My Person

 My Person

  

Highschool sweethearts... almost. Let's just get this out there. I found my husband via Facebook. I know, not the most romantic story ever.. it gets better. My husband and I did go to the same Highschool for a very short time. It was spirit week at school, you know the week that everyone just can't wait to show off their silly outfits. This specific day was "Nerd Day". Not that I really needed to dress for this day, but I tried to anyways. I had the glasses, the rolled up skinny jeans, tall white socks, and suspenders to match. I thought I was hot stuff I tell ya. Little did I know that my future husband would be standing at the end of the hallway in what was known as the "redneck corner". This is where all of the kids who are into farming, welding, and the simple "Yee-Haw" stuff gather. He had been practicing for a welding competition that week so I had only seen him one time. He whistled as I walked by and that was the end of that. He went to homeschool shortly after the competition ended. I however, was stuck in the same old routine and the same old school.  We never saw each other. 
   New Beginnings.. Because that is just what they were. My life changed for the greater good. Later in my junior year of Highschool we found each other again. Well, I found him again. I sent him a message one night and we haven't been apart since. Everyone thought it was "Puppy Love" but we knew. We knew that it was much more. Let's back up to the day we met. Plans were, I would go to school that day and later that evening I would meet him at the Carwash.. Yes, you read that correctly.. the Carwash. I know.. this is so romantic right? By the time I got to meet him that evening, I smelled like oranges. Let's just say lunch time didn't go as expected. A boy at the lunch table thought it was a bright idea to place a orange in the middle of the table and hit it like he was incredible hulk. Guess who was the victim in this situation? ME. I met my future husband with orange pulp caked in my hair and smelling like a orange-juice factory. He must have loved it, because we started officially dating that day on April 29th, 2015.
We had been dating for awhile when February came. It was our first Valentine's Day! The year before that, I had a horrible experience with an ex boyfriend. You know, It's crazy how fast life can just change in a blink of an eye.. and this was proof. I had a wonderful boyfriend, I had big plans for college and life was just great. It turned out that Sam had BIG plans as well. His plans included me. On Valentine's Day, Sam had planned the perfect evening. It started on a dock that over looked the lake. Sam got down on one knee and purposed. It was PERFECT! It truly felt like a movie scene, because snow was falling and the lake was frosted. I just knew that it was meant to be. We knew we wanted to build a perfect life together like any newly engaged couple. 
 Senior year came and it was time to focus on our future plans. I decided that it was best to stay in my hometown and attend my local community college. What more could I ask for? I had an amazing fiancé, and a bestfriend who was my soul sister. College was stressful to say the least, especially since I was beginning to experience health problems. I always told myself, "It's just stress. It will get better". So, I did what I do best; I ignored it. I didn't realize that this was just the beginning. A few years passed, and we FINALLY tied the knot. It was the best day ever. I was still going to college and trying to focus on the career path I wanted to take. 
 I knew that I wanted to be in the medical field because I just knew that's where my heart belonged. While in college, I landed a hospital job as a "Newborn Hearing Screener". If this job doesn't give you baby fever then nothing will. I absolutely loved the nursery atmosphere and speaking with the new mamas that came through. It was a life changing experience. During this time, my health problems began to worsen, and I knew that once college was over that we would want to start a family; so, I finally gave in and went to the doctor. With just a few questions and some blood work, the diagnosis was in. I was diagnosed with PCOS. Those of you who are not familiar with PCOS it is Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome. This can cause many problems with your hormones. It can cause irregular menstrual cycles or cause them to go away all together - This is what I had been experiencing for three years. Acne, mood swings, fatigue, weight gain and periods that had just disappeared. I was told that this was an easy fix. I would be given some medicine and be on my way. Of course, we were upset with this diagnosis, I personally felt like my body was failing me. I didn't know where to turn next. We didn't know everything about PCOS at first and that was the scary part. We were okay with the fact that it would take a little longer to start a family. Besides, we weren't finished with college just yet. Little did we know.. This was the easy part.
It had been a year since my diagnosis, I was finishing up college and my health problems magnified. I constantly had pounding migraines that caused extreme nausea and vomiting. At times I would have to pull over while driving, just to lay back in my seat or to vomit. Most of the time I would walk into class with a cold wash cloth, hoping to get some relief. It had got to the point that my bestfriend was a grocery bag in the passenger seat beside me. I couldn't go anywhere, and when I did, I had to be sure there were places to pull off to the side. At home, I constantly stayed in our bedroom where it was dark and quiet. My life had changed and it was scary. Was this my life now? Was this normal? However, one thing didn't change and that was the support from my husband. Sam was ready to help me anyway that he could. We were unsure of the future, but we decided that we were going to battle whatever this was together. 
I was on the home stretch to finishing college. I was about to finish up my clinicals when new symptoms arose. I was now lactating. Lactating is when you secret milk from your breast. This is normal for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth. Was this it? Could I really be pregnant? With excitement my husband went and bought a pregnancy test after work and later that night I took it. Two pink lines did not appear. It was negative. How could this be? This doesn't make any sense. How could I be producing milk if I wasn't pregnant? This really scared us, I automatically thought.."This is breast cancer". So, I made an appointment and we waited. It felt like forever. I had bloodwork done and now we had to wait on a phone call. The phone call finally came and the voice on the other end sounded frazzled, "You need to come in ASAP, your bloodwork came back and it isn't good, Some of your levels are extremely elevated". I thought for sure this was it. I'm dying. With my husband by my side, we waited for the doctor to come in. She had some news, and it wasn't good. This was the day I was told, "Jessica, you could possibly have a brain tumor. I am going to schedule you for a MRI and a Neurologist appointment". Our hearts completely shattered. We were left in the dark, without any explanation. We didn't even know if this brain tumor could possibly be cancerous. My husband is my rock, always has been. He wasn't sure where this was going, he was just as scared as I was. But he did tell me this, "We are battling this together, this isn't your fight.. it's our fight. This isn't just you, This is US".