Utah in May

Wow what a trip. I was only supposed to be in Utah a short while during May but it turned out a lot different than I had imagined! We also went to Utah in March, which I haven't blogged about but will once I get all the pictures together.

I was able to see a lot of friends, eat good food, and also have my first inpatient experience! Being in the hospital at the end of the trip was actually pretty terrible, but it's not the only thing I did while in Utah and I want to remember the good stuff too! These are out of order...

I got my first sunburn of the year. In fact it was the first time this year I've gotten one hour or more of continuous sun. Brad scolded me from Iowa but I loved every second of it and would totally do it again.

I got to hang out with this little guy a lot. We're pretty much best buds.

(I tell myself it's not because I have a phone... but it is)

He loved the forward-facing camera

When I first landed I hurriedly ran to pick up my rental car so I could drive an hour to this ice cream place: Ikes.

THEY SELL BLUE BELL.

I repeat: they sell the best ice cream in the universe. The best ice cream you will ever have. They rotate their flavors and did not have my ultimate favorite (vanilla bean) but we did buy three different flavors all of which were amazing. 

And the view from my closet-sized hospital room

 This is the pic I sent to Brad on the third day to let him know I was still alive :)

I totally had to ask for a smaller gown. It was threatening to swallow me up plus I was tripping on it! When they said they didn't have any smaller, I requested a child-size (thinking I could wear that with the scrub type bottoms) but they said they don't have kid-patients there so they didn't have any. Boo! 

My first day in Utah

My friend Emily and I grew up together in Texas. She is the friend I have known the longest in my life- this summer will be 20 years. Love you Em!

We went to her brother's house and had a crawfish broil- kind of a Texan/southern thing. They were spicy but I dug in anyway and am glad I did! They were really good & well prepared. 

This guy was ready to put up a fight. 

He lost.

Getting sick while there was super hard. It was overwhelming to be far away from Brad and struggling to figure out what to do without my partner. We work so well as a team it was uncomfortable trying to solve problems by myself. Haha I didn't love it! I did love seeing my friends at the University of Utah and had such a good time there. I wish I had gotten to see more and do more and hadn't been stuck up in the hospital for such a large portion of the trip but the main thing is I am doing well now. I got a small blood clot in my right arm from the IV while I was there. A little take-home prize. Although that has been painful and slightly scary at first, I will try to be positive and say now I can better relate to my patients! 

I am doing great now though and just got back from another trip! Brad and I went to the FSA meeting in Denver this past weekend. Loved it. Can't wait to share pictures and tell you all about it. It was kind of like a workshop. Two days of lots of meeting new people, gaining insight, and feeling my testimony grow. It was wonderful! Did I mention I got Brad all to myself for 3.5 days?! No studying! Sigh. 

Bliss.