When my doctor first suggested that I stop chemotherapy and take a break from treatment for a while, my immediate reaction was fear.
What if I lose my hearing? What if my tumors grow?
One of the benefits of being on treatment was that it allowed me to feel like we were doing something to stop (or at least delay) the progression of my disorder. Most patients end up on the drug I was on for years, so the idea of “taking a break” from it never crossed my mind.
Despite my concerns, my doctor urged us to trust his recommendation and give my body a rest for a few months.
Little did we know that a “few months” would turn into a year and a half.
And little did anyone know that we would make the most out of our newfound treatment free existence by quitting our jobs and traveling the world together.
In between trips I continued to have MRI’s and hearing tests every 3-months. We kept a close eye on my condition, but the growth was slow, and my hearing remained stable.
I was okay.
Day two of officially living back in Orlando meant it was time for my MRI and hearing test again. After the growth on my previous scan, we knew it was possible that I would end up having to start chemo soon, but as my doctor went over my new scan, he claimed that it was probably ok to hold off for a few more months. He even offered that I might be able to wait until the summer to get back on it.
I was thrilled!
We would have a chance to get settled at home before needing to face our medical world again. I’d get to feel normal for at least a little longer.
The next night I got a call from my doctor in Boston.
If you ever get a call from your doctor after hours—you know its bad news.
He explained that they received the final volumetrics report (a special analysis that measures the volume of the tumors) and that there was quite a bit more growth than they initially thought.
A lot more.
Thankfully the type of brain tumors associated with NF2 are typically small and slow growing, but that also means it’s tricky to detect growth. It’s easy for doctors to misinterpret a scan as stable, which is why the volumetrics analysis is so helpful.
Usually, the full report is ready in time for my appointment, but this time it was delayed by a day.
Unfortunately, that one day was enough time for me to get attached to the idea of avoiding treatment for a few more months.
I accepted the good news a little too quickly.
As my doctor discussed the new chemotherapy schedule and dosage he wants me to try, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Not just that my tumors had unexpectedly grown so much…
But that my break was quickly coming to an end.
I must admit I’ve grown accustomed to feeling like a normal person again. After being thrown so suddenly into a medical crisis 3-years ago, I never dreamt I would have an opportunity like we had this last year and a half.
Other than my routine scans and tests, I had the chance to forget about brain tumors and hearing loss. I got to explore the world, take risks, and be a regular 26-year old.
I got to feel like me again—a temporary second chance.
I’m lucky.
One of the first things my doctor said on the phone was that most patients barely make it 6-months off of treatment before needing to get back on it.
I made it 18-months.
But alongside my gratitude for my surprisingly long break, it’s hard to accept that it’s over.
This last week has been rough.
From talks of growing tumors, fertility decisions, and preparing to start chemo within the next week or two, it’s been a harsh adjustment. Throughout the tough reality we faced these last few days though, I’m amazed at how perfectly God has taken care of us.
When I had to start treatment a few months after my initial diagnosis, we were still in so much shock that we barely had a chance to catch our breath. We were in constant survival mode and didn’t know how to fit our original plans into the life we were being forced to live.
This time though—it’s different.
It may feel sudden and overwhelming right now, but in reality, we’ve been preparing for this since the day of my last infusion.
We have the upper hand. We know what to expect. We knew it was coming.
Emotionally we’re stronger, and mentally we’re wiser.
God has provided for us in every way and has continued to place specific people in our lives exactly when we need them.
He’s given us constant reminders that He is in control.
He’s got us.
And every time I start to doubt, I remind myself of the perfect timing surrounding “my break.”
If I hadn’t stopped my infusions when I did, we never would have been able to see the world.
I’ve been on a safari in South Africa and circled Stonehenge in England.
I’ve gone paragliding through the mountains in Switzerland and strolled the streets of Paris at night.
I’ve ridden the world’s fastest roller coaster in Abu Dhabi and gazed up at the world’s tallest building in Dubai.
I’ve seen the northern lights dancing in Iceland and toured the canals of Amsterdam.
I’ve frequented biergartens in Germany and searched for fairies in Scotland.
I’ve dined on Pasteis de Nata in Portugal and Churros con Chocolate in Spain.
I’ve enjoyed free-flowing Guinness in Ireland and ate grapes fresh off the vine in Italy.
I’ve played with LEGOS in Denmark and goats on the beach in Greece.
I’ve explored shrines in Japan and fed elephants in Thailand.
I’ve lived more life in the last twelve months than I ever thought possible.
To say that 2018 was a big year for us is an understatement.
Before we began traveling, I was afraid of pretty much everything. “Risk taker” would never be a phrase you would use to describe me, and I was convinced that something terrible was going to happen to me while we were abroad—especially regarding my health.
Change was not my friend, and I stuck to stability like glue.
But you know what?
I made it.
And aside from a few minor issues with my hearing, none of my fears came true.
Traveling has made me braver. Traveling has made me better.
Straying from my plan doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming anymore—it even feels a little bit normal.
This year has shaped everything for me. It’s taught me how to let go and lean into my uncertainty.
I’ve learned the value of taking chances and seen the blessing of living an unexpected life.
When I first started my blog, I knew that God was encouraging us to take this leap for a reason. I had no idea what it was going to be, but that was ok—the unknown was part of what made this year so fun.
And at the very least, I knew we would have an incredible year experiencing the world together.
I chose the name “Being Positioned” because I wanted to hold onto the idea that God is going to use my condition to position me for something greater. And I knew that our traveling was just the beginning of that process.
Every struggle, every adventure, and every interaction this year has been part of my “positioning”.
So, I’m starting a non-profit.
I’m not ready to announce what it will entail until we officially launch later in 2019, but I can tell you that it’s a direct result of our traveling and even more so a result of me having NF2.
Despite a year of learning to trust God and take risks, I’d be lying if I said I’m not terrified of taking this next step.
Once again, I’m surrounded by so much uncertainty.
Once again, I’m very far from my original plan.
But, once again, this is the fun part—the part where I have to sit back and trust the shift God is making in my life.
If I’ve learned one thing in 2018, it’s that the more you let go, the more God can do.
Even though this next year won’t be filled with wild animals, trying new foods, and exploring different countries, I have a feeling that this new adventure might be even bigger than the last one.
