Happy 4th of July!

Hello Friends and Family!

Happy Independence Day! I hope that you have all had fantastic celebrations of our country declaring itself separate from Great Britain. The real work began after July 4, 1776, of course, but it was an important part of the process. The last few years I have read with my students major parts of the Declaration of Independence and it has definitely increased my appreciation of the document. I recommend that one and the Constitution. Is is good to know what it really says...and what it does NOT say. But, that is a lecture for another day. :-)

I had an adventure today. Although not the planned one.

It started actually yesterday. I woke up with a sore throat - it had actually been sore overnight - enough that I had tried to take some Tylenol (regular strength - limited by baby's tolerance levels, too) - but I really noticed it in the morning. Tom informed me that he believed my throat was sore because I had snored (a lot! and loudly!) during the night so I believed him. It was kind of odd, though, because it was mostly just on one side of my throat.

Went to church. We had a wonderful testimony meeting when anyone can get up and share their testimonies with the congregation. It can sometimes lead to some interesting things being shared, but it always reminds me how the Lord touches all of us in different ways.

By Sunday evening, my throat was getting really sore and dinner just wasn't all that interesting. Luckily, we had a frozen pizza so dinner was possible without too much effort.

Spent the night mostly awake and reading through random websites. I hurt so bad. I couldn't swallow very well at all so it was like I was saving up a bunch of swallows and then I had to like mentally prepare myself to tough it out for one big one. YUCK! I tried all of my usual remedies - popsicles, gargling salt water, hot water with lemon and tea, but nothing soothed it enough to sleep.

Tom had a Scout flag ceremony this morning with his troop, and when he got back I announced I thought we needed to go to Urgent Care. Or at least that I needed to, but he was awesome and came with me. I was pretty sure it was strep throat. So, I wanted some antibiotics so I could sleep. Eating and talking were pretty hard by now, too.

I got in to the doctor pretty quick, and he made it pretty clear he did not believe it was strep. He had me look with him in the mirror with a bright light and showed me how it was all on one side and it was really swollen and yucky looking. His diagnosis was peritonsillar abscess which is basically a large pus pocket near my tonsils). But, he had to check with an Ear Nose Throat specialist on treatment due to my being 37 weeks pregnant, too. Eventually, with the blessing of the ENT and the OB-Gyn teams, they hooked me up with an IV with steriods and antibiotics. So, here I am...

One hour later, and I was already feeling better. The nurses checked on me a lot and worried about my flushed skin (not that unusual, my husband informed them.) But, we made it through. So, after 2 1/2 hours at the doctor's office, we were on the way home.

After getting some food down, I was able to get to sleep. The swelling had already decreased enough. I read up on my diagnosis and realized why the doctor acted so quickly. The swelling can block your airway completely if not caught soon enough. I am still talking funny, but I am glad, as Tom says, I have enough of my Dad in me to worry enough to go get checked out.

So, I am grateful on this Independence Day to live in a great country and to have medical insurance. Maybe that's a lecture for another day, too...