I debated if “scary” was a necessary descriptor before the words “emergency room trip” because I’m under the assumption that the vast majority of ER trips are scary.
Talk about ending the year with a bang. How would you like to spend 6 hours in the emergency room the day right after Christmas after you blew up in hives?
It’s one of the best things that have happened to me in 2018!
Table of Contents
What Happened?
Ahh, let me rewind the story a bit.
I have mild eczema. Nothing too chronic or serious and only a few problem areas. My friends have eczema and I’m a very lightweight case when compared. I didn’t have it when I was a child, it only started up after college when I became an adult.
In fact, even after that, most doctors didn’t think it was a problem…until I started getting skin infections one after another. Then they told me to start getting serious with my daily moisturizer, stop scratching, etc.
Unfortunately, towards the end of 2018, I got sort of busy with life and work…more work.
Work = stress. Winter = dry skin. Stress + winter + eczema = me scratching subconsciously scratching harder and harder.
I remember I was working and looked down…I saw that my
Little needle spots of blood, nothing big, not even worth a trip to get band-aids.
I distinctly remember thinking, “oh, whatever I don’t have time for band-aids, I need to get this work submitted by 12 tonight so I’m behind.”
They were small pinpricks that should have taken 3 days at the most to heal…
3 weeks zip by, they were raging cases of skin infections/cellulitis on both of my legs.
I crawled out of denial and realized that my cockroach DNA has completely failed me this time.
I never had any serious health issues when I was a kid.
I got my first ever skin infection when I was 23! Why has my cockroach DNA forsaken me now?!!
My primary doctor was on her holiday vacation for 2-3 weeks, my husband and I had a Xmas holiday planned out and we were flying out in less than 1 week.
I couldn’t get a primary care doctor to see me on short notice.
I thought OK — Urgent Care center then — it’s just a skin infection.
I was given Clindamycin (an antibiotic) after lab results showed that I had both staph and strep infections on different wounds.
Both of these bacterias are fairly common and from what I’ve read, they exist on 30% of most surfaces.
But if you have a compromised immune system, they could do some gnarly stuff.
I took the medicine happily to California with me, expecting the miracle of antibiotics, to cure me soon.
But it didn’t.
4 days in, I started seeing a drug rash appearing on my chest. My infection didn’t look any better, in fact, it looked worst. Why isn’t it working?!
AHHH. I’m infectious to small children and the elderly!! IT’S CHRISTMAS SO
I’m OUT of state, no one has my records, places are closed/holiday hours, misc insurance stuff/questions??
I have cellulitis blowing up both of my legs…this is looking
I was worried about the infection getting into my bloodstream now…which will get very very serious (ie. death) — how the heck did I get here from just scratching my skin.
It’s not a good idea to stop taking your course of antibiotics as it leads to antibiotic resistance (which is a serious issue, because without antibiotics, we’re basically back to Caveman style medicine.)
I went back to another random Urgent Care place, was taken off Clindamycin, and put on Bactrim + Keflex.
Within 48 hours on Bactrim + Keflex…I started blowing up in hives ALL OVER MY BODY.
I couldn’t tell if it was Clinda related…or B+K…or just B…or just K…etc.
So now, I have cellulitis on both legs AND drug rashes / hives all over AND my face was swelling and going numb.
These 3 drugs kicked my ass lol. They made me lethargic and swollen. (Thankfully no diarrhea at least!)
When my lips/mouth started turning numb, it was
The nurse told us to visit the ER because I was having an allergic reaction to 1 or 2 or all 3 drugs.
With drug allergies…these things could get bad quickly, fairly fast.
If your lips are going numb, conditions are worsening, your throat might be the next to go…if your throat closes up…well yeah.
So off to the ER we go.
We were there for 6 hours and I was given pills to suppress my reaction while they monitored me.
The ER doctor (handsome as hell, good lord :)!) came over and said they will try doxycycline instead.
