Thank You Friends!

This past year has not been the best one on record for me health-wise. First I broke my foot, then I had a Colitis flare-up followed by a bad bacterial infection resulting from medication to treat the flare-up. Then I re-hurt my foot because I started exercising too quickly after healing. On New Years Day, I came down with strep throat which I hadn't had since high school, and just recently I had a very bad Colitis Flare-up again. For a girl who considers herself pretty healthy, these incidences one after the other with little reprieve in between have been just plain annoying. Every time I get better from one thing, something new happens. I am just hoping that this last bout of illness, because of its severity, will be my last for a while. It really takes a lot out of someone physically and mentally, to be sick for so long.

This recent Colitis flare-up began about three weeks ago while I was on vacation. All my usual symptoms started mildly and I immediately contacted my doctor and we began to try and get it under control.  After trying two medications that usually work, things actually started to get worse for me. A new type of pain and discomfort began to occur. The doctor had me come in and he ran some tests so we could get ahead of this. By this time, I was about 2 weeks into being sick and my pain was pretty bad. Try going to work everyday in almost excruciating pain, all while trying not to shit your pants in front of a group of high schoolers. Not fun. Wouldn't recommend it. I was pretty much miserable day after day and trying to hide it to the best of my ability while at work. But after throwing up at school, and toughing it out for one more day, I called the doctor again to try something new and had to call in sick the next two days hoping that those days off and the upcoming weekend would give me the rest and time with new medication to get me starting to feel better. Didn't happen. After my parents and friends tried to get me to go the ER for the past 4 days, I finally conceded, and trekked across the street to the hospital. (I am very lucky one of the very best hospitals in the area is so close to my apartment.) I have not been to the ER since I was first diagnosed with Colitis eight years ago, and even then they kept me as long as they could without having to admit me. That was traumatic enough of an event being so sick without my parents, but at least I could go back to my apartment at the end of the day. This time around I was not so lucky. They were admitting me to the hospital. I really couldn't believe it. I thought I'd get some IV fluids and antibiotics and be on my merry way. No such luck.

I spent three days in the hospital. It is not only difficult being extremely sick and in lots of pain, but doing it without my parents was even more difficult. Even though I am 30 years old, I am not afraid to say that I really wanted my mommy and daddy by my side. But because we didn't know the severity of my illness or how long I was going to be in the hospital, I didn't have them fly out. I didn't want them to come and then I would get released. It just wasn't worth it.  I was however, VERY lucky to have so many good friends visiting me and helping me out. There was very little time I was actually lonely at the hospital. Besides early in the mornings and at night, I was constantly entertained and kept company by my friends that kept coming to visit. They brought me clothes from my apt, magazines and movies, and just love. And that's what I needed. They kept my spirits high and helped me swoon over my new hot doctor crush. (Yes, I had my very own Dr. McDreamy!! Too bad he had to look inside my ass!) But most of all, they were there for me. I honestly do not know if I would have bounced back so fast without them. The doctors kept telling me that after seeing all my xrays, CT scans, and bloodwork, that when they saw me, they expected to see someone looking much sicker. ( I think my residual FL tan helped too. Haha. ) I was trying to keep a positive attitude while there and make the best of it because I just wanted to get healthy fast. But I think the fact that I had my friends by my side during this trying time, really did help me.

 I am now out of the hospital and back home, really trying to believe that this happened to me.  It was all very surreal. Was I really in the hospital? Is my disease really this bad? I am now a statistic of Colitis patients that need to be hospitalized and I really never thought I would be. Will this happen again? It scares me. It really does. One good thing that did come out of this, was that it really clarified for me who my real friends are. This was a weeding out period for me last time I was sick and had to go to the hospital. You get to see people's true colors when something bad happens, and luckily for me, everyone who I expected to be there for me was there. So friends, if you are reading this, THANK YOU so much, You do not know how much it meant to me for the visits, the check-ins, and the well-wishes, and even the nagging to go to the ER days that I just ignored and not saying "I told you so" after. I will listen to you earlier next time and not be so stubborn. But seriously, you guys know who you are and I appreciate everything, and so do my parents. They were very grateful you were there for their little girl. I hope that I don't have to go through this again, or god forbid, something worse, but if I do, I know I have people here in NYC by my side, and that does give me a little sense of relief. So once again, thank you everyone who was there for me.