It is January 1st 2022 and I can hardly believe it! 2021 was a difficult year, more so than 2021 in my opinion, partly due to the hope of having things going back to normal and never really reaching that level of normalcy we were all expecting. Personally, 2021 brought about many struggles, the first attempt of home-schooling and I mean real home-schooling not the online zoom classes from 2020. Home-schooling is definitely not for our family, thats a real commitment, a full-time one and virtually impossible if you are also working full time. It was also a year of healing, mentally and physically, Jason was born late August 2020, a real and unplanned pandemic baby (because I was pregnant before knowing about the pandemic) and along with the usual emotional rollercoaster ride of emotions, I had an added pandemic worry and an emergency c-section that was full of scares and epidurals gone wrong and of course overcoming postpartum depression.
Towards the middle of 2021 I was not feeling great and looking back on my photos, you could really tell I was in pain but I thought it was just part of the aches and pains of life and postpartum, I was wrong. I look back at my birthday photos when I thought I was just having a real bad period and see how swollen and just sick I looked and still didn’t get clear answers from my various Urgent care visits and ER visits until it was an ambulance ride to the ER because it had to be an emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder. It was the most pain I have experienced and I have gone through “natural” labor with Stacy and the awful recovery that a C-section is with Jason along with three epidural shots, one of which was basically a stab on the back because they messed up and didn’t numb me, but i digress.
The recovery from the gallbladder surgery was actually worse than the C-section and it took not just time from the original two procedures but also from post surgery issues that came up unexpectedly. Now that I know all about gallbladder surgery and have heard first hand accounts of way worse scenarios, I think I am blessed (though while I was going through it all I was pretty miserable). From this, I hope you take that you should never ignore your body’s signs that something isn’t right and seek medical attention immediately. One thing I do think shouldn’t be said to patients is that once your gallbladder is removed, your problem is solved, thats not true. You have a whole other set of problems after that and must continue to care for yourself and your diet, this part, has been the toughest one for me. I love food, I am a self-proclaimed foodie, I even have an instagram account dedicated to food! I love cooking but what I love more is trying out new restaurants and savoring every bite. Without a gallbladder, it is so difficult to truly indulge, you really cant and shouldn’t. I am on a very difficult journey of balancing my diet for I have always indulged and this has proven to be a very difficult task.
2021 was most definitely challenging in so many other levels but I am happy we made it through such times and am looking forward to starting the new year with a fresh perspective and a positive outlook for 2022 after-all, its my 10 year High School Anniversary (jk I am class of 2002). I want to take a moment to also thank you, my subscribers for following along my journey via social media and the podcast and of course through the blog. Your support, messages and comments are very much appreciated and I will be taking into account the feedback to share more of what you asked for in 2022.
May the new year bring you health, love and happiness.
Cheers!
xoxo,
LA Mami,
Julie Lopez
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