August 17th will be remembered for a while. I started off that day feeling absolutely terrible. My nest friend rushed me to the ER. They ran several test and I heard some words that were new to me…”We have to keep you”. Wait, what?? Me stay in the hospital overnight or longer… I just can’t believe it’s come to this.

This hospital stay was a result of pushing through. I had several things going on this summer to be present for. I made it and paid for it. I realized that I wasn’t feeling well, but I just thought I needed to rest. Nope, my body was shut down. My kidney function was out of wack. This affected everything else. I was immediately put on a series of strong antibiotics and fluids. This lasted for hours on end. I rested just a little because hey, it is a hospital. I was released on good behavior the next day, meaning that my numbers had improved.

Coming home, I really thought my bounce back would be swift. I was very wrong. My energy level has yet to be at normal level for me almost 2 months later. This had a significantly emotional effect on me because I wanted to be ready to go. Well, I had finally reached a point if no more pushing through. I must stop.

Fast forward a few weeks and I had a camping trip planned from a year ago. I was really excited until I realized I was going to be tent camping for the 1st time. A chronic illness warrior tent camping…for real?? I felt overwhelmed. I still packed and planned accordingly. I ran into a completely unexpected challenge when, on night one our tent started to leak from rain.

This resulted in about 2 hours of sleep and being really busy and engaged the next day. One of the things I don’t discuss about myself is the need to unplug from “peopling”. Yes, my bubbly personality has to take time away from interaction. This was difficult being in a tent with no chairs inside. At night, it was sleep and stay warm. This definitely wore me out, but I enjoyed being with all my friends. Now I m in recovery mode emotionally and physically. I did decide that next years camping trip would include 4 walls and a roof. This is just a brief glance into the last few weeks. Getting ready for what’s to come