On our most recent trip to London, I dodged a bullet. Maybe. Hopefully. I am not all the way out of the woods, yet.
Our Travels Across the Pond was the trip of a lifetime filled with so many wonderful memories of football, history, nature, geography, religion, and literature. It was a time to be together as a family of 5 again that none of us will ever forget. Upon our return to Washington, D.C. things started to go a little sideways.
First, I picked up some kind of dry coughing, lose your voice, feverish CRUD which I pushed through for about 10 days. I thought for sure it was my second catch of COVID. I took two tests and both came back negative. Even though the “at home” tests seem to be second best at best, I decided to believe them and just press on.
As the crud seemed to be on the way out of my system, I started to develop a very sharp pain in my lower left abdomen. It was a pain I never experienced before, sort of like a terrible cramp and sort of like electricity shocking and snaking its way through my intestines. I tried to ignore it but after a day or two of discomfort, a colleague suggested I should get it checked out just to be safe, so I went to the doctor’s office.
I walked in as the final patient of the day, worn down and feverish from the start of school, the crud, and still probably recovering from the trip. The doctor took a urine sample and found a little blood, and then she examined my belly. Long story short, she says “You need to go to the hospital to find out what’s going on.” She goes on to tell me “You probably have some sort of bacterial infection, your belly is tender to the touch, and you can’t mess around with this kind of thing.”
So, off I go to the Emergency Room. After a couple of hours there, a chest x-ray, and a CT scan, the nurse who earlier in the night told me she thought I probably had kidney stones, comes back and tells me I have an inflamed, infected colon, I am suffering with diverticulitis, and I have a hernia. They prescribed two antibiotics, which have rocked my world for the past 7 days, and sent me home.
Well, I just finished the 7 day dosage and am not feeling much better. That probably means more visits and more tests next week as we try to figure out what is going on. I am incredibly grateful to have access to modern medicine and healthcare. I am incredibly grateful that this happened upon my return to the States. My biggest fear in traveling throughout my entire life has been being ill away from home. I truly have so much to be thankful for…
Feeling pretty rough, I was unable to write much this week, thinking I would be better as we closed in on the weekend. Unfortunately, Michelle took on the same crud I had just about a week later, and as she recovers from it she has also been trying to take care of me.
Michelle has the beginnings of a wonderful essay about Westminster Abbey she’s been working on since we returned. We spoke this week about how impossible it is to really capture the majesty and spirit of Westminster but we will try.
And, as you all know, on Thursday, at age 96, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Her funeral will be held on September 19, 2022 at this hallowed ground and we hope to be better then to produce a tribute to all we saw in that wondrous and revered resting place for so many of England’s, and the world’s, heroes and leaders. Until next week, peace, comfort, and good health to all.