“You should consider changing your flight plans so you can be back in your state for proper care ASAP. I also suggest you see a disease specialist if these drugs are not working (ie. if it is an antibiotic resistant strain.)”
Drug rash is OK with me. It will go away in a month or 2 months. Chance of infected bloodstream – that was the concerning thing.
Thankfully the Doxycycline did the trick! My system accepted that a lot better, a lot faster. Within 48 hours, I was already 60% better.
We didn’t have to change flight plans since it started improving. We were all was elated, even though I looked like I got beaten up by a bee from the inside, it was a small price to pay.
We went to the store to get some Benadryl after being released from the ER. When I was on Benadryl…uh, Benadryl makes me super drowsy and depressed.
I cried for hours, days, ALL THE TIME when I was on Benadryl and became perky/happy/usual self when it wore off.
Our Christmas vacation was 11 days…I was only awake for like…2-3 days because the medicines I took made me so sleepy.
It’s officially been 12 days since my ER trip and my drug rashes are still here…although they’ve started to peel a little now, which is a good sign.
A drug reaction is basically like a very very bad, swollen sunburn.
Drugs…man…are no joke.
It’s been a nightmare, but my gosh, I am so so so thankful I had learned one of the biggest lessons in the School of Life.
What Was I Thinking About?
During the worst of the reaction, I thought I was going to be in big trouble…like dying. The boatloads of antibiotics aren’t working and my face was going blowing up/going numb.
But I have health insurance coverage. I have a family who loves me. I have someone who was willing to drive me to the ER.
Related: 16 Part-Time Jobs with Good Health Insurance and Benefits
If I stopped breathing at night, my husband would be right there to make sure my airways stay open.
I was in a warm home. We can afford treatment without worrying about the medical bills.
This is as good as it gets, and it still sucks!
That’s when I started balling my eyes out.
It was a different kind of sadness. It was a kind of sadness that I haven’t felt before.
Even though I was in a health poo-poo, I was still fortunate, so I cried for anyone and everyone who didn’t have the basics of what I think every human deserves
I started crying for people who didn’t have health insurance or didn’t have someone who cared.
I knew a boy (Ocean Eyes) who went to the ER alone after badly cutting himself. His family had disowned him and he was on the streets alone before he got injured.
I remember the nurse at the ER took pity on him and drove him to her house to rest because he didn’t have anywhere to go after he was released.
Recalling that memory brings tears to my eyes even now as I’m typing.
I realize there was so much more to life than what we interact with.
What I Learned:
Living is a gift.
My ER bed was in between three other men behind curtains.
I overheard them but never saw them.
I was sitting there in between an old man crying and wheezing about the pain and blood in his urine (he needed 2 people to help him urinate.)
On the other side of me, a younger sounding man…who had a terminal disease (
Another man with an injured leg after falling off the roof told the nurse to not contact his family because he didn’t want his family to worry. — It’s Christmas time, he didn’t want to concern his wife 🙁
Life is hard.
Life is hard and that’s WHY it’s a gift.
Life is the ultimate gift because it’s a gift wrongfully denied to so many. You can’t ungratefully say you don’t want to live when you can.
So you, even if you’re living next to a trash bin, it’s still a gift. That’s just a fact, get over it 🙂
Human memories are short.
Penicillin, the miracle
Before that, a simple infection could mean amputation or even death.
During WWII, tons of U.S. soldiers died of simple wounds that became infected. They didn’t even know that pouring hard antiseptic was actually counterproductive to healing.
It was hard to accept the notion of “meaning of life” when death was such a cruel end to so many over what we consider simple cases of illness today.
Not even “today” – there are people all over Gaza dying from common infections right now because there is simply no open route to get medical supplies to these
This made me depressed as hell on top of my Benadryl. My husband and I also had an emotional talk about spirituality/religion/life after death (if it existed). Where is God? Do we matter? Then why does anything we do matter?
