Ateriovenous Malformation, Embolization, and only THREE years old.

This is a blog post to ask everyone to please pray for a little boy from my hometown church in South Carolina. Hill be going through an EXTENSIVE brain surgery on Halloween day (tomorrow). He is the sweetest little boy and a CLEMSON fan so that makes him all the more adorable. PLEASE please keep him in your prayers.

The morning of the surgery Jonathan will have an embolization performed which is a procedure to stop the blood flow to his brain. This is done to keep him from having too much blood loss during surgery. A few hours after that procedure, they will begin the brain surgery. Dr.s will remove a large portion of his right frontal brain lobe which is where the arteriovenous malformation is located. (AMV and I hope I spelled that correctly.) the AMV is a cluster of blood vessels that have tangled up inside his little head if they are not removed they could bust, (similar to an aneurism) the only way to remove the malformation is to remove the part of the brain lobe where it is located. After the surgery Jonathan will have to go through rehab/therapy and the Bryants may be in Boston for about one month total. Of course, there is a risk of complications which include emotional, physical, and developmental problems after the surgery, and one of the greatest complications is the potential for too much blood loss during the surgery. There is a possibility of left side-weakness after the surgery and we pray that will only be temporary. This is a very delicate surgery, as it is brain surgery on a 3 year old baby. Please, keep this family in your prayer time this week and next week, especially. John, Lisa, and Jonathan left Sunday for their trip to Boston- Madison then flew to Boston with her aunt. Pray that God will give them comfort and peace in knowing that everything will be fine. The surgery will actually take place on October 31st, Halloween Day, which makes it even sadder thinking that day is a day children should be out getting candy and having fun in their costumes and little Jonathan will not be able to do that. But, this surgery will just help to ensure that he will get to be a child for many years to come, and will have a long, healthy life ahead of him. Please pray of Jonathan and his family as they go through this time on Oct. 31st!!

Rescue Them

The video speaks for itself but we are raising the money for the local animal shelter and a group we have here at MSU-CVM called "Homeward Bound". They take animals from shelters here, foster them for two weeks and send them up North to new loving homes. We have gotten Hill's dog food to agree to give them free food for the animals as long as someone pays the shipping cost.....that would be class of 2012 and the money you buy these bracelets with!

GREAT STOCKING STUFFER!! :)

Our Vet School Class of 2012 has made this our class project. A girl in my class made this video to support our cause. The link at the end of the video doesn't work yet. We have someone making that right now and putting the finishing touches on it. If you are interested in the bracelet PLEASE let me know. Email me at redens19@gmail.com and we can discuss a way of getting one to you. They are $3 a piece and I know everyone has these things but this is more than just a bracelet or a fundraiser, this is raising awareness and hopefully saving at least one more life in the process. Watch the video and you will see! Thanks yall!

p.s. turn your sound on, please send this blog link to ANYONE and everyone you think may be interested in this as well.

"I'd give away my soul to hold you once again" -Josh Groban

This next blog post will be sad to some and completely uninteresting to others. Those of you who are in my immediate family will know who I speak of during the next page or so. The other day in the car I was listening to Frank Sinatra's CD (yes, I do listen and quite often dance to his tunes.....but only when no one is looking) :) Anyway, this post is not about him, it's about a specific song he sings and a specific man in which I admired. Originally Sinatra sang this song but later Elvis Presley re-did it. I debated which version to post because they are both really good. If you are into the new aged songs, and hip-hop, and country, this is not what you are used to. This post is written solely for the purposes of telling someone they are still thought about and missed dearly.......

The song I am referring to is "My Way," the man I am referring to is Keith Janssen.

To give some background on Keith for those of you who didn't have the honor of knowing him, he was my Great Uncle. That sounds really old and outdated but he was more than that. He was a loving husband, a fun father, a happy man, and an adoring grandfather.....he was a genius at his job, very patient, funny and entertaining....and he was taken too soon by a brain tumor. He battled it for quite some time, defeated it just long enough to see his first grandson born, was the Godly man he needed to be for his family during the time of his grandson's hospitalization with a heart problem, abrublty after his grandson was better Keith's tumor came back full force and snatched him away from us just after Christmas a few years ago.

