Saturday’s are always busy for me. Today was no exception, and in fact it was even more busy than usual. I disinfected the bathroom, organized and deep cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the dining and living room and did three loads of laundry. I got an awful lot accomplished. That brings a nice feeling, but accomplishing those goals wasn’t the highlight of my day. The highlight of my day was taking a break and getting Angel girl ready for bed.

I sat with her in the recliner feeding her bites of cornbread. In between bites we played peek-a-boo and clapped our hands. Then she took the cornbread from my hand and decided to feed me instead. There I sat chuckling, as I nibbled on the slobbery cornbread she stuck in my mouth. Then, she gave me a kiss. A sweet, tiny pursed lip kiss with cornbread crumbs on the side. Then another one. And another one. I didn’t mind one bit. I loved every crumby kiss!

We all have one. A day. The day. The day where something in our lives changed drastically forever. For me, May 14, 2005 was that day.

The morning started off with the usual routine. I took my thyroid medication for my Hypo-thyroidism. Then I took a new pill, 40mgs of Celexa. I had been having severe anxiety issues and had asked my new doctor if I could get back onto an anti-depressant. After an evaluation she agreed that I ought to be on one. So I began my treatment. And after that, the details become so very clear.

It was approximately 8:00 a.m. when I took the Celexa.

Exactly 2/12 hours later at 10:30 a.m. as I sat on the couch watching Rolie Polie Olie with my kids I began to feel a little nauseated. I went back to the bathroom thinking I would throw up but then the wave dissipated. I sat back onto the couch when another wave hit, this one twice as strong and with it came the feeling that I was losing consciousness. Suddenly I felt something was very wrong.

My arms were pulsing with warmth. Warmth shot from my head down to my toes. Every muscle in my body began quivering. I dialed my husband to tell him to come home. He could tell I sounded panicked and tried to talk me through what I was feeling. As I started talking to him my body calmed down slightly but towards the end of our conversation that jolting nausea accompanied by struggling to keep conscious surfaced. I told him I was passing out. Then I screamed into the phone that I was dying. I was sure if I lost consciousness I would be dead.

After I hung up the phone I found myself shaking violently again. I knelt down on the floor desperately trying to retch. But I couldn’t. My children were nearby asking me what was wrong. I just told them to watch the TV.

The shaking and zinging feelings shooting from my head and into my arms got worse and worse. I couldn’t even stand. With a prayer on my lips I crawled into the hallway until I couldn’t crawl anymore and curled up next to the bathroom. I couldn’t stop the trembling that had consumed my body. I felt so sick but I couldn’t throw up. My kids came into the hallway and hovered near me and I told them how much I loved them. Then I prayed that my husband would get home soon enough after I had died that they wouldn’t get into any major trouble running around the house on their own.

To be continued…

P.S. I have to continue it. I can’t write anymore. I thought I had worked up the courage to share this story but I’m actually shaking as I relive it.

Because mine can. Which I discovered yesterday after he came to me clutching his chest, sobbing that he had.

I was skeptical for a moment, wondering if he really knew what he was saying. Besides, he had learned long ago ago not to put money or other non-food objects in his mouth. But then I remembered that childhood lessons are often learned through experience because parental council is ignored.

I pulled out a nickel, dime, penny and quarter and asked him to point the one he had swallowed. Yes, he pointed to the quarter and it was then that I called the doctor. I assumed she would tell me it would just pass on through and to not worry, instead she told me to take him to the ER immediately.

I grabbed the baby, called the hubby and took my kids out the door. I figured the situation was not immediately life threatening so was pretty calm until my 4 year old boy looked up at me and said with tears in his eyes, “Aw miss you.”

“What do you mean you’ll miss me?” I asked

“Cause I gonna died,” he said.

Yeah. I lost it.

“You are not going to die sweetie. You’ll be ok.” I said as we both cried.

Once at the hospital the ER staff was quick and friendly. They took an x-ray of Obi Wan’s tummy and we saw the quarter sitting in his tummy (darn that I didn’t have my camera on me to show you how big it looked in his little body). He thought that was very cool.

They made us walk around for another hour to make sure the quarter could move past the sphincter (which if it didn’t we would have been transferred to another hospital to have it removed using a scope).

Thankfully, the x-ray taken an hour later showed that the quarter had moved into his intestines. Upon being discharged the nurse explained what symptoms to watch for that would tell us if it got stuck, but she reassured us that it really ought to pass through fine and get pooped out in a couple of days. Upon hearing this Obi-Wan, in his high pitched loud voice yelled, “COME OUT IN MY POOP?!?!?!?!? Oh, I gotta go poop wight now!” A chorus of laughter could be heard from patients, nurses and doctors. Yeah, that’s my boy.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am he swallowed it whole instead of choking on it. Now I suppose it’s time to clean out the couches so he’s not tempted by anymore stray coins.

I’m not the only one who has a social hermit for a husband right?

He always enjoys himself when he attends large gatherings and the like but I have to drag him along every time. So that is why I’m always eager to let him hang with someone doing something he enjoys when the invite comes along. Which isn’t very often. He doesn’t know any other guys out here well enough to just go and chill. He used to golf with one or two every couple weeks or so but they’ve since moved away. So you can imagine my delight when he got a call today from someone we know through church, asking him if he wanted to go fly fishing.

*I may or may not have discovered this person was a fly fisherman and practically begged asked him to invite my husband on an outing with him at least once.

Hubby was a huge fly fisherman back when we lived in Utah but he hasn’t gone out for 5 years now, what with work and family life being most important. But I know he wishes he could and really loves the sport. So hubby timidly told me this person had left a message for him but that he wouldn’t call back if I didn’t want him to go. After all my mom is in town and I had planned for her to take a family picture of us at some flower gardens this afternoon.

Well forget that! We can go tomorrow!

I told him to hurry and call back. In the meantime I went looking for some of his fly fishing equipment that I was betting I had stored in different boxes in all different areas of the apartment. It only took a moment to find his fishing vest for him and he gathered the rest of his tools, including his rod. That was when he realized he didn’t see his reel and he had no idea where it was. Likely I had packed it away too but could I remember where? No, and his buddy would be here very soon.

So crazy dear little wife that I am, I ransacked my house. Every place I thought it might be became an instant mess as I pulled out boxes, bags and the like. I tore apart our bedroom closet, the hallway closet, the entry way closet and the storage area beneath our bed in search of his reel so he could get out and do something he loved with somebody other than me.

In the end we couldn’t find it and his fishing buddy was waiting downstairs. Hubby glumly called him and informed him the reel was not to be found. But fishing buddy relayed the fact that he had an extra reel Hubby could use. Hooray!

As Hubby grabbed his stuff to run out the door I jokingly told him that he owed me big time. But all I really needed in return for my ransacking my house was given me at the door – a quick kiss and the happy look on his face as he walked out the door.