Spring Update

With Easter weekend approaching, I have been reminiscing a lot lately about where I was a year ago.  So much has changed in one year, and yet, so little.

It was this time last year that we packed up the three kiddos and headed South for the long journey to Florida. In the course of a two-day visit to Southwest Florida, we picked Cape Coral as the place to settle down for our year of respite and healing, then drove the 9 hours back to Hilton Head to spend Easter with my family there.

This year, we are celebrating a much quieter Easter right here in Florida, with good friends and almost no driving.  I am not as sick as last year, but I am also not as healthy as I had hoped I would be at this time.

It was a great winter, though.  The weather could not have been more perfect: sunny days, breezy warm air, perfect for leaving the windows open.  My last official sinus infection was in November.  I ended up being on a nasal nebulizer treatment for three weeks, three times a day which knocked out the bacteria that had likely been making me sick since we moved in July.  After Thanksgiving, I felt great!  We decided to celebrate the starting-to-heal me by taking the kids to Disney for a weekend in early December.  It was a blast!  I did have to take it easy, as my energy levels were still low.  Afternoons were still my low point, when achiness would hit and a rest was necessary in order for me to have the energy for the rest of the evening.  So we didn't quite "conquer" Disney like I wanted to, but we had a pretty full day, and it was definitely magical.

After Christmas, my energy somehow began to come back.  Probably because we had Jon's parents here for more than a week and I got so much help around the house, plus lots of extra sleep!  What a blessing it is to sleep in past 7 am AND wake up to have the kids all fed and dressed!  Plus, I met a new friend who put extra sparkle in my life and gave me a reason to at least try to be more friendly and get out of the house more.  This combination of rest and friendship, along with having finally cured a very stubborn infection, sent me along the recovery path I had been hoping for. Most of January through March I was my old self again!  A miracle, truly!  Pain and fatigue was gone, sinuses were clear, I was not exhausted in the afternoons. Amazing. Granted, my life was still very low-key, but that is my new life.  I have to pace myself, even when I am feeling well.

The past few weeks have not been going as well.  I went to the ENT twice before and after our March trip back to Disney with Jon's parents, and both times he said I did not have an infection (even though I felt like I did).  My asthma is bothering me, and while I don't have pain, I am fatigued.  I guess this is what is prompting me to write again, mainly so I can keep track of my own story and be reminded of why we live here, and what work is still left to be done in regard to regaining my health.

I am now looking again more closely at the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis.  At this point, I am told I do not have sinusitis, so there has to be more going on.  I haven't been on any special diets all winter, so I am going to look back into that area, as well as start taking all the supplements recommended by the CFIDS experts.

Compared to a year ago, I am SO much healthier than I was.  But I still have a long way to go.  I had a taste of the "old me" for a few months this winter, and it was wonderful.  I know that good health is possible for me, which gives me hope.  God is good, and He is directing our every step as we continue to trust that we are exactly where we are supposed to be, right now, today.  The hard part is trying not to look back, and especially not too far forward.  I am thankful for each day that I have the health I do have, for family and friends, for three beautiful children who bring me such joy, and a wonderfully caring (and cute!) husband that makes me feel like the most special woman alive.