This year I have had some scary health problems. I am okay.
It turns out that most of my problems relate to deficiencies in vitamin D and
B12. According to doctors, dangerously low and life threatening levels. I know
it sounds crazy that these two vitamins can cause so many problems but look it
up, it is crazy. The lack of B12 caused strange sensations, numbness, & tingling
in my hands, legs, & feet. I’ve had difficulty walking (staggering, balance
problems), difficulty thinking and reasoning (at times severe cognitive difficulties),
and memory loss. The two together caused extreme fatigue and aided in my depression.
They can even cause cardiac and respiratory failure. You know that old saying
about “having a nervous breakdown”? It’s literally the breaking down of my
complete nervous system. Two times this year I have been in the ER room because
of headaches. Headaches so severe, that they caused me to have vision problems,
incoherent speech, and difficulties walking. My neurologist believes these migraines
came from the stress my body was going through. Even with ongoing treatment, it
will be 6 months or more before most of the symptoms will be gone.
It has been a rough 8 months. I am lucky to be able to surround
myself with amazing people. Even though I have not been very forth coming with
friends (because it’s really hard to explain to people what’s going on when you
have no clue) but even so I have felt their support. From text messages and
phone calls of friends asking if there was anything that they could do to
outstanding coworkers getting me through the school year, I’ve experienced incredible
support.
Lavender has advocated for me through all of this. I am not
sure they would have found out what was wrong with me without her persistence.
She found a new doctor for me when my old doctor had reached a dead end. She
became my voice when I was unable to communicate. She made my mornings easier
when I was so tired I wasn’t sure if I could crawl out of bed. She helped me
with my work when I was incapable of performing certain task. Most importantly,
she held me in the darkest and scariest moments.
My surprise through all of this is my daughter. Now in case
you didn’t know she is amazing. I am so proud her. She has flourished in
school. She works, volunteers, cheerleads, and is active in several clubs. She
does it while maintaining a high GPA.
In the middle of all of this crazy health stuff, I screwed
up and didn’t turn in some paper work in time. It cost her her most important scholarship.
I was devastated because so far, she had made it through school with no debt
and was on course to graduate debt free.
She was not mad or even upset. Instead, she applied and got
job that allowed her to live on campus, free. She applied for several other
scholarships to help replace the one I lost. She stepped up in ways that I
would not have even known how to ask her to do. She starts her junior year this
year and she is still on course to graduate debt free. She has even figured out
how she is going to obtain her masters debt free.
Back to my amazing wife for a second, Lavender after much
paper work was able to get Susan back the scholarship I thought was lost
forever.
I am grateful to be surrounded by supportive, loving, ingenuitive,
people.
Here’s to better
health!