After an amazing few days in Interlaken (which you can read about here), we headed to Lucerne.
We were so sad to leave our sweet Airbnb in Interlaken with its incredible view, but thankfully our new place also came with a fun surprise: a rooftop patio!
Our host doesn’t advertise the patio on the listing because she likes to make sure people are “fit” enough to handle climbing the clumsy stairs to the roof.
The fitness test: walking up five flights of stairs up to the apartment while carrying giant backpacks strapped to your back.
Thank goodness we passed—which meant we had full access to the patio our entire time there. It wasn’t as great as our previous view, but still not a bad bonus!
We spent our first day walking around Old Town, which only ended up taking about two hours. It turns out there actually isn’t that much to do there. But, it was still a beautiful area and worth the visit!
The highlight of Old Town is Chapel Bridge, also known as the world’s oldest truss bridge (…don’t worry, I don’t know what that means either).
It’s a covered wooden bridge built in the 14th century and lined with the sweetest flowers on either side. The ceiling is full of paintings, but most of the originals were destroyed in a fire.
Spreuer Bridge is a quick walk from Chapel Bridge but is much smaller. It was a lot less crowded though, so it was easier to appreciate the paintings and carvings as we walked through it.
My favorite part about Old Town is the paintings on the buildings. They create such a unique feel for the whole area!
Another top spot to visit in Lucerne is Musegg Wall. You can catch a beautiful view of the city on top of the wall and even climb up each tower to explore the interior!
After our trip to France (which you can read about here) I am a huge fan of macarons. So, of course, I couldn’t resist snapping a picture with this macaron tower!
The last stop on our tour of Old Town was the Lion Monument. It was surprisingly crowded and full of large tour groups, so it was a good stopping point for our day!
Plus we needed to rest up for our early morning the next day when we went PARAGLIDING!!!
That’s right; we went flying through the air attached to strange men and a giant parachute thing.
And let me just say—it was amazing!
Although paragliding was my idea, I was terrified of doing it. Cardin, of course, wasn’t scared at all, but he at least pretended to be afraid too. 😉
Below is a picture of us waiting for our guides to arrive at the Mt Pilatus gondola station.
Check out the giant bags used to carry paragliding equipment! They certainly put our little backpacks we take on our trips to shame.
Unfortunately, as soon as we got off the gondola at the top of the mountain, a wave of clouds came through and stranded us for a bit. When visibility is low, smacking into the side of a rock is a high probability, so we were happy to wait for the sky to clear.
As we waited, Cardin and I occupied ourselves by having a little fashion show with the super attractive windbreaker pants they made us wear. Gotta love anything in that whole ‘one size fits all’ category!
And of course the final product: my rain jacket spastically tied to me and topped with a giant bucket seat backpack.
Since there wasn’t much hope for the sky to completely clear, our guides decided to take advantage of even a small break in the clouds. Cardin kindly offered to go first, so the second we started to see blue sky, he and his guide took off.
The way you begin is by standing at the top of a steep hill and start running while your guide is attached to your back. You only run for about three seconds before your feet leave the ground and once you’re up, your guide swiftly lifts you into the bucket seat where you sit comfortably for the rest of the ride.
As soon as Cardin took off, another cloud appeared. His guide had a little trouble navigating and was unable to put him into the bucket seat until they had safely cleared the mountain. From my view, all I could see was poor Cardin running in the air (they told us to keep running until we were in the bucket seat) as he uncomfortably clung to the straps.
I’m not going to lie…it looked hilarious. My payback for laughing at him was having to awkwardly sit while hanging off the edge of the hill attached to my guide for a solid ten minutes before another break in the clouds came.
Thankfully we finally got the chance to take off, and my guide was able to lift me into the seat immediately, so I was spared the same fate as Cardin.
Check out Cardin flying in the background! We were even able to talk to each other a little bit while we were in the air!
The company we used offers a photo package, but it was a bit expensive, so we opted for Cardin to hold our GoPro and take photos and video of himself, while my guide used his camera for me. I’m waaaay more clumsy than Cardin, so we figured he was the safer choice for not dropping our GoPro from 7,000 feet.
Unfortunately, it was a lot more terrifying to hold our camera than Cardin realized it would be, so he just took video of himself instead of photos. (We can take screenshots from our video of him, but we haven’t had the chance to do that yet.) So, for now, this picture of him in the background is all we’ve got!
Towards the end of our time in the sky, my guide asked me if I liked roller coasters. I thought that was a random question, but excitedly told him about how we’ve been visiting theme parks all over the world!
Little did I know what he was about to do…
Before I knew it, we were spinning upside down and being tossed from side to side. I can only compare it to feeling like you’re having a severe bout of vertigo. It was crazy!
Once the world finally turned upright, he asked if I wanted to do that again, to which I politely, but quickly declined.
Most people paraglide in Interlaken since the views are incredible, BUT you only get to fly for about 20 minutes. Plus it’s a touristy thing to do there, so you’re in the air with a ton of other jumpers.
In Lucerne, it was just us in the sky, and we were up there for an hour and a half (even though we only paid for an hour). Plus our guides only paraglide for fun on the weekends and lead regular jobs during the week. So they do it because they love it rather than wanting to make more money off tourists, which is also why they let us stay up there for so long.
And the view you get in Interlaken is the same one you would see on Harder Kulm, but the view we had in Lucerne is only visible by paragliding.
So, if you have any interest in paragliding in Switzerland—we strongly recommend doing it in Lucerne.
(Here is a link to the company we used. Our friends, Jamie and Jess, recommended them and they were amazing!)
For the last day of our trip, we decided to take a day trip to Zurich. When we first started attending our church in Orlando, they had a guest pastor from a church in Switzerland come and speak. The pastor talked about the church they built in Zurich, and as we walked out of the service that day, I turned to Cardin and said how great it would be to get to visit their church if we went to Switzerland this year.
Little did we know it would happen!!
Without planning it, we ended up being a quick train ride from Zurich on a Sunday, so of course, we had to check out International Christian Fellowship (ICF) church at Samsung Hall!
The church venue doubles as a concert space. That’s how they were able to afford building such a perfect spot—by having Samsung sponsor it as a concert hall when the church isn’t using it.
