(FYI - I still don't like Photobucket. It let me upload the pics for this update but not the pics for my update for the TR with TK. STILL not a happy camper. ::sigh:: Oh well, one down one to go, right?)
How else would I start a day in Disney but with a morning walk??? Good Lord if I skipped that it might be a sign of the apocolypse.
Although,
something was off this morning.
For example, there is exactly ONE picture from my morning walk.
ONE.
UNO.
A. SINGLE. PICTURE.
And, in case you haven't caught on, this is the only picture from my solo wandering that morning that you will see:
So, as you can see by this glorious food "art" shot, I wandered my way into Capt. Cook's. Because we had no breakfast plans for the day and because I wanted something more substantial than what the lounge had to offer, I decided to splurge a CS credit on an egg and cheese croissant sandwich. I also got a tea and the juice. By the by, there are two size juices in the cooler at the Poly (not sure about the other resorts). One is slim and small. The other is substantial. BOTH count the same towards the juice in your breakfast CS credit (I confirmed this with the CM). Don't cheat yourself. Get the biggie.
I sat in the relative peace of CC's and updated my trip notes while eating. The sandwich was very good. The tea was tea. And I'm partial to OJ, so that was good too. I was full by the time I was done and I didn't finish the whole sammie. I sat for a bit longer before heading back to the room. We weren't in a rush to get started today since we had a FULL day: MK, dinner at Le Cellier, back to the room to change,
MNSSHP. I can't recall exactly what time I made it back to the room but Missy was just waking up. It was probably just after 8 a.m.
While she got dressed, I watched a bit of TV.
And felt strange.
I put on my sunblock.
And felt strange.
I decided to do a "live update" on the DIS (which I'd been woefully neglecting) so I booted up my laptop.
And felt strange.
I successfully connected to the net and started reading through the responses on my PTR.
Yup. Still feeling strange.
Then, IT happened. If there was one thing that I could name that could literally blow apart the vacation IT was THIS.
No, not a hurricane.
No, not a mass of non-deodorant-wearing-horrible-BO-having humanity.
No, my friends, the one thing that strikes fear (and pain) in my heart, head, and body with just it's threat...
A MIGRAINE.
Now, some brief history here because I can't remember if I've related this story before - pre-Massive Complex Migraine of February 2006, I use to scoff at people saying they had migraines. I'd thought I'd experienced them myself and said, "Bad headache? Yeah. Debilitating? Come on. Don't be a drama queen."
Yeah. You know what they say about karma.
Then I had my first real complex migraine. For non-migraine sufferers (lucky ducks) or for people that don't know much about migraines, there are migraine headaches and then there are complex migraines. The latter come with all sorts of "fun" add-ons not experienced with a "regular" migraine. You know, like searing pain in your skull is not enough. Some of that fun stuff - light sensitivity, odor sensitivity, don't-freaking-touch-me sensitivity, nausea, spasms, numbness and this little disco ball that floats around your field of vision called a scintillating scleroma. Some are so intense they cause temporary blindness. That February I experienced ALL of these. My whole body alternated going numb on each side. And it happened at work. I wasn't just debilitated. I was a vegetable. I was sent to the hospital where I survived time in triage (they were having trouble ruling out a stroke), hours of laying in a dark ER trauma room, morphine, a CT scan, 2 MRI's, and overnight stay and a spinal tap (I won't even divulge how horrible of an experience I had with that last one). They sent me home with a much milder headache and a scrip for Imitrex.
I promised myself to never again breathe a word about migraine sufferers. Ever. I also live(d) with a little fear in the back of my head of when the next one might strike.
September 23, 2008. Apparently.
As I sat there, looking at the screen, I noticed I was having trouble reading what I was typing. It seemed like I started losing the first letter of every word. My heart sped up a little. Then I noticed that my fingertips were going numb. Cue serious heart palpitations. I think I literally THREW the laptop from my lap and vaulted for the bathroom where my pills were. If you let a migraine take hold there is NO going back.
