Day 13

Okay I know you guys are probably confused by the “Day 13”, but I decided to change it to how many days I have been in the hospital. Just makes things easier to track that way. So I didn’t have an entry the past two days. Weds my friend Melissa came down and I didn’t really feel like writing later in the day, and then yesterday I had a raging headache all day, so I didn’t even leave my room. :( But here I am today, feeling better, so I’m back at it!

Let’s talk about Melissa’s visit. She brought her 2 year old son with her. (For privacy reasons I will not be sharing his name.) First she stopped at my house to grab a bag Chris had put together for me. I had failed to ask him to bring me more pants when him and the kids came up on Sunday, so I’m really thankful she was able to do that! Otherwise I probably would have had to just order some on Amazon or see if there’s a place to do laundry around here. Anyway, not only did she do that, she also brought me a giant bag of books and snacks! I am super appreciative of that, as I’ve gotten pretty bored with the food here, so it’s good to have variety every now and then. Plus books are always good, when I feel up to reading. After we hung out in my room for a little bit, we headed downstairs and got some ice cream. The ice cream shop here sells ice cream bars I have never heard of before, but they were pretty good. I got a s’mores flavored one. After that, we headed to the library so her son could play with toys and remain occupied. I think we stayed down here for about an hour or two, and her son was great the entire time! He played nicely and we were able to chat and catch up. It was really nice to break up the monotony of being here. While nothing super exciting happened, I of course appreciate her making the trip out, bringing me the clothes, snacks, and books, and treating me to ice cream!  It’s always good to have friends who are willing to go out of their way to help you, especially in times like this.

Let’s see what else I can write about…yesterday was really not fun. Since I’m pregnant, I’m limited on the meds I can have. I actually woke up with the headache yesterday, so I asked for Tylenol right when I woke up, but it unfortunately didn’t do anything for me. I thought maybe I could sleep it off so I took a nap, but it was actually worse when I woke up. 😢It was too early for me to have more Tylenol, so she said we could try a mixture of Reglan, (anti nausea med), and Benadryl. I thought that was an odd combo, but I was willing to try just about anything at this point. Unfortunately, that didn’t do much for me either. My headache did eventually subside, maybe around 8:00 or 9:00pm. So at least I got a few hours of the day that were peaceful.

I’m really excited that I will have access to a new menu tomorrow. In addition to being bored with the current choices, I’m even more limited due to my allergies. Why does stupid coconut have to be in everything?! I do not appreciate it! Also, they won’t let me have anything where it just lists “spices” in the ingredients, because I’m allergic to ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, so any of that could be in there. There’s probably about 4-5 things I”ve asked for so far that I can’t have due to allergies, so that’s really a bummer. Also, I can’t remember if I told you guys, but we have an official tentative date of May 16! Everything has been reserved, so as long as baby and the placenta cooperate, we are good to go! So if you are a praying person, please pray that this baby will stay in until that date. I’m 31w5d as of right now, but obviously it would be ideal to wait as long as possible. Also, Laurie, the car salesperson, texted me today and said the Sienna is on its way to the dealership, so it should be there in 24-48 hours! Unfortunately, Chris probably won’t be able to go until next weekend to pick it up, due to his work schedule and the car being in Battle Creek, but still exciting it will finally be here soon! Not that I’ll be able to see it for a while, but still. Luckily, I had gotten my current van detailed before I ended up in the hospital, so it’s super nice and clean for its new owner! The hope was that they would give us a little more for the trade in value, without having to clean it, but who knows. 🤷It’s weird to think that when I finally get to go home, it’ll be in a brand new vehicle that I’ve never even seen before. Also weird, and a little sad, to think I drove my caravan for the last time a few weeks ago and never even knew it. Not really related, but it made me think of it…I got a notification the other day that our mortgage is going down by $100, starting in June, so that will be really nice! (It’s due to escrow.) Last time our payment changed it went up by $325, so this is much preferred!

Okay so one other thing I’ve been doing to bide my time is watching all the series’ that are out about Natalia Grace. I already watched the one with actors in it, and now I’m working on the Hulu documentary that came out recently. All I have to say is holy 💩. That whole case is absolutely insane! I still don’t really know how to believe. The Netflix series makes Natalia out to be the bad guy and the Barnett’s have done no wrong. (Not saying I agree with that AT ALL; that’s just how the series portrays things.) Since I started with that, I went into it thinking Natalia was cray cray and she was definitely doing all those things described in the show. Now, after watching the documentary, I don’t know that I fully believe Natalia, but I am a firm believer that Michael is a frickin nut case. The way he acts is just so over the top, and frankly, weird. I don’t believe a single word he says. He was also caught contradicting himself several times, so I have a hard time giving anyone credit who can’t even keep their story straight. Kristine does sound like a lying, manipulative B. I’m still failing to understand why they adopted Natalia in the first place, as they seem to have had a vendetta against her from day one. I do believe that Natalia was legit born in 2003, and should not have been re-aged. Bones and teeth don’t lie. It’s insane that they got a doc to agree that she should be 15 years older than she said she was! That doctor needs to be prosecuted because he’s a quack. I’m willing to bet Krstine paid him off or something so he would do it. The one common denominator in all the chaos is always Natalia. She does seem to cause drama and trouble everywhere she goes. So while I’m not sure it’s as bad as Michael and Kristine were saying, I do think she’s trying to milk the “poor me” role and make people feel sorry for her, while behind closed doors she’s a different person. Now, onto the Manses. Y’all know I am a religious person myself, but it’s people like them that give everyone who follows any type of Christian religion a bad rep. I absolutely believe they are part of a cult and have brainwashed Natalia. Why else would she continue to have Cynthia as her SSDI payee? Also, as sad as it is, people go back to what they know, even if it’s an abusive household. They seem super predatory and definitely take advantage of kids with disabilities. The documentary is making them sound like they’re rich, bringing in $100K/year, but honestly, with that many kids, that’s nothing. Six figures is hardly even a flex anymore. Regardless, they are definitely exploiting Natalia and stealing all of her money, which is absolute BS because she is a full grown adult that should be in charge of her own finances. I also have zero respect for anyone who dares use a belt on children. That is literally whipping a child and is NEVER okay. (I am against spanking in general, but a belt is a whole ‘nother level of evil.) I’m not quite finished with the doc yet, but it’s mostly a bunch of “he said she said”, so I doubt the world will ever know the truth about any of this. I just hope that both the Barnetts and Manses are charged with anything they can be charged with, and serve their due time, because they’re all absolutely guilty of many things. Maybe Natalia is too. 🤷

But, that’s enough about all that. Lol. If you haven’t watched any of the docs or the TV series, you’re probably really lost and I’m sorry for that. Lol. The library is closing soon so I have to sign off for now. Hope you all have a good and blessed weekend! Not sure if I’ll write tomorrow, as Chris and the kids are coming to visit. If not, I’ll likely be back on Sunday. As always, Jesus loves you!