It also means they have things like Heineken umbrellas and cigarette vending machines…not something you would usually see at a church, but such a smart business plan!
They also have two great cafes where we enjoyed a delicious cappuccino and croissant before the service started.
They have an English service, but we wanted to get the full experience and go to the traditional one in German. Thankfully they have translation devices available, so when we checked in to get a device, the girl asked us where we’re from. We told her the story of how we discovered ICF, and she responded with, “oh, you must be from ReThink Life Church”!
It turns out she is the one who coordinates the pastor’s travel schedule, so she insisted we meet him after the service.
Here’s our picture with Leo Bigger (the pastor of ICF) below:
After church, we headed out to explore Zurich for a few hours. It reminded us a lot of Lucerne and didn’t take much time to explore, but we loved walking around the sweet streets.
One of the best things about Switzerland is their DELICIOUS tap water!! Especially since everything else is so expensive there, it was nice to have something free finally!
They have public water fountains labeled “drinking water” all over the country and it’s seriously some of the best tasting water we’ve ever had—especially while traveling.
Alright, now that I’ve shared with you all of the beautiful places we saw in Switzerland, I need to tell you about our dramatic journey home.
Let me start by saying that the security at the Frankfurt airport is some of the strictest we’ve encountered so far (not including in Dubai). After getting through the main security (which was a struggle in itself), they had us go through an extra passport check, where the agent informed us that my passport had been pre-selected for additional screening.
Ok, no big deal.
The man assured us that it would only take a couple of minutes and I’d be back with Cardin and on our flight in no time…
Little did I know that within just a few minutes I would be standing in front of a big flashing red computer screen while a very large man with a very large gun explained to me that it’s the protocol for him to guard a person when their belongings test positive for explosives.
That’s right, explosives.
My first thought: I’m going to miss my flight.
My second thought: I’m going to get arrested, and they’re going to make Cardin go back to America without me.
Dramatic, I know 😉 Seriously though, I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before!
It didn’t help that I was already frazzled because they separated Cardin and I from each other. I rely on him SO much for my hearing, especially at airports. (You don’t want to be the person who accidentally answers questions incorrectly when going through customs.)
So, now here I was watching my backpack get completely torn apart. I’m talking every stinky piece of dirty laundry (underwear and all) get inspected and unloaded into a bin, while a terrifying man with a machine gun is heavily monitoring me.
It was not looking good.
After clearing my bag, they proceeded to do a very invasive pat down of my entire body. Cardin and I always wear compression socks when we fly (which isn’t glamorous but helps a ton). As the woman moves onto my legs, she questions what is underneath my leggings, which means I have to awkwardly pull up my yoga pants and show off my not so cute socks.
Finally, once they have nothing left to search, the agent realized that they misplaced my plane ticket. And then they inform me that if they don’t find it and stamp it, the passport checkpoint will force me to go back through this same screening ALL OVER AGAIN.
This has to be a joke…
Eventually, they locate my ticket, crumpled and torn, underneath the pile of my pathetic belongings. After stamping it, they said I was free to head to my gate.
It’s at this point that I realize that I’m going to have to repack my bag.
By myself.
I’m embarrassed to admit that until very recently, I haven’t been able to squeeze all of my belongings into my tiny backpack without Cardin’s help. He pretty much used to pack my entire bag for me. All I could think was great; after all of that, my inability to put my luggage together is going to cause me to miss my flight.
Just as I was about to panic, my sweet husband showed up, and the guards let him help me gather my stuff. He had seen me struggling from afar, and the gate agent allowed him to check on me—thank goodness!
We made it to our flight just in time. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to board a plane before!
Also, it turns out that lotion can sometimes trigger the explosives alert if it contains glycerin since that’s used to make bombs. I’ve purchased a small container of Nivea on almost all of the trips we’ve taken this year, but I have officially sworn off of it! Or at least I won’t use it when traveling again. 😉
Clickhere to watch our Switzerland video along with our other vlogs!
If you want updates about our travels, subscribe to my blog to receive posts directly to your email. And if you want to keep up with us daily while we travel, follow me on Instagram at beingpositionedor Facebook @beingpositioned!
Since my diagnosis two and a half years ago, I’ve had at least fifteen MRI’s.
I’m no stranger to spending an hour lying completely still inside a tiny tube with a cage covering my face.
In fact, at this point, I would consider myself a bit of a pro.
A few weeks ago I had my first full-body MRI.
The goal of the scan was to look for other tumors growing on nerves throughout the rest of my body. And it would only take 45-minutes.
My other scans usually take about an hour, so I assumed this MRI would be similar.
No problem.
As I walked into the exam room, the tech instructed me to lie down while he started pulling out large panels.
Once I was settled, two techs started placing the heavy panels all over my body…and strapping me to the table.
I immediately started to panic.
My doctor didn’t prepare me for this…
Did they expect me to make it through this entire scan weighted down and strapped to the machine?
Normally, they stabilize my head with a cage during MRI’s, which isn’t the most comfortable thing, but at least the rest of my body is free to move slightly.
They also usually have music playing while I’m in the machine. I can’t always hear it, but it still gives me something to focus on.
This time—no moving and no music.
I would be attached to the table from head to toe with nothing to distract me.
I’ve never experienced a panic attack before, but as a social worker, I’ve studied and witnessed others having one, so I know how to stop them.
As I started a simple breathing technique, I felt a strap snap.
My deep breathing was causing the panel on my chest to come undone.
Plus, taking big breaths can blur the images.
Now I really started to freak out.
All I could think was, there is no way I’m going to make it through this test.
I would also like to point out that this realization came before they even started the scan. The techs were still calibrating the machine with me lying inside of it, so I still had 45 minutes to go.
As my new attempt at calming myself down, I tried visualizing my wedding.
That may sound weird, but it was the absolute best weekend of my entire life. So, if any memory would be powerful enough to prevent a panic attack, this would be it.
Mentally, I began replaying each event, starting with picking my fiancé up at the airport before our rehearsal dinner and ending with our father’s day brunch the day after our wedding.
As I focused on each memory, I couldn’t help but smile.
My breathing began to slow, and I stopped sweating.
