The year 2008 was rough for us. Not just us personally, but many people close to us. By June, it had already been pretty bad. Chris had lost his job. His aunt was dying. One of my very best friends lost her baby. Horrible things just kept happening. By the time the kids were out of school, we were ready for some better times. We were ready to have some fun and enjoy life.
Chris's dad was on vacation and we agreed to house sit. He has a nice big house and a nice big pool, and we figured it would be kind of relaxing just to hang out there for a week or so. We were looking forward to it.
The day we arrived we got takeout for dinner from one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We went swimming with the kids. Chris was having some pains in his shoulders, but he thought maybe he pulled something while fooling around in the pool. The kids went to bed. His pain got worse. Before long it got so bad he began to consider a visit to the E.R. We didn't have any medical insurance and we knew a hospital visit would be costly. We debated. He decided to just stick it out, take a shower to try to relax, and go to bed, then see how he was feeling in the morning.
However, when Chris got out of the shower he was feeling much worse. He feared he might be having a heart attack, so he called a friend to take him to the hospital. We didn't want to wake the kids up for me to take him. They went to a small local hospital, the closest one. After they left, I called my mom and she said she would meet them there to see how Chris was doing.
It felt like forever, but it didn't take long for me to get a phone call. Something was seriously wrong and Chris was being transferred to a bigger hospital via ambulance. There was a tear somewhere in his stomach and his body was filling up with toxins. He needed emergency surgery.
As it turned out, Chris had a perforated ulcer. There was a tear in his stomach about the size of a thumb nail. Just 34 years old, he didn't even know he had an ulcer. If he had gone to sleep that night instead of going to the hospital, he would have died. I'm so thankful that he had the presence of mind to make the right decision that night.
Chris had a 12-inch plus incision on his abdomen and a week long stay at the hospital. His mom nicknamed him Zipper Belly. He had a long recovery, but he was alive and that was truly all that mattered.
For the record, horrible things kept happening that year. But my husband lived, so despite everything else that went on in 2008, it was a good year.
This is a post sponsored by Bucks2Blog, and I am participating in a campaign for a gamma camera company. However, the story is true and all views and opinions are my own.
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