Random Thoughts Showing 801-850 of 1,199

[Bianca]

Jill wrote: "Hope everyone is doing well. I've slacked off of reading-too many other things going on to be able to slow down and enjoy a book until today. While everyone is out enjoying the beautiful 70 degre..."

Feel better, Jill!!

Julie, haven't heard of that one yet! Well, I've heard of If I Stay, but I didn't know it was a series!! I'll have to add that one to my list :)

[Jencey/]

Hi everyone! I hope that you are doing well. I haven't posted as much because I seem to be in transistion. My parents are retiring to Cocoa Beach Florida, and since I live with them I have to find a place to live. I am staying in Georgia because of my job. I am trying to get as much reading done as I can between going through boxes.

I haven't gotten into Pretty Little Liars. I hope you all are enjoying.

[Tara]

Hey everyone! I have been MIA on here for awhile because of school. The class that I have right now has been crazy. I have to write around 3 papers per week along with the other assignments. I haven't had much time to do anything. The last week of this class started yesterday and I hope my next one is easier.

I haven't had a chance to say this but CONGRATULATIONS KOURTNEY!!! I am so excited for you and to see pics of your new baby when it's time.

[Suzanne]

I'm 4 episodes behind on PLL and I'm confused too! Plus sometimes I forget what happened in the book vs. the show.

I'm still hoping A in the tv show turns out to be 2nd A in the books! There's still a chance!

[Stacy]

Jill wrote: "Hope everyone is doing well. I've slacked off of reading-too many other things going on to be able to slow down and enjoy a book until today. While everyone is out enjoying the beautiful 70 degre..."

That sucks Jill! I hope you feel better soon!

[Stacy]

Julie wrote: "Hi everyone! FINALLY finished another book.....really good!

Where She Went"

Thanks Julie, I'll have to check that one out!

[Stacy]

Bianca wrote: "Stacy wrote: "That's a really cute idea Bianca - to let the sibling pick the names. I bet it's a great way to get the kids excited about a baby brother or sister.

Anyone that watches Pretty Littl..."

I've heard that theory, that it could be someone's parent. I really want to go back and watch the first season to see if I can get anything from it, but if I do that, I won't have any time for reading at all. I missed last week's episode and for some reason it didn't record, so when life slowed down a little on Thursday, I tried to watch it but it wasn't there. I had to watch it through the app and play it through the Apple TV from my phone. But at least I got to see it.

[Stacy]

Jencey/ wrote: "Hi everyone! I hope that you are doing well. I haven't posted as much because I seem to be in transistion. My parents are retiring to Cocoa Beach Florida, and since I live with them I have to fi..."

Good luck finding someplace Jencey, moving sucks!!!

[Stacy]

Tara wrote: "Hey everyone! I have been MIA on here for awhile because of school. The class that I have right now has been crazy. I have to write around 3 papers per week along with the other assignments. I have..."

Not too much longer and you'll have a break for summer. :)

[Stacy]

Suzanne wrote: "I'm 4 episodes behind on PLL and I'm confused too! Plus sometimes I forget what happened in the book vs. the show.

I'm still hoping A in the tv show turns out to be 2nd A in the books! There's st..."

That's what I hoped for a while too, but now I'm not so sure. It's so hard to say. And I totally get what you guys mean about it being confusing. They do a really good job of making you think it's one person and then someone else. I have to admit, sometimes it stresses me out a little because I hate not being in the know. :)

[Stacy]

So this weekend kinda sucked for me. My grandma had been doing pretty poorly the last few months and it seems in the last few weeks her health rapidly, rapidly decreased. I got a phone call from my brother yesterday morning around 8 am to let me know she had passed early in the morning. They think between 1:30 and 4am. Even though I knew it was coming, it's still pretty upsetting. I keep reminding myself that she was 93 and that's a hell of a long time to live, especially with as much as she and my grandpa smoked before I was born and when I was a kid into my mid-teens. My grandpa passed when I was 18 and she never had any health issues until about a year after he passed. She was a tough, tough lady and I have always admired her for her strength and stubbornness (which I have in spades). If I can be have as tough as she was, I'll be lucky. I'm so grateful that my daughter was able to know her and is old enough to have lasting memories of her.

