Hospitals and Hibachi...does anything else start with the 'h' sound??

Sorry...I'm back in teaching mode again...lots of rhyming, alliteration, and letters!
So isn't this a sight?! Didn't think this would be the start of my weekend...

So here's the beginning...Friday night started out great! I went to Encore Theater with my mom, grandpa and his friends to see A Christmas Carol and it was really good. I’m not sure which was more entertaining though, the production or the majority of old people in the audience to observe! Gotta love hearing aids and their own unique personalities that come out at just the right times to make you laugh. :) Maybe that’s where it all started…too much laughing and entertainment at the theater. However, that’s when my chest on the left side started to tighten up and clench, making it hard to breathe. I did the old 'breathe in and count to 3' trick like my grandma showed me when I was little, but that wasn’t working this time around. By the end of the show my chest was in such tight, sharp pains that I called Andrew at work (he's a fireman/paramedic) to have him just take a look at me.
So my mom and I drove to the fire station, and by this point I could hardly stand up in the fire station the pain was so bad. I had sharp, intense pains going through my shoulder, down the left side of my heart and under the ribcage, and it started moving up into my neck, but only on the left hand side. I kept telling everyone I would wait it out and see if it went away, just go home and see what it was like in a few hours. My mom called my sister who's a nurse on the way to my house and I was describing my symptoms, that's when she wanted to check me out herself. So we started driving to her house instead of home where I really wanted to be. On the way there, I felt my left arm go numb and I couldn't lift it very well and the pain in my throat started to tighten up so bad that I couldn’t catch my breath, it was hard to see, and for the first time I started to get scared! My biggest fear in life in not being able to catch my breath. Kind of ironic with my cancer, huh?? My biggest fear lived out in front of my eyes. Not once, but for six months of not being about to catch the breath I dream about. Well at this point, Mom made a V-line to the hospital. We were done wondering what was going on.

Sarah met us at the ER and I wasn’t ready to go in until she thought it was absolutely necessary. She looked over my pale face and body and said, 'better safe than sorry sis. Come on'. I still wasn’t convinced until she told me this could be a circulatory problem and I may not be getting enough blood to my heart or something. I was in pain, so I agreed and we got admitted to the ER. Hello, my Name is Joe (and I work in a button factory) did an EKG right away and Farmer Nurse who 'looks with her fingers not her eyes to start IV's' got me settled into my room. Sarah and my mom were there to calm me down and make me laugh as the people started rolling in. A physician’s assistant who looked like he was 17 came in (he reminded me of Dr. Nathan Horton from Days of our Lives) to ask questions and check me out. That’s when Abby the Happy Nurse came in and the real doc too. We went through the exam and Dr. Horton laughed at my boots. He wasn't prepared to see my Ugg boots on under the blankets with my blue hospital gown :) They keep my feet warm and I was shaking like a mad women! In the middle of testing, blood work, and CT scans, my mom left, Andrew came, and we 3 were entertained by creating Mash Up of songs Andrew would throw at us. We haven’t lost our touch Sarah J! When there were silent moments, that's when the silent prayers were sent to Jesus from me pleading for nothing serious to be wrong.
As time went by, I was laying down and the pain was starting to subside. The plan was to admit me to a floor for observation, but with my white counts and hemoglobin still low, my family was skeptical. If nothing serious was going on, I didn’t want to get sick from being at the hospital. Last thing I need is another infection. And I was really feeling better the more I relaxed and laid down. I assured the docs and nurses that I was feeling better every time they came in. Then the results came back and the great news was that I had no blood clots near my heart, which was what we were all worried about thinking I could be having a stroke. Thank you Jesus. My blood counts were abnormal, but typical because of my cancer. So I assured them that if the pain got worse I would come back, and I was able to be released. Thanks you again Jesus. I was happy, yet sad though. And I started to get emotional when everyone left and I was getting my clothes on.

I couldn’t figure this out. That night was probably the most pain I have been in through this whole process, yet nothing serious was going on. I just couldn’t figure it out. I mean, I went to the doctor six months ago and found out I have cancer. I go to the hospital with intense pain, and nothing is too wrong. I just couldn’t figure it out and told Andrew something is wrong with me and my head...I'm going crazy! He laughed and hugged me and assured me of what my parents and sister said too, that we have to be more careful with me right now. Anything, small or big, is nothing to take lightly. With everything going on inside my body, anything could be potentially serious and if something worse did happen, like a stroke or something we thought I was having, we didn’t want to be stuck at home…the hospital was the best place to be. So I can’t be afraid to let them know if something feels ‘off’. Well Friday night, something definitely felt off. I was also reminded that we have a God who really does perform miracles. Even in the present day...I've seen it, mot presently through a little baby we call Little Miss Miracle (something I'll catch you up on later...but save the date next Sunday night for a benefit!)
They say it could have been a muscle or something stressed induced, but honestly, I’m really not stressed out. Seriously. The other option is that it was referred pain from something else going on in my body. Which means the pain just localized in my chest for awhile. Makes sense with all the stomach problems I've been having through this healing process. Just another Laura Medical Mystery. :) Anyways, if I never have to feel that pain again…it would still be too soon. I haven't felt the sharp pains since that night, and my chest is just sore from all the action from whatever it was going on in there. Honestly, if I can chalk it up to the healing power of prayer and Jesus, I will...because I was nervous, and I have never felt anything like that before. And to be able to walk out of the ER feeling insanely better the same night, I just have to give praise one more time to my God for looking out for me once again. I think I've almost used up all my Get Out Of Jail Free cards though :) I'm just really thankful for the faithfulness He shows me everyday.

But nothing, not even the hospital, was going to keep me from my sushi and Japan West to celebrate my sis's birthday! The Sing-Off birthday celebration is coming Monday! :)
Oh, and please excuse my husband's latest trend. Moustaches will never look good, however since I'm not looking my top notch either, I'm hoping this is his way of dying down his good looks too ;)
Today I have been feeling good too. I went to church and was able to serve communion to the congregation. Very powerful to be apart of such a cool thing with others. I'm just getting ready for the next week of Polar Express with the kids, keeping Cooper out of trouble, and about ready to have pizza with my parents. I love living so close to them :)

Hey, What do you think of the new wig?! Thank you Liz from Yellow Tuesday (another great place for hair!) I love it!!
AND....my REAL hair is starting to come back!!! My eye brows and everything..no more pencil eyebrows!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers of healing...they are not going unheard, PROMISE! This weekend proved it yet again :)