As soon as I entered the bathroom Missy knew something was up. I explained to her as calmly as I could (not very) what was happening and stood wondering if I should take an Imitrex (which would put me out of commission for most of the day) or try two Advil Migraine and hope for the best.
I REALLY didn't want to lose a whole day. A whole MK day. I took a gamble. I took the Advil Migraine.
Missy reassured me that we would take this in stride and came to keep me company while I laid down in bed, hoping to fend off impending doom. We shut off the lights and drew the curtains and waited. I knew from the last migraine and from plenty of research that the visual symptoms come on, almost like clockwork, 30 minutes before the pain and nausea hit.
So we waited.
That was another Disney first - laying in bed and wishing I actually wasn't in Disney.
I was so worried I'd ruin the day.
I was so worried I'd spend the next 8 hours on the floor of a Disney bathroom (no matter how deluxe, still not on my "Must Do" list).
I was so worried that the Advil wouldn't work.
Whether it was God or Disney Magic, the Advil did it. To this day I'm still thankful for that.
After about 40 minutes I realized the symptoms had dissipated and there was only a minor thudding in the back of my head. Barely there. But there. Missy and I reassessed and decided we'd give it a go. My worry was transportation. I was afraid that if we took the monorail, I'd get motion sick (my belly was ok, but definitely sensitive) and be stuck in the car with, well, nowhere to go. The only other option was the boat, which, given a history of sea sickness on a whale watch, didn't seem like the best option either. BUT, it did offer fresh air and, well, not to be gross but the ability to, er, vacate my stomach over the side rather than in a closed vehicle. (Sorry.)
The boat it was.
We took our time getting to the dock. I have to stop here and say that today was a gorgeous day - sunny, hot but not too much so, and breezy. I remember thinking that maybe it was Mother Nature's way of coddling me despite the "trauma" of the morning. We didn't wait too long on the dock for the boat to arrive. And I knew it was a straight shot from the Poly to the MK and I felt like I could do it. I felt brave. I felt I should sit in an "outside" seat, just in case. I held Missy's hand.
I'm proud to announce that my egg and cheese croissant was NOT acquainted with the shores of Bay Lake. Or is it the Seven Seas Lagoon? Why do I always confuse the two??? BAD DISER, Tink!
Despite all the fear that the headache would sneak up on me, I couldn't help but beam as we walked to the entrance. I mean really, doesn't this make EVERYONE smile (NOTE: the picture is actually not from our arrival, as it's obviously from the monorail and the park is NEVER that empty on a beautiful day at 10 a.m., but it serves the purpose for a visual):
We made our way in and, I'm not kidding you here, a sense of peace came over me upon coming out from under the railroad station. Was the headache still there? Yes. But it was as if with every breath, in went soothing Disney Magic and out went fear and pain. Or it could've been the Advil Migraine doing it's job. I like to think it was the former.
And, as if a sign, I realized that perhaps a spoonful of sugar might help...
See that smile on my face? It's pretty big. I love this pic. And while I had a million things still milling in my head (including how I was standing with Bert and LL's gal), I was just thinking HAPPY. You're HAPPY. It's all going to be fine. Show the world (and the camera) your HAPPINESS.
And I made Missy that tank.
Aslo, how RED am I??? Funny, but I wasn't sunburned at ALL on the trip!
Before walking right down the middle of Main Street USA, we had one stop to make. I needed me a pair o' ears.
After picking out a set of the "classic" black ears and waiting to have them embroidered, Missy and I had some fun with the hats:
Happy Birthday "Jennifer"!
Just after I took this shot, one of the CM's called Missy over and said she had a phone call. It was from Mickey Mouse. Wishing "Jennifer" a happy birthday.
She took the pin off after that. We hadn't realized the attention would be so immediate. And neither of us wanted to abuse the "pin thing".
Feeling like something's eating my brain...
"Grrr. Argh."
Once my ears were bobby-pinned in place, we were on our way.
Outside Casey's I made a mental nod to TK. And then we got in on the "action":
But once at the Hub, where to?
Funny, I think we were feeling a little Adventure in our bones...
UP NEXT: Epically Huge MK Day Mega Update Numero Dos