Another piece of news that I wanted to share - my proud mama moment - I received Morgan's report card last week and she is "meeting expectations" (no letter grades yet) in every area. In the comments section, her teacher wrote that she is reading at a 7.7 grade level (she's in 4th grade) and is reading and comprehending close to 190 words per minute. I don't know how the hell she's doing that, but it's awesome. Now I guess I know how she gets through 100 page books so quickly.

And the last piece of news - I finally met with the surgeon last week and have my gall bladder removal surgery scheduled for March 16th. No green beer and haggis for me on St. Patty's Day. Not that I drink or eat that anyway. It's too bad there are so few people in my department, I could've had it out today, or two weeks from today. But we only have three people and one person is already out on vacation through tomorrow, and that same person will be on vacation again at the end of the week in two weeks and even though I told my boss I WOULD be back in four days, she doesn't want me to push it, so I had to push out the surgery date.

[Bianca]

Jencey – good luck!! I’m sure you’ll find a great place to live. :)

Stacy – I never read the books, so I have no idea who A was in them. I think I might eventually read them, so don’t tell me! :) The problem with Aria’s brother being A is that they’ve led us to believe someone was A so many times. Haha. We thought it was Spencer’s sister, Toby, Ezra, and pretty much everyone. So now that they’re making us think it’s Mike, I just don’t believe them. Haha. It’s just another plot twist, I think. But who knows, maybe they’re leading us in the right direction for once. Does anyone know how many seasons they’re planning on doing? We’re already almost done with the 5th one!!

Also, Stacy, I’m sorry about your grandma. :( That’s so sad. And I have no doubt that you will be as tough as her!

Wow, that’s amazing about Morgan! I wonder who she gets that from. ;)

Ahhh sorry about your surgery. I don’t know too much about gall bladder surgery (or gall bladders in general, for that matter), but it sucks you can’t do it sooner! I’d just want to get it over with too.

[Bianca]

Also, what was up with the part where there were like 50 As? Haha. Who were they?! I don't remember what ever came out of that whole situation.

[Kourtney]

Tara wrote: "Hey everyone! I have been MIA on here for awhile because of school. The class that I have right now has been crazy. I have to write around 3 papers per week along with the other assignments. I have..."

Thanks Tara!!

[Dawn]

Stacy,
I am just catching up on all I missed and I am so so sorry to hear about your Grandma. I lost mine 7 years ago and I still think of her everyday or atleast a few times a week. It is really hard and sad right now but it will ease up. I lived with mine my whole life and I never thought I would get over the loss and I guess you don't it just gets easier after time. I hope your daughter is not taking it to hard. So sorry again and good luck with the surgery. Miss you guys xoxoxoxoxoxo

[Kourtney]

Stacy I'm so sorry about your grandma - Morgan is very lucky to have known her!

[Jill]

Stacy- Take your time if possible after gallbladder surgery. I know that can be hard! It took me longer to recover than I wanted and it was very frustrating. Stock up on snacks, Redbox movies, and good things to read since you won't be up to going anywhere for a couple of days!

[Stacy]

Thank you for the condolences.

Bianca - On the show this week, they said it's four episodes until the "big A reveal." We'll see if they actually reveal it. You're right, we've been lead in so many directions, but to me, that's part of what makes it so good. Just when you think you have it figured out, something happens that blows that theory out of the water. I'm really leaning toward re-watching the first season with a couple of theories in mind that I didn't have at that time. It's supposed to be obvious once you know who it is.

As for the 50 As, whomever it is has some serious cashola and probably paid a bunch of people to run around and scare the girls in that episode.

As for the surgery, I'm counting the days. I haven't had any attacks since the day before the appointment with the surgeon, so fingers crossed. I'm not the type of person that takes things easy when I'm told to. I have a stubborn streak ten miles wide (maybe it's a bit of a control issue?) so I already scheduled a dentist appointment for two days after the surgery. I figured why not get it done when I'm already going to be off? It's not like I'll have to do anything other than lean back in a chair anyway. And I'm hoping to make it back to work the next day.

[Jencey/]

Stacy,
I am prescribing tons of books for your recovery so you can stay off your feet and rest. wish you the best in your recovery! :) I saw your note on the other page.

[Stacy]

Jencey/ wrote: "Stacy,
I am prescribing tons of books for your recovery so you can stay off your feet and rest. wish you the best in your recovery! :) I saw your note on the other page."

Tons of books to read, I have those in spades. The patience to sit around for days on end while I have numerous people moving around in the house making messes and not cleaning them up.....that, I do not have.