After his death I was a bit angry because my view was "why was he spared for such a short time to get every one's hopes up, then taken away just as we were losing our fear that the tumor would return....and just after his grandson's beginning of life?" Then I heard a wise preacher talk about why people die, there are many reasons but the one that stuck out to me the most was that sickness and sorrow in this life are here because of the first sins of Adam and Eve, we also have things now that are made from synthetics, we have cell phones, fast food, and all kinds of unnatural things we use and consume now in life. So without our knowing and without warning these things have a detramental effect over time and impact or even take our lives. I know that God didn't take Keith's life; he spared it from the effects of being a human in this world long enough for Keith to be the anchor one more time for his family and for his wife, and I know that if necessary Keith would have traded his life for his little grandson's.

Tyler came to visit the other week and when he left, all his shaving cream was gone, his razor, his soap, his Old Spice deodorant, his washcloth, his towel.....etc and those were only the bathroom items......I was straight up depressed for a week when it was all gone and I only had him here for a week. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to love someone so much for so many years and abruptly they are gone......their clothes are still in the closet, their bathroom items are still in place, their car is still outside, even their keys are still on the hook where they last left them, but they are not there. Their washcloth is still wet from the last shower, dirty cloths still in the hamper from the last time they wore them, coffee cup still in the sink, hat still on the couch, even down to the pillow that is still indented from his head. When is the right time to get rid of that stuff, to be able to handle actually taking it away from where it was supposed to stay forever??? When is a good time to say "I can move on now" and sell the clothes? There is no set time and there is no "good" time. I realize that you have to go through something like that to understand it, but if how I felt when Tyler took his stuff home (knowing that I would see him again) is any indication of one small piece of how it feels when a love like that is lost, I don't ever want to go through it, as far as I am concerned I would never get over it and admire those who can carry themselves through it. I still think of him quite often. The song posted in this blog reminds me of him so much that I can hardly stand to listen to it.

So back to the song..........

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which I'm certain.

Ive lived a life that's full.
Ive traveled each and every highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

The most powerful thing in this song is "Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall; And did it my way." This was Keith, I would say more but to try and explain it would do him great injustice, the verse says it all. Also, I love "For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels; And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows - And did it my way!" Even though he is gone I will always remember him as a man who faced it, didn't back down, didn't kneel, too the blows of life and didn't regret a bit of it. I have posted the song but please don't pay attention to the pictures, I couldn't find one of just music. Really listen to the words.

If I can have a love for Tyler the way that Keith and Vic loved each other, stuck by each other, and took care of each other then I will be the luckiest woman in the world. I have the utmost respect for Vic and the way she has handled everything and no matter what she will always amaze me how she pulled herself up by her bootstraps (sure it was tough and it wasn't at first)... I don't think I could have done it at all. We as Christians have to remember; the promise was not that everything would go perfectly all the time, the promise was "when everything failed, we would be held."

"Walk it Out Fosse"

WARNING: this next blog post is completely pointless and this is my attempt to procrastinate and not study for Virology.

There is a youtube video that if you know me at all you know I LOVE it and think its Hilarious. It's called "Walk it out Fosse" Now, a little back ground on this video......Its three older women back in the 60's who actually did this dance to another song.....something about Mexican Breakfast I don't know. Anyway, someone who had way to much time on their hands, much like me at this moment, put this innocent dance these ladies did to a popular "hip-hop" song of the 2000's.

The reason why I am posting this blog is because ol' Beyonce just came out with a new single called "Single Ladies" You don't have to take my word for it watch it yourself. Beyonce straight up copied these ladies from the 60's and put a lil more hip/bootay in it and now she is famous for the dance......hum, I haven't decided if I like this or not. I love Beyonce and if I could dance like this chick yall all would be in trouble. :) I actually like both videos I just think "B" should have given credit where credit is due.

p.s. Parents who watch this, Beyonce is an R&B singer therefore she is going to dance a lil scandalous. If you don't want to compare videos that is fine......just take my word for it.

