Well, I haven't done as well as I thought I would with all of this. My original intent was for this to be a way to empty my mind at the end of a day. Guess this means that I'm way behind.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks. I came down with some other kind of virus. As a teacher at an elementary school, it can be hard to escape the bugs and germs the kids bring with them to school. At first my doctor thought it was walking pneumonia. He prescribed an antibiotic and sent me for a chest x-ray. That was late in the day so I didn't hear about the x-ray results until the next day. They were of course clear. I did come down with something nasty. I had a fever of over 100 for 2 days, a wonderful hacking cough, and a splitting headache. The antibiotic really got my ulcerative colitis going too! After 3 days of bed rest and 2 days of minor activity, I don't feel too bad...except for the ulcerative colitis. It is going to take it a while to go away. Luckily tomorrow is a holiday...Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I have one more day to take it easy. Thank goodness.

Since I've mentioned it, let's talk about ulcerative colitis. What a fun little adventure that has been in my life. Here's the official definition to give you an idea. Ulcerative Colitis It is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. Doesn't that sound fun??? I have been told that I have left side colitis which means there are bleeding ulcers in my rectum and the left side of my colon. Mine would appear to be heredity since I have an aunt and a distant cousin who both have Crohn's disease. This first appeared about 2007 or so. I've honestly lost track of it all and can't remember when it all started. I didn't know what was going on. Bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain is just not something you want to talk about at first. I tried getting into see a doctor and that was harder than I thought. Luckily, a mom of one of my students worked for a gastroenterologist and was able to get me a quick appointment. After the initial consult, it was decided that I needed a colonoscopy. That confirmed the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I began a talking anti-inflammatory drugs. I also started research online and began to look at my diet. My diet wasn't great. I started eating healthier choices. It wasn't always fun. It took 2 or 3 years for the ulcerative colitis to go into remission. That was such a relief and I've been careful ever since that time. I've tried to watch what I eat and drink and if something seems to upset my stomach, I back away from it. Beer and sweets are the things that I have to be careful with. They seem to really upset my gut if I'm not careful. This summer,  I added a protein powder to my diet at the suggestion of my trainer. It was good for about a month. About the first of August, I started noticing the signs of problems. I stopped that and went to my gastroenterologist and started a new treatment. That took care of it...for a while. Then I started in with the little infections...an ear infection in October....a sinus infection in December...and finally the bug that I am currently dealing with. Antibiotics seem to be a problem for me. When the ulcerative colitis first reared it's ugly head in 2007, I had about 5 or 6 rounds of antibiotics for little things in the 6 months before it all started. So after 3 rounds of antibiotics since October, here I stand at the edge of the cliff waiting to see if I'll jump off for another wonderful 2 years of fun on the ulcerative colitis roller coaster. 

Well, I'm tired and it is past my bedtime. Gary's not home. He is in Grapevine tonight. He is teaching a class tomorrow at a private school north of Fort Worth. He's going to train them on some new equipment they purchased and the teachers volunteered to give up their day off to come in and learn. We had talked about going up and making a weekend of it all. I just wasn't up to it. He did get to see some friends and it sounds like they had a good time out tonight.