Day 3 thus far

Today has been very uncomfortable. l have been nauseous and really struggled to keep things down. Umm. Thank you for all the flowers that are being dropped off. They all look beautiful. Umm. I got up and walked around with the physical therapist. I don't know. That's good. I don't know what else to write. 

--dictated by Abby, typed by Jonathan

Day 2

Day 2 is a balancing act between nausea, pain, and inability to stay awake.  

Too much medicine brings nausea and the inability to even sit up and stay awake. Too little medicine means way too much pain.  

Visiting is impossible as she can't stay awake.  Hoping tomorrow brings better balance.  

Apple TV to the rescue.

Dan arrives with Apple TV.  If she can get  the nausea under control maybe she can watch something other than reruns.  Hoping it will help her stay awake.  

2:30 here we are

Mom and dad went for lunch! Can't believe she posted pictures I look awful.   I have had my last dose of antibiotics just now.  Still feel awful but have the most amazing nurse.   

Everyone has been amazing I can not tell you how much your support means to mean.   I have the best friends and family!   

The worst part is how nauseous I am and every time I try to puke my head hurts.    

Nick is here now.  

ICU

In ICU working to manage the pain and the nausea. It will be several days we suspect before we know if the surgery had any impact on the pain 

Keeping fingers crossed. 

Out of surgery & now we wait

Talked to the doctor.  The was a large nerve at the base of the skull pressing on the trigeminal nerve. The surgeon has moves the vein. The so not know though if that was/is the source of the pain. 

Now we wait to see how she is when she comes out of recovery.  

Keeping all fingers and toes crossed. 

Rocking the beret.

True to their word they have taken Abby back at 7:45 for surgery.  

She has a sweet gown that she can control the temperature of and a rockin' beret that will keep the Martians away!

Nervous but still smiling!

Last post from me for awhile

Hey guys, 

All hooked up and marked about to go back.  Just wanted to say I love you all and thanks for all the support!

Post will be from mom from now on! 

And we are up and about to leave

5:00 am been up for almost an hour trying to stay calm.  About to walk out the door and head to the hospital.  Pirc is singing some song to himself and I am just sitting.  

More updates to come.   

Night before surgery

Tomorrow morning I will be having Exploratory Brain Surgery.  

Details:

I have to report to the hospital by 5:45.  However Surgery does not start until 7:45.  Talked to the nurses and a few of the doctors on the phone this weekend and today.   They all seem like they know their stuff and they are so nice.  

Emotions:

I am doing ok. I don't really know how I feel to tell you the  truth.  One minute I am scared shitless and the next minute I am completely fine and ready to do this.  One minute I am rethinking this whole thing and just thinking well I could be ok with adopting and the next minute all I can think of is how much I really want to be able to have kids and know that means I have to do this.  It's. kinda funny I am writing this knowing all of you will read it but maybe you will then understand what I am going through.   I am hoping like hell I have the most speedy recovery and can get back to my classroom.  I am still upset I will be missing the first week of school and all of the teacher training classes.   Maybe I will just show up... Pirc and Bret Patnode may kill me if I keep talking like this! Haha   But as Dr.  Cook says I am a fast healer so we will see! 

Deal for tomorrow:

Someone will update this no later than 12:00 pm tomorrow.  With an update of what is going on and how I am doing.  Please check this for any information. We will keep this more updating than anything else.   

Well I love you all I hope you know that! I cherish each one of our friendships and am so lucky to have so many people that care about me.   

See you when I see you!  Now I am going to work on my breathing and centering and try to sleep.   Haha I know right! 

With all my love clowns! 

Last day in Europe.

I am both sad to say goodbye to this trip and this experience and so excited to be heading home to my husband and my puppy!  

Today dad and I just wanted to relax.  So we woke up had breakfast and were on or way.  

