And now for the rest of the story....

For those of you who want to scold me for "waiting too long" to go to the doctor, I must say that I did everything a good little girl is supposed to do.

The week before I "checked" in, I went into the ER and was diagnosed with the early stages of pneumonia. They gave me a shot in the butt (ouch..this needle could have been used to put down elephants...I am just saying...) of antibiotics and sent me home with a five day  prescription of more antibiotics and such in order to oust the bug. On day three, Stewart and I returned to the ER, this time for him as he got stung badly by a  stingray just feet from the shore line.

He said he felt it when he stepped on it. (we always shuffle our feet when walking the dinghy to shore) He thought at first he had stepped on a crab. When he lifted his foot it reared up his stinger, poked him hard, and quickly swam away. Stewart said it was probably about 2-3 feet wide. It didn't hurt at first. He got to shore ( the tide was out so it was about a 100 foot walk in the shallows) and than he saw blood, he lifted his foot, than PAIN!!

He came back to the big boat immediately with Katie and another friend. A neighbor told us to soak his foot in hot water...we did so but my baby boy was in so much pain, I decided to take him to the ER just around the corner. They sent an ambulance. His first ambulance ride, lasting less than a half a mile, to the ER.

The cure for a sting? Soak your foot in hot water! The proteins from the sting break down in the hot water. It will hurt like Hell untill they break down. Than like a light switch, the pain is gone. All you have to do is just dress the wound until the gash heals.

Two days later, I return to the ER, my chest  feels crushed, I have a fever, barely a cough, and look pale as a ghost because I can't catch my breath. I have full on pneumonia. It is in the right side now. They run a few tests, a few x rays, and they tell me they are admitting me and I will have to have surgery.

The surgeon comes in and tells me he is going to go in with a scope, and suck out the "gook." It will not be invasive. A small 1-2 inch cut, unless there is something "horrible" going on. I am being given morphine and at this point am ready for them to just take it all out.

I wake up from surgery, (my very first on record) to find out that it was "horrible." My little incision turned into a 6-8 inch cut. The doctor has cut pieces of lungs out. I had holes in my lungs. I had a lot of damage. He was invasive. It was now a major surgery.BUT, it should all be gone.

I had a chest tube in for a few days. I lost a lot of blood. I had to have a transfusion. I had a lot of pain killers, breathing treatments, and  more blood drawn than I have ever had in my life. I did this for 8 days.

I came home on Saturday. I am feeling more like myself for the first time today. It is hard to get comfortable when I sleep. I have to constantly move around in the daytime...but this will pass soon and I am happy to be feeling so much better within less than a week.

I am to have a lot of follow up work. They are going to run tests to see why I have had this rare repeat of the same ailment. They are going to see if maybe I have a genetic reason for getting sick like this in my "old age" that stemmed from a childhood sickness, or a weak immune system from that also.

I know that I don't have much of anything, since they ran my blood for practically everything under the sun. I will be going to UCSD for this. I am kind of excited about it. I never want to go through this again, EVER! so I am all for the tests.

I have to have the stitches in for the next 2-3 weeks, than they can remove them. I have my first follow up on Friday. I am breathing well, but still very short. I am doing my breathing exercises and glad to be down to only taking half of the pain killers they prescribed. I think this time around it will end up better overall. I will be on some harsh antibiotics for the next two weeks.

I hate being laid up. I am not happy about the whole ordeal. I still have no explanation for it, yet I am happy that the hospital was within walking distance. The kid's saw me everyday, I was so close I could see the water. Neil was by my side every day and night. He is a great man. The kid's did a great job taking care of the dogs and the boat and each other. Have I mentioned that I am glad to be home yet?

We never know why things happen, but I must say I feel that God has been watching over me, has helped heal me in half the expected time, and I am thankful to have such great family and friends around me. I thank you  for your prayers for me and my family, and your continued support.

Sailing Hand Full may not have a lot of sailing adventures going on this minute, but adventures nonetheless.

It's never dull, that's for sure!