I met Tyler around February 2018. We were doing a procedure called an Atrial Fibrillation Ablation (what a mouthful!) and we typically have the anesthesia department sedate patients for this type of procedure. Tyler was that person from anesthesia and he brought a student CRNA with him. I was going to "nurse" the procedure, which involves sedating patients, dropping sterile supplies, charting, etc., but a big part of that job (sedation) was going to be managed by Tyler and his student that day. So, we both had a bit more free time during the 3 hour procedure than normal.
Tyler was kind, and chatty. We small talked. I found out he was from Colorado and doing cross-fit. He found out I liked to paint and had just started grad school 6 months prior, to which he replied, "oh... so you JUST got started." I still laugh remembering a coworker saying, "Well.. you guys were sure talking a lot. You should date him!"
I started to see Tyler in the halls, or at least started noticing him in the halls, around the hospital. Eventually, we were going on a date at the end of October. I say, "we were going," because this story wouldn't involve Tyler Preszler if it didn't involve hunting, and he had completely forgotten that we were meeting up. Thankfully, I'd found out he was in a tree stand before I left for the restaurant! Ty redeemed himself the following week and we have been having a blast together since!
-Abby
August 4th 2020
I had gone to my clinical site on Tuesday and planned on going home to have lunch with Tyler. I decided to not do that because someone had brought in lunch that day from a restaurant in town and... free lunch.. need I say more? Tyler text me shortly after and asked if I had wanted to go have a picnic at Black Island, which is some farm ground along a river we go to often. We had talked about going a few times and I hadn't thought much of it.
When I had gotten home he was in quite a hurry to get going. He had everything packed up and off we went! We found a spot along the water, which was conveniently mowed by my brother a few days before. It was absolutely gorgeous out-- it had been so hot and humid this summer, but it was a perfect sunny and 75 day! There weren't any bugs out and Tyler had made the comment that it was so perfect out. I laugh now because I was cutting up food when we arrived and Tyler said, "well... we aren't going to eat THAT much," but I was.. hungry.. again!
A few minutes later he had started slapping his own arms, mentioning that the bugs were coming out and asked me to grab his thermacell (a bug repeller) out of his backpack. Instead of his thermacell, there was a small black box instead. I kind of froze and was surprised how.. surprised I was. I knew he'd gone and probably had gotten a ring, but it still surprised me. He stood us up and said some beautifully thought out things-- of which I remember none of. I do remember him asking me to marry him and all I seemed to be able to mutter out was..."um.. yeah!"
It's quite a joke now and I'm sure I will never live it down, but it took me a minute to catch up with what was happening! My brother and sister in law were waiting not far away and they snapped a few photos/had a glass of André champagne with us! Tyler had also planned for some of our close friends to meet us for dinner not long after and we celebrated the night away!
-Abby