We decided to walk over to the river it is the most beautiful part of Frankfurt.  There really is not much else.  Lets say it was not my favorite part of this trip.  We walked over to a little place and rented two chairs.  You had to put a deposit down but got the money back after you returned the chairs.  Dad and I just read and read.  It was amazing.  We got a little to much sun. I have to say I am a little sun burnt but it felt great just to be out relaxing.  

We sat by the river so it was never to hot and we had a wonderful breeze and we sat next to a place that served drinks.  It was wonderful we got to have a few drink and some up the rays!   

Dude set up a hammock I thought nick would love this.  

We ate some lunch at around three then went back to the hotel to get our luggage.  We then made the trek to the airport hotel.  It is so lovely and relaxing here.  We have a great room and the beds are very comfortable.  Dad and I are currently enjoying drinks and writing blogs.   Then we are going to have some dinner. 

I have loved so much about this trip and do not want parts of it to end. I want to thank so many of you for following for reading and for enjoying this experience with me.  

To my amazing family all of you that have been on this trip with me and helped plan any part of it, thank you it has been beyond my widest dreams.  I know that I can face whatever else the summer bring with a clear head and tons of support from my family, friends, and wonderful people I have met on this trip that have encourage me.  

Mom thank you for all you have done to make this possible.  

Dad I don't know where to start... Thank you for the hours of planning you have done.  The countless frustrations that you have encountered, The smiles that you have put on my face, the experiences we have shared and just  being here.  Thank you also for always supporting my dreams!

Pirc you have been incredible during this trip.  First by just supporting my dream to go on this trip.  Second my coming for the time you were here.  I loved every part of watching you discover and get the love for traveling.   You have been an amazing husband and I live you so much! Thank you for everything.  

I will end this post by saying this, this summer holds many challenges ahead and I know I will have all of your support. I may continue the blog during that process I am still deciding what I want to do.  After all this is still the summer of Abby is it not?   

Haha I love you all and I thank you all even more! 

Frankfurt day one and two

So we have arrived in Frankfurt.   

We checked in late had dinner and read our books in our hotel.  

 

On Sunday we decided that we would do the all day Rhine tour.  Due to the fact that today was the Iron Man race here in Frankfurt everything is closed so many people decided to do the same thing as we did! 

It was very close to our hotel so we decided to walk over.   Lets just say it was a little scary when you first walked in.  The company looked very disorganized there was papers everywhere and it was kinda of a yucky office.  It makes you a little nervous about how the rest of the day was going to turn out.   

With in 10 minutes of being there we meet the coolest couple.  Ed and Jenny they were probably in their late 60's early 70's and just about the coolest people I have ever meet.   They were from South Africa and had just been to Russia on a vacation. If you asked if they had been somewhere they had. It was truly incredible. They have been everywhere.   

We went on the bus and next meet this wonderful family from Florida but the parents grew up in Chicago.  I mean come on how cool is that.  The kids where so cute Laney was the 7 year old girl and she was adorable.  I of corse made fast friends with the kids.  How could I not.  

The first place we got off on the tour was the chair lift that took you down into the little town we would be spending most of the day in.  It was 5 euro more but everyone on the bus was doing it.  Haha below are all the views and some pics from the ride.  

Next we had lunch we sat with the family we meet that last name was Sweet haha I love it they were amazing!  Ann and Terry from Australia also an older couple and of cords Jenny and Ed! We had a yummy lunch most people had chicken and I and a few others had the vegetarian option.  It was great potato pancakes with vestiges in them and French fries.   Katie don't kill me I know it was a lot of Carbs.  I have been walking miles though! 

We next went on a bout tour down the Rhine.   It was really great because the day was so amazing it was like 26 degrees celsius and had a wonderful breeze. We sat soked up the sun and didn't do the best job of listing to the history.  We just talked and talked.  I met a guy named Gothem like in Batman yes. He was 30 and a statistic professor interviewing at the university in Frankfurt. He cracked me up so much.  He literally compared his life to the Big Bang theory and explained it was very similar to it.  He had 4 degrees. I could not believe it.  He is also interviewing at University Chicago too!  Here is a picture of most of of cool kids group!  We are missing some of the kids though.  

