Cruising around

WE FINALLY GOT OUR HONEYMOON!

So, let's start by telling a quick background... Since I was in the hospital last June (2016), and diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure Jordan and I were not able to go on our planned honeymoon cruise, and thus had to give it to his parents as their 25th Wedding Anniversary. YAY & BOO! However, the biggest gift Jordan surprised me with at Christmas was telling me that we would be going on a cruise to the Bahamas and leaving out of New Orleans! YAY!!!!!! So, on April 7, 2017 after school got out Jordan and I made our way from Salt Lake City, UT to New Orleans, LA. We got to stop at my brother's in Texas which was way nice to be able to see him. Then, we stayed the night with the Britt's (who my family has known forever), and it was nice to have them meet Jordan. Then we went over to Shelby's (my bff of forever) the next day, and she took us to New Orleans. The line to get on the cruise ship took FOREVER! I'll spare you the details of some of the other things from getting on the ship. So, by about 3:30pm April 9, 2017 we were on the Carnival Dream! And getting ready to head on our cruise. I was in awe of how HUGE the ship was... IT WAS MASSIVE! Technically there were like 13 floors if you include floor 0... and two pools and SEVERAL hot tubs! Seriously, it was huge! Our first few hours spent on the ship I was just getting fascinated at how big it was. At about 6pm that evening we set sail down the Mississippi River and made our way to Key West, Florida... it took basically the entire night just to get the mouth of the Mississippi... I guess I forgot how long it was/is. That River be HUGE! 

Monday, April 10, 2017 we spent the day in the Gulf of Mexico traveling to Key West, Florida. That day was so fun exploring the ship and planning our days ahead. That night was First Cruise Elegant on the ship and if you've seen some of those pics on Facebook this was the one where I had on the black and white dress. It was so much fun to dress up and look super cute just for dinner. I LOVED THE FOOD! Oh my goodness... the food on this ship was the best food ever, and I've been looking at recipes of different things ever since! Yeah... cruise ships and their food= YUM! 

So, then on April 11, 2017 we arrived in Key West around 8am or so... Jordan and I had no real clue about what we wanted to do that day, but even though it was hard walking around loads and I got tired... I still had fun. We had chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick. Jordan also bought me Salt & Pepper Shakers! He's the best husband ever! We went to the aquarium... which was okay, but not the coolest, and then outside the aquarium we saw this HUGE manatee that just decided to hang out a bit. It was really cool! Then back to the ship and we set sail again by about 3pm. 

On our way to Freeport, Bahamas it was. So, we decided when we got to Freeport we go see Dolphins. Jordan found out about these dolphin encounters and he wanted to do that for me cause he's the best and knows how much I like Dolphins. So, we got off the ship in Freeport, and then took a taxi to Port Lucaya where we got off and then walked a very short way to the dolphin encounter place. We then waited for the boat to take us to the spot where the dolphins were. When we got there I didn't see the dolphins at first, and then they started showing up. I was soooo excited! We got to pet the dolphins and get a kiss from them! :) Then as we were leaving we got a bird put on our heads. SO FUNNY! Then we took the boat back to Port Lucaya, and then the Taxi back toward the ship (this is about the time it started to RAIN!). It rained and rained and rained and rained. Anyways, we bought a few souvenirs in Freeport and then got back on the ship. And by about 3pm we were on our way to Nassau, Bahamas.

We arrived in Nassau around 7am the next day, and I really wanted to go to the Water Park you hear about on TV (Atlantis). IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! We went down the BIG slide, and I screamed my head off while Jordan laughed. I should have gone on this other one Jordan wanted to, but for some reason I let my fears get to me. Anyways, we had so much fun, and I got very burnt! OH MY GOODNESS the lazy river isn't lazy at all it was a Rapids River, and it was loads of fun! Like the best thing in the entire world. SO MUCH FUN! 

Then after we left there it was on our way back to New Orleans... took from Thursday night to Sunday Morning to get back, but it was FUN! I want to go on another cruise cause it's fun to go other places, and explore. I'm going to add a few pics (the ones from my phone...) Hope you enjoy!

Oh! One last thing... when we got back to Utah my surgical wound from having a defribulator put inside me started to open as soon as we got back to Utah so, now I'm going to wound care... NO biggie. :)

Our Safety Net

When we found out last year about my heart condition, and as I've begun to learn more about it the more I've had to come to terms with something known as a Pacemaker. When we went to the doctor in January for my Echo cardiogram checkup we discovered that my heart was still not working as it should. My left ventricle is pumping at about 17%. A normal person's heart pumps between 40-60% I'm currently on medication to slow my heart beat cause my heart decides to over compensate for the pumping so it beats extremely fast. Well, since my heartbeat isn't normal and my heart isn't pumping right I now have to get what is called a Sub-Q ICD. This is a defibrillator that they out inside on the side of your rib cage under the breast tissue. The safety net is in case my heart decides at any moment that it doesn't want to work as it should, or if it decides to stop it will shock me and my heart will begin to pump properly. The pictures attached are where my device will be, and the actual definition of a pace maker.

