85.5

About a month ago I was looking at myself in the mirror and thought I looked pretty gaunt. So, I got out our trusty scale and weighed myself. I was shocked to see "85.5" staring up at me. Nervous, really. I told Derek, and I went on a weight-gaining diet.

Derek graciously pushed the ice cream-potato chip-pound cake-chocolate-peanut butter-Otis Spunkmeyer muffin-diet. It was really hard to handle (yeah, right). However, it was still a struggle to put on weight.

Then, four weeks ago I started feeling like I had the flu in my spine. It. was. strange. Stranger still was that soon my muscles and joints started aching. Then, the stiff neck began. Then, the headaches began. Then, a week and a half ago, a fever began along with blurry vision (up close).

So, off I went to the ER. The doctor and nurse both thought I had spinal meningitis. However, the spinal tap and other tests revealed I did not have spinal meningitis, mono, flu, or pneumonia. Good news.

Then, the ER doctor came back to my room. He wanted to run an additional test, as something had shown up in my liver while x-raying my lungs for pneumonia. This “bump” was being confirmed by my blood test.

Before releasing me for the night, he let me know that what he saw on the images and in my blood work was called “hepatitis”.

Um, yep. I’m familiar with that term.

So, off I went to the specialist to find out for sure. The doctor there seems to agree with the ER doc. Only, he was/is thinking it is either Hep A or Hep E. “E”?? I had never even heard of such a thing! I assured him I had my Hep A vaccinations, so it couldn’t be that. (I have my MD credentials, so I can make blanket claims like that—yeah, right.)

So, Hep E it is looking like. One more test to go to find out for sure.

The good thing about Hep E is that one’s body can fight it without medication, and the liver can rebuild itself.

Great news!

Now, the clincher: to repair my liver I have to go on a low-fat diet! Low-fat. Yep. Ya read that right.

This morning I weighed myself. 86.0 pounds. Yep. I need that low-fat diet like you won’t believe.

So, to the hair cutting issue. I was looking gaunt. Remember? Well, my straight hair was doing me no favors. Thus, I planned to enhance my “beauty” by framing my face with chopped luscious layers. Now that my layers were looking so bad failing to bring a false “fatness” to my face, I am now wearing my layers in two ponytails: one on either side of my face. The ponytails expand the horizontal image of my narrow face and the layers don’t look so bad. I really look good (yeah, right)!

There will be no pictures, because pictures are so overrated.

Side note: Whatever “it” is that I contracted while overseas getting my precious baby boy,

IT.

WAS.

SO.

WORTH.

IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, I'd do it again in a heart-beat! (Oh yeah, I am...to bring home baby Hope.)