A tick.......

A tick the size of a piece of pepper......that is what did me in.

For some reason, ticks like to dine on my blood [it must be Divine] as I have just battled my 5th tick borne illness. For the fourth time in my life, Lyme's disease has ravaged my body. I try to be so diligent in my tick patrol, but this one [the one I pulled out on June 3rd, the day my beloved Aunt Betty passed away] decided it was going to leave its legacy in my veins.

On Tuesday of last week, I awoke feeling a bit funny.......and then mid-morning, BAMMMM it hit me.

I felt like I had put on a lead suit and started to spike a fever. At first I was not sure if it was the heat and humidity of the last few days playing with me.....but as the day wore on I realized that it was an illness, but what, I was not sure of at this point.

Every joint in my body ached and this time I got a dull headache, but the weirdest symptom was vertigo.....I couldn't stand up without feeling like I was drunk [not that I really know what that feeling is...lol!]

I crawled into bed at 5:30 pm [just after the last little one I watch was picked up] and slept like a baby.......around 4 am I awoke drenched in sweat. My fever ranged from 101 to 103.

Now, I usually just watch fevers and make myself [or the children] comfortable, as fevers serve a purpose......and because I still was not sure what was going on with me, I felt I should let the fever do its job.

During the day I took some Tylenol, as the headache and fever were a bit much [and of coarse I had a house full of children to tend to].

Then came the chills........I was shaking so hard, but my fever was up.

I was not able to get an appointment with my doctor on Wednesday, so I had to wait till Thursday morning to call first thing and get a 'that day' appointment. The only one available was at 7:30 pm [so I weathered the day of up and down....fever, chills and complete exhaustion. Just climbing the stairs took every thing out of me [and I have been running at least 3 miles, four times a week] so stairs are a breeze for me.

Well, I did have the classic rash [although I was hoping that I would get Lyme's] and with the other symptoms, was started on an antibiotic. They drew blood and the lab confirmation will be back at the end of this week.

In the meantime, I made an appointment at a specialist that my sister Patti's, sister-in-law Anne recommend [she practices out of Columbia Presbyterian] as I really need to make sure this round is taken care of.

So I've had Lyme's disease 4 times and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever once.
[both Greta and Emma Sage have each had Lyme's once]

You would think I'd stay out of the woods or give up gardening......

I can't, as both bring me great joy, and what is life without the activities that bring you joy?