The Bravest Girl I Know

Most of you know that our sweet Annie has had her share of medical issues. Never anything life threatening, but plenty to keep us worried. Earlier this year she had an endoscopy and from that we received some unexpected biopsy results that indicated her problems might be more serious. Specifically there were some indicators present that can indicate Crohn's Disease or colitis. Over the past few months she has had lots of tests and while we were able to rule out a number of other things, all of the tests for Crohn's and colitis were inconclusive. Her weight gain had stalled out over the last nine or so months so her GI doctor decided a colonoscopy was in order.

When we first told her what was happening about a week before the procedure we finished by asking her if she was scared. Her response? "No, I just want Dr. Montes to figure out why I can't gain any pounds." OK then.

On the way to the hospital she was pretty quiet. Bryan asked if she was worried or scared and she simply replied no. Once we arrived she got changed into the hospital PJ's, watched Super Why in our waiting room and then went out to the area filled with toys and played. She and Bryan played air hockey, and she found a little bike thing that she rode around until it was time to talk to the anesthesiologist. The whole time she was calm and mellow, like she was an old pro. One thing I love about Phoenix Children's is that they allow the parents to go back to the procedure room and stay until the patient falls asleep. We told her good bye, kissed her on the forehead, she fell asleep and that was that.

In recovery Annie kept asking when she could go home. She drank some apple juice and a little later they released us. She fell asleep on the way home but by two hours after the procedure you never would have known that anything unusual had happened that day.

That day the doctor told us everything had looked good, that he saw no signs of Crohn's and that he expected the biopsies to come back normal. Today he called and confirmed that all of her results were normal. There are no words to express how relieved I am. She will know go on an appetite stimulant and see how that works. Our fingers are crossed that its effective

Why I Will Never Have Plastic Surgery

It wasn’t that long ago that plastic surgery was something reserved for celebrities and the very wealthy. Today, however cosmetic procedures seem to be the equivalent of a participation trophy for middle class women.

I know more women than I can count who have had plastic surgery. Don’t get me wrong—most of these women look great. And my aversion to plastic surgery is not because it wouldn’t benefit me—I’ve had three kids, I weigh 35 pounds more than I did in high school and I have more stretch marks than a shar-pei puppy has wrinkles.

But here’s the thing—I have a daughter. I don’t want her to grow up thinking that her body is the be-all end-all of her existence. I grew up with a mother who was always on some fad diet and a grandmother who was bulimic until she died weighing less than 75 pounds. I’ve experienced firsthand the effect of that example. I have spent more time, energy and money trying to get the scale to convey some magic number that I have conjured up in my head than I have on many other worthy pursuits. When I think about it, it brings me to tears.  And I want more for my daughter.

A few months ago I was chatting with a gentleman as we watched our kids in swim lessons. He mentioned that his wife was going to have a “mommy makeover.” It made me wonder, when as a society did we decide that beauty involves erasing all signs of bringing children into this world? Why are we not cherishing the bodies that made us mothers and wearing those battle scars proudly? Why are we so obsessed with looking good in a bikini that we are literally willing to risk our lives? (You may think I am being dramatic, but there are plenty of deaths each year that result from cosmetic procedures).

I want to raise a daughter who learns to identify her talents and discover what she has to offer the world. I want her to learn to incorporate healthy eating and regular exercise into her daily life without obsessing over every calorie that passes her lips. I want her to cherish the body that God has given her, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s hers.

So while I can pretty much guarantee that you’re never going to see me in a bikini, I’m OK with that. My body has given me gifts far greater than I could have ever imagined. And for me, that’s enough.