It worked! I wouldn’t say the time flew by, but it went much faster than I expected. And I managed to finish the exam without having a panic attack.
Now it wasn’t a perfect fix—periodically I started feeling overwhelmed again, but each time I would bring myself back to the memory and focus on small details about each scene.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve tried this trick.
I also used it during my very first MRI, but that time I planned my wedding in my head. Even the happiness that the anticipation of getting married brought me was an effective distraction!
I’m a firm believer in the power of our thoughts and how quickly negative thinking can cause us to spiral.
It’s important to acknowledge our pain and fears, but if you let yourself sit there for too long, you can get stuck. And feeling a sudden rush of panic like I did during my MRI, is much more harmful than helpful.
This is why I have a happiness reserve.
These are memories I’ve pre-selected or things I’m excited for that make me feelhappy.
Not only do they bring me out of my panic, but they also serve as reminders of the wonderful life I’ve lived so far.
When things get tough, it’s easy to feel like you’ve never had anything good happen to you and it pushes you down even further. But, if you have a few memories on hand to bring you back and give you a little hope, sometimes it’s enough to stop your downward shift.
(A little tip: make sure you pick which memories to put in your happiness reserve at a time when you’re not under stress—it’s a lot harder to imagine a time when you were happy if you’re experiencing a crisis. That way you have them readily available when you need them!)
Honestly, this may not work for everyone.
It may only work for me.
But, I think it’s important to share any success we experience when dealing with difficulties. You never know when something like this may help someone else.
I’m also excited that traveling this year has been filling my happiness reserve—now I’ll have plenty of memories to hold onto incase I ever have to get strapped to a board inside a small tube for an hour again!
What are some happy memories you have that you can put in your happiness reserve? Email me or comment below!
If you want updates about our travels, subscribe to my blog to receive posts directly to your email. And if you want to keep up with us daily while we travel, follow me on Instagram at beingpositionedor Facebook @beingpositioned!
What did I worry about before brain tumors came into the picture?
What was it like being able to hear people whisper?
How nice was it to not hear ringing in my ears?
It’s so strange to think back on just three years ago when I never even considered having an MRI and thought I had at least fifty more years before hearing tests would become a routine part of my life.
I can’t believe how quickly this has become normal to me.
A year ago, the thought of my tumors growing terrified me. Like even the tiniest growth made me fall apart.
Having MRI’s and hearing tests every 3-months left us on a constant emotional rollercoaster. We were living our lives a few months at a time, and with each new round of scans, it would reset again.
But somehow, miraculously, it doesn’t feel like a crisis anymore.
This is just my life now.
Over the last year, my MRI’s have shown consistent growth on the tumor affecting my good ear, but nothing significant. My doctor even let me take a 6-month break between tests last time!
That may not sound very big, but for me, it made a huge difference. I finally had a chance to stop worrying about results for a bit.
It broke the cycle.
After my wonderful break, it was time for my most recent round of scans.
For results to truly be good, my tumors would need to be gone. My hearing would need to be restored and my tinnitus silenced.
I would need to be cured.
Of course, that’s not my life anymore. My good news bar has substantially lowered.
It turns out my larger tumor has grown again. My hearing is stable though, and we found out the rest of my body (other than my spine) is tumor free.
But because of the tumor growth, I’ll have to start treatment again in the not so distant future.
So, the results were mixed.
Not exactly good, but not too bad either.
Yet somehow, I left my doctor feeling utter relief. When not even a year ago I probably would have left my appointment in tears.
Gradually, emotionally, somehow…I’ve adjusted.
Bad news doesn’t feel quite as big, and I’ve come to accept that this is what my life looks like now.
Last December I wrote a post called, “The Life You Almost Lived” (found here). I wrote it when my tumors initially started to grow after stopping treatment.
Everything felt overwhelming.
I thought my happiness level had peaked—like each year was going to get harder and harder.
Physically, that’s probably true. My disorder is progressive, so it has no choice but to get worse over time.
But how I handle it emotionally and mentally WILL get better.
Somehow through all of this—because of all of this, I have managed to become truly happy.
Traveling has served as an invaluable distraction this year, and it’s shown me the importance of living beyond my condition. Of pushing myself past my limitations and letting my life be more than just what happens in between my doctor appointments.
Instead of offering the usual “good luck” or “praying for good news,” a wise relative of mine said the following phrase to us before getting my results last week:
“I hope that the more you learn, the less scary it becomes.”
Her daughter is currently battling cancer, so their family is all too familiar with dealing with this world.
As we walked out of the hospital that day I thought about her well wishes and how accurate they are for us.
All of this has become less scary. A lot less scary.
And as the scariness has waned, we’ve learned to enjoy our lives within the circumstances we’ve been dealt.
Somehow, over time, our new normal doesn’t look so bad after all.
If you want updates about our travels, subscribe to my blog to receive posts directly to your email. And if you want to keep up with us daily while we travel, follow me on Instagram at beingpositionedor Facebook @beingpositioned!
You know when you experience a funny coincidence, and you can’t help, but laugh at life’s little ironies? Well, this is one of those moments…it just happens to involve Doritos.
During our most recent trip, we spent a week exploring the largest island in Greece: Crete.
Along with its massive size, Crete has a reputation for having some of the most beautiful and exotic beaches in the world.
Before heading to our first stop, we made a quick snack run. As we scanned the chip aisle, Cardin found a bag of Doritos labeled, “Tex-Mex Flavored.”
Usually, if we buy chips while we travel, we opt for the more unique local flavors and avoid any American brands…but since we’re originally from Texas, we couldn’t resist grabbing a bag.
As we laid in the sand eating our chip of choice that afternoon, I couldn’t help but smile when I realized that the last time we ate Doritos on the beach, was the day that Cardin first suggested that we quit our jobs and travel the world.
It was Memorial Day weekend in 2017, shortly after my hearing episode (which you can read about here). My sweet aunt offered to let Cardin and I spend a few days relaxing at her beachfront condo as we recovered from my most recent health scare.
Before heading to the coast, we stocked up on snacks. Normally, I’m a bit of a health nut, but after everything we had been dealing with, we decided to splurge and get some of our favorites (i.e., Doritos and Oreos).
While laying on the beach that day eating Doritos and drinking margaritas (I know—not exactly the best combination), we started talking about the future and what I wanted to do career-wise.
