Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A month of challenge...

This month has been a month of challenge. And that's putting it as nicely as possible! April ended with me landing in the ER for IV rehydration because of severe morning sickness/possible hyperemesis. I've had this problem before in previous pregnancies, so it wasn't a surprise, but it is a lot harder to deal with when there are three kids underfoot. Last time it was this bad, I had no children, just 3 large dogs and a rabbit.

May began with my husband in the ER for what appeared to possibly be a heart attack! He had chest pain, his left shoulder/arm was in pain, and breathing was difficult. It wasn't, thank God, a heart attack, but a combination of bronchitis and pluerisy. His blood pressure, however, was dangerously high even after strong painkillers, so we followed up with our family doctor the next day. He prescribed a blood pressure medicine.

That medicine is working, but the dose that had been prescribed was too high and had dangerous side effect. My husband was completely out of it. He drove 10 miles from work to his mother's with no recollection of doing so! And promptly fell on her front porch, hitting his head on the metal porch swing. He was unconscious, and we're still unsure if he was unconscious when he fell, or if he was knocked out from the fall. He and I lean toward the first explanation since he injured his head hitting it and there was no indication that he had tried to break his fall.

That incident landed him in the hospital for a weekend (he fell on Friday evening) while they figured out if the head injury was serious, and observed him on a lower dose of the BP meds. He was sent home Sunday with pain medication for the head injury since it resulted in a bone bruise on his forehead.

Thursday somebody broke into his car and stole his medications. He had them in the car since he took them at work, and our kids have managed to figure out all child locks we've bought so far! This wasn't a big deal, but he had to run all the way to the doctor's with the police report, and then to the pharmacy before work that day. Made for a hectic morning for sure!

We also had a family crisis that is too personal to post about on a public blog right now. It has left me dealing with lots of trust issues, even to the point of wanting to move with no forwarding address and just start over elsewhere. Let our parents and family know where we are, but beyond that just drop off the grid. I hate that I let somebody's foolishness affect me like this, but I'm slowly working through it.

Through it all, though, I'm faithful that we'll make it out better and stronger for these challenges. We've all heard it said that God will never give us more than we can handle, and this month has convinced me that I am stronger than I thought I was. We are re-commited to each other as a family, and strengthening our family bond.

I'm ready for June. The arrival of summer brings with it a sense of busyness, love of time outdoors, and a fun, relaxed pace. It is also bringing this year our challenge to use as little artificial light as possible. After sundown we'll be using only lanterns, and no TV, cell phone internet, or computer. My sleep schedule, as well as the girls', has been awful and this is a good way to learn about energy conservation AND help reset our natural circadian rhythms.

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