The Ceremony

The big ceremony had taken place and I could not have been more happy with the results. It was an absolute fairy tale and dream come true!! Everything was so beautiful and romantic. So many people spent their time making sure it was perfect for us. I will never forget everyone's hard work and love they put into to it. It was a day I will always remember and cherish for the rest of my life. My wedding day was THE best day of my life, even if I felt horrible!! I had many people tell me that they had no idea that I had just had surgery. Literally hours before the wedding I was laying on my heating pad and having to take nausea and pain medication. It's safe to say that I was definitiely on "cloud nine" :) It did not matter though because I was about to marry my best friend and love of my life, my Prince Charming. The wedding was everything I had ever dreamed and more. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was amazing. I was the happiest person alive that day!! I'll never forget as me and Justin were driving over to the island for the reception, I saw rain clouds! Although the reception was to take place inside, I was starting to worry because I wanted the pictures outside where you could see the beach. We arrived at the King and Prince and the photographer began to take our pictures outside. It was very hot that day and I was already not feeling well. We took what seemed like a million pictures and then the storm clouds moved in. We literally got inside and five minutes later it started pouring down rain! I was so thankful that God had allowed the rain to hold off for the pictures!! There was so many people inside the reception hall. Thankfully we had our own special table ,along with our parents, at the front of the room. On our seats, my mom had bought these special name drapes you put around the chair. Mine said Cinderella and Justin's said Prince Charming. I had no idea that she had gotten them for us! They were definitely a nice touch going along with the theme we had. And now the best part about any reception, the food. It was unbelievably delicious!! Although I could not eat a lot of it, which was a bummer, the little that I did eat was fabulous! There was a variety of different things and too many to choose from. Then came time for the cake. Our cake was absolutely amazing!! The baker had made us a huge castle cake with the light up castle on the very top. It was so delicious and huge! I cannot wait till our first anniversary so I can eat some more of it:) The day all in all was a big success. I had married my sweetheart. It was time to leave and say goodbye to everyone. As we began to leave, there was a long line of people on either side of us. It was hard saying goodbye to some of them. It was a very bittersweet moment. They sent us off with a bang to our honeymoon. The day was so magical and amazing. Even though I do not remember every little detail of what happened, I know that I will always remember the love and dedication that was put into everything that day. 

The Wedding Month

The second surgery had been a success and I was staring to feel a little better. It was only a little over a month till my wedding and there was some last minute things we had to do. With just having surgery I was very limited to what I could do. I was not allowed to lift or bend for about two weeks. With the wedding drawing near I of course was worried about how my dress was going to fit. I was actually kind of freaking out a bit. My stomach was still really bloated and I felt awful!! I thought for sure that the second surgery was my last but I was wrong. After another late night trip to the ER, they discovered that I had a rather large cyst on my right ovary. I was in agonizing pain and had severe nausea. We contacted Dr. Sinervo about it and he sent for the ER reports and said he would let us know what to do after he reviewed everything. I was waiting on pins and needles and was so uncertain about what was going to happen. With three weeks before my big wedding day the doctor told me that I really needed to have my right ovary and tube out. I was so confused and did not know what to do. I immediately called my fiance and began telling him the news. I was so upset and crying that he could hardly understand me. The doctor said it was a big thing to consider especially with me being so young. He did advise us to think it over and pray about it. My first thought was children. I was so upset and worried that with the ovary gone it would be extremely hard to have children. This devastated me. Dr. Sinervo went over everything and told me that of course it would be a lot easier with both that it was still possible with one. My right ovary was pretty much shot and doing nothing more than causing me pain. After a lot of prayer and talking it over with my fiance (now my husband) we came to the conclusion that it was what was best for me. It was a extremely emotional time full of all kinds of uncertainty. We made the trip and arrived the day before my surgery. The doctor did another ultrasound and saw that the same cyst was still there and had been there for a little over a month. As the time came for the surgery, all of the steps were repeated. His team were asking me all kinds of questions about the wedding and about Justin. They were extremely sweet and compassionate. They promised me that I would be fine and that they would take good care of me during the surgery. As they were about to put me to sleep, they all gathered around and Dr. Sinervo prayed again and held my hand. On the other side of me was a nurse who also held my hand and rubbed my arm while smiling all the time. I completely felt at peace and knew that I was in the best of hands. I slowly began to count back from ten and only made it to eight and then I was out. I remember waking up in recovery not near as shaky as before and the sweetest nurse was by my side holding my hand. As I was coming to she began to ask me questions about how Justin proposed to me. She was in awe of the sweet, romantic proposal and was hanging on my every word. All she could say was," The Lord gave you a good one and I can tell you are so in love". I began to smile and give her more details about it and the wedding and she could not believe how beautiful it was going to be. As I started to become more alert, they moved me once again to a regular room for the night. All I could think about was seeing Jus and hugging him. The two nurses that moved me to my room were both very sweet and they too wanted all the proposal details :) They finished up with me and was saying goodbye when my eyes landed on my sweetheart. He came over to the side of my bed, bent down, and gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead. It was the most sweetest kiss ever and I threw my arms around him (more like in slow motion of course) and hugged and hugged on him. The next morning I went back to the hotel where I rested for another night before heading home. It was the last goodbye I had to say to my fiance because in just a week and half I was going to marry my best friend. It was a hard goodbye but it was a little easier knowing that I was going to see him the following week. I thank the Lord for Dr. Sinervo and all his staff. I was so taken back by all the kindness that was shown to me and my family. This surgery was my third surgery in under a year and only about three  weeks before my wedding day. It was a very stressful and long process but I was so thankful that the surgeries were finally over!!:)