After the boat ride.  The adults went to a wine tasting.  It was hilarious we sat in an actual wine barrel.  It was Ed, Jenny, Teresa, Dad, and I.  We had such a great time cracking jokes and just being silly.  I have to say that the wines in Germany are just to sweet for my take.  Kate Sanders you would love them! 

Not the best picture but that is Ed and Jenny.   Ed is the only one you can see in the barrel but day and Teresa are in there too.  

After this stop we made one more for people to grab some sovies. I went grabbed a water than went back on the bus to hang with the kids.   

At the end of the tour we said goodbye to new friends.   

Dad and I went to a yummy dinner.   We got to eat outside and just enjoyed a lovely dinner.  

The Mighty Castle!

Wow where to begin with today! It has been an incredible day. 

We first started at the Edinburgh Castle.  It was raining so there were not many people at all but we also had already bought our tickets through the bus company so we got to go through the fast pass line.   I always feel like such a VIP when this happens.    Once we got up to the Castle it started to down poor rain so we opted to grab a spot of tea and coffee and a scone.  I had a yogurt instead and wished the whole time I was eating the scones and jam.  They looked beyond incredible! After about 30 minutes the rain stopped so we began to explore.  Now the castle is not just the remains of a castle it was like a small town.  

First we walked up just to see the view.  

It was a breath taking view of the whole city.  

We next went and saw the Crown Jewels  wish were so cool you can see the coronation crown and the stone that they used to have the kings stand on during their coronation.  Sorry no pictures during this part.   

Next Aunt Wendy and I sat for a little bit and just people washed.   We also watched the guards that were on duty due to the Queen being in town.  I felt beyond lucky to see them they add so much to this experience.  

I love this pic so much!!

After this we went into the war room.  It was crazy to see the weapons and armer that they used to use.   The picture below is a sword that they used during the wars.  It is 2.6 kilos or about 10 pounds. The man their to answer questions said that the men that would have used the swords had been trained to hold it and use it since they were wee little lads.  Then when they were charging someone they would almost due a infinity symbol  to scare the people they were fighting.  

The sword that I have in my hand bellow is a more popular sword used during fighting because it was versatile and could be used in many ways.  He said that "they didn't care how they fought as long as they won."  

Here is a cannon that they used to use to defend the castle.  

Now Aunt Wendy and I were sitting in the square and were just talking and I decided that it would be a great picture if I could get the lion and the guard together.  So I got very close and was lining up the picture and as soon as I got it I looked at Aunt Wendy and told her I got it.  When I looked away from the guard he screamed for them to do this thing and I got so scared And basic flew offf the steps. Aunt Wendy and I lost it we were laughing so hard.  I was to stunned to look around but I am sure that people were laughing at me too.  

So another cool thing is that in the war memorial building they have ever name of every soldiers that has fought for Scotland.  When I looked in the books there were so many Robinson names it was crazy.  I wish I could have taken pictures.   They where mostly served in the Highlands.  We are going on the tour of the highland tomorrow so I am so excited about it.  

This is a picture of all of us before we left.  We lucked out and also got the gards.     

It is a great picture.  

Here is a picture of me in one of the last remaining phone booths! When was the last time you saw one?

On the way out we saw this guy! "They will never take our freedom!" 

Braveheart! Right??

After we left we had a late lunch.   Then we went to the children's game museum that was ok.  Not the most exciting.   

After all of this Uncle Al, Dad, and I wanted to hike up to Arthur's Seat.  Now at first we were a little confused about what peak that Arthur's seat is actually on.  So we climb the closest one. Now let me tell you that we may live in the Windy City but I have never felt wind like this.  Here are some pictures on top of the first peak cluster.  

Trying to show how windy it is. 

Dad did it! 

Uncle Al just chilling.  

Showing how high it was. 

The view was out of this world. 

