Woman Descending the Staircase by Gerhard RichterThings happen for a reason and I 100% agree with this statement. Our path is already written for us and all we can do is live our lives and hopefully learn from it.
Some of you may know that recently I've encountered a minor health scare. It didn't feel too "minor" at times because when it comes to my health, I have the tendency to think of the worst case scenario.
I've had excruciating pain in the back of my head and neck almost every morning over the summer. It would last until I lifted my head off the pillow and then it would immediately subside. I thought to myself that perhaps my dilemma was stemmed from something as simple as just owning a really bad pillow. I even told my husband that I wanted to get rid of his plush, expensive mattress. I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud, my body needs more support, and I love firm mattresses! Well needless to say, the mattress or the pillows were not the problem.
I woke up one morning to a text message that I could not read. My vision was blurred and I immediately made an appointment to see my doctor. After a MRI, I was told I have occipital venous angioma and need to see a neurologist. Occipital what??? I don’t have the abbreviation of M.D. after my last name... nor do I have neurological books that I read when I get bored. I felt so confused!
After the neurologist translated the "med talk" to a level that was easier to comprehend, I learned that I have a vein in my brain that is swollen and that I needed to get a MRA done. MRI/MRA=valium! This was not a fun experience for a claustrophobic patient like me, but thankfully I got to play 80's music which made the experience a bit more enjoyable.
After 15 vials of blood, fainting, and two visits to an MRI center, I found out today that I am okay!!!!!!
The vein that I have will remain slightly swollen from the others, was most likely something I was born with, and should not lead to any major problems in the future (cross your fingers). I was also told all of my blood work looks good. Whew!
As I said before, we live, we learn. What I learned from all this was:
Medical-visual disturbances can be related to silent headaches without pain.
Personal-take better care of myself. Even though this could not be prevented in any way, I know I'm not taking care of myself as much as I should be.
My entries are always honest and I was just writing about that I need to pencil in more me time. And I've been doing this and I feel happy that I am focusing more on myself. I try not to make plans every weekend and I am doing different things.
I joined flirty girl fitness and will be taking my first class next week. It's a completely different twist on the usual work out routine, but looks like so much fun. Also, I've enrolled in cooking classes at The Wooden Spoon in Chicago and The Chopping Block. I'm currently looking into purchasing a Pure Barre DVD which is a work out that incorporates ballet. And I have a spa day coming up-I think I deserve it:)
As for my husband and I, we are on the same page and it is very refreshing for the both of us. We’ve had our fair share of nights out and it’s time for a new chapter. Together we are accomplishing the necessary, such as work around the house and Tom has continued mastering new recipes. He's an excellent cook! We’ve been enjoying ourselves whether it's staying in or not. A couple of weeks ago we went to the Art Institute (my choice, he’s a good sport).
Such an exquisite selection of work from Gerhard Richter, Grant Wood, El Greco, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Seurat, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Camille Pissaro to name a few. My favorite exhibits were Impressionism, European, and American Art and his was Architecture and Design. After this visit, I thought of one of the two best college courses that I have ever taken. I took an Art History course at Morton College and learned how to compare paintings and locate hidden symbols. After this visit, I started to remember what I learned in the past and how much I adore art.
I want to thank all of you that supported me through this. I've received numerous calls, texts, voicemails, and even a card. Your love and encouraging words made me feel so lucky even when it got a bit rough.
Sorry if you did not know, this wasn’t exactly good news to deliver to everyone at the time and it was hard to explain everything when I didn’t exactly know what was going on.
