Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Whether you’re celebrating your partner or eating some ice cream alone, don’t forget to give yourself some love today. You’re wonderful, and you’re doing great. Now, this past week started pretty eventfully, and by the time it ended, there was almost nothing going on.

On Sunday, I wasn’t really feeling myself, and I didn’t end up going to church. I’m not sure what it was; I just wasn’t feeling like myself mentally. However, later in the day, I got out of the slumps, and (drumroll, please) I finished my WIP manuscript with about 92,000 words and forty chapters!! Yay me! I was very proud of myself and the story that I had written. Now, it’s just time to find some editors.

On Monday was my shoulder surgery! I left for the hospital at around 7:45 or 8:00 in the morning, since the surgery itself was 10:00 or 10:30. When I arrived at the hospital, I had to change into the gown, then I sat in a bed to wait. I had to take a blood test, which delayed the surgery by half an hour or so, but as we were awaiting test results, about five different nurses, doctors, etc., came in and spoke to me. I had to get an IV, which inserted fluids into my body, but the fluids were cold, resulting in my right hand turning cold. Once the results came back, one of the previous people who had spoken to me came in to say that they were ready for me. As she talked to me and her walkie-talkie, more of the anesthesia team/surgery team gathered by the door, and it was like some kind of weird ‘Avengers Assemble’ moment. Someone inserted this ‘relaxing’ medicine into my IV, and I immediately started feeling weird as they rolled the bed to the room where they would do the nerve block (to numb my entire arm for the surgery). Right before I went under, I remember being in a darker room with a ton of other people around me, hooking me up to stuff and preparing me for the nerve block.

When I woke up, I was in a dark-ish room closed off by a curtain. The IV was still in my hand, and there was something wrapped around my right thumb that glowed red. I went in and out of sleep, and I watched a bit of soccer on this mini TV at one point. I had my left arm in a sling with a giant ice pack thingy over it, so my entire arm was pretty much covered. The nurse who was attending to me gave me some apple juice and later a blue slushie. My left hand was orange, and the nurse said that the doctors had to put something on it for some reason. I don’t remember; I think I was still half-asleep. I got home that evening at around 5:00, and my arm was still numb, and I felt really dizzy/disoriented. Overall, it was a humbling experience (being so vulnerable and ‘helpless’ after the anesthesia), and I’m not sure I ever want to experience it again.

Tuesday was officially my first day of recovery! We had virtual schooling because of the snow, which wasn’t too bad. I woke up early that day, so I began watching Atlantis: Milo’s Return before school. Later, after school, I finished Atlantis, watched a few Hannah Montana episodes, and started Phineas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe. That afternoon, I did some light therapy where these red lights shined on my shoulder, and then we had dinner. I was feeling exhausted and uncomfortable, so I went to bed early. It was about 7:45 when I went to bed, but I woke up around 11:45 that night. I had some trouble falling asleep again; I was pretty miserable trying to deal with the discomfort from my shoulder and all the stuff I had on it.

Wednesday, we had more virtual school, which still left me pretty tired, but I had many study halls that day, so it wasn’t too bad. During those study halls, I did some creative work and some blog planning. I binge-watched some more Hannah Montana. I believe this day officially marked my sit-around-and-do-nothing-because-I-can’t-do-anything recovery stage.

I did a little more on Thursday! Good for me! I found that it’s been pretty difficult to sleep, but watching YouTube videos puts me to sleep quickly, so I suppose that’s good. I woke up early again on Thursday and did some blog work before signing on for virtual schooling. I also did some online shopping for some household things, a backpack, and a new speaker since my current one is on its deathbed. For the past few days, I had been eaten eggs at least once a day, but on Thursday, I think they had been part of the reason my stomach was so upset all the time. Apparently, having surgery on your shoulder can result in you having nausea, acid reflux, and dizziness. Who knew?

On Friday, I prepared and scheduled two new blog posts (stay tuned!). At school, it was the Friday before Valentine’s Day, so the classes would have festivities. Since I was in recovery, I wasn’t able to be there, but after school, three of my friends and classmates dropped off a little V-Day gift for me that really brightened my day. About ten minutes later, another one of my school friends (also a co-worker of mine) dropped off a milkshake and a note from some other co-worker friends. The gifts really brightened my day, especially since my recovery stage had a few cons and negativity.

I watched some more Hannah Montana that day, and in the evening, my mom changed the wrappings on my shoulder, and we saw the wounds for the first time. At night, my sister, Emma, and I watched Barbie Pearl Princess, which was a pretty good movie, if I do say so myself.

Saturday was the most relaxing day, I think. I watched some Youtube, more Hannah Montana (surprise, surprise), and did some blog work. I am working on a little something for graduation this year, and some parts of it arrived in the mail on Saturday, making me really happy! That evening, I began watching Stranger Things again (I’m only on season 2, no spoilers) with my sister, Emma.

This week was full of ups and downs. Everything that I did came with various pros and cons, but, like in every situation, you must use the bad events to help you focus on and latch onto the positivity of the good things that happened. I hope you all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening. Keep on inspiring folks and loving yourself!