My suggestion is to watch a bit of the original back in the 60's version to get a feel for it, then watch the whole remake to see how the dance goes, then watch Beyonce's version. :)


Comments anyone???

The Original "Mexican Breakfast"



The Remake

Tyler's Gone

Hello world, is there still a world out there? I wouldn't know I wake up and its dark go into the Wise Center (CVM) and come out when it is dark. I guess all you guys still exist if not this blog is for my own sanity. :)

Well, Tyler is gone now. He has actually been gone for 5 days now......it seems like eternity and the time we spent together was NOT long enough. I find myself quite depressed in the mornings because since there is only one bathroom in this whole house that is accessible, he had his razor, and toothbrush, and towel, and soap, etc alllllll over my bathroom (sink, tub, racks) for a whole week. I got used to it and liked it around......when he left Sunday I woke up Monday morning and it was all bare, nothing but my stuff. That was horrible. While he was here though he brought a Pumpkin from SC to carve together (picture above). We also cooked a lot, went out to eat with my two buddies here in Mississippi, washed cars (and dogs), he got to see where I do all my lab work, watched the Clemson game on the laptop because I don't have TV, and the night before he left we made baked pumpkin seeds, orange Cinnamon rolls, spooky cookies, and ate party cakes with fall like sprinkles. It was PERFECT.....if that was a taste of what marriage with this man is going to be like I am ready to skip the next 252 days and be at the wedding!

I have been super swamped with studying. Gah lay, I know that everyone said it would be a lot of studying and really the concepts are not difficult......it's just the sheer load of studying that you could do all day everyday and still not have learned enough before the next test rears its ugly, and I do mean UGLY head. I am keeping my head above water and I have great friends here!

I will be moving to our (mine and Tyler's) new house on Nov. 2nd. I am waaaaaaay too excited about this considering I have NOTHING to put in it yet. Just my few things and the new awesome furniture we got. I won't be able to use it though because we do not have a King Size Mattress. That's okay though, I want it to be different when Tyler gets there anyway so we can make it homey together. I will be setting up the "spare" bedroom with the things I have now and staying in it until we move up together in July! :)

I knew Vet school was going to be rough, I have been having HORRIBLE headaches lately. Its probably because of stress I know but I don't "feel" stressed, I guess my mind is in denial of the reality of the situation Vet School has thrust me into. Everyday I have a headache, they are not always bad but every single day it is there.

I will probably be "MIA" for a while because our next storm of tests is on the horizon. I have only 8 weeks left until my first semester of CVM is over and there are a WAD of test that still have to be scheduled. I don't see how they will fit it all in. I have two next week, then I am moving on Nov. 2nd, then I am sure the others will hit soon there after. Mom and Dad are coming up for Thanksgiving......I am so glad because I seriously would be eating TV Dinners otherwise. Our finals week is the very next week. The last final is on my birthday and then I will be HOME to SC!! :)

There is the layout of my life for the next month or so. I'll be back but it will be brief. I love every one of you (if any body really even reads these long things) and miss you so much! ANYTIME you want to come visit PLEASE do......Down here in the "dirty dirty" it gets boring and lonesome! Once I move I will have a spare bedroom! :)

New Furniture

Hi! I know its been a while but I will write more later I promise. Right now though I have something exciting to tell yall. Tyler and I (while he is here with me in Mississippi) went to a discount furniture store and found an AMAZING bedroom set. It came with a king size bed, two matching night stands, a dresser, and a bureau with a beautiful mirror. I added some pictures on here. It is Dark Cherry and the kind of wood is solid Oak. We got it at a GREAT price. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL??? We do have a place to put it believe it or not. I will be moving into our house on November 2nd. :) We also got it at a great price (rent not buy because we didn't want to get stuck with something when we move in three years). Its cute too! I will attach a picture of it as well! ENJOY