A few weeks ago we had our big family vacation at the beach with all of my mom's side of the family (Over 30 of us!) I love being with my family SO much, but this time felt a little different. I know the pain meds do alter my mood some, but I often felt frustrated and slighted watching my cousins do whatever they wanted without much thought. Lay out on the beach, jump the waves, go play putt putt, go for boat rides in the canal, etc. Every one of those things required much more for me. How long can I stay in the heat? I need a ziploc bag to go around the bottom of my cane so it doesn't get covered in sand... I can't get my medicine patch too wet so I shouldn't go swimming... I can't walk very far so putt putt is out of the question. I am SOO very thankful my family is healthy, but I couldn't help those jealous feelings of wanting to do everything they were doing and not have to think about if I was able to or not.
A few days into the vacation, my doctor called about the MRI of my cervical spine. He was thinking that the dizziness, and one-sided weakness and numbness may have something to do with that area and wanted to check it out just to be safe. Usually, with tests, I'll get a call from the nurse who leaves a message "just letting you know that your scans/blood work were normal. Call us if you have any questions". This time I woke up to a voicemail from the doctor himself saying "I'm calling about your MRI results. I'll try you back in a little while." My heart sank to my feet. About half way through breakfast, he called again and I walked away from the noise to answer. He said my c spine was covered in osteophytes (like bone spurs) and they were causing narrowing in my spinal column. It was a pretty safe bet that these were causing a lot of the symptoms. He told me I would hear from a neurosurgeon soon about making an appointment. On one hand, I was panicking and silent tears started streaming down my face. On the other hand, I was glad there was at least an answer and maybe a fix to the problem. While I was dealing with the shock of the phone call, I was also on my way to urgent care at the beach. I had a swollen lymph node behind my ear, and some sinus symptoms. I mostly wanted to double check the lump behind my ear. I ended up having a full blown sinus infection that was fairly masked by the pain meds I was on. After a shot of steroids and a shot of antibiotics, I started feeling back on track. (What an exciting beach week so far! Hah!)
After the first few days of the vacation bearing all of this weight of more medical things, my mom decided to find a healing service at Pawleys. Wednesday morning, I went with my parents to this adorable, tiny chapel to just pray and feel God's presence. We were four hours from home, in a chapel with 9 little pews on each side, and two rows in front of us were two of my Bible Study leaders. WOW! I felt this huge sense of peace. God, how did you know I needed some familiar faces? Especially two women who help me in my walk with you! The service was beautiful. A few songs, communion, and a lot of prayer. After the service, the pastor laid hands on me and prayed over my physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Its truly amazing what a mid-week healing service can do when you are feeling down.
Once I got home from the beach I had several appointments. One was internal medicine. I had been having fevers for a week or more, but no obvious symptoms otherwise. She ran some bloodwork and said she would get back to me. The neurosurgeon appointment was uneventful. The ostephytes are definitely pressing into my spinal cord and I got to see the MRI. Its crazy how you can see where it is pushing into the spine. (The places that look like holes...bigger ones toward the top then smaller)
Friday we started to move our business Two Sisters Embroidery to a bigger retail space. EXCITING! Mid-way through the move, the doctor called and said my white blood cell count came back elevated which means there is indeed an infection. Since it isn't in any obvious place I needed to go get blood cultures done at the hospital. Saturday night I was tucked in bed and I got a call from my doctor again. (Never a good thing when he or she calls after hours!) My blood culture was growing bacteria and I needed to go to the ER immediately to start IV antibiotics. UGH. I called my mom, got out of bed, and did the usual ER routine. (Grab socks, a jacket because they freeze you in there, a long charger cord for phone, and something to do)
We are all moved in our new space and I am still fighting off the infection (which ended up to be Staph) I am trying to do as much as I can, but my body is very weak from fighting so hard. God knew I would have a crazy week, so my EDS symptoms have been very manageable this week! Thank goodness :) Though I am still sick in other ways, He still only gives me what I can handle. (And He sure thinks I can handle a lot haha)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
xoxo
Riley
