Health

I'm writing this blog post from the comfort of my hospital room.

I've been here nine days and today they finally gave me the good news that my discharge will hopefully be tomorrow or the day after.  If you can believe it, I came in for back pains, thinking they would give me a shot and send me home. It turned out that I needed my gallbladder removed, which I was assured was usually an outpatient procedure.  Well, I obviously had a lot of complications.  The nurses and doctors at my hospital have been absolutely nothing short of outstanding, and I am eternally thankful for everything they have done for me during my (drawn-out) stay.

I'd like you moms who read my blog to stop and take a moment to think about your own health.  I am totally at fault for what has happened.  Around seven years ago I started getting what I thought were "back spasms".  They ranged from uncomfortable to knock-me-down for a couple of days.  Instead of seeking out a cure or even a good diagnosis, I settled on learning how to manage my pain.  Eight months ago, I had an attack almost as bad as this last one and, knowing what I now know about what was really going on in my body, I'm surprised (and lucky) that I lived.

I don't think I am the only mom out there who puts everyone else before herself.  Moms don't usually get sick days.  Even as the ambulance took me away in the pre-dawn hours last week, I remember trying to put on a "brave face" for my pajama-clad son. We often are and need to be the one person in the house who keeps it all running smoothly - and that's hard to do from a sickbed.

But it's also really hard to be a mom from a sickbed.  I have been very fortunate that my mom and older sister came in to help with my son so that the boyfriend didn't miss a ton of work.  We have to take care of ourselves, ladies.  Sometimes first.  It might mean something simply like demanding a "morning off" to sleep in, or something much more important, like not putting off your next mammogram.  It's not selfish.  In fact, it's probably one of the least selfish things you can do.

Lots of love.