Cory and Amanda: July 2018

My last post left off in June 2017, right before my pituitary surgery.

Spoiler Alert: I survived. But as usual it was exciting!

Sorry this post is SO long, but so much happened.

We still had no idea how exactly we were going to pay for the surgery, and to top it off we were told that we would have to pay $10,000 upfront! If the surgery had no complications it would cost $35k. Cory reminded me that we would spend that much on a car, so of course my brain is worth the money. Logically it made sense, but I felt SO guilty for being the cause of my family's financial hardship. It all came together at the last minute and I had Pituitary Surgery on June 29, 2017 at the University of Utah Hospital by Dr. William Couldwell.

The surgery went great.

They were able to get my whole tumor out without injuring my optic nerve or my carotid artery! It was a miracle, and I was in good hands.

I was in the Neuro ICU for a few days, and then transferred to the regular Neuro floor on
Sunday July 2. Thats where I bottomed out.
I was SO sick, and no one knew why.

I had been fine, until I wasn't. I couldn't keep any food down and I couldn't even sit up without feeling nauseous and dizzy.
At one point I was so scared, I freaked out!

Like major psych ward freak out.
I had the thought that if I didn't get out of my bed soon

that I would die in that hospital bed.
I grabbed my IV pole and hobbled down the hall

and asked to be let out onto the patio.
Once outside, I felt even worse in the heat.

I walked back to my room, (with Cory's help) feeling defeated.

Finally they figured out what was wrong.
I was experiencing Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency.

Basically, my cortisol level had bottomed out,
and I needed hormone therapy to feel better.

It worked almost immediately.
This is just a complication of pituitary surgery.

I was finally able to go home the night of July 4th.

The Freedom of leaving the hospital felt amazing!

It was so nice to be home with my kids! We all felt relieved that everything went well. The problem was, I was starting to feel sicker and sicker. I attributed it to the side effects of the hydrocortisone medication I was taking. By Thursday morning I had gained 4 lbs in the 2 days since returning home from the hospital! I was feeling very foggy, and confused. The kids were at a sweet friend's house playing,

and Cory was out mowing the lawn. I called the nurse hotline and told them what was going on. The nurse told me that I needed to head to the ER right away and that they would be ready for me. She told me to come to the ER at University of Utah if at all possible. I called Cory, who was outside, with my cell phone and tried to relay what the nurse told me. By this time I was very foggy, and very confused. He asked another friend to pick up our kids, and bring them home, and we headed to the hospital. I don't remember much of the ride, but it was long. They took me in right when we got to the ER, and they figured out that I had Hyponatremia, which is low sodium. Also a side effect from my surgery. About 5% of pituitary tumor surgeries result in
something called SIADH or
Syndrome of Inappropriate Ant-Diuretic Hormone.
Meaning my pituitary was releasing too much anti-diuretic hormone,
which resulted in water retention and Hyponatremia.
The things you learn when you have to stay in the hospital.😊
(The more common pituitary surgery side effect is Diabetes Insipidous
which is essentially the opposite of SIADH.)

In the ICU they gave me a mid-line IV and started a sodium solution. I started to feel better gradually.

There were a few problems with all of this.

Number 1: I did not want to be in the hospital, AGAIN,

I wanted to be home with my family!

Number 2: How in the heck were we going to pay for
a second hospital stay?!

Number 3 and maybe most important: My family was all coming to Utah for a Reunion and if I was in the hospital, would Cory have to take the kids alone?

Once my sodium was back up I was feeling great. But I couldn't leave the hospital until they knew I could maintain the levels on my own. I was on a diet of salty foods and 1-liter of powerade only.

I felt like a prisoner. I tried to be positive, and enjoy the view of Salt Lake City from my room. Plus it did give me a chance to start studying in my nursing classes, but I wanted to leave so badly.

The view from my room on the Neuro Floor.
Salt Lake City is beautiful!

The view from the patio of the Neuro Floor.
As I got better, I was allowed to sit outside and it was so peaceful.

I now owe Cory for life because he did take our kids to the reunion
by himself for a couple of days.
I told him he has complete immunity for at least 10 years,
after all he has done for me.
On July 11th I was finally released from the hospital again.
I got to join my family for the rest of the week of the reunion.
It was so sweet to be greeted not only by my children,
but by my whole family!