As many of you know, my diagnosis came just before I finished graduate school. The plan has always been that I would get my counseling license. But after I was rendered temporarily deaf, I started to question whether or not I should still pursue a career as a therapist.
Cardin’s response: “What if we quit our jobs and spend a year traveling?”
Initially, I said no.
Honestly, I thought he was joking and that it was the margaritas talking.
A few hours (and a few more margaritas) later, his idea started sounding better and better.
The plan was for us to move to London for 6-months and use that as our home base while we traveled. (We even Googled apartments to rent.)
But as we tried to figure out how it would work with my treatment and frequent doctor’s appointments, we decided that it would be too much of a risk.
So we dropped it.
(Until eventually, God lined everything up perfectly for us to make it work—which you can read about here.)
Now, a year and a half later, as we’re enjoying our “Tex-Mex” Doritos on a remote little Greek beach surrounded by goats attempting to steal our snacks (don’t worry, I’ll share pictures at the end)… I’m struck by the fact that we did it.
Something that seemed so crazy and unrealistic at the time turned into this incredible adventure.
It’s so strange thinking back on where we were not even two years ago and the direction our lives were headed.
I can’t believe how much everything has changed since then—how much we’ve changed since then.
This year has been more than just an exciting experience for us.
It’s been a chance to take a break, to catch our breath, and to figure out how we want the rest of our lives to look.
Life makes it easy to get stuck.
Circumstances get in the way, and risks become harder and harder to take.
But because we leaped, our lives have taken on a whole new meaning.
Come January we’ll be done traveling and back in Florida full-time. I keep telling people that at the start of the New Year, we’ll be back to our old lives…but in reality, things will never really be the same.
This year has shaped everything.
January will be the start of an even bigger adventure for us (one that we’ll be announcing in a couple of months).
I kept viewing this time as “our year,” but now I know that these past 12-months are just the beginning.
And I must admit that I’m excited to come home. I’m excited to see our friends regularly (and our pup constantly). I’m excited to no longer live out of a backpack and sleep in a different bed every night.
But mostly I’m excited that our adventure will be more than just a year.
It will be the rest of our lives.
And because of this year, and more importantly my condition, it’s going to be even better and more rewarding than we could have ever hoped.
***As promised here are some pictures from Seitan Limania and the crazy snack stealing goats:
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Our adventure to Switzerland started out rough. Like really rough.
After spending the entire day at a theme park in Germany, Cardin booked us another night train (if you saw my Portugal post, which you can read here, then you know I tend to have bad luck on those). This particular train didn’t have sleeper cars, so we had to sleep in regular seats. We were lucky enough to snag two spots together, put our earplugs in, our eye masks on, and pass out.
About 2 hours later, I was abruptly woken up by the sound of a man yelling hysterically.
I quickly sat up and pulled off my mask. Everyone around me (including my husband) was completely silent. A few rows behind us a man was crying and screaming in French as three police officers surrounded him. Being woken up suddenly at 2:00 am to such a dramatic scene—all I could think was he must have a gun.
Just as I began to process that we might be in danger, the police officers grabbed the guy and started dragging him off the train while he wailed.
It turns out the French man didn’t have a train ticket and was belligerently refusing to pay for one. Apparently he had been chasing the train employee up and down the aisle arguing with her, but of course, he only spoke French, and she just knew German and English. So, his yelling got louder, and as we pulled up to the nearest train station, the police were already waiting on the platform for him.
I’d also like to point out that with the help of earplugs I managed to sleep through that ENTIRE interaction—only when his yelling got particularly loud did I wake up. So, there are some perks to being half deaf. 😉
Unfortunately, though, the story isn’t over yet…
An hour later I woke up to Cardin nudging me as a train employee holding a ticket scanner glared at us.
Our tickets weren’t working.
Each time the guy scanned them, they show up as canceled. After witnessing such a dramatic episode with the last person who didn’t have train tickets, we both started to panic. And everyone in the train had woken up again and was staring at us. Thankfully, he let us purchase new tickets (at twice the price), but at least we weren’t going to get thrown off.
As he processed our credit card information, Cardin pulled up his email and asked the guy to try the ticket barcode there instead.
And they worked. Of course.
So, after already spending twenty minutes with us, the poor employee had to cancel and refund our tickets.
Moral of the story: I should avoid night trains. (And hostels—which you can find out why, here.)
We finally arrived in Interlaken and took a bus to our Airbnb.
And the picture above is the view we met as soon as we arrived. We had no idea we were staying that close to the water!
The next two pictures are of our Airbnb and the street it’s on:
The owners of the house converted their attic into a one bedroom apartment. When I booked it, the pictures didn’t make it look that great, but it was the best option I could find in our price range.
Little did I know that we would have the MOST amazing view from our window!
At that point, we would have been happy to hang around our Airbnb for a few days and not even bother to explore the rest of the area.
Thankfully once we recovered from our traumatic train ride, we did decide to venture out. The next morning we took a steamboat on Lake Brienz to Giessbach Falls.
Unfortunately, the boat ride was expensive, but the whole experience was completely worth it!
Once we arrived, we were hoping to take the funicular to the hotel at the top and catch the waterfall views there.
But, we forgot our cash at our Airbnb, and of course, it was cash only.
So we hiked—and I am glad we did!
Giessbach falls are 14 consecutive waterfalls, and the hike followed them the entire way up!
It turns out it was a short hike to the hotel anyway, so the fee for the funicular would have been a total waste. Don’t you love when happy accidents like that happen?
The picture above is of the Grandhotel Giessbach. It was built in 1874 and offers incredible views of the falls and Lake Brienz.
It’s also the perfect spot for a picnic! Once we finished our lunch, we hiked back down to catch the boat again and headed to our next destination.
Harder Kulm aka the most beautiful view in Interlaken!
If you’re afraid of heights, then this stop is not for you, but if you don’t mind a little thrill factor, it’s perfect!
After taking a very steep funicular, you walk out onto a patio positioned directly above Interlaken—giving you a breathtaking view of both Lake Brienz and Lake Thun.
The entrance/exit to the Harder Kulm funicular is near the center of town, so after taking in the amazing views, we walked around and explored a few of the local shops.
