My Little Smiler

I just love that Russell smiles all the time now and the other day he actually laughed! A baby laugh is just the most adorable thing in the world.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

About a month ago I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night expecting to see my stomach slashed and all of my vitals organs lying nicely in a steaming pile on the floor. Fortunately, no such event occurred. However, the excruciating pain emanating from some unknown place in my abdomen had led me to believe that I had been the first victim in a B-list slasher flick. I rushed myself to the hospital, was admitted to emergency and, after blood and urine tests, then later an ultrasound, discovered that, no, I had not somehow unwittingly swallowed shards of glass, I had gall stones. Apparently, during pregnancy, my Godzilla-sized uterus managed to cause build up in my bile duct.

I was relieved to know what was wrong but have since suffered several more excruciating attacks which have prompted more trips to emergency just to make the pain go away. THEN about two weeks ago, I started to get incredibly lethargic and discovered at a doctor's appointment that I was jaundiced. The gall stones were now starting to interfere with my liver function causing increased billirubin levels. THEN my entire body started to itch like it was entirely covered in mosquito bites (another symptom of a liver function problem). THEN, I became nauseous.

The only cure for gall stones is to remove the gall bladder entirely and, frankly, I am all for that if it means I can feel normal again. GET THAT MUTHA'-TRUCKA' OUT OF ME! I have an appointment with the surgeon this Wednesday so, if all goes well, I'll have a surgery booked pretty soon and can finally get my life back. We'll see.

J