Part 2- Family

Family is one of the most important things in this world. Without family to support and love you, this world would be a very lonely place. I am blessed with one of the most strongest supports systems there is, my family. To be more specific, my parents have been one of the biggest parts of this. Besides the fact that they raised me, they also were a strong pillar and still are a strong pillar for me when I am sick. They did whatever it was to ensure that I got the best care and the best doctors. So many things were changing with my body and I was a bundle of emotions. You never know what may happen in your life. This is a lesson I quickly learned! After my first surgery in October 2012, I thought I would be done with surgeries for good, but little did I know that I was just getting started. The first surgery really did not do me much good. My problem worsened and I felt very bad. There were many days where I could hardly get out of bed and function. I am not going to lie, I started to struggle with a little bit of depression. I was questioning everything in my life and I was wondering what in the world was going on and what was going to happen. But my family was always there for me and loved me no matter what! The Lord blessed me with such a great family and great friends and knew exactly the type of encouragement I would need. As I still underwent treatment, I was having more attacks. They finally determined that the Lupron injections I was getting each month was the culprit of the pancreatitis. I immediately stopped treatment but it would take a few months for the medicine to get completely out of my system. I would still suffer from attacks but they were more minor. The Mirena IUD was still installed bit had yet begun to work. So I was kind of back to square one with my cycles. The pancreatitis started to calm down but my female problems got worse. One of the best days was when we were put in contact with a specialist. Dr. Sinervo started giving me hope for my future. He began to talk about a procedure he wanted to do and all of the benefits from it. He wanted to go in and completely excise all of the endo. This doctor is only one of the few doctors in the country that can perform this surgery. We had to travel about four and a half hours to get to his clinic but it was completely worth it!! Dr. Sinervo is a very fine doctor and fine Christian man. He was so compassionate and understanding and wanted to answer any questions I had. The day before the surgery I had to go in for a checkup and an exam. He did an ultrasound and saw that I had several cysts on my right ovary. He explained how he would remove those and anymore he saw and how he would excise the endo. I was beyond ready and excited!! Of course with every surgery comes preparations for it. I had to drink nasty medicine that would cleanse out my body. It was one of the worse days of my life!! To make it a little easier, my sweet fiance at the time came down to be with me :) The day of the surgery was finally here and I was ecstatic! I know it sounds weird to be excited about surgery but if it will help you get out of the constant pain you are in, it is worth it and exciting!! This was in June of 2013, only seven months after my first surgery. As I was wheeled back into the OR, his whole staff were beyond nice and loving. They wanted to know everything about my engagement and the wedding plans:) Dr. Sinervo prayed with me before they put me under and held my hand  as I fell asleep. You have no idea what that meant to me. It was more than an act of kindness or pity, it showed me that this man really did care about my health and really wanted to help me. It was a very touching gesture. I woke up in the recovery room and was very shaky. After they got me all settled down and comfortable, they moved me to a regular room where I would spend the night. It was such a delight to be able to see my fiance and parents. As I was becoming more alert and awake they began to tell me how the procedure went. Dr. Sinervo went in and excise all the endo and there was only a 5% chance it would come back. The endo was evidently very bad. It had grown all over my bowels causing them to be unaligned in my stomach. He had to put them back into place as well as put my right ovary back in place. There was a good amount of scar tissue from my previous surgery. All in all, he ended up performing seven different procedures in one surgery. Naturally I could not believe all he had done! Within a few hours I was up and walking around a little bit. I was very very sore but I was so thankful for this doctor and all he had done for me. The right doctor makes all the difference in the world and I am so thankful and grateful that God saw fit to put Dr. Sinervo into our lives. His staff at the hospital and at his office were amazing and treated me just like family. I will never forget their love and their kindness to me. I returned home and began to recuperate and tried getting on with my life but only to figure out that the long road to recovery was still going to be very long and winding. 