Next Dad went back to the apartment to meet up with Wendy and Uncle Al and I finished the trek up the mountain.  When we got to the top the wind was crazy but the since of accomplishment and the view was out of this world. 

The wind was so strong it was hard to hang on to my camera.   

We both made it back down in one piece    

Next we went to dinner and in the bathroom dad meet a guy who invited us to his private party.  Being as it is us of course we went.  We had so much fun and met the most lovely and friendly people.   We had to leave after a drink and a shot because we are due up so early but we met people that we will be email friends with so how great is that!

Ok I must go to bed! Love you all!  

Highlands tour day!

Woke up early again this morning had to be up by 6 to shower and get ready before we left to make it to the meet up point by 7:45.  

Being the second day on my pain patch I never feel that great so I had to get something in my tummy before I took more meds.  It was the greatest thing ever we went in to check in and they had a coffee shop there.  They had the most yummy gluten free sandwich, and only one.left and I totally got it.  I have to say that it was the second best breakfast the while time I have been here.   

We started the tour with our tour guide Kenny who was where a kilt so I felt that was a good sign.   It was such a good tour.  From the beginning of the tour to the first stop he talked and we also had some stories that were pre recorded that we learned.  As a total history geek I will admit that it has been so great learning everything.  

The first stop we made was a potty stop so I clearly did not take pictures. This was also where we picked up bag lunches to eat at the next stop. I got the most delicious salad that i have had since being in Paris.  The second stop that we made was where my good friend the Lockness monster (Nessie) lives.  We decided to pay the extra $12.50 to go on the cruse. We bought these tickets from Kenny at our first stop because they were discounted.  We pulled up 60 seconds before the boat was due to pull out. Kenny pulled over and we all ran out to catch the boat.  It was so great! We had a lovely cruise.  We did not see Nessie but I am sure that she is there.  Kenny says she must be a women because she has tortured is for so long without showing her face.  Here are some pictures.  

Some views from the boat that we saw.  

Castle ruins.   

 

During the boat ride we all ate or lunches.  We were all so happy with them.   

After we all loaded back on to our tour bus with Kenny.  He is not happy if someone is late.  Uncle Al just made it! Haha.  We started back on the road. And saw the Harry Potter steam boat but I couldn't get a good picture.   We we t to a castle that was very close. Like so close but I didn't have time to run over and take pictures.  But I did get some inside the castle ruins.  

We learned so much about the highlands I could not even begin to tell you all about them.  We went past where Harry Potter was filmed.  They have taken down the set but it is where they filmed it.  

We went to a few look out points but Glenco was my favorite because it is the highest mountain in all of the United Kingdom.   They are called the sister mountains Hope,  .  It was an active Volcano a long time ago but no longer is.  It was incredible beautiful! Uncle Al and I are planing our next trip to hike them.  Who is in? Please say something in the comment box so that we can get an idea.  I also took some Cye jumping pictures but had Dad take them so he struggled a little.  So the pictures dad took I am doing a torjite if you look carefully and yes I did zoom in on one you can see my shoe fly off.   I guess my shoes stretched out a bit during this trip.  

Luckily a very nice women on the tour got a bunch of pictures when we were trying to capture a leap.   I am so excited to get them.   I will share them on my blog even if I am already home. Here are a few more pictures I took of beautiful Glenco.  

Love my Aunt Wendy!

This is my best bus and amazing driver Kenny! We love him!

One more shameless selfy 

Hiking buddy and amazing Uncle Al! 

After we continued on and stopped at another rest stop and food stop it was around 6 and people were getting hungry.  We stopped at The Willy Stop. Hahaha I don't even have to say something about this it is self explanatory.  But man it had a great lentils soup.

The very last stop that we stopped at was to visit the oldest living one of these type of cows.  His name is Hamish and he is 20 years old.  

Just went to dinner with Uncle Al.  Going home and going to re-pack everything for our next Ryan Air experience.  Que the scary music.... 

Night and love to all!