My husband is a “soft” atheist, he doesn’t really believe in an afterlife. ‘People use religion as a crutch. When we die, we die and nothing we do matters.’
I am undecided – I’m “spiritual” – that means I would like to believe in something but unsure what.
I am spiritual because it’s hard for me to accept that I will never see my loved ones again after I die. Even if I have to lie to myself.
It’s simply the reality of it that frightens me. If that makes me a coward, then I’m a coward. But I would like to believe we are more than just nothing. Alien experiment, fine OK. Truman show, even better.
But I need something because I need some purpose and some justice.
Mad props to docs!
ER doctors and nurses must see shit every day. I was a small fry.
The sweet nurse there told me in comfort, “oh honey, we see this every day. You think you’re the first? Sorry to burst your bubble sweetie but this happens and we see it every day.”
I was in a bubble. And I’m glad it’s burst.
I told my husband how thankful I am to have had this experience. Because it reframed my entire outlook on life.
I hope no one has to take that unfortunate trip to the ER but it’s a lot of important stuff to be learned.
We’re all too privileged.
Life really is too short to do something you hate.
I guarantee you when you’re in that hospital bed, laying there for the doctor, your mind will wander and you’re not going to be thinking about money or work.
That was the least of my concerns…which is really odd because most (like 90%) of my daily activities have been submerged in money and work.
That was a curveball. Actually, the only time I was thinking about money and work when I was laying in the ER was how little I was thinking about money and work even though it was a big part of my life and chosen activities before.
No one sane in the ER will go, “gee, my Personal Capital went down -10.8% this week.”
Because it doesn’t really matter.
What I was doing/cared about was texting my friends for emotional support. I was talking to my amazing husband (who has taken time off work to go to every medical appointment with me, no matter how small.)
I was thinking about better days in this wonderful life that I have in front of me.
Work + Money < Health = Living.
Work is a filler. It’s like the cheap corn syrup in fake maple syrup. That’s why FIRE is a fab idea.
I just wanted everyone to know who hasn’t been in a scary enough situation to question their existential being.
Money and work/career is a lot less important than what you’re currently thinking.
The 10% of the time you spend with your loved one makes up MOST of your thoughts when you deal with mortality. Whereas you spend 50% of your waking hours doing/thinking about work will make up only 1% of your thoughts when you’re
Where’s the logic in that?
Death Bed Regrets?
Let’s be dramatic and explore this. Remember I wrote a post about death bed regrets not that long ago?
Man…guess what I was thinking when I was laying on the ER bed feeling dead hopeless.
I had only 3 regrets:
-I couldn’t be there with my husband/spent more time with him. I love this guy so much… thats my first thought. Followed by, oh crap, who can I set him up with if I go. He needs to be taken care of and have a great life. She can’t be a gold digger, she has to be frugal, she has to be cute…she has to be even better than me so he will never feel sad when I’m gone.
-I didn’t accomplish my main deep life goal – (not about money), I had a story to tell (anonymously) and I didn’t get my chance to tell it. I didn’t fulfill my life purpose or meet my potential, boo.
-I didn’t get to meet my kids or see them grow up.
It was eye-opening to really flush them out.
The having kids one was a big surprise because I was always pushing off having kids/being generally disinterested but there I was
My husband and I talked a little about the
My original goal was to be a 40-year-old mom and delay it as much as we can until we became
I wanted to be with my husband, I wanted to be at home with my family watching holiday Hallmark specials, I wanted to get more time to set out to do deep life stuff.
Life Changes Implemented:
Redoing our diets for health.
After we shampooed the carpet, laundered everything, and gave the dog a bath – I was feeling a lot better mentally even though I know bad bacteria live everywhere.
We’re eating better and I’ve greatly reduced the quantity of meat I eat. Especially bad meat (animals fed with antibiotics + treated horribly) – we didn’t really before but now I’m even more careful of what I’m buying in the meat section. It’s now downgraded to side dish instead of main course in our household.
