A sincere thank you to appendicitis and Craigslist

Friends from Duke med school and PT school

Sunday before finals week of my first year of graduate school I sat in Perkins library attempting to study, but stomach cramps and nausea inhibited my ability to concentrate.  I popped a couple Midol because Midol is my "cure-all", zero relief.  I left the library to meet a study group and could only muster the strength to lay on the floor in the fetal position.  I eventually gave up and went home to take a nap.  Pain kept me from sleeping.  I opted for a hot bubble bath, but the bath didn’t cure the pain, it only intensified my lightheadedness.  I was supposed to meet another study group back at the library, but I my bedroom floor was as far as I got.  I called my parents in California, “we can’t do much from 3,000 miles away,” and they instructed me to go to the emergency room.

I underwent blood draws, a CT scan, and a pelvic exam and was diagnosed with appendicitis; last I checked the appendix wasn't in the pelvis, just sayin... 

The surgeon informed me that it was necessary to undergo an appendectomy and therefore would miss my Monday finals.  I didn't just miss Monday, I missed the entire finals week with an extended hospital stay.  The day my classmates started their one-month clinical internships was the day I started 1 of 8 finals and was informed that I would not be allowed to go on my internship to Wilmington (the beach!) due to surgical restrictions.  I would have to make up my internship hours during the two-week summer vacation by working 10-hour days in the hospital and on weekends once class resumed, and thus my wakeboarding trip to Tahoe would be cancelled.  I was not a happy camper; in fact, I threw a pity party and cried.

In the moment when something you desperately want is taken away or you encounter adversity, don’t we all react in a similar manner? (Fingers crossed, I'm not the only one who throws a pity party!)  My tears blurred my vision and I wasn’t able to focus on the blessings of the situation…I was able to make up my finals and was provided with a new option to complete my internship in order to move on to my second year, my appendix didn’t burst, insurance covered all procedures, supportive parents flew out to care for me, friends brought joy and cheer with daily hospital visits, classmates helped me study, and my best guy friend promised me he’d plan a new wakeboarding trip.

My amazing small group girls

Duke curriculum clearly states that you are not able to repeat internship location sites, so I was very excited when I received news that my first five-month internship would be in Wilmington (the beach!).  God upgraded my one-month stay to five-months and He did it by taking the one thing I don’t need – my appendix.  Five months in Wilmington provided me with overwhelming blessings and incredible adventures.  The blessings started with my roommate Holly; I found Holly on Craigslist.  I would not have met Holly during the one-month internship because I had already secured free housing at the hospital.  If I didn’t meet Holly I wouldn’t have met her amazing family (who seem like my 2^nd family), her incredible friends from Raeford and college, her awesome boyfriend (now husband) and the most wonderful and encouraging small group girls.

I must admit I'm embarrassed by the pity party I threw in the hospital, I lost sight of God's goodness and I clung to the plan I thought was best.  Now, I am able to reflect and see God's hand at work.  He is faithful to provide.  He is sovereignly good.  He is always in control, I am called to trust and obey.  He closed one door and opened another, a door that blessed me and forever changed my life.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things (even appendicitis) God words for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”