The town itself isn’t that exciting and feels a bit touristy, so if you ever visit, I highly recommend staying just outside of Interlaken in one of the more rural areas.
The next morning we woke up early and took a train to Lauterbrunnen. From there you can take a series of cable cars to each area, or you can follow the trails.
We took a cable car to a place called Grütschalp and then opted to walk to Mürren.
It was by far the most beautiful hike we have ever gone on! Part of the trail we wanted to take was closed from snow, so we can’t wait to go back one day and do the entire thing.
Cardin even found a statue of himself as a tourist…minus the socks and sandals, of course 😉
Wouldn’t you love to be one of those cows in the picture above? That view is their backyard!
After our hike, we took a bus to Trümmelbachfälle.
It’s a series of ten waterfalls INSIDE a mountain! I highly recommend a rain jacket for this stop though because you’re bound to get a little wet…
Seeing the double rainbow in the picture above was the best surprise!
We almost missed visiting this part of the falls since it was a bit hidden, but as soon as we turned the corner and caught a glimpse of it our jaws dropped! It was such an incredible sight!
After a long day of exploring we were happy to head back and relax around our Airbnb.
Their neighborhood is perfect for taking an evening walk, so we had to go on one last sunset stroll before leaving for Lucerne the next day.
The house below is right next to our Airbnb and had the sweetest garden I’ve ever seen!
If you read my post “Learning to Appreciate Sound” (which you can check out here), then you know how much I cherish hearing different noises while we travel.
My new favorite sound on this trip was waterfalls.
I love that you can always hear them before you see them—it felt like a fun little scavenger hunt each time we came across that familiar rushing water sound!
Our last night in Interlaken though, we came across another delightful noise: cowbells.
Giant ones.
It took us forever to realize what we were hearing and kept assuming it was church bells because it was just that loud!
Until we finally made it to a field full of cows wearing huge bells.
I can’t help but wonder if the cows get a little tired of that noise after a while though…
Interlaken has officially made our list of top 3 favorite places to visit so far! If it weren’t quite so expensive there, we would head back to our cozy little Airbnb every summer.
Clickhere to watch our Switzerland video along with our other vlogs!
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Let me introduce you to our new favorite foreign specialty: Hagelslag.
You get a piece of bread, spread butter on it, and top with the most delicious Dutch chocolate sprinkles. REAL chocolate—none of that imposter brown “chocolate-like” substance we eat in America.
Truly a breakfast for champions.
We loved it so much, we bought a big box and took it with us to Switzerland so we could add it to our yogurt every morning. Not exactly the healthiest choice, but worth it!
Plus it’s so cheap and every grocery store in Amsterdam stocks a huge wall of it, so it’s easy to find!
Another one of our favorite Dutch treats: Stroopwafels.
Just imagine eating a thin, gooey caramel cookie. Our Airbnb host left us a pack, and we fell in love!
Basically what I’m saying is we werehopped up on sugar the entire time we were in Amsterdam.
You can also buy Stroopwafels in the US, but the ones abroad are better!
Along with our constant sugar coma, we loved getting to explore the beautiful canals around the city!
It was so fun picking which houseboat I wanted to live in—they’re EVERYWHERE and so cute!
We took a free walking tour with Sandemans, and our guide had plenty of entertaining stories to tell us about Amsterdam.
Our favorite was that if you don’t lock your bike at night, people will go around the city and throw it into the canals.
So the bottom of the canals is covered in old bikes!
Above is a picture of Amsterdam’s coat of arms.
Many people falsely think that the three x’s represent the famous red light district, but they’re three vertical crosses and have no relation to the red light district.
Along with the coat of arms, you can find the stone plaques in the picture below all over the city. Back when most of the citizens were illiterate, they put up these graphic signs so that people would know what buildings were and where different things were located.
We couldn’t help but laugh at all of the clever names people have come up with using the word “dam” (like in the picture below).
Sadly we didn’t try their coffee, so I can’t attest to how good it is, but still thought it was a cute name!
One of my favorite stops on our walking tour was the most narrow house in Amsterdam!
Can you imagine trying to fit your furniture in that place?
To combat moving challenges, most of the houses there have hooks at the top of the roof. Since many of the homes are very narrow and don’t offer much in the line of an elevator or large stairwell, people have to pull their furniture up using those hooks and move it through the windows.
Scroll down to the next picture, and you’ll see a ladder perched up to the second floor of a building and people moving things through the window.
As much as Amsterdam offers delicious sugary snacks—it also has some not-so-great specialties.
Like raw herring.
I’m picky about fish, and anything too fishy is immediately off the list of foods I’ll eat.
When we happened upon the herring stand in the picture above, Cardin decided he had to try it.
I, of course, declined his generous offer to share his sandwich. (He kept trying to convince me that it tasted just like sushi—blah yeah right!)
I’d also like to point out that this is probably the only meal while traveling I’ve ever seen Cardin not finish.
He claims it was good and that he “just wasn’t hungry enough,” but I think he was still hoping to convince me to try it.
Along with the plethora of houseboats, one of the canals has a floating flower market!
I was excited to check it out since we were a couple of weeks too late to see the tulip fields, but it ended up being touristy.
This particular one was cute though, and it was fun checking out all of the tulip-themed merchandise.
Our next stop that day was to check out the famous “I amsterdam” sign!
It’s near all of the major museums in the city.
If you’ve been keeping up with my travel posts, then you know we’re not big museum fans, so we ended up skipping those and heading to the Heineken Brewery instead.
I know how could we possibly pass up endless rows of paintings for beer, right? 😉
My husband (being the major theme park fanatic that he is) was SO excited that the Heineken Experience has a “ride” in it.
Sadly he was a bit disappointed since it’s more of a walk through attraction than a ride, but it’s still a fun way of demonstrating how beer is brewed and bottled!
Most breweries include a free pint, and this one was no exception, but instead of serving it in a low key pub-like atmosphere, they offer it in a “bar” that was more of a club.
Complete with blaring music and green lights!
For anyone with hearing loss, loud music is frustrating since it makes it even more challenging to hear. Plus if you read “My Hearing Bucket List” post, (which you can read here), then you know that bass noises bother my ears.
