Good riddance 2013

2013 has officially been the worst year of my life, so take a seat and enjoy the horror story.

My year began with an email.

My doctor told me I had a recurrence of a brain tumor. I had the first surgery in 2008 and MRIs had been clean for 4 years, so I thought I was in the clear. He only emailed me because I was out of state after the MRI.

So, in I went for brain surgery in January.

They attached these things to map exactly where the tumor was.

I came out of surgery just fine.

They only had to reopen the old surgery site to get in there, so I was a lot easier for them. And for me. Obviously, easy is relative here.

Recovery went really well considering, but as soon as I was off my anti-seizure medication...

I woke up one morning with paramedics around me and was carted off to the hospital while having no idea what was going on. They told me I had had a 9 min grand mal seizure. I still can't really remember that and the next day.

They told me I wouldn't be able to drive for at least 6 months.

As a 26 year old that is devastating. I don't live near public transportation, so I had to rely on friends and family to get anywhere. I felt like I was 14 again.

A few weeks after that the weight of everything hit my parents.

Seeing their only child go through another brain surgery and witnessing my 9 minute seizure finally wore on them. My Dad got quieter and my Mom had to take time off work and reorient herself. I ended up having to take care of them instead of focusing on helping myself.

During that time my doctor had me switching seizure medications.

In order to switch meds you have to go down on one while going up on another. During that time it really fucks with you. My brain was slow - I couldn't concentrate or remember things very well. I also had balance issues and just felt like I couldn't control my body.

By this point I was defeated.

The world felt like it was crumbling around me.

I tried to keep smiling like I usually do, but it was hard.

I'm usually the happiest person you'll ever meet. I can always look on the bright side. But the clouds got too thick.

I just felt like.

But it wasn't over yet.

We had to put my dog to sleep.

My 14 year old dog's kidneys began to fail after a long decline last week. Instead of waiting and leaving her in pain we let her go with all of the family around to say goodbye. She left with love all around her and I couldn't imagine a better way, but it still hurt.

Life just handed me all the shit on a golden platter and made me eat it with a gun to my head.

Luckily, I've had amazing friends.

When the shit hits the fan you really find out who your true friends are. Mine always kept me sane and offered me places to stay when things got too crazy and I love them for that.

I also had a lot of downtime and watched...all of netflix and found out how amazing Dr Who is.

Once I could drive again, I started sending out resumes like crazy.

I needed to get a job and get my own place so I could feel like I had my life back in my hands. It's been two months of applying and hearing nothing.

After 2 months, I had an interview this week and I think I have the job.

2014 is starting to look better already.

Next year I'll finish my book

Oh, did I mention the brain surgery took me away from writing a book about my first surgery? I've had to wait until now for my brain to be able to handle everything that goes into writing.

So, tonight I party. Tonight I celebrate the end of this awful year.

Thanks for listening, Imgur. I needed to vent.

As a reward have a puppy.

And some kitties.

Now, let's ride 2014.