Summer Fun

Today is the first day in just over a week that I am feeling like myself again, at least mostly.  The relief is immense: no pain in my face or head, energy to keep up with the kiddos, and the ability to laugh and smile at my family again.  Possibly the infection is starting to improve; this is the first day of a slight decrease in those symptoms as well.

My strategy the past week has revolved around two things: water and rest.  For many of the last several days I have done nothing but read a book (a fantastic new novel by Kristin Hannah that I could not put down) and do a small amount of housework.  I have also significantly upped my Vitamin C intake, drinking two tall glasses of Emergen-C (1000 mg) per day.  Letting my body recover from the energy burst of the week before seems to have been the key.  Based on my new awareness of  fatigue as a significant symptom, I am now exploring my next steps for full recovery from the angle of immune dysfunction and possible Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  New supplements are coming in the mail for me to begin, and I have my first appointment with a local holistic ENT/immunologist.  Hopefully, he will be willing to work with me in the direction I am currently taking, as well as to offer some new suggestions for me to try.

Meanwhile, I am thoroughly enjoying the reprieve from my pain and fatigue today, especially since it is coming just in time before the kids begin school in just a few days.  I played with them in the pool for almost two hours, letting them toss water balloons at me as I did some laps for exercise, and splashing around to the new kids mix I created for them on my iPod.  All three of my children have gotten amazingly better at swimming.  My older two kids are virtual fishes: swimming to the bottom of the pool to fetch a diving stick, swimming a length or two at a time in a race, doing cannonballs, and even showing an interest in learning the actual strokes.  The little one has progressed from wearing a full-body float plus water wings and still being nervous to kicking around with her face in and out of the water wearing the water wings alone.  Before I know it, she will be diving and jumping too.

Best of all, the three of them have developed such persistence and confidence that it warms my heart to see it.  Each time one of them masters a new skill or conquers a goal that has remained just out of reach (back float, for example), their sense of pride and accomplishment just oozes out and grabs hold of my own heart.  It restores my faith as it reminds me of how easy it is to lose hope, but how rewarding to stay positive and focused on goals that matter to us.