I Had The Privilege To Spend Too Short Of A Time At Big Sur, CA. I Am Yearning To Go Back And Spend More

I had the privilege to spend too short of a time at Big Sur, CA. I am yearning to go back and spend more time along this beautiful coast.

The South Carolina Lowcountry. My home. My heaven.

Touch starved… but it’s for a cool autumn breeze.

The photos I am seeing from the storm up in the mountains is absolutely breaking my heart. That’s my second home, a piece of my heart will always be there and seeing the pictures I have seen… like Chimney Rock.. it gutting. And the people who live there. I sure hope relief gets to them soon. A mountain road going out can be devastating for people. God.

Wanted to talk a little bit more about this. Give an update. To say I’m thankful for the opportunity to extend our trip, it’s an understatement. We were so fortunate to see some amazing places, even though we were absolutely exhausted- the driving tour more than sufficed. I am so thankful my sister was able to walk out of the hospital, with a diagnosis and medication to move forward. Most importantly, enough energy for us to make some good memories on top of a traumatic time.

We found out that the seizure Wednesday night was not her first. For a few months she has been having seizures in her sleep without knowing. After I found her and she went to the emergency room, memories of recent confusion after waking up and arm tremors started to come to her mind. She realized that it was a similar feeling to what she felt that same night. While that night was the worst and scariest moment of my life, I see now how everything works out for a reason.

It just so happened that she ended up at a level 1 trauma unit with a doctor who specializes in her specific situation. She was able to get excellent care that we may have never gotten at home… especially since no one would have caught it- she has no memory of her seizures, she’s asleep when she has them.

Life has changed for her a lot now that we’re home. She can’t drive for 6 months, and family and friends are going to work together to ensure she never misses out on anything. It is sad to lose your independence and freedom overnight for a time, but hopefully the medicine will help clear her and she can get back to normal.

While we were completely exhausted exploring central California, we were so thankful to experience it together- even after everything we went through. I feel comforted being home, and we have a renewed thankfulness for the comfort of home and my loved ones.

On Wednesday, my little sister took this picture of me on the Golden Gate Bridge. She often takes pictures while we’re hiking. We do most things together. In that moment we were excited and exhausted to embark on this amazing trip we had planned to California.

I didn’t know in that moment, but our lives would change. We drove to our hotel and got in late, and I was editing this picture above before I crashed around midnight.

At 3am, I randomly woke up and my sister was convulsing, making choking noises, foaming at the mouth, and she was unresponsive. It was the scariest moment of my life. I’ve never witness a seizure before and she’s never had one. Our first night in California led to an ambulance and the hospital. We were helpless. Across the country all by ourselves. Here we were in a place we didn’t know, in a hospital.

35 hours later. She has been diagnosed with epilepsy, and given medication, and is out of the hospital. I’ve always valued and loved my family. My sister and I have always been advocates for each other through anything and we’ve always been best friends. Experiencing a moment in time where I did not know if she would wake up again was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I am more thankful than ever. We have a very long road ahead as her life has been changed with this diagnosis.

When she started convulsing my instincts kicked in as I thought she may be throwing up in her sleep. I first thought to roll her on her side, and I did. But then I realized she was foaming at the mouth and unresponsive, I knew something different was happening and called 911. I soon find out that I did exactly what you’re supposed to do in this situation.

So here’s my epilepsy PSA. If you ever find yourself in a situation where someone starts having a seizure. Roll them over to their side. Secure their surroundings, and do not put anything in their mouth. Even though the throat noises sound terrifying.

Thankfully, we have worked it out to where our trip has been extended by a few days. We still get to see the redwoods as we were so excited to see. Now, it’s going to mean so so so much more.

Adding homemade German food to my list of “from scratch” meals I love to make. Venison Schnitzel, with homemade spätzle, mushroom gravy, and German red cabbage. This is definitely a new favorite out of the kitchen.