[Jencey/]

I totally understand that one. Maybe you will something to read that will keep you so engrossed that you won't mind.

[Julie]

Hi Ladies--

Been a little MIA lately. I haven't gotten much reading time in.....I've been focusing on my exercise/weight loss goals. So far, I'm down over 20 pounds since the beginning of the year! Yay!

Stacy, so sorry about your Grandma.

Jencey, good luck on your new home search.

Sorry if I've missed anyone, but hope you are all having a great week!

Julie

[Bianca]

Julie wrote: "Hi Ladies--

Been a little MIA lately. I haven't gotten much reading time in.....I've been focusing on my exercise/weight loss goals. So far, I'm down over 20 pounds since the beginning of the year..."

Julie, that's amazing!! What have you been doing for your weight loss? Like what foods and exercise? Congrats!!! Sounds like 2015 is off to a great start. :)

[Jencey/]

Julie,
Congratulations! Yes what is your secret?

[Bianca]

SNOOOOOW DAAAAAAAY!!!!!

Well, more of an ice day, which is always the case for Dallas. And since cars and streets aren't really equipped for that here, schools and offices have closed down. I'm working from home today, which is fun to do every once in a while.

You know, all my friends who live here in Dallas but are originally from any state north of Texas always make fun of us for having a snow day when there's ice on the ground. They're like, "Wow I'm from xxx state and I drive to work with 10 inches of snow outside." But hey, I'm from here and I'm not complaining at a chilly day to work from home. :) Plus I don't know how to drive on ice, and I'm pretty sure not many people here do. Haha.

I am sad that the groundhog saw his shadow, though--I'm ready for spring!! I've been boycotting big winter jackets recently and decided I'm just going to start telling myself it's spring outside. But unfortunately, spring brings spring allergies, and apparently I'm allergic to trees.

Anyway, have you guys ever had (or currently have) a work-from-home job? I get a chance to do it every once in a while, like the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas and snow days, and those are nice. But I couldn't do it every day--I like the double-monitor set up I have at work and the hustle and bustle of my coworkers. And it's also easy to get distracted at home!

[Julie]

Hi Ladies.....I started back on the Herbalife program, which is basically high protein, low fat, low sugar, low carb. I also exercise 5-6 days per week.

Of course, I have a lot to lose, so when you do, it is easier to lose in the beginning. I have never had a problem with losing weight when I set my mind to it.....my problem is maintaining the loss!

[Bianca]

Julie wrote: "Hi Ladies.....I started back on the Herbalife program, which is basically high protein, low fat, low sugar, low carb. I also exercise 5-6 days per week.

Of course, I have a lot to lose, so when yo..."

Oh wow! That's awesome! What exercises have you been doing? I really need to make myself do more cardio...I'm more of a yoga girl!

[Julie]

I try to walk every day for at least 1/2 an hour

Then I alternate between these 2 workouts for 4 days & have the 5th day off as a "rest" day:

Workout#1 (3 Sets & I rest a bit between each set)
30 Jumping Jacks
5 Push-ups
25 High Knees
7 Burpees
10 Crunches
7 Squats
5 Push-ups
10 Crunches
5 Push-ups
7 Squats
30 Jumping Jacks
60 Second Wall Sit
5 Push-ups
25 High Knees

Workout #2 (Just do once--and I break each exercise except the plank into sets of 5 i.e., 125 sit-ups I do a set of 25 then rest for a minute, then another set of 25, then rest for minute, etc.)
125 Sit-ups
200 Crunches
65 Leg Lifts
2 Minute Plank
250 Squats

Both of these workouts take me anywhere from 35-45 minutes

[Stacy]

Jencey/ wrote: "I totally understand that one. Maybe you will something to read that will keep you so engrossed that you won't mind."

LOL, I doubt it. I just spent two days with the stomach flu and even though I felt sicker than I have in a long time, I STILL couldn't stand being in bed and cooped up all day. I almost went crazy.

[Stacy]

Julie wrote: "Hi Ladies--

Been a little MIA lately. I haven't gotten much reading time in.....I've been focusing on my exercise/weight loss goals. So far, I'm down over 20 pounds since the beginning of the year..."

That's awesome Julie! You're doing so great! And I'm jealous of your drive and motivation. LOL

[Stacy]

Bianca wrote: "SNOOOOOW DAAAAAAAY!!!!!

