just when you think things are smooth sailing...

there's always a bump in the road. Or for me, it was more like an all engulfing pot-hole in the road of life. Things have been cruising along for us here... we're feeling like we've been very blessed with this opportunity and that things have been smooth with the selling of our home in UT and with everything (so far) on the purchase of our new home. And just when you start thinking things are going a little too-well, there's always a curve ball.

About 2 weeks ago, I began having what I thought was an ear infection. A few days went by and it was getting worse, so I stopped in to the quick-clinic at the CVS pharmacy and was prescribed some antibiotics and ear drops. Figuring it would start feeling better in a day or so, I went on my merry way. Well, the weekend goes by and things start going from bad to worse... I'm feeling dizzy, light headed, and nauseated. So by the next tuesday (one week into initial pain) I decide I should probably been seen at a real clinic. So I get an appointment only to survive the painful hour 1/2 wait with the kids in the waiting room and then be told that I'm on the right track. I should just continue the antibiotics and take some allergy meds because it's probably just from allergies. So I start taking allergy medicine on top of the antibiotics and ear drops... I let another 2 days go by with NO relief and feeling worse and worse. So I'm contemplating calling yet another doctor and I figure I should just call back the last one I saw and ask to try something else. So I leave a message and get a return call later that day from the nurse telling me they don't want to try anything else, I'm on the right track.. just take some Ibuprofen for the pain. As if I hadn't been doing that already. (My medicine collection is growing and growing at this point). So now it's Thursday night. I'm feeling like I don't know what else to do. I can hardly walk, can't carry Bryson, going up the stairs is a disaster and can you imagine driving (did I mention I backed into a car earlier this week). So now it's Friday again, I'm thinking I need some help because I seriously can't do anything. However, asking for help is never easy.... especially being the new kid in town. So I put it off another day and suffer through a horrible night of up all night throwing up (I know, lovely)... by Sat. am I had no choice but to call the RS pres and tell her with 24 hours notice there is no way i can teach on Sunday and that I was in really bad shape and was there anyone who could help me on Monday get to another dr. appointment and watch my kids? As if she could understand my request through the blubbering tears. But at that point... miracles happened! Turns out, the RS pres husband is an eye dr. so he felt bad for me and wanted to call in a prescription for me. So he calls another guy in the ward who is an ENT to ask what he should give me. After describing my symptoms to the ENT he says he should probably just take a look at me himself. So within an hour of my blubbering cry for help, i'm sitting in the chair at an ENT office getting some real. legitimite. help. Turns out NOT an infection... OR ALLERGIES. Huh, I think I could have told you that by now. But some random inflammation of my inner ear causing ringing in the ear, hearing loss, balance problems, vertigo, nausea, and vomitting.... now that is sounding familiar! So I was able to leave the office with a prescription for anti-nausea medicine ( I heart zofran) and some heavy duty anti-inflammatory meds. Now here I am 2 days later feeling like I can crawl out from under the rock I've been living in. I still have some dizziness, the nausea is gone, and according to the hearing test I had today I have significant decrease in the hearing in my left ear. Hopefully that will return as the swelling continues to subside. I was told to expect slow, steady improvement. I don't know how long that will take but as long as each day is better than the previous I can live with that.

I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to learn from this experience... not sure I have it all figured out yet, but I think the way we best learn how to serve others is when we are the recipient of service ourselves. That is the only way we can really know what a blessing it is to be touched by the care and concern of others. I guess it's a reminder that no matter how self- sufficient we are, we can't do it all alone. I was getting no where trying to tackle this by myself.