The past few weeks have been pretty trying for me. One of the things I can't stand about myself is my seemingly poor immune system and inescapable attraction to bad luck. Add those two together, and you get someone who winds up with weird sicknesses too often.
I hate this for several reasons. Not only is it a huge hassle to miss work or school and make a doctor's appointment, but it's honestly just embarrassing and makes me appear like a hypochondriac to anyone and everyone. I started out the first week of this semester by getting strep throat, causing me to miss a day of work and a meeting. So after that, I decided that the next time I felt sick, I would simply ignore it until it went away.
A week later, I was having severe stomach problems. After every meal, I would have intense pains which usually ended in me vomiting up everything. I would take medicine to try and solve the issue, but then I would throw that up as well. I figured it was just a typical stomach bug or possible food poisoning, so I firmly stuck to my plan of avoiding the doctor and missing school or work.
It kept getting worse. Eventually, water wasn't even sitting right with me. I walked around in constant pain, but I didn't tell hardly anyone because I knew they'd think "Oh Shelby is sick again." That isn't the stereotype I want for myself at all because a) I'm not an attention seeker. I don't need people to feel bad for me. There's a reason I don't post my illnesses on social media of any sort. The only time I tell people is when it causes me to miss an event that I have already committed myself to, which unfortunately, usually involves many of the same people all the time. Reason b) is because I don't like appearing weak. I've worked very hard to lose weight and build muscle. I joined CrossFit to be a part of the ultimate challenge and become the fittest version of myself. The last thing I want is for anyone to think that I can't take care of myself due to weakness.
So about 12 days went by before I finally let myself go to the doctor. Any stomach bug that lasts for over a week is something straight from hell. Of course, I had to go through the embarrassing task of asking off of work for another doctor's visit. The doctor checked me out pretty thoroughly and finally informed me that I had slightly torn part of the lining in my stomach, causing a lot of irritation. The only fix was to take a small pill everyday for a month. So, I followed the doctor's orders.
A few days later, I was still in bad shape. That's about the time when the doctor called to inform me that my blood test was positive for H. pylori. In non-medical terms, H. pylori are bacteria that live in the wall of stomachs and eat away at it, causing a lot of pain, and eventual stomach ulcers. New medication was prescribed, and again, I followed the doctor's orders.
With the 8 pills a day I was now taking, I successfully felt like a 75 year old, and I thought surely this would be the end of the trilogy.
But the trilogy turned into a saga. A few days later, the pain had returned, and brought a 101 fever with it. I waited it out, waking in the middle of the night having sweated through my clothes and 6 blankets wrapped around me, but still somehow shivering.
I called the doctor and informed him what was happening, asking what I needed to do. He advised me to go straight to the emergency room, as these were symptoms of stomach ulcers. I called back two more times, practically begging to just come into their office instead or going to the ER, but they didn't have the equipment for these problems.
I won't bore you with the 7 hour story of the ER, the liter of medicine I drank to get a CT scan, the nurse I had that forgot 3 times to bring me a blanket, the IV stabbed into my forearm, or the many grams of morphine that coursed through me (best part of the day.) But at the end of the 7 hours, I was sent home with a 104 degree fever, stomach still in pain, and a bill that my dad will be getting in the mail soon.
This story is not because I need attention. I just need understanding. I don't know why my immune system fails me or why bad luck circles around me like a fly in a barn. The health issues combined with all my car tows, parking tickets, sweet potatoes catching fire in the microwave, and embarrassing incidents with strangers add up to the equivalent of a really bad reality TV show.
Really bad reality TV shows provide for some descent entertainment. And that is the reason why I blog. So please don't feel bad for me. All I ask is that you can be patient with my reality TV show of a life and chuckle about it as you read along. Enjoy.
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