You can run, but you can't hide

It all finally caught up with me. Three pregnancies (including a twin pregnancy and 2 C-sections), years of wrestling four young children, weight gains and losses (mostly gains), and various intensities of working out have left me with just one thing: a hernia. OK, I guess that's not the only thing, but it is what has been consuming my life over the past month. There have been many days and nights of pain, several doctors appointments, a CT scan which showed nothing, another trip back to the doctor where he just didn't show, a couple sleepless nights, and finally, a surgery scheduled for November 18. The physician's assistant had never seen someone so excited for a surgery before. I say let's get this thing over with.

It really isn't that big of a deal, especially now that I have made the connection between exercise and pain. I have stopped weight training and have mostly been walking. That has really helped a lot. And I have a trip to Florida with Glenn (and only Glenn) coming up on Saturday to distract me. And, if worse comes to worse, there's always my trusty narcotics prescription to make it all go away. Except that those darn drugs are the reason for my bouts of insomnia--I'm not taking those unless absolutely necessary!

I am also secretly looking forward to some built-in, mandatory time off. You know, rest and recovery, no unloading the dishwasher or lifting laundry baskets. Glenn says, "So things will pretty much be the same...?"

It all just goes to show that sometimes the human body can only take so much. Sometimes we need a little help in getting ourselves back together, whether from a doctor who sews things back into place, family members who watch kids during long appointments and remind you it's ok to need help, a husband who lets you sleep from 6 to 11:15 PM, then stays up with you while you have "dinner" and watch a show and plans to take the day off to be with you for the procedure, or family who listen to the whole darn thing over the phone (and are outraged in your behalf when your medical care is less than stellar) (and would drop everything to fly out if it weren't just outpatient). That has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I am accepting it. And really looking forward to it all being over.