Well, more of an ice day, which is always the case for Dallas. And since cars and streets aren't really equipped for that here, schools and offices have closed down. I'm wo..."

I wish we could close down for snow or ice. But sadly, that's what Michigan is all about. I'm totally jealous of states that don't have to deal with it much and thus don't have the equipment to clear it.

I've never been in a work from home position, but that's what my boyfriend does. Sometimes (ok, lots of times) I can get jealous of it because he doesn't have to go out in crappy weather unless he wants to for lunch or has an appointment. Also, he doesn't have to do the whole morning ritual before "going" to work of showing, getting dressed, putting on makeup, etc., etc. Nor does he need to worry about any kind of dress code whatsoever. Not that I can complain about that one too much, they're pretty laid back at my company which is awesome.

But, from his perspective, it can be pretty boring, and lonely, which is why he often leaves for lunch. And I can totally see how one could turn into a complete hermit with a work from home job, so there are ups and downs to both sides. Which is pretty much the norm, we all want what we don't have and conceive to be better than what we do have, right?

[Stacy]

Julie wrote: "I try to walk every day for at least 1/2 an hour

Then I alternate between these 2 workouts for 4 days & have the 5th day off as a "rest" day:

Workout#1 (3 Sets & I rest a bit between each set)
30..."

That's a whole hell of a lot of crunches and squats. How do you do it? Squats are an evil, EVIL exercise. ;)

You do this at home?

[Kourtney]

I just found out that I had Scott buy me the same book in the UK twice...and then I bought a copy when I was over there! I've had duplicates a couple of times but this is my first time I've ever had triplicate of a book! Argh!

[Stacy]

LOL, sounds like pregnancy brain is taking over!

[Julie]

Hi Ladies.....sorry I haven't been on lately. I was at a conference in Houston through Thursday, and now I'm visiting my sister in Phoenix! Good times!

Stacy, yes.....I do my exercises at home.

Update: I won the "most inches lost" prize in the weight loss challenge I was participating in. I lost a total of 24 1/2 inches in 7 weeks! The prize was $280--woot woot!

[Jill]

Julie-I hope you had some time to enjoy Houston. There's tons of things to do here.

I've fallen off of the reading wagon. I sometimes have a hard time finding the time to enjoy a good book. Another week of kids and then it's Spring Break. Maybe then I can find some time to read.

[Jencey/]

Jill,
Congrats! Keep up the good work!

[Stacy]

That's awesome Julie! Congrats! That $280 will buy a lot of books. ;) Or help with any new home decorating. :) I'm glad to know you do that stuff at home. I'm thinking once I am in the clear to be 100% active, I want to start doing what you've been doing. I'm already stuck on a low fat diet for the next 4-6 weeks. (I'm guessing that is to avoid any "bathroom emergencies," and yes, I'd like to avoid those.) Why not throw some exercise in there at the same time, right? Maximize the situation, right?

If I can get past the pain from the CO2 build-up they pump you up with during surgery, I think I'd be a lot more comfortable. Last night was excruciating because of it. The incisions didn't bother me at all. I thought I got past it today because it felt like the balance was tipping - I was starting to feel the incisions more and the gas less. But I think I tried to overdo it too much today trying to do stuff for myself and now I'm completely knackered and feeling pain pretty much all over my abdomen and back. I broke down and took a pain pill - they gave me Norco (sp?) during the day and all it's really done is mess with my equilibrium. The pain is still there. Greg keeps telling me I need to learn how to sit back and relax, that I should take two and just let them put me to sleep. If I do that, I won't sleep tonight, and I didn't sleep well last night. Sorry, this turned into a rant. I'm in pain and frustrated about it and that makes me grumpy. I'll shut up now and go back to listening to my audiobook.

I hope everyone has had a nice change for the better in their weather like we have the last couple of weeks. Yesterday was almost 70 degrees. The rest of this week is in the 40s, but I'll take it. Better weather is on the way.

And, Greg just finished downloading all five seasons of Daria, so I'm going to watch that instead of listening to the book. :) That puts a smile on my face. Anyone else remember that show?

[Julie]

Oh jeepers! Sounds like you're going through a lot Stacy. Hope you get to feeling better really soon.....

