ordinary angels

some of you may know i've been having some health issues for a while now. last year i started having pains in my stomach and could not figure out why. the first time it happened i thought it was a flu. a couple months later it started happening again and lasted for a few days. we thought maybe it was because i wasn't used to caffeine and had started drinking coffee more often - so i cut out caffeine. it went away - then it came back. we thought perhaps because i never used to eat raw veggies and since my doc told me i was allowed to have them again i had gone overboard a bit with that, perhaps my system was having a hard time digesting them. so i tried taking stuff to help me digest them. no good. tried cutting them out again, no good. at this point it started happening more frequently. every couple of weeks or so for a couple of days at a time. my doctor thought perhaps it was lactose intolerance. i tried taking lactaid pills and then tried cutting out milk products all-together. still no change. and that theory didn't make sense because i could drink straight milk and nothing would happen.

well back in january when i was having a talk with my doctor about this i explained that every time i get the stomach pains i also get a weird feeling in my throat (for the sake of not being gross and explicit i won't go into details). she said that was acid reflux and prescribed me something to take care of that, as well as some tests for my stomach. i never did pick up that prescription (you may remember the blog about bills, no money, and expensive prescriptions) since i could not afford it. and i never went to get the tests because after that conversation i felt fine for the next month.

well it came back with a vengeance. now, nearly every day, every time i eat, i have pain. it got so bad two weeks ago that i was actually sick to my stomach and the pains lasted for 15 hours. so i've been planning to go for my tests, but i've been working so much at my new job i've been having a hard time finding time to go when the clinics are open.

yesterday at work i ate lunch at around 3pm. about 45 minutes later my stomach started to hurt. my shift was over at 5 so i just sat there watching the time on my computer slowly tick by. when it was finally over, i tried to lie down on the couch in the staff room, but it just got worse. i got on the bus intending to go home and go to bed, but it hurt so bad i just wanted it to stop. i got off the bus on fairway and walked over to the urgent care clinic. i was crying all the way there. when i walked up and found the door locked i lost it. i was freely crying then and didn't know what else to do. a lady in her car in the urgent care parking lot asked if i was okay. i said i was just going to walk to the payphone and call my doctor. she said she was a nurse and knew of another clinic not far away that was still open, and then offered me a ride. *i interrupt the story here to say that God blessed me by sending her to me in what felt like a most desperate hour of need. i pray that she is blessed in return*

my angel/nurse drove me to a brand new clinic which only had 3 other patients there. i stopped crying and patiently waited to see the doctor. when i got into the exam room i laid down and after a few minutes the pains became excruciating again. when the doctor came in he told me to sit up because that would make me feel better. he told me that the burning in my stomach was the acid reflux. and that untreated, it could literally burn a hole through your stomach. i told him about the prescription and that i was waiting for my first paycheck and he gave me 3 weeks worth of samples. he also told me what to get at the drug store to help with immediate relief. i think he might have been an angel too.

my friend merv then came and picked me up at the clinic, took me to the pharmacy and drove me home (which caused him to miss the beginning of cell group). angel status also goes to him.

when i came home i read up on acid reflux. it turns out that lying down in my bed, while comforting, is actually a hindrance because then gravity can't do it's job to help relieve the rising acid. GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) also causes sinusitis, coughing, and asthma. three things i've been experiencing for the last couple of months, but didn't know what was causing them since i don't have a cold.

so i'm taking the meds now. unfortunately they did not help with the cramping in my lower abdomen but from everything i read that could be something that was caused by the acid reflux, or could be the something that caused the acid reflux. so i'm still going for my tests today.

i appreciate all of your prayers that have been offered, and promise to take care of myself going forward. my health is not something i can procrastinate with.