Not for Boys or the Faint of Heart

I know, I know.. it's been a while. But wait, I have a really good excuse! I pondered on whether to share this post or not. Well since the original purpose was to be able to keep up with family and friends I decided to do it. I will warn you... guys probably shouldn't read it at all.

Over the past few weeks I have been dragging. Getting showered and dressed was a major chore. Trying to get all the Christmas decorations put away was almost impossible, and I will admit that they are still not all put in their proper place. I knew why I felt this way; its happened before. And besides, I'm one tough cookie. I could handle it and it would pass eventually. It was only my "female problem" which had been with me since the first of December. And everyday I thought- surely today will be the last day.

Well it wasn't. I will spare you gory details, but Monday I started feeling bad while taking my shower, so I decided to get out. Within about 2 minutes I had passed out on the bathroom floor. Thankfully I didn't get hurt and I wasn't out for long. When I came to, I went and laid down in my bed and thought about whether I should call J to come home. After 20 minutes, I decided to do just that. He insisted that I go to the ER. So we did. After a series of Blood Work, EKG and ultrasound, they told me my blood count was dangerously low and I definitely needed a blood transfusion. That begin to get my attention. My ob/gyn on call ordered me to take 2 units of blood! The ER Nurse Practitioner promptly gave me a lecture on how my heart was trying to compensate for the lack of blood. I acknowledged that I had experienced rapid heart palpitations when I tried to exert myself in anyway... making my bed, etc. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I could have easily had a heart attack. I was in hopes I could take my 2 units of blood and go home. Not so!! The on-call ob/gyn ordered me up to a room overnight and said I could go home in the morning.

Morning arrived and so did my regular ob/gyn. He busted my bubble big time and said I must stay at least 24 hours because they were giving me something to stop my problem and he wanted to make sure it worked before he'd released me. I won't bore you with the hourly details, but long story short, he didn't let me go home until 6pm on Wed. I am doing much better. I felt better immediately after the transfusion. He let me know that it absolutely can not happen again. I will see him in two weeks to discuss my "options". I don't know what those options are right now, but I am guessing its anywhere from daily medication to surgery. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I am so thankful that I am better. I am most grateful for blood donors right now. I have never given blood, because I am so scared of needles and they have a really hard time finding my viens. It made me think long and hard about that. I used 2 units! Maybe I will be able to muster up the courage one day. I think I have to wait 12 months after the transfusion to give anyway. If you are a blood donor... THANK YOU! What if they had to tell me "I'm sorry, we just don't have any blood for you". That would be horrible!

Before my little hospital rendezvous, I got a little decorating done, thanks to a friend. ( I had to repeatedly sit down because my heart was racing and she did all the work.) What we got done looks great and I plan to taking some pictures over the next week and sharing them. Much more fun that this post! :)