Oh man, it's been a year!

It is unbelievable how much has happened this year to bring me from the lowest of lows to the best I've ever felt. I am feeling grounded, like I've got plans, and I'm more fit than I've ever been. The past year has been monumental, and I cannot express enough gratitude to my friends and family who have been there for me over that past year. They have done SO MUCH for me this past year that I will never be able to fully express how thankful I am, but thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the help, thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes.

So what have I been up to this year? Largely, it's been recovery. I've had up to 7 therapy appointments per week (currently down to just 3!). I've also been pretty sleepy, so a lot of my last year has been spent in bed. This summer, I was feeling up for finishing the last prerequisite for my upcoming masters program, Anatomy and Physiology II. I had been taking this class last fall but didn't complete it due to my coma, so I retook it as a summer class. It was a condensed class and a good portion of the class failed, but I passed! This was a huge boost for my confidence, and I am feeling more than ready for my masters program to start this February!

My masters program is a master in nursing for people with non-nursing degrees. This is a program specifically for people who are looking to change their profession. As someone that has never liked a job they've had, this was already a good fit for me when I applied last year. Now that I've spent so much time in the hospital, I am fully confident that I made the right choice last year, and I am beyond excited to get started with this program! For now, I am still living with my parents, but I will be moving close to campus in the next few months.

I started vision therapy this August, and I am still going twice a week. My eyes no longer line up, so the goal of this therapy is to help my eyes to work together. My vision, particularly my peripheral vision, is so bad that I do not like being in cars anymore and am prone to getting car sick. I was already at a point where I didn't love cars. I hated driving BEFORE I was hit by a car and had my vision messed up to a point where being in cars makes me sick. I am quite done with cars now. I now bike to vision therapy twice a week and have gotten in to biking when I was hardly a biker before. I'm loving my time out on the trail!

In December, I started working out at Lifetime. At first, it was many of the things they had me doing in physical therapy. This summer, I started with a trainer because I didn't really know my way around exercise equipment. Getting started with a trainer made a huge difference! He has me actually excited about going to to the gym, and I now go nearly every day. I'm in better shape than I've ever been in. In August, I started teaching swimming at Lifetime. I taught swimming from ages 15-24, so it's a comfortable job for me that I have lots of experience doing. The free Lifetime membership is a huge perk! So far the job is going well, and I'm liking everyone that I'm working with.

In the spring and then again in the fall, I played in the adult kickball league that I've played in for a few years. I was surprised I was able to get out there and play! I'm still feeling like I am not as strong of a player as I was last year, but I'm getting better and better! I love the team that I play on, and their support has been so great to have around!

I can't believe it's been a full year, and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for me! I look forward to my future, and I can't thank everyone enough for helping to bring me to such a wonderful outlook on my life!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!