Girl, Interrupted

Well it has been awhile since I've blogged.... Two weeks ago I developed symptoms of what I thought was the standard stomach flu. It kept on even after five days but I didn't get concerned until I started feeling some intense pain in my abdomen area - which after a day of that and no sleep, prompted a visit to the local ER which resulted in a five day admission to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos with a diagnosis of pancreatitis. No particular medicines were needed other than IV fluids to address dehydration. Apparently I am in the 30% of people for whom there is no known cause for the inflammation - typically it's provoked by alcoholism/drug addiction or gallstones in the bile duct around the pancreas. Neither of these two were true for me; the latter was ruled out by an MRI and CAT scan.... What can I say about my stay in the hospital other than it was way too much daytime TV and bland liquids, although I did develop an affinity for the Knox brand instant chicken broth and will have to make sure I have it on hand in emergencies. The morphine was effective in managing the pain for the first two days and since then I've been pain free. Eating is progressing very slowly - I have lost almost 20#'s - and my appetite is minimal.

Needless to say I've been giving myself lots of Reiki as well as receiving energy from scores of others. Affirmations for restored health and wholeness also have become my mantra as well as an openness to receive any "learnings" from the recent episode....

Christmas was way too quiet, me and my daughter's cat, Gunther, and I AM grateful that I was at least home to enjoy the quiet rather than the sterile setting of the hospital. I was well enough to eat a baked potato for Xmas dinner - one of my favorite treats at any time - must be the Irish in me! Last night I felt well enough to work a shift the gym, Northside, and it was a welcome diversion from my own four walls. Being sick sure makes you appreciate your health; something that I must confess that I usually take for granted as I typically don't get sick very often.

So this is the first writing I've done in a few weeks but writing groups start up again the first week of January so I'll be back to it then....