While I was basking in the glow of a lovely Alaskan cruise vacation, my body decided that it was very unhappy and started to go haywire. I ended up with a kidney infection, acute renal failure, and all other sorts of problems that the doctors are trying to sort out. Life has not been fun for a time, as I have had to shut down most of my regular activities and try to recuperate.
I have come to the conclusion that getting older isn’t a lot of fun, my body just won’t do what it should and heal. The up side of all of this is that the kids have rallied around me and been so wonderful. They have taken over a lot of household duties and helped me in day to day tasks, allowing me to rest and heal.
After almost 3 weeks now, my kidneys are back functioning normally, all infections are gone, but I am left with chronic tiredness and an unbelievable lack of stamina. I mean, Alex is waking up before me in the mornings! What’s up with that? So far all the doctors do is draw more and more blood, tell me I am anemic, am developing hypothyroidism, overweight, and might be developing a degenerative muscle disease. Oi vey!
But there are some pretty awesome side benefits, Alex just brought me the best cup of coffee and Amanda is out feeding the dogs so I don’t have to. I am just sitting here in the family room with my feet propped up typing this blog. Life is pretty cozy right now.
Along with the medical issues we have been fighting, we also have been fighting more judgmental behavior and attacks on our family. Jeez, already, I wish people would get a clue and stop. I just had someone say to me the other day that I had to be careful of Alex and his “checkered past” and then someone else told me that they felt so sorry for Alex because I was keeping him so close to the family and not letting him spend the night for a sleepover with a friend and that I was causing him to miss so many experiences.
Yikes, how come no one ever says look how much you ARE offering. Or maybe, great that there is a family now that will look out for you! The kids have been embroiled in this controversy as well because on their own, they didn’t want to separate from me and then were called liars and told they were just protecting me. We were also told that I was making up Amanda’s medical problems to keep her by my side and out of certain activities. Unbelievable.
But when we sat down as a family to talk about everything, Alex said to me, “I don’t care if you don’t let me go anywhere, I know we have 14 years to make up for when we weren’t together.” Tearjerker I know.
And on top of everything, Daddy John has been out of town in China on business this whole time! He has been unable to call and the few times he has reliable internet to Skype - I am either in the car or in the grocery store. It has been frustrating. I have emailed him a few times - but oh boy will he get an earful when he gets home!
So, these past few weeks have been all about learning some hard lessons. One for me that my body is not without issues and I need to listen to it more carefully, and two, that a strong family base is needed to resist the attacks that can happen to your way of life and three, that people love to pass judgment about subjects they know nothing about!
