Shoo Flu

If I thought a blue foot was a problem, I had no idea what I was talking about! It has been a pretty miserable week, but I am happy to say that I think I may actually be on the road to recovery. I was feeling pretty down after a week of bad news after bad news so my parents packed me up and decided I should come stay with them for a few days to pick up my spirits. I suppose I could have argued with them over it, but to be honest, being taken care of actually sounded good for once at that point.

I think that mothers must have some kind of instinct about their kids being in trouble because the day after they brought me up to their house I got so nauseous I thought I was going to die. I am so busy dealing with my Lupus symptoms and medications that I really forget how miserable some thing as simple as the stomach flu can be. My doctor's office was really great about getting me compazine right away, but it was still a pretty crummy few days. I think it took me three days to finish a single pack of saltines. I know I'm really sick when I can't even think about food, which is usually my favorite thing!

The really hard part about getting sick at that point is that we were supposed to be heading down to Southern California so we could be close to my sister because my new nephew is going to be born any day now. I desperately wanted to be there and be able to help her out with the new baby. Bless my parents, they got me all packed up, ordered a wheelchair and somehow managed to get me on the plane down here. We made it in one piece and although it's taken me a few days to recover from both the travel and the flu, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm back to myself. Unfortunately, being myself means that I'm almost always in a flare! I'm pretty used to it occurring every few months, but I was really hoping that it wouldn't happen this time.

When my niece was born, I was in the middle of a miserable flare and I wasn't strong enough to hold a tiny little newborn for more than a few minutes at a time. I had really been looking forward to being able to be more helpful this time and not be having to take any attention away from the baby. I'm still holding on to hope that I'll be getting better soon, but it's just another reminder of how frustrating it is to have absolutely no control over your body.

It's so maddening to do everything the doctors tell you, follow every advice you get, and work incredibly hard to manage your stress and life so that you don't exacerbate things and still get sick. I have upped my prednisone, I've paced out my life so that I don't do too many things in one day, I exercise in the warm water to keep my joints moving...so what am I doing wrong?

I suppose I could ask that question forever and never know the answer. I can only do what I can do at this point and hope that somehow my body starts to give me a break at some point. Honestly, I have to imagine that my body is as sick of this disease as I am. It takes so much work to fight back at this disease every single day. I think that we all deserve a good day off from our disease every once in a while and when yours comes around, I hope you enjoy every second of it. I'm sending wishes for pain free days to all of you!

"Bombeck’s rule of Medicine: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."
~Erma Bombeck