Saturday was my first event for selling my books in Sumner and I want to thank all of you who came out! While I sold some books, I need to thank my mother in law for all of the work she did with creating gift bags and decorating the table! Everything looked great and she even made me want to buy them😊   

 Not only that, she sat with me the entire time and kept me company! So a very big thank you!!! She is so awesome because I have no creativity and would have been lost without her help! 

So, after a fun but long day, I ended up in the ER that night. Ha, yep, while I was finally feeling healthier again, I had developed a cough, a very nasty cough, followed by extreme chest pressure and sharp pain, shooting through my left chest to the back of my left shoulder blade. The pain had become so intense in my chest that it hurt to breathe and it hurt to move now. But I have felt fine otherwise!

I will admit I got a little nervous as my left lung is my good lung, and this chest pain and pressure, is exactly how it felt on my right side when we first discovered the mass on my right lung. My headaches also began to worsen on Saturday and the fact I had no other symptoms except for the cough and chest pain, I decided to go to the walk in clinic. 

Tim was at chores and I figured it might be a little bit of a hassle due to the symptoms I would have to describe but I braved it…I took Leah and Asher with me😬

First off, I need to figure out what doctor I saw in the clinic because she was awesome! Even though she looked at me with complete horror at first and asked why I wasn’t at the ER, she did listen to me explain my history and the fact that these “life threatening symptoms” are typical for me. However, the fact that I have never had any pain or discomfort on my left side, she just didn’t feel comfortable giving me antibiotics and sending me on my way, especially when she had asked me what symptoms led to my FM diagnosis… I had told her a cough that wouldn’t go away! Dang it, I said too much, what a rookie mistake! Just shows how much pain I was in as I couldn’t even think to leave out certain details that I knew would get me admitted 😉

I was escorted to the emergency room where an IV was started, an ekg was done as well as lab work and then a chest X-ray was to follow. In the meantime I had texted Tim letting him know that my trip to the clinic had resulted in an ER admit. So there I sat in my gown with an IV, along with Leah and Asher waiting patiently to get my X-ray  done…   

 Oh wait…did I say patiently, ER and kids in the same sentence?!  While Leah did great and sat quietly coloring, it only took a few minutes for Asher to realize it was a free for all. In no time he was throwing colors and digging through my purse throwing whatever he could get his hands on. But after I had to chase him out of my room trying to keep my IV from ripping out and my gown from falling down, I sent Tim the text…”get here now!” Thankfully Tim showed up just before they came in to take me for my chest X-ray. 

The X-Ray took no time at all and then I was back in the room and while Tim kept asking me questions, Asher’s voice got louder and I pretty much begged Tim to take them home. Haha! But really, for being in this situation, the kids did great and I really can’t expect too much from them even when I was anxious and wanted to run out of the room with them!

I did also apologize over and over to Tim as once again I felt like a burden, him having to rush straight from chores to come get the kids because I got stuck in the hospital!

He simply gave me a kiss, said he loved me and took the kids to McDonalds as I waited for the doctor to come in with the X-ray results. So far the labs and ekg looked okay…given my health status. Finally the doctor came in and said “good news, you’re not having a heart attack.” Go figure!

He continued to say that the X-ray looked about the same as it did from the last scan they had on file. He again said everything he checked for, cardiac wise, looked fine. He then followed by saying he was able to see all my “stuff” on the X-ray and it was “kind of neat.” I couldn’t help but giggle because with all the words to describe me, this was by far the best! I was sent on my way with them telling me Iowa City should be able to figure me out as I had informed him of my heart follow up this week. 

So there you have it, after 5 hours I was reassured I’m not having a heart attack. Of course I was relieved that my left lung still seems okay, but it was once again the reality of FM…painfully severe symptoms where doctors take immediate action to rule out deadly problems…and once the tests come back fine…I’m simply sent home to deal with the pain and the symptoms…just what’s to be expected with this disease! 

Sunday, I was able to make it to church with the family but it was a struggle…but I made it! We also went out to dinner with my in laws. Sunday’s are always nice but I also appreciated the nap I was able to get in! Tim, however, not so much of a nice relaxing Sunday! 

It’s December yet we had a tremendous amount of rainfall this weekend, so much that the basement in our farmhouse we’re renting out flooded. Like our weekend wasn’t eventful enough!? Mind you, this is our old house and it’s been an issue before so always an easy fix…at least that was Tim’s assumption.

I don’t know all of the details but I do know we now have a cracked, bulging (sounds like my back😳) basement floor from all the pressure of the water coming up from the ground…it actually cracked the cement!! Tim did not get home until almost midnight…does that time sound right Aunt Nancy?😉 He did have to stop for milk though too! Haha! 

Thank you to our tenants and Uncle James for helping to get the flooding under control! 

Overall, not a terrible weekend😋 Sold some books, got to have a nice day of visiting with my mother in law and kids are staying healthy!

And, today was a much better day for both of us! I am still having the pressure and cough but I know my left lung still looks good so hopefully these symptoms will subside soon! I am also feeling confident about my new job responsibilities. Then Tim was able to get away from the farm a little bit longer today and do some quick last minute shopping! 

I will be going to Iowa City for a follow up on my heart on Wednesday and then Friday I return to my infamous eye doctor to see if the 4th eye surgery took this time…which I have no comment on.😎 

Happy Monday everyone and it’s still raining so stay dry out there!!