Disclaimer: This Update Contains Medical Information that may not be for the faint of heart. What's that warning they use on TV before they present Medical Mysteries, Dr. G, and other similar programs????
Heck. I forget, but I am sure shocker knows.
He knows all the answers that can be found in a single pictorial display.
Any how.....I just want to give a big welcome to everyone who has subbed in for this TR. It's so fun to have new readers and old friends alike.
So, since I never do pre-trip reports I couldn't chronicle my pre-trip drama. But, honestly, would have really wanted to hear it????? I think NOT! But just so you are all caught up, I have to give you a few more pre trip details. I know you haven't met the entire cast yet. You know me. You know Denny, my directionless DH. But you haven't met Chuck & Cathy yet. They are friends that we have know forever. Back in the day Chuck used to date one of my coworkers and Denny used to be in a Dewey Bch house with chuck. It was just logical that we would all meet. In fact, it was Chuck who actually introduced me to my modern day DH. That was how many years ago? Too many to count
OK. I am already digressing. So about a month leading up to the trip I had prepped chuck and cathy on our itinerary. We had flights, they had links to the lovely pictures of the WL and the VWL, and they had links to all the restaurants we would be dining at. They were set. They knew we had some Brian drama going on. They knew that Denny might have to cancel. They knew I had already called member services on Day 35 to see what one bedroom villas were available. If Denny was going to cancel then I darn well better bank the extra points. The three of us didn't need a 2BR villa. I am not that point rich.
But Denny and I really wanted to stay at the WL. We decided not to cancel and day 30 came and went without incident. Or did it???????
Our Day 30 was Good Friday. During that week Ellen (Podsnel) and I had been exchanging pms. She was in the outer banks with her two youngest boys, Timmy and Tyler. She was planning on driving through Delaware the Saturday before Easter. So we set up tentative plans to meet, but then Ellen decided she needed to get straight home because one of the boys had an afternoon baseball game. Well, when that baseball game got moved to early afternoon or late morning, ellen decided she didn't stand a chance of getting there in time. So she called me on Saturday to see if I still wanted to meet.
Heck Yeah I did! I missed her call, then she missed mine, but we finally arranged an afternoon meet at the Friendly's in Middletown, Delaware. I was stoked to meet Ellen. She is super nice and is just like I thought she would be. He boys were so polite and well behaved. They dug into their Friendly's food (what kid doesn't like Friendly's) while we had ice cream. It was a lovely meet, and with one month until our respective trips, I'm glad we had the opportunity to do it. Ellen and the boys had to leave all too soon, but they still had another 2 1/2 hrs to travel before they arrived home.
After Ellen left, when I got home I had to rehearse some music for the Easter vigil at our church. I am a music minister in a Catholic church and Holy week is HUGE for music. I wasn't going to attend the vigil, but my music director gently persuaded me. The mass was at 8pm and around 7pm I decided a better eat a few bite of something to hold me over for the 3 hour liturgy. Right after I had a sandwich I started to feel a bit naseous. I blammed it on nerves and that unsettled feeling finally went away once the mass started. For the next three hours I wrapped up in the music. I mostly played my flute, but did have to sing one of the psalms.
The mass flew by. I felt like I did a good job and I get several compliments on the psalm I sang. I was feeling pretty good when I got home that night. I was starving and a ate a small piece of Denny's left over sub.
And Then It was OOOOOOONNNNNNNNN!
Can I just say that within 3 minutes of eating I knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong. Now here's where the nasty comes in. I debated wether or not to share, but I decided to go for it. I tend to have IBS and some GI issues, so the stomach cramps I was experiencing did not concern me. I just wanted to "get the show on the road", so to speak. I figured once I was done expelling whatever evil demon had taken hold of my GI track, I would be fine.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Whatever was wrong with me had me spewing from both ends and up most of the night. Still, I was optimistic that by morning I would be fine, fine, fine! NOT! I was still pretty sick. I was no longer vomiting but the "D" took a tool on me. I canceled everything for Easter sunday. I had a few good hours between 1pm and 3pm and then the evil "D" came back with a vengence. By dinner time I noticed that the evil "D" looked a little red tinged. Must be my imagination I thought. By 730pm I could not longer pass red "D" as my imagination or leftover cherry drink. I called Denny for confirmation and he said, "Let's go to the hospital now".
So off we went. I tried to go to the larger tertiary care hospital closer to my house, but the waiting room was packed. We did a drive by and I told Denny just to keep on driving to the hospital I work for, It was a smart choice. They got me in an exam room in minutes. Asking to see evidence of my GI bleed, they quickly decided that I needed a Cat Scan and that I probably had diverticulitis. I knew this was no diverticulitis. I was certain I had Ecoli01357 or whatever that horrible stuff is. The ER doc declared me overly dramatic.
Now imagine being sick for almost 24 hours and having to drink the Bari-cat (contrast medium) that needs to be injested prior to the procedure. Not fun! Not surprisingly, my Cat scan did not show diverticulitis. It showed colitis, likely from bacterial infection.
So I bought myself two nights in the hospital and a 14 day course of Flagyl. I tested positive for an infectious type of "D" that can be acquired from the hospital setting. Since I work in a hospital it is presumed that I contracted it there.
For all of you that have met me, I swear I am not contagious, just highly unlucky. When I finally got home from the hospital I was so relieved to be out of there. I hated every single dose of the Flagyl because you absolutely CAN NOT drink on Flagyl. You will get deathly ill. Plus I felt so tired and wiped out. I was starting to wonder if I would ever feel healthy again.
Finally, about 10 days before I was due to leave for Disney I started feeling "back to normal". That was a huge occasion! So with a prescription in hand in case of relapse of the Evil D, I was READY to go.
So that's my saga. Andy why did I choose to tell you about this. Well, you are just going to have to stick around find out!
Next Up.....Something critical is missing 1/2hr before its time to leave for the airport. Any quesses?
Welcome back!
I checked out your TR this morning and I had to tear myself away. What great fun! Thanks for joining in!
I hear ya! I need a class, too! But probably the best I'll get our educational videos on youtube.
, but I'm just happy to be going back.
Perhaps! I kept checking!
Also a 