I would show an image of what the scars will look like, but I feel like if you want to look that up you can find that information on your own. It is a tad disturbing.

The other part of having this surgery for me comes from the fact that I will have Parent Teacher Conferences the next week, and this means I won't have too much time off of work. I've considered maybe taking a day, but I really don't know how I will feel. All of this is super new to me, and also very scary! I'm glad I have Jordan to support me so very much, and this week was nice when I got to speak with my dad and sister, but I'm still scared to have this surgery and that's probably why I don't post about it very much, and unless you are family or I speak to you on a regular basis, or you work at my school you really have no clue of the seriousness of what I deal with.


When I look back on my life I wonder what I did to deserve this type of thing happen to me, and I often will ask myself "WHY ME?" And then my heart is softened by the fact that sometimes people have it a billions times harder, or to be thankful that I live in a day where they can perform a surgery and be kind about it, and they know now more what they are doing than ever before.

Over everything I feel blessed. Jordan is the sweetest and I'm eternally grateful for him and all that he does for me, and for our family (even if that family is just me and him).

I'll ask for your prayers as I approach this extremely scary journey!


Jordan got me this big picture for the wall!

A HEARTFUL 2016

As 2016 comes to a close I can't help, but think about all the many challenges that were brought my way, and yet all the wonderful events that happened as well.

The year began with a wonderful New Year's kiss from the man I ended up marrying in 2016. Did I know that a few events would have a ripple effect into my happily ever after? NOPE!

This wonderful moment soon resulted in Jordan asking me to be his girlfriend. A few months went on, and much to my surprise he had been picking out a ring and was preparing to ask me to marry him. 

And so he did... right in front of the DOCTOR and RIVER SONG! Yes, that's probably better than any proposal I could have thought of in my head! The events of that day were perfect, and it was... EASTER weekend which is my favorite holiday. 

But then... sadness began... My sister's cat that we had in the family FOREVER passed away... :( It was absolutely a heart wrenching thing to have to go through for my sister, and I hope she knows how much we miss the Shelly Kitty. 

Next came my birthday and my mom found out that she needed a heart valve replacement, and I started getting really sick (very slowly). 29 is a weird age... but Jordan made it a fun one. He took me to a Japaneese type steak house.. YUM YUM!

June meant one month until our wedding and the stress began to pile on. I was interviewing for jobs, and Jordan was super good about helping to get things done, but then at the end of the month the scariest moment I have ever had to experience happened to me. I was hospitalized for Congestive Heart Failure. Come to find out later I have cardiomyopathy and have probably had it my entire life (reason why it's hard for me to keep weight off). With my family, Jordan, Jordan's family, and several friends praying for me I pulled through and got out of the hospital exactly one week before marrying Jordan. 

On July 8, 2016 I married the greatest man I have ever met! He really takes the sickness and health thing to a whole new level... He is ALWAYS aware of how I feel. He is absolutely wonderful! And I am so glad I met him and married him. 

I know 2017 will bring new challenges to our small little family, but I wouldn't want to spend my eternity with anyone else! So, here are a few things I know I'll be experiencing in 2017... I'll finish my first year of teaching ( I started a fulltime teaching job in August 2016). I'll have more experiences figuring out what is going on with my heart. I'll forever experience those challenges. Jordan and I will get to go on a cruise. And he will always be my forever guy. So, moral of my entire blog is some people may absolutely hate 2016, but I think I'll forever be grateful for it! Yes, tons of happened that absolutely SUCKED, but I have to be thankful for finally getting a solid diagnosis on my health! 

SO HERE'S TO THE NEW YEAR FROM THE LARRABEES!!!!!

Living with Cardiomyopathy

About a month ago I returned to Cardiac clinic to find out my official diagnosis is two types of Cardiomyopathy. 
Dilated Cardiomyopathy which is: is a condition in which the heart's ability to pump blood is decreased because the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is enlarged and weakened. In some cases, it prevents the heart from relaxing and filling with blood as it should.
Left Ventricle NonCompaction Cardiomyopathy: (LVNC) is a newly recognized form of cardiomyopathy still in the early phases of medical understanding. Also known as “isolated non-compaction of the left ventricular myocardium” or “spongiform cardiomyopathy,” it is primarily caused by the abnormal embryonic development of the heart muscle.

My heart is amazing some days, and other days I get really tired and things lead to me not wanting to do much.