Health Update

Well the kids seem to be over their illnesses from last week (although Emilio is still sometimes hacking up a lung with that croupy cough, but it isn't keeping him up at night and seems far and few between during the day), but I'm still sick! In fact, we had a scary night on Monday evening. My chest was feeling very tight as I was trying to breathe and I could feel another fever coming on so I was getting panicked (I seem to go downhill really fast with this stuff). The nurse I called said I must get to the ER. In between trying to find help with the kids, and contacting John (who was an hour bus ride away in Seattle) I started hyper-ventilating and eventually couldn't feel my lips, legs, or hands (they were all curled up like claws). It was all frightening and my poor kids had to watch me go through all this. Emilio at one point just started praying over me and said the most amazing intercession for me to God, and Gabi kept handing me the phone and saying, "Nonno, Nana" (my parents names as if that is who I needed to call). Anyway, my mom contacted my brother Michael who sped over, raced in and put the kids in the car and carried me to the car. He rushed us to Valley Medical Hospital and was so encouraging the whole way. They rushed me right into triage and helped me get my breathing back on track and then got me a bed soon after that. The Dr. thinks I am just still hanging onto the bronchitis junk from last week and put me on more steroids, antibiotics, breathing treatments, and even vicadin to help sleep through my cough at night. The Dr. said he has been seeing lots of cases where bronchitis is sticking around in people for a long time this winter, so I guess I'm one of those cases. He says I'm just more prone to stuff like this because my lungs are scarred from my previous history with these types of sicknesses.
John eventually reached us at the hospital and Michael took the kids to MacDonalds for dinner (he wanted to treat them, what a super uncle!) and then home to his house to play. I got to go home around 9 that evening and felt pooped! I'm still trying to recover this week, still feeling shortness of breath and yucky side effects from all the drugs. I'm hoping and praying it all passes really soon. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me. I so appreciate it.