On Tuesday I was not feeling well, and so Abe stayed home until it was time for us all to go to the dentist. The girls literally jump up and down and shout for joy when we tell them we are going to the dentist. This is probably because our dentist is very kid friendly. There are TONS of snacks, drinks, prizes, kid chairs, kid games, and special rooms for kids with TV’s and various entertainment. My kids love it.
After the dentist, I told Abe he could go to work, but when I got home and started to nurse Clarissa, my body went into a state of shock. I started shaking uncontrollably and lost feeling in my fingertips. Lydia handed me the phone and I called Abe and asked him to come home.
He came right home, took Clarissa, and put me to bed. I was so cold I literally could not feel my hands and was shaking violently for the better part of an hour. He piled on blankets, brought in a space heater, gave me hand warmers and told me I was going to feel fine really soon. Eventually I started to warm up and spent the next hour cowering under the covers in abject misery.
Abe called our dear friend, Chelsea, who is a PA, and asked her what she thought I had. They were trying to decide if I should see a doctor, but I was not up to leaving bed, so Abe decided just to try to let me rest and see if that would help.
Eventually I slept and when I woke up, I was drenched in sweat and so hot that I threw off the covers, took off all of my clothes, and lay on the floor. Then I devoured ice cream my mom bought for me (still naked) and drank a ton of water.
After a detox bath wherein I tried my best to express milk from a plugged duct, I fell back into bed, which is where Chelsea found me when she came over for a surprise visit. I was sitting comatose in bed wearing just underwear when Chelsea’s bright, smiling self popped into my bedroom.
There have been very few times in my life that I felt so happy to see someone. Chelsea was wearing her stethoscope, and I felt SO grateful she had come to rescue me! She cheerfully sat down on the space heater in the middle of my chaotic bedroom and talked to me until my spirits were lifted. At that point, she examined me and discovered I have mastitis–on top of a virus or two that came from our recent viral week from Hell.
I can not express how much I love Chelsea. She is, in my mind, as perfect as people come. She is cheerful, unassuming, endlessly kind, charitable to the point of continual action, and just an incredible friend. I feel so lucky to have her in my life.
After Chelsea called in a prescription for me, I fell asleep. When I woke up, Abe had picked up the prescription and I started my second round of antibiotics this year.
Abe and I decided we are going to ban sugar again in April make the rest of the year the Year of the Gut: Everyone is going to eat probiotics, pickles, sauerkraut, everything with apple cider vinegar, yogurt, and vitamin supplements around the clock until our guts are healed, our immune systems are strong, and we no longer are a house of constant illness.
Also, my mom has been heroic in helping with the kids while Abe has been taking care of me. She has done a TON. Abe has been heroic helping me and the kids on very little sleep. Ammon and Clarissa have been getting up a lot at night, and since I’ve been sick, Abe has been going to them all night long and then caring for all of us during the day. I fear constantly that he’s putting his health in jeopardy, but since I literally can’t do anything more to help, I’m just praying God gives him a pass on this round of sickness.