[Jill]

Stacey- Sorry to hear that it's taking you longer to recover from gallbladder surgery than you wanted. It took me longer then I thought it should. It helped me that mine was done over the Christmas break so I didn't have to worry about work. It gets better. Afterwards I haven't had any issues from what I eat.

[Stacy]

Today is much better. Yesterday was horrid because in a moment of weakness from the pain, I took the max dose (two pills) of the pain medicine. That did me in for pretty much the rest of the day. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than staring off into the distance. My head finally started to clear last night. I will not be doing that again, I don't care how bad it hurts. Now, I'm alternating between one pain pill and three ibuprofen every four hours. It seems to be working ok. I have issues with back pain though that I don't understand. I don't know if it's from the surgery itself, the trauma of getting something cut out on the inside manifesting in a different way? Or if it's from being so idle. Either way, it sucks.

But anyway, I realized that we are just over halfway through the month and I haven't started putting together the next challenge. So that's what I'm doing today. :)

[Kourtney]

Yikes - I'm sorry Stacy! That really sucks. Hope you feel better soon!

[Suzanne]

Stacy - Sorry to hear recovery isn't going that well. :( How much time did/are you taking off work? I hope you start to feel better soon. This is why I'm putting it off as long as I can! After the 4-6 weeks is up, can you pretty much eat anything you want? Or do you have to eat bland, low fat food for the rest of your life? I've heard both.

[Dawn]

Sending some love to Stacy for a speedy recovery and hello to all my other ladies. xoxo miss you guys hope to be back on here next week. It's fricking snowing again in New York I am so done with winter.

[Kourtney]

I am having serious committment issues with my books recently! None of the books I am reading can hold my interest long enough, and I find myself bouncing around from book to book, not even trying to finish one.

This might have to do with everything going on in my personal life (identity theft where they cleaned out my bank account, bank not helping me get my money back and then this weekend one of my dogs became really ill). All I want to do right now is lay in bed and read...and that's the only thing I can't do! Grrr!

[Suzanne]

Kourtney - Oh no! That sucks! Do you know how it happened at all? Why isn't the bank being more helpful?! Also sorry to hear about your dog. :(

I went through that too, bouncing from one book to another. I think there are over 5 books right now on my "currently reading" list, because I kept starting and stopping books, never finishing any of them.

[Kourtney]

I was told someone cloned my debit card - the fraud department called me AFTER they allowed 3 charges through that wiped out my account. Then no one can answer my questions when I ask what the process is and when will I get my money back and never once has anyone said "we are so sorry this has happened to you" just asking me instead questions that make it sound like I'm lying. Then to have my baby be sick!?!? Blech!

I just recently cleaned off my currently reading shelf, as I was in the 20's with books I had read one page of and never picked back up. I put all of those back on my to-read shelf, but now my numbers are creeping back up again! Yikes!

[Suzanne]

Ugh, that really sucks! I hope you get your money back soon! Someone keeps trying to access my Victoria's Secret account online. This is the 2nd time I've been notified that they blocked access to my account for 30 minutes due to multiple failed sign in attempts. I can only hope the person is trying to get into my account to pay my bill. ;) haha. But seriously, I'm very concerned about it!

[Julie]

Wow.....we need some serious positive thoughts getting to all of you ladies. Consider it done.....happy, positive, healthy thoughts from me to all of you!

XO

[Stacy]

Well, my gallbladder saga only got worse on Sunday. I thought I was doing better as Friday and Saturday I managed to get out of the house for about an hour each day. But I still had some pain and general not feeling rightness. And no energy after the day's excursion.

Saturday night, I tried to go to sleep, but could not. I was uncomfortable and exhausted to the point of being beyond tired and wide awake again. It took me until 4:15am to finally go to sleep. Only to wake up a few hours later with a pain in the middle of my abdomen. I was laying on my right side so I thought maybe that's why it hurt, since that's the side the gallbladder is on. So I rolled onto my back. Nope, still hurts, and in fact, is starting to hurt worse, but I feel like I have to pee so maybe that's it. I get up, go to the bathroom, and get relief in that sense, but the pain is still there and slowly getting worse. I wash my hands, and stand there in the darkness for a few minutes wondering what the pain is about, not thinking it's connected to the gallbladder removal.

