Weirdness Lane

Hello.

It's been a while. I am not very consistent at my blogging.

I thought I'd share with you an email I sent to my supervisor last week to update you on my latest middle-aged adventure. I'm sure this could happen to anyone but sometimes I have to wonder if this is all part of getting older.

Here it is.

This has been the weirdest thing. 

I got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'm feeling much better but I think I'm going to give myself another day at home just to make sure.

So, when I got home from my mammogram on Tuesday afternoon, I noticed that my right arm was hurting. I thought it must have been from the way you have to position yourself in the mammogram machine and didn't think much of it - you know just an "I'm getting older and can't move like that kind of thing." I iced it that evening and went to bed. I started feeling gross in the night but again didn't think much of it. I was having night sweats, which isn't new, but was also having chills which was new. Wednesday morning I got up, got the kids off, and then went up to shower and get ready for work.I was feeling kinda gross but didn't think it was bad enough to stay home. My arm still hurt but I'm used to muscle pain from working out and figured it would go away. I was getting dressed and happened to look down at my right arm. It was bright red from my armpit down to my wrist.

"What the heck?" I thought. "Did they give me radiation burn yesterday? Am I radioactive?" Clearly I was thinking rationally.

I called the doctor and they told me to come in immediately.

When the doctor say my arm she gasped - not exactly reassuring. She called the hospital and they came over to the clinic with a wheelchair to take me to get an ultrasound as my doctor believed I had a blood clot.

No blood clot.

They were stumped.

Meanwhile, I was feeling much worse. They had wheeled me back to the clinic to wait for my ultrasound results.  Farmer Boy was holding me up and he went to ask the receptionist if  there was an empty room where I could lay down. When my doctor came back to tell me my results, she took a look at me and told me she was admitting me to the hospital. 

I was a bit confused. Didn't I look good? I had washed my hair that morning and my curls were rocking it.  Apparently I didn't look as good as I thought despite the fact that I was having a very good hair day. 

They hollered for another wheelchair, wheeled me over to the hospital, admitted me and finally took me to a bed. I so wanted a bed. They started an IV with fluids and a heavy duty antibiotic, thinking that I had MIRSA. Of course, I had an allergic reaction to that antibiotic so at this point I was red and rashy, kinda like a tomato with good hair. I looked purty.

They switched my antibiotics, gave me some good pain meds and I finally started feeling better. An infectious disease doctor came in and looked at me. He asked me a bunch of questions and what he landed on was that I picked up something last week when I went in for my annual physical and gave blood. The vein where they took blood from on my right arm is kinda big and swollen and so that was his best guess. He thinks it's a strep virus that entered in at the 'poke' point when I gave blood.

So that's what's going on.

So strange. I'm feeling better but kinda run down. I think my body is still fighting the infection. I go back into the doctor today so she can look at me again. I honestly think they are not sure what happened. They are hoping the antibiotic I'm on now well get it. My arm is still red, streaky, a bit hot and tender but it is better. I don't look like a rashy tomato anymore. I haven't run a fever with any of it. It's just plain weird.

And that's that.

A trip down weirdness lane.

Although my week last week did not go as planned, I was reminded of how much I am loved and cared for. I think we always need that reminder don't you? When we are loved, we are safe and I easily forget that.

Plus, on my journey down weirdness lane, I got flowers. Lots of them.

 Some from my sweet sister. 

And these from my lovely Lizzy who thought they should earn her "Favorite Child" status.

Loved. Loved. Loved.

Weird. But always love.