The day I married my best friend and life long mate. My sweetheart for forever!!!! :)

Part 1

The Lord opens and closes so many doors in our lives. As I began to recover from being so sick, I went to see my OB doctor. The conclusion that the doctor came to in Michigan was that I had gotten my pancreatitis from a pill, Sprintec. I was put on these pills for female problems and was on them a year and I absolutely loved them! The doctor told me that I had the pancreatitis longer than when they discovered it. That was my Sr. year in high school. The whole year I was pretty much sick. I did not let much keep me down though as I am a BIG sports fanatic!!!! Right after graduation was when I was diagnosed with the pancreatitis. It definitely put a damper in my spirits as I had plans to go to college in the fall and play sports. I had already spoken with the coaches and had tried out and everything! I was very disappointed when I learned that I might have to wait on college AND sports. The sports part of course devastated me!  I had been training and staying in what I thought was good, healthy shape. Only come to find out that I was NOT healthy at all! So I had to face the reality that I might have to put my plans on hold. That is when Dr. Carpenter(GI Doctor) came into the picture :) He gave me my life back. He took care of me like I was his own daughter and would advise us on tests and procedures that he would only consider for his own children. Amazing doe not even describe this man. You could just tell when he walked into the room that he was a Christian and that there was something different about him. God used him to help me tackle great lengths and goals that I did not even think possible. I was able to go to college that fall semester and play volleyball. It was unbelievable!! I never dreamed in May that I would even consider about going to college, much less playing sports!! I still had to maintain a very strict diet and take medicine everyday, but other than that I was free to go!! I was one happy girl :) It was still hard to go to college (even though it was only one hour away) and leave all my family and friends but I was still thrilled and excited. I made lifelong friends in my roommates and suite mates. They took care of me when I was not feeling well and could not have the comfort of my Mom to be there with me. Obviously no one can take care of you like your Mom ;) I had many good times and made countless memories with those girls, but God had another plan in mind for me..... As I got going with college and volleyball, I started to not feel well again. I was having terrible pain and some days I could hardly move. One night it was so bad I had to go to the ER. My sister and her husband rushed down to take me and be with me till my mom and dad could get there. After a long, miserable night in the ER they sent me home without any explanation and in as much pain as when I arrived. We made the decision that I would go home to see my doctor. After an ultrasound the doctor said I had had a rather large cyst on my right ovary that had ruptured. A couple weeks later another and then another. My right ovary was starting to shut down and do nothing but cause me pain. In October of 2012 I had my laproscopic surgery. They removed cysts from my right ovary, scar tissues, endometriosis, and installed a Mirena IUD. The day before the surgery they gave me a hormonal injection to help with my cycles. I was very emotional because I had to miss a lot of college and I did not get to play in the last couple of volleyball games. We thought for sure this would do the trick but after the surgery it got worse. I started having pancreatitis attacks and would end up in the ER two and sometimes three times a month. I was not able to go back to college that January because I was so bad off. In the midst of all of this I was trying to focus on the good and stay positive but it was so difficult. Little did I know then that God had better and bigger things in store for me :) It was in October that I met the man of my dreams and I knew it from the first time I saw his picture. We began to talk in October 2012 and he visited during Thanksgiving. In December I visited him and his family after Christmas and in January 2013 he came back when I became very ill. He surprised me with the visit :) I had had another severe attack and was feeling pretty low. I remember it perfectly! I was supposed to facetime with him and was waiting for him to call when my dad kept asking me to some into the living room to see something. Well I was NOT going to miss his call so I was trying not to go in there. But little did I know, Justin was sitting in there!! I finally went into the living room and was soooo surprised. I could not believe it!! I threw my arms around him and hugged and hugged him. ( Now I am not much for one for crying, but I will confess I did tear up a little) It was like a dream come true that he was there. A long distance relationship is hard enough but being sick the whole time made it even harder. But looking back, I would not trade a minute of it :) He surprised me the day before my birthday in February and proposed to me. It was like a proposal out of a fairy tale. The beach, a trail of rose petals, a treasure chest, a love note in a glass bottle, and then him sneaking up behind me with the ring and getting down on one knee and asking me to be his wife, FOREVER!! Of course I said yes :) He was my knight and shining armor when I least expected it. Without him I do not think I could have gotten through some of those long, painful nights. I am such a sap, I am tearing up now just reminiscing about it. God put the RIGHT man there for me and knew exactly what I needed. I could not imagine my life without him in it. He has taken and takes good care of me, far above what I deserve. He is one of the most selfless people I know and sacrifices for me daily. Justin is the love of my life and I never want anyone else :) We were married in August this year. It was a short courtship/engagement but I would not change it or trade it for anything in this world!!

