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Christi Diggs
on May 23 2013 - 06:00 AM
A drop of spin, a cup of deception and tsp. politics=Apathy
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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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I don't understand. I'm a healthy person. I eat pretty healthy. Okay, well, I drink a lot of pop. But I also drink a lot of water so get off my case! I don't eat a lot of meat or fried foods. I almost never eat drive-through. I get excercise and plenty of sleep. I have hobbies and a social life. So why is my body a wreck? I may never get an answer. I've been dealing with being sick most of my life.
This time, however, it almost ruined Easter.
For about a week, I had been having a stomach aches. At first, I blamed the coffee. I do drink a lot of it. Then I blamed what I thought was bad peanut butter. Remember that time when they recalled all the peanut butter? Then I thought I had a urinary tract infection. On Thursday, instead of going to the store after work to get candy and such for the kids' Easter baskets, I left work early to visit urgent care because I was in so much pain.
I was sure they were going to tell me I had a UTI. But as I sat in the waiting room, my pain got worse and worse. I overheard people complaining that they had been waiting for over an hour, and I panicked. I told the nurses at the desk I needed to see someone soon. I was getting worse, and I had tears in my eyes. Graciously, the doctor saw me, then promptly sent me to the emergency room.
I was scared. Can you imagine? The last time I was in the ER it was thanks to a drug interaction from some new medications for my fibromyalgia. I could have died that time, and I couldn't help but think the worst this time. If not a UTI, then what? It hurt worse on my right side. My colon is over there. And my back hurt so bad! My kidneys are back there.
"You'd give me a kidney, wouldn't you?" I asked my husband while we waited for the test results.
"Of course," he said, and he continued to spoonfeed me my applesauce. What a guy!
Just as I was passing out from the pain meds, the doctor came in with a satisfied look on his face. He was almost laughing, I think because the diagnosis was so easy, not to mention surprising.
"You have diverticulitis," he said, without a doubt. "You're awfully young for this," he continued. "We see this mostly in patients over age 50. But it's clear that's what you have. We saw it in the scan right away."
Of course. I am intolerant to every food, react badly to every medication, and catch the deadliest colds. Of course I would have a condition reserved for folks almost twenty years older than me.
But I wasn't going to let this ruin our Easter. Oh, no. Sure, I could barely walk upright, had to closely watch my diet for the next few days, and was pretty much worthless to anyone. This was not going to ruin Easter! My mother in law was in town, too, and I wanted to have a good weekend.
We have our traditions just like any other holiday. I rested as much as I could on Friday and Saturday. Then, I snuck out on Saturday and hobbled, slowly so as to not upset my intestines, through the aisles of the store where I scooped up all of the Easter holiday treats.
I love, LOVE springtime, which means we go all out. I always have a basket for the kids, and it always has random candies, Peeps, a solid chocolate bunny, a stuffed animal, a Cadbury Creme Egg, jelly beans, and a kite. Some years I stick in a toy, but we can't always afford it. It was slim pickin's at the store since it was the day before Easter. Stupid diverticulitis kept me from shopping on Thursday.
But I wasn't going to get mad! No, this was gonna be great! I napped, shopped for goodies, then we all dyed our eggs.
The kids woke up the next morning to the chocolaty baskets I... I mean, Easter Bunny... had left outside their doors. I normally make bunny pancakes on Sunday, but Marc wanted French toast. He's the boss. My meds were working great and as long as I didn't move too fast I could get the breakfast made.
And then, the Great Egg Hunt of 2012 commenced in our backyard!
The only thing missing was the planting. We're not religious, so we celebrate spring for our Easter. I give a speech about the changing of the seasons and how grateful we are for the spring so we can have flowers and food. Then we plant something. I was way too wiped to plant anything. Stupid diverticulitis.
Later on, Marc told me he was glad I was home. Diane, my mother in law, told me that when she picked Marc up from school that Thursday I was in the ER that he was really worried I was going to miss Easter. Charlotte snuggled up to me at one point. "Mommy, are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay?"
"I want to watch Oh Dappa Dappa!" (Read: Yo Gabba Gabba).
Heh. Compassion is fleeting in a two year old, but it's there!
And I'm feeling so very much better. Though I must say, I am getting a little tired of not feeling good. I guess that's the hand I was dealt, though, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let sickness keep me from enjoying my life.
I had to look this one up. I remember my grandmother talking about Diverticulitus, but never really knew what it was. WebMD has a pretty good description & it sounds painful. I hope that you are feeling better now & that you can plant this weekend (last night's frost may have harmed the new plant anyway).My sister-in-law has diverticulitus and she didn't respond to the treatment, therefore she had to have a colon resection surgery to remove the affected part of her colon to prevent complications and future diverticulitis... Before surgery it was very painful for her, as I'm sure it was for you! I hope your feeling better now.....I am sorry you were sick for Easter, but glad you are on the mend. Several co-workers have dealt with this and it sounds so miserable. I know that you deal with a spectrum of stuff and I always hope you will find some kind of relief :)Val, I hope you are feeling better. My husband has a mild case of diverticulitis. He takes fiber pills, and that seems to help it. I know you are supposed to avoid eating popcorn and nuts, which can get lodged into the pockets of the colon. My dad had a severe case several years ago and ended up with a colostomy, where you have to have BMs in a bag. Thankfully, they reversed it several months later.You ended up with a tough one to spell and explain. I must admit with all my colon issues that has never been one of them. And yes with Fibro it seems there is always something coming up and we never really feel very good. Downright crappy a lot. Glad you are on the mend and you managed to enjoy your Easter.
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