The A’s of August

Aaaaaaaugust, sweet August. I had a list for you! A summer bucket list! Places to go, people to see…but you had different plans for me.

I went to bed one Wednesday night with a massive headache and fever. Slept all the next day. Headache, fever, fatigue, body aches. But, Friday morning I woke up feeling somewhat better with a lower fever and I declared, “the show must go on!” For months I had planned to get to Pennsylvania that weekend for a training, so my friend and I packed up the car and traveled south! My symptoms still remained, but self-medicating seemed fine. We got to PA in 7 hours. Got some glimpses of Amish country. Very beautiful. I can now understand my husbands love affair with Pennsylvania. He has always tried to describe for me the horizon of farms and cornfields. Indeed, I saw lots of corn!

I attended some of my event on Friday night but cut out early in favor of sleep. Good nights sleep… but spiked my highest fever yet of 102.6. Woke up soaking from night sweats and thought the fever broke and I really felt like taking on the world! I took on the world for a few hours. Then, just before lunch got terrible chills and nausea. Voted on a trip to the Urgent Care, but they weren’t digging my insurance. Since the next day was our departure for home I just decided to hang in there and get home!

We took off early Sunday morning and I got several hours of good driving in. However, the nausea, fatigue, fever, headache were all still hanging on. When I noticed my decrease in urination combined with the deep color of my urine I was finally convinced that I needed help at the ER. Ben met me in our driveway and I didn’t even go into the house at all. We took straight off to Emerson Hospital. Blessed to have a quiet ER with no wait. I was seen quickly and got my veins poked around with. After a few hours they told me that I had classic symptoms of Anaplasmosis. I was familiar with this tick-borne illness as Alice had battled it in the spring. However, they also told me that my white blood cell level was very low and for that reason they would admit me overnight. I started some doxycycline, and they brought me a turkey sandwich on wonder bread around 9pm and to me that tasted like a luxury gourmet delight!

The nurses and techs of Wheeler 4 at Emerson hospital were all wonderful, so was my craftmatic II adjustable bed. And getting to order a tuna melt at 8:00 in the morning, as well as all other meals, was also a delight. I had Dr. Paparello investigating my symptoms and checking things out. I was in very good hands. And I was so encouraged by all the online messages, friends and family visiting, the calls and for the assurance of prayers. Here’s where I camped out.

And lest me not forget to mention the fantastic Mr. Ben Holt, who held up for fort at home, caring for Alice, making food, visiting me, etc. If you were someone hoping to get regular updates on my health and were miffed that you did not, please make room for grace. When your spouse is hospitalized and you have a child to care for, it is somewhat a survival mode and making calls and updates to each person who wants details… and then add in that whole introvert thing…it just can’t always happen. Please understand. Ben and Alice were the pot of gold during my sickness, seeing them together, hearing all the things they accomplished or did with their time together. And, they visited me with ukelele and harmonica in-hand and brought some cheerfulness to my dark little corner room.

My sisters and my Mom and Dad were also a blessing with taking Alice at times, delivering yummies to our fridge, calling, etc. Thank you friends who brought meals and send cards, they were most welcome. I enjoyed Mac the therapy Dog and Volunteer Tom who came to sing and play his uke… a sweet little ” Oh jill…on the sweet by and by” song. That was cheerful. 🙂

And so, four days of sleep, hydration, potassium, antibiotics, blood tests, food, goodies dripping in my veins, therapy dogs visiting, clergy reading me scripture, and just a *little bit* of Family Feud seemed to help me replenish my white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet count enough to get me home on Thursday. From here I am waiting for lightheadedness to pass so I can move on to other things.

For there are other things I want to get to! The other “A” of August was….Accomplishments! I got certified as a REFIT instructor! That is the reason I was in PA, that was the training I was part of. In between headaches and chills… I was actually training for a fitness program, ha! REFIT is an awesome fitness experience that I first found online and fell in love with. I got to attend a training with the founders and glean lots of great info from them. Please come check out a class!! I will be teaching at Ginas Studio in Boxborough beginning in a few weeks and am so, so excited. Music, movement, fun, community… Please come check out a class if you are local! 🙂

love to all!
*jill*