Saturday, November 10, 2007

Return of the Blog

I'm back...I didn't really intend to be gone from the world of blogging for so long, but you know, sometimes life gets in the way of our plans! That's why God said we shouldn't just say, "tomorrow I'm going to do this, or go here," but rather, "Lord willing, these are my plans for tomorrow." We can make our plans, but God plans our life!

Anyway, I've been on what I call a "medically-induced vacation." I have a chronic disorder that has yet to be diagnosed--for the past two years, I have had chronic nausea, like being motion sick without being in motion. Some other stuff too, but I won't go into it all, since this is not a medical blog! Anyway, I've been to more doctors in the last two years than in my entire life combined before that! They have determined a myriad of things that I DO NOT have...but what I DO have seems to elude them.
So...a few weeks ago I traveled to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, about nine hours drive from where I live, to see a specialist. My sister and I drove up, first to D.C. where my brother and sister-in-law live, on Capitol Hill; we stayed with them a few days then went on to Baltimore.

The result? Well, they think perhaps a condition called "vestibular migraines" (vestibular has to do with the inner ear, for those of us who speak English, not medicalese). This is despite the fact that: a) my problem does not come and go, it is constant, and has gotten progressively worse over the last two years, and b) all the vestibular tests they did came back completely normal.

So, I am MORE than skeptical about whether this is really what I have, but am hoping that the MRI I'll have next will help.

We did get to sightsee one day, in Baltimore's inner harbor, which was great. Took lots and lots of pictures; some will likely make it to my "Life Artified" blog. We also spent a day exploring in D.C. with my brother; went to a lot of the art exhibits this time. The first time I went to D.C. it was a true vacation, and my kids went with me--they were about 8 & 10 at the time, and the youngest had an obsession with rocks and dirt...we spent an ENTIRE day in the Museum of Natural History looking at EVERY single rock there was...I think there must be about 13, 326, 421 rocks in that place and we saw every last one of them!
So this time, no rocks...but I must confess that by the time we were done, I was about as tired of seeing great works of art as I had been with the rocks the first time.

So, I got back and was looking forward to gettng back to work, and blogging and church and everything else. But, not so fast...we got back late on Thursday, Nov. 1. That Saturday, my eldest began complaining about a pain in his side...we knew it wasn't his appendix, because THAT was the problem eight years ago when he had a pain in his side. Anyway, by Sunday it was bad enough that I took him to the ER at the local Children's Hospital...they said he had a kidney stone. Then they said, no he doesn't...maybe it's his spleen..no, it isn't....he ended up being in the hospital for FOUR days while they ran every test they could think of. They never did really figure out what was going on, but they sent him home anyway. By yesterday, the pain finally subsided, so hopefully it will go away on its own and we won't have to repeat that experience anytime soon!

So, now, hopefully, I'm back to, well, if not normal, at least MY normal. My next blog will return to its normal scripture-application theme, although it relates to the medical difficulties I've been having. I'm hoping to write and post it today...God willing!

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

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