I’ve also been taking probiotics and folic acid everyday thanks to the 20 day antibiotic course I’m on. But I’ll continue taking probiotics and multi-vitamins even when I’m done with my course. I’ve put my body through way too much lately.
Take a break.
We’ve never taken a vacation outside of Xmas because we’re secret workaholics. Neglecting health because of work like what I was doing…..is really, really, stupid.
And it’s a horrible ROI. Health IS wealth, health is actually 20 million times more important than wealth!
Adam (from MinaFI) said something funny to me, “Yup, everybody on their death bed is just regretting not blogging enough.” #sarcasm
Does blogging mean a lot to me? Honestly…not anymore, and it shouldn’t be to anyone.
Even though I can’t spend every waking second with hubby, it’s important for me to go to sleep at the same time with him, hang out with him, go on dinner dates etc. I need to make a lot more time for him.
I want to get used to slow, conscious living. Not work 13 hours and crash onto the bed until it’s time to do it again. That’s a terible deal.
Making sure I’m enjoying life by asking myself constantly *IS THIS WORTH DOING.*
Learn to deal with a bad diagnosis someday.
Skin infection? Pffft basic. Try getting that terminal diagnosis someday. We’re all getting one.
Talking to my husband briefly during moments when I was actually awake enough to form sentences…
We’re all aging.
Bodies will break.
Bodies will rebel.
Not an if; it’s a when.
And we’re going to have to deal with that not just with ourselves or each other, but both sets of our parents as well. Their mortality comes sooner…
Our little Gracie pooch too, she might need to be put down someday.
Getting older is scary because it’s going to happen.
There is going to be one day when you go in and they tell you that bad, unavoidable diagnosis. Then you have to learn to be okay with it and find peace within yourself.
Geez, Lily, way to make me ball into my coffee this morning! J/K, this was an amazing post! I’m so sorry to hear all about your health scare but so grateful to hear your thoughts about what’s really important. All day yesterday I was caught up in shallow thoughts and worries, but hearing you write about the people in the ER, especially Ocean Eyes, made me so grateful for my life and all I have. And you’re right, the greatest gift isn’t even that health insurance you have, it’s the person who’ll drop everything and take care of you while you’re sick. That’s an unbelievably amazing gift we share. I am very glad to hear you’re doing better and I’m going to think more about your comments on eating well. Very important, and I’m definitely one to buy cheap, so I’m going to think more about that one.
Thank you Laurie 🙂 that means a lot to me. Argh I still think about Ocean Eyes sometimes, I hope he turns out OK.
I am definitely rethinking the bottom line quality of things I consume. It will be a little more expensive most likely but its not going to matter too much in the long run.
ah, the light bulb is illuminating with regard to what really matters. enjoy your life. it doesn’t have to cost a thousand dollars a day to enjoy those close to you. have some laughs. i’m glad you’re getting better. without the contrast of occasional extreme sadness the happiness wouldn’t seem so terrific. happy new year.
“It doesn’t have to cost a thousand dollars a day to enjoy those close to you.” Awh nicely said 🙂
Oh my that is scary! I’m SO glad you’re ok and well now. I hope you’ll recover soon. I didn’t know your skin condition was so severe (remember our hand-made soap conversation?) Changing your diet is a great idea. I have IBS, and I also realized that having a healthy diet helps a lot with the symptoms.
I totally know what you mean about ER and money. Our son ended up in the ER three years ago on Xmas Eve. I felt so helpless and frustrated with myself since I couldn’t help him. At that time, nothing was as important as our son’s health. I remember thinking to myself I’d give up everything I had (i.e. job, house) and even my good health so that he could feel better.
Jared sounds like a wonderful husband. It’s so thoughtful of you to think about who to set him up with. I never thought that far since I’m sure Mr. FAF will find someone himself. I’m just worried about our kids if I pass 🙁
What do you eat on an IBS sensitive diet? Are you taking probiotics? I’ve been taking them and they make me feel better/makes my mood lighter – I recommend it because I got off a few times to A/B test myself and my gut definitely feels better with probiotics.
