Happy 2023!

Hard to believe it's been just about a year since I've updated this site, and just a little over 2 years since all this mess started.

I am very happy to report that things remain STABLE. Over the past year (2022) I have had a few follow ups and will do my best to summarize here:

Jan 2022: Had follow up scan from my pulmonary embolism (Nov 2021) to show complete resolution of the blood clots, but no clear answer as to why they happened. Cue the "lifetime anticoagulation" prescription for Xarelto. Whatever keeps those clots away, I'm game.

March 2022: Logan decided to throw in a surprise... HE FINALLY PROPOSED! Wedding to come in the fall. FINALLY, something to take my mind off of all the follow ups!

April 2022: Lincoln turned 3 and finally had a birthday party not fully complicated by COVID.

May 2022: I had my 1 year follow up Colonoscopy and CT/bloodwork. As far as I understand, I will have these tests done every year for the first 5 years, and if everything looks good, we can move it out to every 3 after that. Colonoscopy went well, besides my mini panic attack that caused me to get an extra dose of sedation. The results came back, everything looked great! and my surgery scars looked awesome. CT continued to show stable lung granulomas (most likely from pneumonia and the PE) and 2 spots on my liver (which they've always attributed to birth control use, which was confirmed by MRI and is a "normal" finding when talking about long term birth control use effects). Because of the PE, we opted for one more 3 month follow up.

June 2022: Kylie turned 33! We also bought a camper and started our seasonal camping down in Iowa. Many fun weekends spent together camping and canoeing! 

July 2022: I ended up having a slight panic attack at work with slight chest pain and presyncope, which prompted an ER visit. Everything came back clear, and I was prescribed some meds to help with this, which I'm happy to report, haven't been used very much.

August 2022: Again, 3-month scans: came back looking favorable! With this, we decided to try our hand at 6 month follow ups. This is where I should have been, had it not been for the PE. We also welcomed home our littlest baby, Shooter McGavin! He is our German short hair born just 2 days after my birthday!

September 2022: 9/9/22 We got married! I felt great, wedding went off with (almost) not a hitch, besides a little rain. We were so blessed to have family and friends join us for our special day. Made even more special by the fact that we were all healthy! I was also able to finally meet some of Logan's family that lives out of state.

October 2022: Addy turned 10 on 10/10! Happy Golden Birthday! We also decided to put our house up for sale! Time for change! This ended up getting sidetracked a few times, but after a few months, I *think* we finally have a plan. Don't worry, we won't be moving too far. Once everything is set, I'll let you all in on that plan.

November 2022: We had Thanksgiving for the Thiemann side of the family where we welcomed a *new* cousin, Brandi! Come to find out, she is one of us (which there are around 65 of us, so LOTS of new names and faces to learn). We were fortunate enough to gather at the American Legion so we could all fit!

December 2022: Time to gather the Johnson side of the family together- all 50+ of us, with a few unable to attend. Logan turned 33, and we went on our annual Marvin Family Ice Fishing Trip to Lake of the Woods (think Minnesota, but in Canada). We got back in time to celebrate New Year's and a few birthdays! (Kevin, Steve and Jody)

Which brings me to now, January 2023: My next set of appointments is set for the end of February, which will be around 6 months since my last imaging. While waiting "so long" makes me nervous, I've felt overall pretty good! No new complaints, and my system seems to have found its groove. 

I know I didn't include everything in this update, but hopefully it provided a little info on what's been going on in our lives! We would be here all day if I got into more detail. Life is good, Pooping is good. More to come soon! Please keep my fellow C word Warriors in your prayers; some have received awesome news, some have received devastating news, and in 2022 we lost a couple that I have met throughout my journey.  As always, Stay Calm, Poop Strong.

Kylie Marvin <3