Saturday, September 18, 2010

I Love Him..

That's all..
I know I have a lot of updating to do.. but I got this picture tonight, and I thought I would share... not only does this handsome man love me, despite everything, he also has made my dreams come true, in so many ways, but he's also given me the cutest litter a bitch could hope for! ;)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Storyland, Lyme, and a Stroke..

It has been one hell of a week..let me tell you! I'll start at the beginning.. last Thursday morning my mom called me from her apartment downstairs saying that she needed to go to the E.R. because the left side of her face was numb. Thankfully, my sister was here and was able to bring her (otherwise, I would have had to call an ambulance because as big as my loser cruiser is, it still won't fit 7 kids in it).
It wasn't long that I got a call from my mom who had been told that she had had a stroke. jeezus. They were confident that it was a small one, but still, a stroke none the less.
She was put into the progressive care unit, a step down from the intensive care unit and closely monitored. I went to see her later that day, and while I was at work, I started to get an intense pain in my left arm. It lasted all night, but was gone by the morning.. My mom was put into a "normal" room, and was improving. She suffered some weakness on her left side, but was quickly regaining her strength.
The next night, I started having the left arm pain again, only this time, it was more intense. I've always had a high tolerance for pain, but this was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was getting worried at this point.. but then I woke up on Saturday morning, and again the pain was gone. We had been planning an over night trip with the kids to Storyland for our last summer hoorah. I wasn't comfortable leaving while my mother was still in the hospital, but she insisted that we keep our plans, and the kids would have been devestated.
So, off we went early Saturday morning to the funnest place on Earth (or at least the funnest place in Northern NH for kids 10 and under..) It was a beautiful day, and we all had a really fun time. I got a call from my sister around noon, letting me know that my mom was going to be discharged that day, and that she was feeling much better. My older sister would spend the night with her, in case she needed anything. This was a huge relief, and I enjoyed the rest of the day with my family.
We checked into our "suite" later that afternoon. The kids were in awe of where we were staying (and really, for the money, it was awesome) We had a seperate bedroom for my husband and I, a murphy bed in the living room, a pullout couch, balcony, and a full kitchen. It was great. They also had a heated pool, and a hot tub. The boys couldn't wait to go swimming, so we started the long task of getting 4 kids ready for the pool. While changing in the bathroom, I noticed a red mark on my back, near my shoulder blade. A bullseye. It all clicked. The pain in my arm for the past two nights..it was lyme disease.
For the second time that day, I felt relief. While I wasn't psyched at all about lyme disease, at least I knew it wasn't something to do with my heart, or a pinched nerve in my neck. I googled everything I could about it, before I was dragged down to the pool by my family.
It wasn't until later, while we were at dinner, that the pain in my arm came back, and I started getting the chills. Since I had gotten out of the pool, I couldn't warm up. I had a fever. Later that night, I emailed blogless (who is also a nurse) and asked her advice..she called me and said I should be fine, but that I needed to see a doctor soon. I planned on heading to the E.R. when I got home the next day.
So, to sum it all up.. my mom is doing better, but she's tired. I'm on the  mend, but I think it's going to be a while until I'm back to myself. I must have gotten the tick bite a few weeks ago. I remember thinking that I had gotten a mosquito bite, and when I went to scratch it one day, something came off (quite painfully too) Then I kept telling myself that I needed to check on that.. but like most things that don't concern my kids or what I'm doing at that percise moment, it slipped my mind. That should teach me!
In other non sickness related news, my boys started school yesterday. Second and Fifth grade.. my youngest son didn't want to go.. he was nervous.. what if he couldn't do 2nd grade math?? But he came home and had had an "awesome" first day.. and his teacher was soooo nice! Yay for that.. My oldest son couldn't wait to get back and see all of his friends.. he was also very excited because his teacher this year is our next door neighbor, and she's great! They're both off to a good start!!