“I remember thinking to myself I’d give up everything I had (i.e. job, house) and even my good health so that he could feel better.”
AWW omg ;( Yes a mother’s worry. I came back to Seattle and my mom was like “OMG why are you swollen?!” and starts cooking me duck porridge asap lol.
Jared is a hero, my hero 🙂 definitely.
Yike. I have eczema and get annoyed by it quite regularly, especially in our dry Michigan winters. But I’ve never had anything close to this happen. I guess I better count my blessings!
And I hope it stays that way!! Don’t scratch too too much – invest in those fancy almost hippie $$ soaps. It’s worth it.
So sorry you had to go through this! That must have been a very scary experience- you are right you could have died you were having a serious allergic reaction! Our health is so important to us and we take it for granted until it slips away for us momentarily- and then we know what’s important in our lives and who is actually there for us when we need them. I am glad though that you decided to try for children earlier!! They are such a joy and although it is tiring and will age you 5 years it is so amazing so far.
“Our health is so important to us and we take it for granted until it slips away for us momentarily” YEAH that. My goodness it was a big wake up call. It’s like when you realize you’re taking the air you breath for granted.
I can’t wait to have kids 🙂 everybody seems to enjoy being a parent (most of the time). It’ll be an interesting next stage in our life 🙂 Thanks Ms. Gym
Wow, that’s awful Lilly! So glad you’re doing better and found the right antibiotic. Have a friend who wasn’t allowed to exercise for six months after taking some potent antibiotics for pneumonia.
Regarding kids, I think putting it off too late can have issues. I’ve seen lots of articles like this (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/consequences-of-having-kids-late-in-life-2015-6) that make me think twice about having kids later in life. I’m not a geneticist or expert obviously but if it’s true, I’d hate to bestow my child with a shorter lifespan or health problems because I waited until the perfect time to have a kid. No such thing. Clearly, lots of people have kids at older ages without a problem but I personally won’t be chancing it. We’re having all our kids right meow.
More in the plans yeah?! When is the next one planned? How old are you guys btw? I always thought I had more “time” because I’m 27 but the years go by so fast, in a year or two I can’t say that anymore. Plus, it is as good as time as any. I don’t want to die regretting it even at a small chance I’ll die young.
Whew, things were a lot more serious than I thought! Reactions to drugs are one of the scariest things to me, since they come on so fast at a time when it’s already hard to understand what’s going on. Kudos to you’ll for piecing that together and following up ASAP! Who knows what would’ve happened.
Thanks Adam 🙂
Great, now I am late for lunch, thanks a lot Lily. Why does your writing have to be so damn compelling? Just think many of our antibiotics are not working as well as they used too, the bugs are getting more resistant and nobody is coming up with new antibiotics. Scary thought.
Awwwwwww man making a girl blush!!!! Your comment makes my day!!! Thank you.
(Yes it is scary! It’s not profitable to cure than it is to keep treating, ugh!! Profit before people as usual.)
I remember making a similar ER trip with Mrs. Tako one time. She has eczema and allergies to antibiotics too, and blows up in hives when the wrong antibiotic is prescribed. We didn’t know this at the time of course… but when she had trouble breathing we needed to go to the ER.
Scary stuff, but we survived and learned to work around the issues. That’s life.
Glad your feeling better Lily!
Oh I didn’t know Mrs. Tako had a similar experience!! Sorry to hear!! Which ones were she allergic to? The ER doc did say that race played a general role..well not race-race but fair skinned-ness.
Loved so much about this post. 1) I had a drug reaction when I took antibiotics for a wisdom tooth removal (which I probably shouldn’t have filled the RX). To get rid of the rash, I went to the acupuncturist. I recommend that if you still have symptoms.
2) reflection is our late 20s is so important, man!! I hope you keep talking and think about it and come to something you can believe 100% in.