So, overall, we had a lot of fun at the Heineken Experience, but wish the music at the end wasn’t quite so loud. Otherwise, it was great though, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area!
Alright, I’m not proud of the next two pictures, but I have to admit that we ate at the “Chipsy King” for dinner that night.
We filled up so much on beer and raw herring earlier that we didn’t have much of an appetite for dinner, so this is what we ended up eating!
Cardin and I are big mayo and french fries eaters, so we ordered the special, and it came topped with curry ketchup, mayo, and onions and was surprisingly good!
The next morning Cardin woke me up bright and early to take a train and a bus to one of the greatest theme parks we’ve EVER been to: Efteling.
Disney will still always be our favorite, but gosh this park was hard to beat!
They say its a park for all ages because it truly has something for everyone!
Apparently, it’s also a popular field trip spot because we were surrounded by elementary school kids. Thankfully the park is huge, so once we made it through the entrance, they were pretty well dispersed throughout the park.
The picture below is the group entrance—aka the field trip entrance full of screaming children.
The rides are so much fun, and the entire place feels like a beautiful garden, so you can relax and take a 20-minute boat ride when you get tired of walking.
They also have the sweetest storybook alley where they have different scenes from all of your favorite childhood bedtimes stories.
In 2017, the ride in the picture above was rated as the best new attraction in the world!
And it happens to be conveniently located next to a restaurant dedicated to yet another delicious local specialty: Dutch pancakes.
The restaurant even holds the Guinness world record for the tallest stack of pancakes!
Dutch pancakes are a lot like crepes, and you can order them with a variety of fillings.
Cardin ordered a bacon cheese one, and his had long strips of bacon in it rather than chopped up bacon as you’d expect.
I ordered Nutella banana—you can even see the full pieces of banana in it in the picture above.
Another entertaining (and slightly annoying) thing they have located throughout the park, is talking garbage cans.
The picture above shows one and you just throw the garbage in its mouth as it says funny phrases in Dutch. The problem is it talks even when waste isn’t going into its mouth, so it gets a bit old after a while.
One of the downsides to traveling so much at once is we end up booking things very last minute.
If you want to visit the Anne Frank House, you have to buy tickets online months in advance otherwise they will be completely sold out.
So, unfortunately, the only part of the house we got to see was the outside. It was still very surreal to be there though and think about what Anne Frank and her family went through.
These are some of the cutest houseboats we saw on our entire trip, and they’re located right outside of the Anne Frank House museum!
That afternoon we met up with one of our very sweet friends from Orlando who was working in the Netherlands for a few weeks.
We met her shortly after moving to Florida while seeing a musical. We were still figuring out how to navigate my hearing loss with things like plays and found out that they offer free hearing assistance devices. Christine was working the desk that night, and it turns out she is also deaf in her left ear, just like me! We instantly bonded and have kept up with her ever since.
We took a canal tour with her and had a delicious dinner together! She also introduced us to a couple of sugar-free Dutch dishes (although I still needed up eating a pancake).
After walking around the city with Christine, she introduced us to vending machine meals—like real meals that come from a vending machine. Not just your typical chips and candy offerings!
Quite a few people were ordering from them, so I’m assuming they must not be that bad!
Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities we’ve visited and easily one of our new favorite spots! We’d love to make it back there again one day even if it’s to re-stock our chocolate sprinkles supply. 😉
Clickhere to watch our Netherlands video along with our other vlogs!
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As a child birthdays were always a bit rough for me.
If you were born anytime between June and August, then you can probably relate to my summer birthday struggles.
Friends were ALWAYS out of town, and I never got to experience bringing cupcakes for my classmates or having my locker decorated for my special day.
This may sound small now, but trust me—it felt huge growing up.
Thankfully as an adult (unless you’re a teacher) the summer birthday problem disappears.
Your friends are most likely still in town, and your coworkers often do something to celebrate even if it falls on the weekend.
Unless of course you quit your job and decide to travel the world for a year—then YOU get to be the one out of town for your birthday!
So for my 26th birthday, my husband and I decided to travel to Ireland.
I had it all planned out.
We were going to visit the Cliffs of Moher that morning and then drive to Killarney to spend the night “glamping” in the Ring of Kerry.
It was going to be great.
When booking our Airbnbs for this trip, I ended up picking three places that didn’t have wifi.
Unfortunately, one of those places was going to fall on the night of my birthday. But, my husband has a European SIM card on his phone, which I can turn into a hot spot; so I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Until two days before my birthday, I suddenly had the thought: what if this is my last year to hear people tell me happy birthday.
And I won’t have the ability to hear them.
Because we’re out of the country.
With no wifi.
And it uses too much data on the SIM card to FaceTime.
Suddenly my past summer birthday woes felt like nothing compared to my newfound depressing realization.
Now, I know how silly this may sound. And I know how small missing out on hearing “happy birthday” is compared to the millions of other problems going on in the world.
But, I couldn’t help it.
I was so sad.
Every year, my parents and my brother call and sing “happy birthday” to me. It’s very cheesy (and when it comes to my brother’s singing—very off key), but I love it.
It’s something so simple but always brings the biggest smile to my face.
And this year I was going to miss it.
And potentially never get to hear it again.
As we sat on our bed playing cards that night, I admitted how I was feeling to my husband.
I jokingly told him that he was going to have to tell me “happy birthday” all day to make up for it since his voice would be the only one I’d hear this year.
The night before the 13th (although I think it was technically past midnight) I received the sweetest video from our friend and her family wishing me a happy birthday.
I didn’t think too much about it except for how thoughtful that was of them.
And then I woke up the next morning to SO MANY voice messages and videos on Facebook from all of my favorite people!
Little did I know (apparently you can block people from seeing specific posts), my husband had shared the following message on Facebook the night before:
“I have a favor to ask.
Today is Christina’s birthday! With all the traveling and medical issues, we’re not sure what our lives will look like (or sound like) this time next year.
Alongside the usual Facebook ‘Happy Birthday’ posts, it would mean so much if you could send her an audio message or short video saying “Happy Birthday!” through Facebook Messenger as well! Just some way she can hear your voice
It’s already her birthday here in Ireland so feel free to send a message whenever you can!
