all know that I have been going from dr. to dr. dealing with some lumps that I have in between my lungs and under my right arm. Well, I had an appointment yesterday, Tuesday, with a thoracic surgeon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is roughly 6 hours from here. Because we were going to a dr. appointment, and it was going to be more than just a quick couple hours trip, we left the kids here with Matt's mom. We went a day early mainly because we didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn to drive there and risk being late. So we headed out Monday morning.

We took our time getting there. We stopped in Moncton, New Brunswick, which is almost halfway and where some of Matt's relatives live. There is also a MALL there! Imagine that - a mall (we don't have one of them things here in our town - so it is a treat to go to one!) We walked around for a little over an hour, and I was even able to get a cute shirt from Tommy Hilfiger for $5. I was pretty excited about that! Then we had lunch with Matt's aunt and then we headed out again.

I'd like to say it was a beautiful drive. And normally it would be. But Monday it was pouring rain and so, so windy. It was hard for Matt at times to keep the van on the road - that was how hard the wind was! Anyways, we got to Halifax and navigated out way to our hotel. Halifax is quite large - especially compared to our town. I have never been there, and it had been a very long time since Matt had, so we weren't totally sure of where we were going. But, armed with our map and some directions, we arrived there safe and sound (we don't own one of them new-fangled GPS gadgets!). Since we were right downtown, parking was quite limited, so we had to park in a lot where you had to pay so much for the day. But, thankfully, it was right across the street from the hotel so we didn't have to run as far in the torrential rain and 90 mile and hour wind (you think I'm exaggerating?).

The hotel was beautiful and our room overlooked the harbour. We enjoyed a very nice meal then just hung out the rest of the night. We tried to go for a walk after supper when it sort of stopped raining, but as soon as we did, the wind picked up again. I failed to mention that Halifax is somewhat on a hill, and our hotel was at the bottom of it. So it seemed like everywhere we went we were walking uphill at what felt like was an 85 degree incline. Combine the walking uphill with going against the 90 mile an hour wind that about knocked us both backwards, and we got a GREAT workout. So our walk was ended rather quickly.

Usually I don't sleep very well in hotels because their beds are uncomfortable, but this one had Select Comfort (which is what we have at home) beds and I slept wonderful! I also got to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG with no interruptions and we even slept in until 9! Woohoo! That felt great! Then we enjoyed some delicious breakfast sandwiches and then got ready and headed out to explore the city since the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day!

We walked all along the water on the docks and saw lots of neat buildings and ships. Then we ventured up the hills again which we still very steep, but not as bad since the wind wasn't as strong. We saw some really neat things like old church buildings, old factories converted into loft apartments (which I think would be totally cool to live in if I were younger and had no kids!). We saw cool shops, lots of little cafes and restaurants, and even several really old cemeteries. One was so old you were not able to walk through it. But you could look through the iron fence and we read a bunch of the headstones. The oldest one we saw was from 1776. Its always so interesting to read what people write on the headstones. Some tell a story, others just say a name. Some even just have initials. Hmmm.... that could lead to an interesting post one day...

Well, anyways, we had a very nice morning exploring the city, then around noon we headed to the "Health and Sciences Centre" for my appointment. My appointment wasn't until 1:30, but we knew it would take some time to find a parking place and figure out where to go exactly. And it did take time. We got to the dr.'s office just in time. There is a large medical school there in Halifax, so there are students and residents everywhere. The first part of my appointment was with the resident, who was very sweet and definitely seemed like she knew what she was doing. Then we met with the dr. Let me tell you that I really liked this dr. He was very thorough, but personable. You know how some drs. you connect with and come you don't? Well we definitely connected with him.

So, the prognosis he gave us is this. The lump in my chest by my lungs is not causing any trouble right now, so we are going to just keep an eye on it for now. Phew. No surgery there - at least now. But, he did say that the lump under my right arm is quite large and they are actually quite surprised that it hasn't given me any trouble yet. That's me - always full of surprises! :-) Anyways, they think I should consider getting that lump out before it affects my mobility and function of my arm - especially since I am right handed. BUT, that is "out of their territory" since he is a thoracic surgeon, and unless you are really bad with anatomy, the armpit is not really part of your thoracic area. So, I am now waiting to hear from a dr. I have previously seen to the discuss this large lump there. Oh, and I mean large! It is about 4 1/2 cm in diameter, which is roughly from

here to here.

That's alot to have in your armpit thats not supposed to be there! Ha! And the weird thing is that I didn't even know it was there! Ha!

So, that's where we are with that. And to tell you the truth, I'm just fine with it all. I know it seems like we keep getting sent around and around to different people, but I would rather get the opinion of several drs. and have the right one operate or whatever then just take the opinion of one dr. That's one thing I always say to people about a diagnosis - get a second opinion. Always.

Well, I guess I have rambled on long enough (did we expect anything less?). I will leave you with some of the pics we took on our "romantic getaway." We really did have a nice time, had some great chances to talk, and I feel a bit refreshed. I now realize just how much I needed to have that time away with Matt, although I didn't know I needed it until we got it! So thank you Lord for sending us to Halifax, if for nothing else than to spend some real quality time with each other!

Note: I realize some of these are not the best photos, but it gives you an idea of what we could see from our hotel room! Its hard to get a good picture through glass on a cloudy day!