Where do I begin...

Happy Friday everyone!  I warn you in advance, this will be a long post!  So, let's get started...

A few weeks ago, I told you how I was all fired up to get my posts going again and how Pink and Paper was going to change, yada, yada.  I had great intentions, then life happened.  I've posted a few times about our losses and mess dealing with the tornado that came through our town on May 20, 2013.  One thing I didn't mention was how it has affected my health.  On May 21, 2013, I had to go to the doctor because I was pretty sick.  I fight with a lot of allergy and sinus issues, and at that time, I had started having these horrible earaches.  I got medication but didn't get better.  I went through a few different antibiotics and some steroids and finally felt better.  It didn't last long and I was back at the doc about a month later with the same problem.  She gave me some new things to try and I thought they were working.  Again, about a month later, the earaches and pain came back.  Now, I don't know how many of you have had ear problems, but OH MY WORD, do they hurt!  I was miserable.  It's almost as bad as a toothache, which is one of the worst things I've ever had on the pain scale.

This went on for months.  Finally in November, I got an appointment for January with an ear specialist.  From the time I got the appointment, I began to notice I was becoming more and more fatigued and had no energy.  My house became a mess.  I stopped putting on makeup and barely messed with my hair.  I never cooked dinner and only did laundry when it was absolutely necessary (or we'd be going commando)!  For anyone that knows me, that's not normal.  I am very much a Type A personality, and I like things a certain way.  I noticed I didn't care anymore about much of anything.  I honestly thought maybe I was depressed or dealing with just a rough time in life.

On January 28, I went to work but started feeling a little nauseated and had the worst headache I've ever had.  I was hurting so badly that around noon, I left to go home and try to get better.  That's the last thing I remember for several days.  On the afternoon of January 30, I remember waking up in a strange bed and my mom was standing beside me.  I asked her what was going on and she said I was in the ICU about to be transferred to a regular room.  What?????  Here's what happened...

(Disclosure - I remember nothing until Thursday afternoon, so I'm just repeating what I've been told)  Around 8:45pm on Tuesday night, January 28, my husband was in bed (He works nights) and heard a banging sound.  He thought I was doing something, but the sound continued.  He came to see what it was, and I was sitting on my couch having convulsions.  Apparently, I was thrashing about, my blue eyes were black (creepy!) and I was jabbering like crazy, but not using words.  No matter what he did, he couldn't calm me down, so he called 911 and my parents.  The paramedics came and took me to the ER.  While there, I continued to convulse and thrash around for hours.  After quite some time, my dad's friend, who is a Pastor from out of town, came to pray for me.  He came in and prayed for me and my convulsions stopped.  They had told my husband I would convulse and thrash for probably 7 days, but just a few hours after arriving, they stopped.

I would like to interject here - I don't know what your views are on God and healing.  I would never bash any of you for your beliefs, but I have to tell you about God's goodness to me.  He healed me!  I believe in the power of prayer and we saw it firsthand in that hospital room.  But it doesn't stop there...

After doing a ct scan, MRI and spinal tap, they concluded that I had contracted viral meningitis. They think I had some type of infection (sinus, ear, etc) or had been exposed to something (flu, bronchitis, etc) and it had lowered my immune system for months, which led me to be susceptible to the meningitis and it could have been slowly getting worse..  At this point, I wasn't really waking up and would say a word or two occasionally, but wasn't normal or well.  They pumped me full of all kinds of meds and fluids.  The doctors said most people who get this end up being unable to speak, have a loss of motor skills and spend 30-45 days in the hospital, followed by at least 6 months of therapy just to function again.  Well, God wasn't letting happen to me!

I was admitted Tuesday night.  On Thursday around lunch was when I woke up.  When I woke up, I had some memory loss of the last few days, but immediately I began speaking normally.  I passed all the motor skills tests and amazed my doctors.  They kept saying that this shouldn't have happened because meningitis is bad, sometimes deadly.

On Sunday, February 2, I went home!  In less than a week's time, I was healed and back to normal.  I am not in any way discrediting the wonderful work the doctors and nurses did on my behalf, but I believe 100% that God Almighty reached down and saved my life.  He loves us so much and He proved that to me a few weeks ago.  I am forever grateful and thankful for this and it's changed my view on a lot of things.  As cliche as it sounds, my life will never be the same.  The world looks different when you find out you almost weren't in it anymore!

I have been off work for two weeks, recovering, and I return on Monday.  I wanted to let you all know where I've been and what's happening, because I really did plan to come back with projects...ha ha.  Life just got in the way.

Now, for one more tidbit before I end this forever post...  On Sunday, our landlord showed up at our door and said they'd sold our property and we have 30 days to get out!  Wowzers.  After the hospital ordeal, did something else need to happen so soon??  This threw quite a kink in my plans.

We are now in the process of finding a new place to live and packing as fast as we can.  Because of this, I won't be posting much until we get moved and settled.  I am packing my craft stuff last, but I will be very busy in the evenings for the next 3 weeks.  Wish me luck!!!

I have something else to share with you all, but I will post that later as I'm sure you have eye strain from reading this loooooong post.   Have a blessed Friday!!

Cheryl