3) have you heard of modern fertility? I got an ad on Facebook and was interested… But for me, I don’t really care if I can naturally conceive. Adoption is great!
Thank you Lindsey. I agree with you, reflection in your 20s is so important. More time to rethink and live life to your own accord if you can reflect earlier 🙂 I haven’t heard of modern fertility, is it a company? I feel the same way too. I don’t need to conceive if it turns out I can’t, I don’t mind adoption what so ever. We might end up doing both anyways 🙂
Holy crap, I’m so glad you’re okay! And yay penicillin! If you ever want to talk about kids and all that, I am here for all the nitty-gritty ?
Haha *on Twitter* “ANGELA, a black thing fell out of my kid’s belly button…..is it poisonous??!?!”
I’m allergic to Bactrim and gave me a rash but I didn’t blow up like this! So sorry this happened to you, but glad you went to the ER. I get skin infections sometimes (on my nose of all places, but I know what it is now when it happens) and the doctors do warn me about it getting into the blood and say it’s something to take very seriously. For the Bactrim rash, I used Claritin which has a lot less side effects for me than Benadryl.
They say 3% of all women allergic to the sulfates in Bactrim. Doesn’t sound like a lot but it seems like a lot of people have it!!!
I kid you not I was thinking to myself just 2 days ago that Lily hasn’t posted in a bit and I didn’t get an email from you signaling a new post.
Well you certainly had a valid excuse not to be blogging during this time. I am glad you got over that scary part. Even as a doctor all medical knowledge gets thrown out the window when you become a patient.
Hope your skin is feeling better and really try that goat milk soap. It does wonders for my daughter’s eczema
I purchased some all natural goat milk + oils soap and my itchiness/dry skin has lessened 🙂 it’s 5x more expensive but my goodness, very worth it. My ER trip was $1,500 and that’s not even that bad!
This is a really touching article, thank you for writing it. I love the warm fuzzies I got from your mention about who you could set your husband up with, I thought something similar when going through complications when I was giving birth to our son, I tried to make hubby promise to remarry so someone could take care of both of them but was control freaking about potential bad choices and attempted to extract promises of vetting by both of our sisters! Have you been tested for food allergies? My terrible eczema went down not w creams but by eliminating certain foods. Glad you are recovering, wish you the best.
Thanks Helen 🙂
“I tried to make hubby promise to remarry so someone could take care of both of them”
I did also! In my drug haze on the ER bed I told my husband to make sure he picks well because, in reality, I know he could “do better” than me so he should. He wouldn’t even look at me as I said that, haha, it was a bit too heavy of a topic!!!
I have an allergist appointment in 2 days!! I’m going to hash it out with the doc, from antibiotics to why I’m randomly allergic to chapstick etc. I’ve been keeping a food diary for a week to see if I’m worst on certain foods but I haven’t found a common ingredient yet.
Scary stuff Lily but really glad you’re better. My constant mantra is that health is #1, or should be, for everyone. Without it we have nothing. I’ve had a few ER visits myself over the years and it hits home for you. Lets make 2019 healthy!
Really?! But you’re so healthy and active, what happened? Were they accidents?
You’d told me a little bit, but I had no idea all that you you went through over the holidays. I’m so sorry you had to experience all that.
But wow, did you ever turn it around into something positive! You’ve taught us all a lot about life and remembering what’s truly important.
Like Othalafehu, I’m always captivated by your stories and find it hard to stop reading! Glad you’re back at it, but totally get it if you decide to slow down with blogging and focus more on real life. 🙂
“But wow, did you ever turn it around into something positive!” Haha Chrissy I had to! I was so beyond depressed about everything / life / death / humanity / beyond etc. I think I needed to pull something positive out to cope like we all do.
Wow, what a scary situation. You reflections on life and what is important was perfectly written. So glad that you have a very supportive husband to be there with you through it all.
