My mom has been a nurse for over 40 years and is amazing and wonderful at her job....
she has an iron stomach that is not swayed by smells, sounds, or sights
this gene missed me (and my sister) (so did my mom's never ending compassion...that was passed down to my sis and I inherited my dad's short patience instead)
Growing up with a nurse as a mom also ensured that medical worst case scenarios were never ruled out in our home....
a jammed finger was broken until proven otherwise
a neck ache was meningitis until the test came back negative (which it always did)
a migraine was a brain tumor until that MRI came back as only a sinus infection.....
hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!!
Some may call it a touch of hypochondriac but I say it was all legit-
for pete's sake, if your treating worst case scenarios all day long....day after day....year after year....you loose your medical innocence- you're no longer ignorant to the silent signs and symptoms that most un-nurses would ignore........
On that little bit of history, my story begins....
Matt and I went away for 4 blissful nights at the beginning of this month-
This old gray mare just ain't what she used to be and I wanted to look cute in all of my attire on our little get away- I already have super cute dress up clothes but I didn't have any cute 'lounge' clothes...I headed to a certain boutique that sells adorable sweats and bought myself a pair- They are the type that bunch up with tighter elastic around your calves (so they don't just hang at your ankles). I also grabbed a matching sweatshirt that has a wider neck so that it would hang off of my shoulder-
Around the same time, I started waking up in the middle of the night with both of my feet tingling- I really didn't think anything of it the first night but by the second night my suspicions were ramping up....
let the 'googling' of 'tingling feet' begin....
The internet can be such an ugly friend- It has the ability to confirm any and every fear you could imagine
after the first week of middle of the night wakings to my feet tingling I also developed cramps in my calves......
Remember my upbringing
I was starting to imagine life without my limbs from the knees down....
When should I make a doctors appointment
Blood Clots in both of my calves
shingles
I was quoting scripture to feign off the panic attacks
AAAAHHHH!!!!
By the beginning of the second week of the tingling and cramping I had settled on the fact that I had late stage diabetes- It was punishment for the 400 calories of chocolate I have eaten almost everyday of my adult life............In the depth of my heart this was a bit of a comfort because I know several people with diabetes and they lead productive lives and they still have their legs...........The grief of giving up sugar was almost more than I could bear but it was better than living without limbs.
I have worn my cute sweats with the tight elastic around my calves every night to bed since the get-a-way with my Matt...........
In the middle of last night when I got up to 'walk off' the tingling and to massage my calves from the Charlie horses that were gripping them, I happened to move my sweats down so that the elastic was not touching any part of my skin but instead just dangling by my ankle- I noticed that when I did this the tingling in my calves started going away..........................
I celebrated this afternoon that it is simply the elastic in my sweats causing all the drama by making chocolate chip cookies....to which, between the 2 of us, Ellie and I ate 6
:) :)
p.s. to my niece Em and friend Lynnae you both are so brave in your plight with diabetes- I admire that you both do not let it slow you down....Hugs to you!!
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| Matt and I on our get-a-way |
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