Me hugging my wonderful Grandpa Bertola as
I arrived at the reunion house, powerade in hand.
He gives the best hugs!

Me with one of my favorite women of all time,
My beloved Grandma Sofia.
Being around her is always a joy.

Me and my favorite guy! On our way home from the reunion.
Notice the Powerade is never far away.

After the dust settled, I continued to get better. I stayed on Powerade for several weeks, and had my sodium checked often. I still need hydrocortisone frequently, and I can't exercise vigorously without getting tired out, but I am feeling great!

My mom ended up staying with me for a few weeks to help when Cory went back to work. Not only did she take care of us, but I was able to get all caught up on my nursing classes!!! She saved me!

Life the rest of the year has been pretty normal and great!

Not only was my surgery and recovery a miracle, but we received wonderful news in the fall.

The surgery was expensive, like all surgeries,

BUT

our insurance was going to help pay for it!!!!

The pathology of my tumor came back as "atypical" so it got
coded in a way that my insurance would accept.
We were flabbergasted!

My second hospital stay was covered also, because I was admitted through the ER.

I cannot atrribute any of this to luck.

This was a direct answer to prayer.

I don't know how many times I have to learn this lesson over and over.

God keeps his promises.

I hope I will never doubt again.

I am thankful everyday to be alive AND healthy.
I am now in my third semester of Nursing school and loving it so much.
All of my illnesses and hospital stays have actually helped me a lot with my school work,
and it has given me so much compassion as I help treat patients on my rotations.

My Nursing program is through Western Governor's University.
We have our labs at the University of Utah Campus.
It is hard for me to not tear up when I drive to school and
see the hospital I was just in a short time ago.
It never gets old, and I never forget how lucky and blessed I am.

To top it all off, I finally got Lasik Surgery!!!
That alone makes this year one of the best ever.

Here is some of the fun stuff we got to do this year.

Our life is not perfect, but it is pretty great!

We got to go on our first cruise in October to the Bahamas,

with some of our favorite people!!!

It was amazing!

We stopped at Walmart in Orlando before Boarding the boat.
We knew finding this Diet Coke was a sign that the trip would be great!

These guys are the best!
I think I grinned ear to ear the whole week.

My hair almost needed its own ticket by the end of the cruise, it got so big!

Aren't we adorable?!
This girl is everything a friend should be,
so glad she is in my life.

Normal day in Minion town.
This boy is a real life minion.
He makes us laugh everyday.

Cute little trick-or-treaters

It finally snowed enough on Christmas to go sledding!!

All of the Bertola Girls got to go to Waco, TX to visit Magnolia (Fixer Upper)!

It was so fun to be together and to celebrate my Mom's 60th Birthday!!!

Crazy right? Everyone kept asking if we were all sisters. (She is the one in the red sweater.)

My mom caught me after one of my rotations.

Can you tell how tired I am?

I think this is the only picture I have wearing my scrubs.

Lisa got to visit me and we went with a fun group
to see Hamilton in Salt Lake City.

Cousins are always the best.
We are always so happy when they come and visit!

This summer we embarked on a huge road trip to see some Mormon Pioneer historic sites!

We went to Omaha, NE to visit Winter Quarters,

which is where they stopped for a time before making the trek to Utah.

Then we went to Nauvoo, IL right on the bank of the mississippi river,

which is the coolest historic town to visit.

It is so preserved, and it feels like you have travelled back in time.

We visited Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed,

(This was my favorite place to see.)

We visited Adom-ondi-Ahman, which is such a special place to see.

Then we went to Liberty Jail in Missouri, and saw the Kansas City Temple.

Seeing all of these sites in person adds so much to my testimony of the Book of Mormon, and everything the pioneers sacrificed so I can read it whenever I want.

Eventually we headed down to Arkansas to visit my three sisters!

On our way home we even got to see a Giant's game in Denver.

Such a great Trip!

Looking down on Nauvoo, IL and the Mississippi river from the temple.

Nauvoo Temple

Carthage Jail

Nauvoo, IL

Mississippi River where the pioneers crossed
when they left Nauvoo for good.
The river was frozen over and they walked across.

Adam-ondi-Ahman

Kansas City, MO Temple

The kids got to ride a school bus and have lunch at the school with their cousins while in Arkansas. It was the cutest, and they loved every minute of cousin time!