Timely Blessing

In previous posts, I had mentioned the possibility of winning a new car from Hudson Nissan in Nicholasville. Well, sure enough, this past Saturday..... I won a car!

Back around January, my aunt Jill had heard of the Hudson Nissan Teacher of the Year contest and nominated me for it.  The idea was to give back to teachers by allowing one to receive a free 2014 Nissan Altima for a year.  We hadn't purchased a new car at the time because I wasn't ready to drive and after seeing how quickly the votes took off, we postponed purchasing until the end of the contest.  If there was any way we could win, we didn't want to waste money on a car payment for a year!  Consequently, the Donovan family remained a one car family for 4.5 months.  It was nice, but I totally missed my independence and hated begging for rides every day of the week!  I'm very thankful to everyone who pitched in to transport me and my kiddos.  I am also extremely thankful to everyone who took the time to vote for me!

This timely blessing is just one more example of God's power in our lives!  It has amazed me how He used my aunt (thankfully she listened!) and social media (one positive thing about Facebook!) to bless my family again.  This was a gift that was beyond anything I could have imagined.  I mean really.... I had a car wreck and then win a contest that allows a teacher to win a car.  This is no coincidence friends! So, after a short radio clip and a news segment, yesterday, I got to drive away in a brand new car!

I've never owned a brand new car in my life and have to admit it felt incredible driving around yesterday with a car that allows my Pandora to play through my car speakers with Bluetooth!!  The car that I currently have will remain mine for the next 30 days.  Then, I will switch out with another brand new Altima and repeat every 3 to 4 months for the next year.  I'm totally in love with the one I have, but it will be awesome to get to try out different colors and styles.  I'm assuming they need to keep the miles down on their cars which is probably a good thing since I tend to rack up the miles on every car I drive!  Hudson Nissan put no stipulations on the cars, just that I trade out like I mentioned.  So, yay for having no car payment for a year and not having to pay for car insurance on another car!  Praise the Lord!

I uploaded a few pictures from the event yesterday for you to see.  And, again, thank you to everyone who took the time to vote and leave a comment!  I am blessed to live in such a supportive community!

Stars can't shine without darnkess

They say, "Stars can't shine without darkness."  This quote more or less encompasses what has been my philosophy the past four and a half months.  At first, I was overcome with sadness about what had happened, what could have happened, and what would never happen again.  But then, God showed me that it is through this "darkness" that HE could shine in me and through me.  

I most definitely believe that my relationship with the Lord has grown through this experience, but I'll also tell you that even after going through this "dark" time, I still find myself struggling with the very same issues I experienced before the accident.  I guess, at first, I thought it would forever change me, but I still find myself in times of self-pity, self-righteousness, wrath, jealousy, and even wrapped up in worthless, worldly things.  And then, when I'm at my lowest point, I am reminded that I am human and that Jesus died so that I could be forgiven for all of these things.  What an amazing sacrifice! The very creator of the universe knew that I would need this constant forgiveness even after experiencing the hand of God over mine and Ella's lives December 2nd.  

So, where does all of this leave me today.... at another milestone and still grateful!  Today puts me twenty days post-op.  As you can see from the picture below, my eye has made dramatic improvement.  I'm not completely satisfied and find myself feeling "ugly," but I know there is more to all this than my appearances. God is helping me feel comfortable in my new skin and providing me with the opportunity to show people there is a way to overcome losing your sight in one eye and the face you once knew as you ( or whatever other obstacle you may be going through ).   He's also providing me with opportunities to continue to improve cosmetically, which I am so thankful for.  I'm learning patience and contentment!  Those are two things I think I lacked before all of this went down.  Out of all of my procedures, the Strabismus surgery was the one I was most excited about and today I went and met with Dr. Stevens for my pre-op appointment.  She did several measurements and is set to perform the Strabismus surgery on May 7th.  During our conversation today, she mentioned the possibility of gaining some right eye movement after surgery which was totally unexpected. I absolutely cannot wait until May 7th!!  

On another note, I'm hoping and praying that I will have another important blog post to share this upcoming Saturday, so please keep my family in your thoughts as we see the final results of the car give-a-way my aunt nominated me for.  We are supposed to be at the dealership early Saturday morning as they announce the top three winners and give away a brand new car for one year!  What a blessing that would be!

Until then... have a great week!

One down... one to go!

Yesterday, was surgery number one of two.  I can't describe how excited and ready I was for this surgery. Afterall, it was exactly four months from the day of my actual accident.  I know both of my doctors are perfectionists so there were no nerves attached, just hope that I'd be one step closer to the final product!

Because we had to be at UK so early in the morning, we went ahead and sent the kids off Tuesday night so we wouldn't have to wake them up early to drop them off.  This always leaves me feeling empty inside, but thankfully, both kids did a great job and seemed to have a lot of fun!  Kermie and I headed for the hospital around 5 o'clock yesterday morning.  We were supposed to be at registration by 6 and surgery was supposed to start by 8.  Upon our arrival at the Center for Advanced Surgery, one of the nurses said that my surgery was going to be a long one due to the fact that there were two surgeons involved and each had quite a bit of work to accomplish.  I felt kind of bad for Kermie who was just going to be sittingt here.... bored. On the other hand, I kept asking the time because I was more than ready to get started!  My nurses hooked me up to fluids, took my vitals, and ran me through the schedule.  Then, both of my doctors came in to double check their plan and say hello.  They feel like family at this point.  The very last thing I remember is one of the nurses telling me she was going to put some "feel good" medicine in my IV and then I was off.  

A few hours later, I woke in recovery with a scratchy throat and sick to my stomach.  I remember them telling me that Dr. Patel decided not to revise my scar, but did accomplish one of his two goals.  They wanted to be sure that my new lower eye lid would not be pulled down by any work that he did.  Of course, I completely trust their judgement.  Therefore, my surgery wasn't as long as they expected it to be.  I now have a 1 gram gold weight in my upper eye lid to keep it closed at night, a lifted lower eye lid, and from what I can tell, the nasty looking scar below my eye has been stretched, tucked, or something else. :)  In other words, it doesn't look as bad as it did.  Recovery was definitely the worst part of the experience, but Zofran, Phenergan, water, and a fan did the trick.  I was out of there in no time, but extremely sleepy!  

Kermie and I got home yesterday a little past lunch and I slept off and on the rest of the day.  I ate like a pig too.  There's something about surgery that makes me so hungry!  Subway, sweet tea, ice cream sandwiches, Taco Bell, and Pepsi were just a few of the things on my menu in my awake moments.  Since I've been home, I really don't have any pain other than my throat which I assume is from surgery.  My eye feels great, although it is quite swollen.  I haven't had any pain medicine and I've been in great spirits.  Compared to my last return from the hospital, this is a breeze.  I'm thankful to still feel like me!!  I currently have a shield over my eye and have to put ointment on it throughout the day.

So, what's next??  I go back to Dr. Timoney's office next Wednesday to check on my healing.  I'm not sure about the plan with Dr. Patel yet.  Although I was scheduled to get stitches out Tuesday, but now there aren't any to remove. Towards the end of this month, I will meet with Dr. Stevens to finish up the details on the Strabismus surgery.  And, at this rate, I will be a new woman by the time we leave for Disney in June!

Here is a picture of what I currently look like... sorry I'm a bit rough!!