The worst experience EVER!!!!!!!

I left you all with the same open ended story that we had on Friday morning. We had high hopes for something to get better, but we couldn't have predicted what was about to happen. My mom got here just after 9 in the morning to take care of Jason so that I could rest and try to recover from whatever it was that was causing my neck swelling. You see, even though Jason had this terrible ear infection, he seemed fine. Not once did he show any signs of being sick. If he hadn't told me that his ears were boo boos, I would have never even thought to bring him in to the doc. So, he was mad that I was so sick and couldn't play. When my mom showed up, it was a huge relief for the little man.

Jason and mom spent the rest of the morning doing things while I rested and napped. Then after lunch I layed down for a nap. When I woke up, I felt much worse. When I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, I thought I was imagining things. My neck couldn't be that big. I walked into the kitchen and as soon as mom saw me, she said, We need to go to the ER. So, we quickly packed everything up, woke up Wild Man and headed out. I called Colin, who was out in the field (still a little sick, but much better) and we went up to check in. This was just before 3 in the afternoon. They sent me upstairs (even though there was a possibility I had the mumps) to labor and delivery to get the baby checked. After 30 minutes of checking the baby... who was in excellent condition by the way.... we went back downstairs. I checked in at exactly 3:38. This is easy to remember since I had to write it down on one of the forms. Mom, Jason and I waited for over an hour before Colin made it back to town, but there was no chance of him missing anything. We told mom that her and Jason could head back to the house because we didn't know how long this would take. It was a good thing. With each minute that passed my neck got bigger. It was getting difficult to breath and was beyond painful. I thought it was going to split open or that I wasn't going to be able to breath anymore. It was so big that I could no longer drink or eat. At about 7 I started to believe from the bottom of my heart that I was going to die. Even if they did get me in, I was sure that they wouldn't know what to do to make me better. Every time I went to sleep I woke up with my neck much larger, so I was sure that the next time I closed my eyes, it would be the last time I did so. Needless to say...... things weren't good. At 7:45 they finally brought me back to a room. This is one of those hospitals that you hear about people that wait in the waiting room for 13 hours and die because they didn't get the help they needed.

When I got back to a room a nurse had me put on a gown and took my vitals.... It wasn't good. My blood preasure was really high and my pulse was around 140. Thank goodness my blood oxygen level was still ok. Then the doc came in and told me from the get go... we are going to find out was is causing this, I won't send you home without answers and some antibiotics. Then it was time for them to take more blood and at the same time they put me on IV fluids. It turns out I was very dehydrated. We were back there for hours. After 3 liters of fluid were put into me, the results were in. I had an infection in my lymphnodes. It was a really bad one. So, they gave me a bag of antibiotics through the IV and I have to say, I was relieved to have some kind of answer. It was 10:30 and even though Colin and I were very tired, I was begining to feel better from the fluids and we were both just so happy that something was getting done. My neck was still huge. We didn't take any pics at that point...... even though we should have.... It was the last thing on our minds though. Once the antibiotic was in me, we were getting released (this was around 11:30 pm). The nurse and doctor did some last checks of my vitals and of the baby, who was wild as ever, and they gave me a few instructions. Even though we live less than 5 minutes from the hospital, they warned me that if it gets any bigger and there was even a little doubt that I could get to the hospital in a very short period of time that I needed to call 911. I really can't descibe how big my neck was in a way that is even a little believable. It was very frightening. Colin and I finally got home around midnight. I hadn't eaten since 11:30am and was very hungry. Colin was tired and hungry too. So, mom had made soup for us and left it on the stove. After a small bite, I closed my eyes still questioning if it would be the last time I saw my family.

At 5:30 in the morning (I was so dehydrated I didn't even get up to go potty after all of those fluids) I got up to take some Tylenol for the pain and when I looked in the mirror..... I was in shock. The swelling had went down. Mom saw me and thought I looked worse, but from the time that I left the hospital, there was no comparison. I went back to bed and when I woke up at 8, it was even better. I have to say that it was still bigger than the pictures. Things have just gotten better since. My neck is near where it was in the pictures now and I have to say I have never been so thankful to be alive. I really thought I wasn't going to make it. It is a sad reality, but in the end things are working out. Colin and I have rested for the rest of this weekend and we are feeling so much better. Life is an amazing thing that is so very precious and I can tell you that I couldn't be more thankful for everything that I have. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers, because I believe that has helped so very much. It has been a tough go of it, but I feel like things are really getting better now. I can see my jaw line and I can eat and drink. LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!!!!! Thank you mom for helping out so much. We couldn't have made it through the weekend without your help. THANK YOU!!!!! Now back to regular life.

Tomorrow I have another doctors appointment so I will have more info on the newest Moody Man in the evening. I hope all of you are doing well. Take care................ OK.... Sorry no pics, they won't post. I will try again later. Have a great day.