I’ve included instructions for audio messages if you need them. Voicemail is also great but she will not receive it until we’re back in the US next week.
Can’t wait to hear from you! Thank you so much!”
I cried as we sat there listening to so many wonderful wishes.
Instead of my fear of not getting to hear anyone else tell me “happy birthday” this year; I heard it from more people than I ever have before!
It was beyond special!
I know that more than likely, my hearing (though slightly declining) will still be stable next year. But nothing is guaranteed, and I lost my hearing in my left ear instantly.
It can happen again.
In fact, it did once. (Which you can read about here.)
When something like that happens to you, it’s hard to let it go.
It’s hard to break the belief that since it happened before, surely it’ll happen again.
And when it comes to things like this, you can’t control what will get to you…no matter how small or silly it may seem.
All you can do is accept its potential reality, acknowledge how those thoughts make you feel, and then let them go.
And then maybe you’ll get really lucky and admit your fears to someone as amazing as my husband, and they’ll turn your negative thoughts into the greatest surprise ever. 😉
To everyone who sent me a sweet voice message or video—thank you. I will forever cherish getting to hear your wonderful words and can’t even begin to describe how much joy those messages brought me.
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While visiting Madrid a few months ago, we met a couple of girls at our hostel who live in Hamburg. We told them that we were visiting Berlin and Hamburg soon and asked which city was their favorite.
Both girl’s immediately responded with: Hamburg.
Because it’s so “posh.“
As we walked through the Altona neighborhood where our Airbnb was located and remembered the girls description of Hamburg, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Is this really how they define the word posh…
The garage in the picture above is where the lockbox for our Airbnb key was hidden.
Later we found out that Altona is notorious for being an eclectic and artsy district within Hamburg—known as the area “where anything goes” and people of all walks of life are welcome.
It turns out that the rest of Hamburg is exactly how those two girls described it: very posh.
We ended up liking Altona quite a bit though and thought the neighborhood was very relaxing and down to earth compared to the rest of the city.
We began our first day in Hamburg with a walking tour given by Sandemans. If you’ve never heard of them, I highly recommend checking out their website here. We’ve gone on a few of their tours and have enjoyed them a lot.
The best part about their tours is that they’re free!
You only pay for a tip at the end of the tour for your guide, and if your guide is terrible, you don’t have to tip them at all. It’s a great deal and an excellent way to get a good overview of a city. They also offer a variety of other tours for a small fee.
The small plaques in the picture above are part of a Holocaust memorial. The tiny squares are engraved with a victim’s name and placed near the area they lived.
We had seen the squares in a few different European cities before this, but until we took that walking tour, we never knew what they meant.
We started noticing a prominent theme throughout our time in Hamburg: fire.
It seemed like just about every building has caught on fire at one point or another.
The picture below is of the area where the Great Fire of 1842 started. Hamburg is known for its heavy factory presence since it’s a port city. This particular fire began in a cigar factory and according to our guide, traveled to a nearby paper mill and then further down to a distillery. Once it made its way through all things flammable, the fire overtook significant portions of the city and sadly killed more than fifty people.
Because of the strong wind that day, the fire only traveled in one direction. You can see in the picture below the stark dividing line between the old buildings to the left and the new buildings to the right.
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The images above and below are of a famous area called Speicherstadt. It’s the world’s largest warehouse district and one of the most photographed spots in Hamburg.
Hamburg is also known as the city with the most bridges in the world (~2,300), beating even Amsterdam.
After our walking tour, we headed to St. Michael’s church, where for a small fee you can visit the lookout tower and get a great view of the city.
The view was worth it, but the wind up there was crazy, so our photo ops were a bit of a struggle.
That night we booked 9 pm tickets to visit the best museum ever: Miniatur Wunderland.
It’s the world’s largest model railway and is the most popular museum in all of Germany—they stay open until 2 am for a reason!
Our friends recommended purchasing tickets for a later time because the crowds get so tight during the day that you can hardly see the models. The place was packed even at the late hour we were there, so I can’t imagine what it’s like earlier.
They even have an airplane themed cafeteria (pictured below), which was so cute!
Every hour or so they change the lighting throughout the building to mimic sunset and sunrise.
They even have model airplanes that fly!
Growing up, my dad built a model train set to put under our Christmas tree every year. Each building represents one of our family members (i.e. Christina’s Cantina). My dad’s train has always been my favorite family tradition—it’s also the reason I’m a bit obsessed with Christmas (like the person who starts listening to Christmas music before Halloween obsessed).
It’s such a special thing for the whole family, so getting to visit Miniatur Wunderland and explore an even bigger train model set was amazing!
Below is a picture of our Christmas tree at home and my dad’s train village that he built. Check out the theme park he added in honor of my husband, Cardin!
The next day we made a quick trip to see Beatles-Platz, which is known as the area that helped launch the Beatles to stardom. It’s next to the Reeperbahn, which is Hamburg’s red light district and is where the Beatles played at numerous venues.
We also visited Submarine U-434, which was cool, but quickly became very claustrophobic. There was a tour while we were down there, so we repeatedly got stuck in extremely cramped areas everytime they stopped.
We still had a great time though and loved getting to climb through the entry of each room!
Another unique stop nearby is Elbtunnel. Since Hamburg has one of the busiest shipping harbors in the world, they built this tunnel as a way for workers to get to the other side of the river. It’s free to walk through it and crazy to think that you’re actually under water!
On the other side of the tunnel is a beautiful viewpoint of Hamburg.
Once we finished at Elbtunnel, we headed to one of the greatest concert halls in the world: Elbphilharmonie.
It’s in HafenCity, which is known as one of the newest and most expensive areas of Hamburg.
This incredible concert hall was initially estimated to cost 200 million euros but ended up running way behind in schedule and costing around 870 million euros.
It’s free to visit the building, and you can take the beautiful escalator to a deck, which gives you a great view of the city.
On our way back to Altona, we walked through Planten un Blomen, which has a reputation for being one of the best parks in Europe.
Since the weather was so nice, the park was very crowded, but it offers lovely areas to take a break from the city and enjoy nature for a bit.
Of course, we had to end our last night in Germany the same way we started it—with beer! We found the perfect little beer garden near our Airbnb and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Clickhere to watch our Germany video along with our other vlogs!
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