Happy New Year!

Two weeks ago, I was sick.  I didn’t realize how sick I was.  I had had a cough and a fever for four days and I figured my lack of voice was due to all the coughing; not knowing I had pneumonia in my right lung. 

We came home from Michigan on Thursday…my cough was ridiculous. When I would leave the van for pit stops, the cold air was a shock and I would launch into uncontrollable coughing.

The last stop was brutal. A side effect of having four children is that your pelvic floor muscles can get a little lazy.  Coughing squeezes certain organs, combined with little muscle tone and yes, I’m peeing myself while coughing…I won’t say if it was in the privacy of my van or in the middle of Arbys, it certainly was not my finest moment. 

Did I mention that I looked like the walking dead? I just wanted to be able to do my makeup..and my hair..and not look like a sea hag.  I’m vain like that.

We made it home in one piece and settled in for the night.  I managed to prop up on our sectional and sleep a little. 

The next morning I managed a shower before we went to urgent care.   I had to rest, I felt very weak.  Finally we made it to urgent care.  There was a two hour wait and mercifully my sweet Al waited for me in the waiting room so I could rest in the van.  I was finally called back and it with in forty minutes I was being loaded into an ambulance and taken to the emergency room. 

It was first time in an ambulance.  I’ll admit, when the ambulance driver opened the door, I was taken a little aback.  He was a big ole’ country boy that I want so badly to call Skeeter; he even had a mullet..and wore jeans. He was very strong, since he was able to balance me on the gurney into the ambulance single handedly.   If anything, he certainly adds some lightness to the memory of that day. 

Upon arriving at the ER, I was given my room.  A room I shared with a twenty-something girl who needed to have a nurse sit with her the entire time.  I’m a little snobby in that when I’m sick, I just want to be alone.

My blood pressure which had been normal at the urgent care shot way up.  I just wanted to feel better.  There was a urine sample…that I had to give after a sweet grandma used the potty.  Let me just say, she was not a sweetie, she did not wipe the seatie….

There was a chest x-ray…and an IV..it all runs together.  Ultimately, I was admitted and given a room.  Al went home to check on the kids while I waited to transfer.  I had a visit from a nurse who asked me why they said they were admitting me.  I needed to ask questions about the chest x-ray…it showed something serious with my heart(!) “Ask Questions” is what she left me with. 

Well, that was a little disconcerting.  Ultimately, I was not scared.  The words…an enlarged heart, didn’t scare me.  I know where I’m going when the Lord calls me home.  A heart monitor was attached to me and I was sent to the second floor. 

I got settled and talked to the doctor.  I asked about the chest x ray and she said inflammation was not uncommon with the pneumonia.  Her exact words are a blur.  I shared with Al what was told me about my heart.  We immediately started to pray. 

I remember how hard it was to sleep.  I was coming off some major adrenaline.  I was on oxygen and my lungs were finding relief.  I dozed in and out and woke with the thought that “life suddenly gets personal if you think you’re about to lose it.”   I am so grateful to get to continue to be my kid’s mom and my husband’s wife; I really don’t want to take it for granted.   

Sunday, before my release, a new chest x ray was done and my heart was back to normal.  I was cleared to go home.  By Thursday, my lungs were clear.  It’s still a slow recovery, I’m determined to not overdo it and cause a relapse. 

What will I do with my new found consciousness?  I will try to live more present in the moment.  I will continue to serve my Father and try to bring glory to His name.  I will take in the teaching of        Proverbs 31:16 in the amplified Bible:  She considerers  a (new) field before she buys or accepts it (expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties) with her savings (of time and strength) she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

Praise God for this mountain He brought me over.  I am humbled by His love and faithfulness.