We're Married!

April 18, 2010. Como Park Conservatory, St. Paul, MN.

An acute gangrenous appendicitis

Just want to let you know I came home Monday night after a 16 day hospital stay due to a ruptured appendix, which turned gangrenous and required a second surgery to wash the abscess out. They sent me home with three drains in my belly that are still working on removing all the infection. I learned how to flush the drains and I do that myself three times a day, which is quite disgusting. I'm still in a lot of pain, but I think the worst is behind me. It's good to be home, but a little scary, too. I have an appointment Monday with radiology to check on the drains and a second appointment with my surgeon to check on the incisions. I have two small laparoscopic incisions where the surgeon failed to remove the appendix and one big incision where the appendix was removed, then there is one bigger incision from my belly button down where I was opened up to wash out the abscess. I also have four holes where the drains were placed. One drain was removed Monday because it was not removing any infection and the other three remain.

During this very scary ordeal, Abdslam was scheduled to arrive to Minnesota and was whisked quickly to Rochester where he spent a great deal of time getting familiar with the Mayo Clinic. This is not quite what we had in mind for our reunion, but I am so very thankful he has been here by my side through most of it. Currently, we're staying with at my parents' house for a few reasons. 1. I'm scared. 2. I haven't moved everything into my apartment because the burst appendix happened the weekend I was supposed to get all that done. 3. I cannot drive, nor can Abdslam legally and we would be totally isolated at the apartment. 4. There is nothing like a mom's TLC when you're sick. Once I get a handle on the pain and feel up to it, we'll move out to the apartment. Most likely by this weekend.

Thank god for family and especially for my parents. If it wasn't for my family, I don't think I would have gotten through this. I love you all so much and cannot thank you enough for all the love, prayers, and support you've given me the past few weeks.

February 11th!

Abdslam bought his ticket! He'll be arriving February 11th in Minneapolis at 8:07 pm!

Morocco/Peru Update

There were two phone calls today. One was from Abdslam. His visa is ready and he will pick it up tomorrow afternoon. Looks like he'll be here in time to be my valentine. So, while I'm very very excited about Abdslam to make his way to America, I'm also very very worried about my sister and her travels to America.

Which brings me to the second phone call. My sister, Sara, has been studying abroad in Peru for the past three weeks. If you haven't heard about Peru in the news, there has been a lot of rain and flooding in the past week. Sara, along with her school group, visited the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu. And if you haven't heard about Machu Picchu in the news, there are currently 2,000 tourists stranded there due to the flooding. There is one train that is the only way out of the nearby village and it has been flooded over. So, the Peruvians and tourists are stranded with no way out, waters rising, and the possibility of a dam breaking. Sara called last night to let us know that the US Marines will be airlifting people via helicopter. Her group is in line to be evacuated, but it's a very long line. They're starting with the elderly and sick, then women with children, and then people like Sara. Let's all pray that the rains subside and Sara gets on a helicopter soon and comes home!

I love you, Sara!

One Step Closer...

Yesterday was Abdslam's interview at the US Consulate in Casablanca. And he passed with flying colors! The whole experience sounded really positive for him, so I couldn't be happier.

The interview was scheduled for 8:00 am, so I called him at 12:30 our time to wish him good luck (even though we knew he wouldn't need it!). Then, I settled in for a restless night of sleep. I had anxious dreams of him not passing, my phone not working, and a trip to Morocco to help him. Finally, he called at 6:50 am to let me know he had passed and everything went well.

Later on, he told me more details over skype. He said he arrived early to find a lot of other people waiting outside the Consulate, so he joined them. Then, he was taken inside through a metal detector, another metal detector, and finger-printed. He waited in a room for a few hours along with everybody else. When a person is called to interview, they are taken to a ticket booth of sorts, and interviewed by an American embassy worker from behind the glass. Everyone in the room can easily eavesdrop on the other interviews taking place.

So, when they called Abdslam's name he was taken to a man behind one of these windows. The first thing the man said to him was, "When you see your fiancee, make sure you tell her that my high school team used to beat her team." Abdslam said he was too nervous to ask the man which city he was from, but they both had a good chuckle together. Next, the man asked if Abdslam had any photos. I had prepared and sent over a large photo album full of photos from the day we met until the day I returned to the states. The man quickly flipped through the pages and asked Abdslam, "Where did you meet her?" Abdslam told him the story of how we met at the youth camp, that I coordinated as a Peace Corps volunteer, and how he was working as a couneslor with the Ministry of Youth and Sport. The man commented to Abdslam, "Yeah, she looks like a Peace Corps volunteer." AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE INTERVIEW!! All that preparation, and he was only asked ONE question!

After that, the man kept Abdslam's passport and handed him a piece of paper. Feeling a little confused, Abdslam asked, "Excuse me, did I get the visa?" And the man replied, "Don't worry about anything, they should call you in 7-10 days." And that was it!

It's funny to think how over-prepared Abdslam was for this interview. We generated a list of possible questions they might ask him including obscure information like the year I graduated high school, pets' names, where my sisters went to college, etc. And for evidence of our relationship, I printed out our entire skype chat and call history, all emails, all the letters he sent to me through the mail, photos, and even a letter of support from my parents...and he asked to see only the photos.

I think they must have decided he was approved before he came in for his interview. And they were basically meeting him to collect the documents necessary to make the visa (birth certificate, police report, medical interview, etc), collect the visa fee and passport, and just verify that he is who he says he is.

Now, we're just waiting for that phone call from the Consulate to inform him his visa has been processed and is ready to be picked up! Unfortunately, we have no idea when that will happen! But, hopefully it will only take a few days!

As soon as he gets the phone call, he will buy his ticket to come to Minnesota and we will set a date for our wedding! Until then, we'll be (again) patiently waiting.

Interview a month away!

Minnesota update: It's been a busy month. I'm working full-time now, so that cut into my lounging around time quite a bit. The job's going well, but I have a lot left to learn. Next on my list of to-dos is buying a car.

Morocco update: Abdslam traveled to Casablanca to get all his important documents (birth certificate, police report, etc) officially translated into English. This cost him the equivalent to $150, so it was quite a bit. He also made an appointment with the Consulate-approved doctor, to get his required phsycial and immunizations. Everything's up to snuff, so no worries there. The last week he's been preparing for his interview questions. They'll ask a lot of personal questions about me, so he's trying to make sure he's left no stone unturned. Memorizing extended family member names, places, dates, etc.

Merry Christmas, Senna Saida, and Happy New Year!

2010...The Year of Jen

That's what Megan's been saying to me all along and now I'm starting to believe it's true! I'm starting to think that things happen in pairs for me. I found out Abdslam's visa petition was in Morocco the same day I got a job. And on Monday, I started my first day of work and I was informed of Abdslam's interview date......

January 20, 2010!

Of course, I wish it was a little bit sooner than that, but I'll accept that date.