In the early morning hours...

It was the sharp stabbing pain across my abdomen that woke me up at 2:00am. I stumbled toward the bathroom sure that I was having some kind of severe digestion issue. No relief. I crawled back into the hall reaching for the closet for some sort of medication, any medication! Too late and I collapsed into a writhing ball of pain on the floor….

My darling, wonderful husband, by some miracle, took only about 5 seconds before he woke up from a dead sleep knowing something was wrong. He found me on the floor, unable to move, shaking, hands numb, and breathing heavily.

At first he asked if I wanted to be taken to the Emergency Room, I said I’d be fine, and then he insisted. I tried to lay on the couch while he went and cleaned the newly fallen snow off the Jeep. He loaded me inside pajamas and all, and at this point I was feeling rather stupid, sure as I could be that this would just turn out to be a really expensive bout of constipation.

We arrived quickly at Kadlec Hospital. The good news is that at 2:30am there is no waiting to get seen so I was quickly checked in and forced to put on one of those awful gowns. They put me in a room and with nice warm blankets and Kevin by my side we waited for the doctor.

When the doctor came in He asked me to list off my symptoms:

• Severe sharp stomach pain
• Nausea
• Numbness and tingling in my hands and feet
• Shaking

After answering a few more questions he ruled out things like kidney stones, burst appendix (I was extra concerned about that since it had just happened to my sister in law), gall bladder… After poking around my abdomen, and giving me some narcotic pain killers, he decided it would be best to order an ultra sound. This was not how I had pictured getting my first ultrasound! The lady was super nice and I got to go on a bed ride to and from my room to the ultrasound room, and let’s just say she did two types of ultrasounds. All the while my devoted little husband stayed by my side.

Back in my exam room the doctor finally came in with my verdict, results, findings. It turns out that at some point during the night I had had an Ovarian cyst 1.5” x 1.25” that had ruptured. My right ovary was swollen, it still had some blood in it, and I had leaked fluid into my pelvic cavity (sorry this part is nasty).

So the good news is it was not all in my head. The bad news, it happened. The Doc sent me home with a prescription of pain killers and the direction to go in for another ultrasound in 4-6 weeks to make sure it heals. We got home a little after 7:00am, some 4 hours later, and all I wished was that I’d worn cuter pajamas!

Trading Pinecones for Pineapples

 There once was a girl named Shalee

Who desired a Pineapple tree

She would search 'ere she went

For that rare ornament

Which she then would display with such glee

I think that summed things up pretty nicely. Actually perfectly, and I could leave my post at that except I feel like writing some more...

Do you watch Psyche? You know, that hilarious show on USA. No! Well, of you did you would know that the pineapple is the universal symbol of welcome. Now that you know this you will understand my brilliance in making it the theme for my tree. Christmas is all about giving and family, so what better symbol than a pineapple.

I do have to say one thing. Most of my pineapples are gifts from friends and family. Just this year My friend Jonny found me the one to the left with the green tag. You can't tell from the pictures but it sparkles with glitter and is therefore wonderful.

On the other hand, I do find some myself. Take the ugly red crab in the middle there, I found it at work last week. She is wearing a pearl necklace and a fruit hat. It is truly hideous in person!

Some of my other favorites are my Lenox. I have three, and last year I made Kevin shell out $40 for a set of 12 just so I could get the one pineapple in it. That's how dedicated I am!

Now you are wondering where I keep such gems. Well, last year I bought them their own special tree~