I’m back and boy do I have an update!! I thought once the kids were back in school I’d be on here all the time dreaming of my cruise that was only weeks away
BUT we’ve been on QUITE a rollercoaster! I’ll start in mid August… I got sick and I mean SICK
. I had pneumonia with some chest pain that landed me in emerg. The doctor put me on strict bed rest and gave me some antibiotics. He did do an EKG and sent me on my way. I have to say that I’m NEVER sick and I’m not a very good sick person (I’m a whinner. Not usually… just when I’m sick) I’m not very good at sitting still or lying still
…but I did it. This was 2 weeks before we had planned to go camping with my parents and my sister and her family.
Here’s a pic from that torturous event… gives new meaning to the word glamping.
I was kinda hoping that my illness would get me out of camping… I’m not a camper. I went because my kids love it… against my better judgment. Well it rained….and rained….and rained some more
. It was by far the worst camping experience yet. Only to be topped off by my husband becoming very ill. My husband was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder 15 years ago and was critically ill where the doctors didn’t think he would pull through. When he was first diagnosed he was admitted to hospital for a month. That was a year before I met my Nate. Since we’ve been married he’s had 3 outbreaks but manageable with meds and he would usually make a full recovery after approximately 2 months. So of course we are doing the math and thought… ya were fine… just under the wire. Well we get back from camping and we call his specialist and he puts him on the usual course of treatment and…. it doesn’t work.
We start freaking out a little 1. because he’s really sick and meds aren’t working 2. because since this is a pre-existing condition we are not covered by insurance and we would be out a bunch of money and not get to cruise with our family and friends
. Our plan B if he was not well enough was to seek out anyone with H1N1 virus and do a lot of kissing.
Certainly THAT would not be pre-existing. Not really wanting to do that I emailed my most WONDERFUL
travel agent instead, Cass aka ”Timon” here on the Dis. She called Disney and told them of our woes and because we contacted her just 46 days out it was our last day to cancel with a full refund minus our deposit. After that they offered us an extra 2 weeks to decide if we wanted to change our date but it would cost $50 per person to change also the difference of the cruise price. I felt this was very generous since they didn’t have to do anything for us… I think it was the persuasive powers of our super human TA
. During this time my husband had to go back to his specialist which is almost an hour drive away. Well isn’t my DH like a broken car going to the mechanic
. First off his specialist was away lecturing in Europe so he saw his partner… she was very nice but is not totally familiar with his history of how bad he can get. Anyway she ordered some blood work and a few other tests to be done before he left and said by what she was reading on his chart she thought she was going to admit him to hospital right there…. but since he “looked” so good she felt he could go home. So I have to back up a day…. My doctors office called and said they had to see me about my visit to the ER back in August. I was like… ok, I’m kinda busy how about next week. They were more like… how does later today sound. So I decided I would go the next day after Nate’s specialist appointment. I show up and I’m told that my EKG showed that I may have had a past M.I. … as in a heart attack. I’m like… “are you serious!”
So he wants me to go through the whole gamut, stress test, blood work, halter monitor and another EKG. Great. So I go home to take care of my very ill husband and my kiddos. I just get my kids to bed and we get a call from the specialist….at 8:30 pm saying “I just reviewed your blood work and you need to admit yourself to the hospital….. now.” So she assured us that we didn’t have to go to her hospital but our own local hospital could give him IV steroids and fluids. So off we go and he is admitted for 2 days…not long enough. Soon as he said it’s starting to work the doctor said ok…you can go then. I was like huh?! Anyway within 2 hours of being home and not getting the meds that were working he started to decline. Anyway we called the specialist and she said if he gets worse to go straight to her hospital. He didn’t get much worse but very sloooowly started to get better. He was discharged on a Thursday. My little Gabe started barfing on the Wednesday before he came home….and barfed for a few more days until there just was no more barf. So off we go to the ER for our 3rd time in 3 weeks. He got off easy with only a 5 hour visit with IV meds and some fluids after several attempts of them trying to get him to keep anything down. They were worried about appendicitis since he had a temp and abdominal pain so that did NOT happen thank goodness. So now he was fine within a few days and back to school. I have to add that I had the MOST stressful couple of weeks at work that I have ever had… of course. I was up until 3am getting a report that was due back when I was off only to have to get up and go on a field trip with my 9yr old DS
. I was pretty tired that day and the next. Just wait… it gets better! I’m relaxing reading the Dis… pretty happy that I got that grueling report done and I get a call from my 16 yr old DS school. Not feeling well and they need me to pick him up. My first thought was the little bum is faking… he wants out of Spanish class. So I go and pick him up and he doesn’t look so good. I take him to emerg…. once again… my new hang out. He was having pain in his chest and having a hard time breathing. Doesn’t he have a pneumothorax… as in collapsed lung!!!!
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!! So he has emergency surgery and has a chest tube put in to drain the blood and extra air… and he is admitted to hospital. He comes out of it fine… just complaining a lot but I’ll give that to him. Out of all this I have to say how amazing my family and neighbours were AND my church sent a freezer full of ready made suppers! Even through out all this I was feeling pretty blessed.
So now I ask the doctor… we are flying in 34 days… is he fine to fly? Ummm no. Huh… what… THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.
So now we have to think about that lovely drive that I wrote about on page one of this report. I think I still have PTSD from that drive! So we make up a list of all of our options… or I should say my husband makes up a list. Just for clarification… he was not serious about #1 or #11
So there were some things that we had to keep in consideration… first off Nate should not drive. Not only because he is fatigued easily but stress can aggravate his condition… so despite him saying he was fine to drive I beg to differ. Sooo #8 wins and I am paying for my sisters accommodations for her to drive and stay in Orlando!
I got a great deal off skyauction and got a villa for $319 for the week. So I will pay for her gas and her hotels along the way and she has a free vacation! So as of today my son was discharged from hospital, which is where I started writing this segment of my report since I can only watch so much of him playing a video game! He says he’s going to miss the comfy bed and the great food at the hospital… says a lot for my cooking eh.
So now that everyone is on the mend and we have a way to get there I can start to get excited about this trip again AND I don’t have to seek out contagious people to make out with.
I have lots more now that I can get back to obsessing about the cruise but I’m going to bed… it’s has been a very long day.
(I wouldn't really do that) maybe just my own 
that would have been cheaper for sure!
By this time Evan and my sister and her kiddos should be arriving. 
and then Halloween festivities. 
... so we are open for suggestions
So I went ahead and decided to take the plunge and book our Thursday night stay. It didn't matter too much where exactly we stayed since we have no plans. I decided to look at Hotwire and we found a condo for $45... $57 with tax! We ended up with Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club. I think it looks great especially for the price!! Joh and I were conversing on fb while I was choosing... She said that the OCD planner in her would have a hard time booking a hotel and not knowing what it was. I said I felt a little rebellious and kinda like a free spirit! lol. 
funny... I was going to send you a message that you are "featured" in my TR! I'm glad you found it cuz of course that lead me to YOURS which are always HIGHLY entertaining 
