Happy 2009!

This time a year ago I was in ICU, regaining consciousness, and they were getting ready to remove my breathing tube.

I had an awesome initial recovery, but since then have had multiple (minor) problems - atrial fibrillation, staph infection in the incision that came back and needed to be reopened to drain (eww), scar continually getting wider, keloid scar, PVCs (fluttering heart beat), and now a wire causing me grief, not to mention the regular worry that something else might go wrong.

But I'd do it all again knowing that at least that it is fixed, and anything that may ever go wrong isn't likely to be life-threatening, and knowing that unlike my dad and aunt who had the same condition, I will reach my 30th birthday.

It feels like forever ago now that I had surgery!

Otherwise, everything else is going great. I passed everything in my last semester at uni which gets me past first year, and am already only a month away from final exams for my summer semester subject.

I have always been interested in being a nurse, but for various reasons have never actually done much about it (started a degree, but it wasn't the right time, and I didn't continue with it). I have done some life reevaluation, and decided that nursing is where I feel like I need to be.

So on Monday I am starting a 3 month Certified Nurse Assistant course in the evenings at a local community college, to become a qualified CNA. This will allow me to change dressings, change bed pans, help with rehab and other less-glamorous tasks. But the upside is that I can get work in one of the big hospitals (preferably Stanford) and get an idea of what life in the health industry is like. If I enjoy it, then I will continue to finish my Bachelor of Business, then when we get back to Australia, I can do a 2 year post-grad Bachelor of Nursing or Masters of Nursing, to become a qualified RN. I'm quite excited about this career change, and hope it works out - if not, I always have business as a good back up!

I'm looking forward to a successful, positive year - better than the last couple anyway!