CJ turned ten on December 14th and life has been so crazy I have not had time to sit down and fully process the events of that day. It was a day that was supposed to be filled with joy and celebration, only the universe had other plans.

I woke up early, before CJ, because I wanted to put up balloons and make sure he had a bday breakfast. This was a big one. Double digits. Where did the time go? Excited to celebrate my first born I jumped out of bed and immediately felt this shooting pain in my back. Initially thinking I had slept in a funky position, I kept moving. I maybe took twenty steps and the pain was so bad I had to sit down at the top of the steps. After having multiple kidney stones and birthing three babies, I had never in my life felt pain that intense. Mind you, I pushed out a thirteen pound baby with no drugs so I like to think my threshold for pain is pretty high.

Steve was already awake getting Ella meds and ready for school. Ella’s nurse arrived and both of them questioned why I was sitting at the top of the steps. I literally couldn’t move. Even breathing hurt. Steve came to grab my hands to try and help me down the steps and for the next five minutes I have zero recollection of what happened. I woke to Steve and Ella’s nurse asking me questions and was told that an ambulance had been called and was on the way. They didn’t know if I had a seizure, a stroke, or some type of other medical emergency.

When the EMT’s arrived they asked me a few questions, took my vitals (my blood pressure was super low) and advised me to go to the hospital. At this point CJ was awake and had witnessed the entire thing. As if this poor kid didn’t have enough trauma from Ella already, he now had to see me unresponsive. A few minutes went by and I was finally able to get up. I insisted on using the bathroom and walking myself out to the ambulance. Steve followed in the car and away we went.

To say the healthcare system failed me that day is an understatement. Having restated the events that transpired, and still in severe pain, I was given minimal drugs for relief, quickly assessed, was told the pain caused me to pass out and was diagnosed with a pulled muscle. Hours were spent in the emergency room with no one checking on me. In addition to medicine that didn’t help, they did labs, an EKG, and monitored my vitals. Thankfully everything came back normal but the pain was still at an extremely high level. I could barely move. I was given no fluids and no imaging was ordered. When it was clear that they were not interested in getting to the root of the problem, or doing a better job of managing my pain, I asked for stronger meds for the ride home. The doctor all but accused me of drug seeking and told me it was only a temporary solution. I was aware but just wanted to get back home. I preferred to deal with the pain there. So, I ripped all the equipment off my body, got dressed, and asked them to discharge me.

The mom guilt was hitting hard the entire time we were gone but am continually thankful for my village. My mother-in-law rushed over to be with my kids, I had friends drop off presents for the birthday boy, and after I got home CJ’s best friend and his amazing mother showed up with dinner and stayed for cake. CJ should have been the center of attention all day and I took that away from him. I am grateful that his day ended on a much better note than it began. He went to bed smiling.

As for me, I followed up with my doctor who immediately ordered same-day imaging. He called that night after getting the results to tell me that I had colitis and he put me on a ten-day course of antibiotics, and called in pain meds. Within two days I was feeling much better, and by the end of day ten, I was back to my old self. Based on my history of kidney stones, and my symptoms, he was in disbelief that no imaging was ordered at the hospital. I have since followed up with a GI doctor who was not overly concerned based on the imaging but will be doing follow-up testing as a precaution.

Steve and I often joke we are due for a “normal” day at home, only truthfully we have no idea what that would even look like. Each day brings a new adventure and we amazingly find ways to successfully navigate most of them. To say our life isn’t dull is an understatement. Ten is a big milestone and for the entire family was an unforgettable day.

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