Introduction

Hi, for some of those who do not know me I am Lauren Sumpter (Williams). I was recently married on August 3 of this year to my best friend Justin Sumpter. This blog is not about my perfect little life that so many people have visioned for themselves but about the true facts of real life. I am truly blessed with a wonderful life and a loving family but that does not exclude me from trials and hardships. In May of 2012, I was diagnosed with Pancreatitis.  We were in Detroit, Michigan visiting my brother and his family when I became very ill and had to be taken to the ER. I was experiencing severe nausea, vomiting, and very harsh pain throughout my stomach and wrapping around to my back. When I arrived at the ER, the staff immediately took me back and began to work one me. They took many tubes of blood for tests and began to question me on what I was experiencing. After they got my pain and nausea under control they began to run more tests on me. After an hour or two the doctor came in and began to go over the results with me. He finally came to the conclusion that I indeed had pancreatitis and that it was very serious. He told me and my Mom that my numbers were so elevated that they stopped counting them at 12,000. I was then admitted into the hospital for five days. I was put on a very strict diet. The first two days was absolutely nothing to eat or drink. This was to help my pancreas rest and help to start recovering. I was put on pain and nausea medicines the entire time and it made me very out of it and all I wanted to do was sleep. After the first couple of days I was allowed to have liquids. You would of thought this was Christmas to me when I was able to drink water for the first time! I slowly began to make progression and by day five I was eating very soft foods. My family and I had already missed our flight home but the airline was very considerate and let us return home when we needed. When I was released from the hospital, we spent another day with my brother and his family before heading home. Even though they released me, I was still very sick. My numbers were still up in the thousands. I still had to be very careful and rest and watch what I ate. We made the flight home and arrived safely. My sister and her kids were at the airport to pick us up and I was so glad to be home. I was never more grateful to sleep in my own bed than that first night home! I remember we arrived home on a Wednesday and I could not wait to see my church family!! My Dad is the pastor of an independent, kjv, baptist church and I considered everyone my family. I especially could not wait to see my grandparents! I only went for a few minutes to see everyone then I returned home to rest because the traveling had completely drained me of any energy I had. I spent the next week recuperating but still having to be very careful of what I ate. We than began the journey of trying to find a good gastric doctor within reasonable distance of where we lived. After a visit with one doctor we were not too fond of, he referred us to his colleague. God had the best doctor possible for me when we were to Dr. Carpenter. It was so refreshing to meet a doctor that believed in the same God that we did. He was a true heaven send to us. We were completely lost and had no clue what the next step would be but he was there for us and is still there for us. The right doctor makes all the difference in the world!!

-This is just a little bit of my story. There is a lot more where that came from!!