I'm waffling back and forth between trying to lay back down and see if it will go away, or waking Greg up to see what he thinks I should do. After a couple minutes, I walk into the bedroom and wake him up. I tried to lay down on the bed, but it's been steadily getting worse and laying down DOES NOT help. At this point, I'm bent over because I can't stand up straight, and I'm in tears because it hurts so bad. Greg says we need to get to the hospital and he's going to call an ambulance. I said no, we can drive. He asks if I'm able to move and get in the car because now is not the time to be thinking about the costs of an ambulance if I need it. I said I can get in the car, so he's getting dressed and getting things around and tells me to get my shoes.

At that point, the pain is so intense, I can't stand anymore and my legs give out. I go down on my hands and knees and swear that I'm going to pass out, and start to seriously wonder if I am going to die. All I can think of is Morgan and this pain. It was terrifying.

Greg comes back in the bedroom and sees me on the floor, I'm a mess, I'm crying and hyperventilating because I can't breathe through the pain, and he says he's calling an ambulance. I don't know exactly how long it took them to get here, it couldn't have been that long, but it felt like forever. I was literally paralyzed with pain, I could not move.

The paramedics came in, asked me some questions, helped me get to my feet and out of the house down the couple of steps of the front porch to where the stretcher was. That felt like it took another hour. Out to the ambulance I went on the stretcher, and they started getting me set up to get some pain meds going. Which again, felt like it took forever.

When they finally got some in me, it took the edge off, but not by much. I got into the ER and they gave me something else that helped a bit more. I went through nine hours of this pain where if I moved, it would ramp up to being unbearable again until it settled down. Or, it would just automatically ramp up on it's own about an hour after getting a pain med injection into my IV.

You know how they ask you your pain level on a scale of 1 to 10? Well, at it's worst, it was about 110 when it first started before the paramedics came. Then it would get about as high as 9 and never really went below a 3. Except once. One time, for a few minutes, it went away completely. Until I had to go to the bathroom again and had to move.

After an EKG, an ultrasound, a CAT scan and some other test, they finally figured out that there was a tiny pin prick of a hole in the bile tube right above where it connects to the kidney. All the bile was pushing against that tiny hole and trying to empty out into my body rather than going into the kidney. I thought it was something I had done by laying on my right side. But the doctor said no, it was nothing that I had done. He said he'd performed 2,500 surgeries and never had this happen. Well, not anymore, I'm the black mark on his record.

Anyway, he was saying that they would have to put a stent in to open up the tube more and make it drain into the kidney like it's supposed to, giving time for the pin prick hole to heal on its own. And he said it wouldn't likely happen until Monday.

My heart sank. I knew there was no way in hell I was going to be able to go through the rest of the day and night with this pain. And for some reason, it was causing me to need to pee more often than normal. And of course, with that comes the movement that made it hurt so much more. I told him I was terrified to go to the bathroom because of pain from having to move and asked what they can do for me. He said the only thing they could do was try to make me comfortable. Comfortable?!? When the pain level is at a 3 at best, there is no comfortable. I felt so hopeless and helpless.

The doctor that was going to be doing the stent procedure came in a little later and said that he was able to get his team in and they would be doing it in about an hour. OH THANK GOD!

Finally, I'm waking up in recovery and the pain is almost all but gone. I get moved to a room and I'm so drugged up that I barely remember who was there. It took me until around 1:30 am to finally, fully get my wits about myself again.

That was the longest 24 hours of my life. I finally got released around 11:30 on Monday and was home by noon. I crashed in bed when I got home because I couldn't sleep in the hospital. My body finally had a chance to relax during that time and when I woke up, I was in whole other world of hurt.

My muscles from my upper arms down to my upper legs were all so sore from being tensed up for so long. It felt like I had been working out at the gym for 24 hours straight. I could not hardly move yesterday.

Today is better, but now I still have other pains and discomfort that I'm dealing with. I'm trying to think positively, but it's hard because I'm terrified that the stent is going to come out before the hole is healed and I'm going to go through the same thing all over again. So, I guess I can add anxiety to the list which probably accounts for the squeezing feeling that I have in the middle of my chest.

Suzanne, please don't let this deter you from having it done. I am positive that even with what I experienced, it will be all worth it in the end. The bile leakage is something that only happens to about 30% of people, and usually causes issues a lot faster than what it did for me. I guess I was just one of the lucky ones that really got to stand out from the others this time. :/

Kourtney, I hope everything is getting settled and taken care of for you. I feel terrible that this happened to you and that your bank is not being helpful. Keep us updated and let me know if there's anything I can do to help.