Antibiotic reactions always worry me. I was recently in the hospital for an unknown high fever (which eventually became pneumonia). One antibiotic they gave me caused a mild rash. A second made me feel completely crummy. And a third which was administered by IV caused inflammation in my veins. It is definitely some scary stuff.
So glad you are feeling better. Here is to a healthy 2019!
Oh my god, did you write a post on that?! How did you get pneumonia!? What were you thinking? It is crazy these little pills can do so much “immediate” change to our system. What was the IV one? Please go see an allergist and see what which antibiotics you can’t handle!! I have my appointment in 2 days – apparently for antibiotics, I need to wait at the doc’s office for 4+ hours for a reaction.
I did write a post on the experience here https://thedragonsonfire.com/11-days-in-the-hospital/. I don’t know how I got the pneumonia. Either I had a virus that took a week to materialize into pneumonia, or I got it from being cooped up in the hospital bed. I have been making a list of the antibiotics that I haven’t done well with. Vancomycin caused the vein inflammation. Apparently it is very common with that drug. They slowed it down to 4 hours per dose instead of 2 and it still caused problems. That’s tough that you have to wait at the doctor’s to see what happens, but I guess it is better than going home and having something happen late at night. Hope the doctor’s appointment went well.
Oh wow Lily!! I’m glad that your okay now. I’ve would have been thinking and reflecting about my life like you did if l were going through the same thing. We take our health for granted because everything seems fine when we’re healthy but when it turns bad then everything else seems insignificant. At that point, all you care about is your health getting better and your loved ones.
Exactly! I’ve been so healthy and lucky most of my life, this was one literal tough tough pill to swallow – but still the best lesson in 2018!
Hey there, I’m back from Thailand. 🙂 There is nothing like a health scare to put life back into focus. I’m sorry to hear about your infection, but it sounds like you figured some stuff out. I think that’s great. The sooner you learn these things, the better. Yay for kids. Get it done. Hopefully, you’re good by now. Take care of yourself.
I’m glad you didn’t end up with MRSA. My ex-husband has really really severe eczema, and he got MRSA instead of regular staph. It was a bear to get rid of. We had to clean everything in the house and he still kept getting it until we took a few more steps.
I’m glad everything got resolved, but this is definitely a scary situation. The closest parallel I have is when I had a UTI go septic on a trip. To FinCon, actually. So I missed most of the conference because I was so ill from the symptoms *and* then had to stay two extra days because I was hospitalized and really by that point I was too sick to appreciate how scary sepsis is when you get right down to it. But looking back, it’s terrifying to think that the infection went from barely there to septic in about five days’ time. Now I’m much more careful any time I think I might have an infection. If nothing else, I don’t want those darn hospital co-pays!
Me like a lot!! Post of the week thus far.
Glad you were okay. Something similar happened to a close friend of mine this year. We can be so carefree about health when we are young but terrible things sometimes do happen. When it happens, it’s a sign that you need to slow down. Rest well and look forward to reading your other posts soon!
Dang girl, I was having these exact thoughts. I was walking with my son to school today and I remember thinking “I will never regret giving up my teaching career for this.” Sure, there are some frustrating moments with raising a kid but it’s been really worth it. I just hope that my legacy means leaving more than just money. That my son knows he was loved and hopefully learned some skills to kick butt in life sans mom.
Hey Lily!
I have been gone from the blog-o-sphere for awhile now, basically for the reason you came upon. I am here not to write all the time, to be successful in this area, but to be successful in the areas that count. For me, my faith, my husband, and my kids are the top priorities.
When I clicked through to this from another post on your site, it was because I remembered you being anti-kids in the near or distant future that you knew of for sure. So I wanted to hear your story on how that changed. What a way to get you back to the basics!
Life is definitely short. Here’s a warning: When kids come, it goes even faster too.
So slow it down now, enjoy it, and savor it, as each thing comes.
I’ve missed your writing. Good to be back!
Praying for y’all as you enjoy the process of having a baby!