To say that life threw a curve ball my way is an understatement. One day, I was concerned about getting the air-conditioning in my car fixed, the next day I was wondering whether I will live long enough to drive my car again. Here's a little background...
My family spent 2 wonderful weeks in Manila with a side trip to Cebu - celebrated my mom's 80th birthday and reconnected with family and friends we haven't seen in over 7 years. One gets to appreciate the greatest blessings in life - family and friends... and food! We got to spend some time in Cebu Shangri-la where we enjoyed some quiet family time, and I got the best spa treatment I ever had. Life was good. Coming back to LA, we were greeted by the worst jet lag we've ever had - 2 weeks long! While recovering from jet lag, I caught the flu. Both flu and jet lag were gone in a couple of weeks, but I still felt tired and weak. I would also get dizzy sometimes when I get out bed or even just standing up from a chair. I also heard throbbing between my ears - something's wrong. Time to call the doctor. The soonest appointment I could get with a doctor for a check-up was the following Monday, 8/3/09. Fine. In the meantime, I went to see a homeopathic doctor to see what can be done while waiting for my appointment. He told me I have a "bug" and that it had spread to my lymph nodes. The assistant massaged my lymph nodes to drain it and the doctor sent me away with a bottle of pills and asked me to come back in two weeks.
8/3/09 - I went to see the regular doctor, and she had some blood drawn to figure out what was wrong.
8/4/09 - I was not feeling well so I stayed at home. The kids wanted to have more mommy time, so I let them skip a day at summer camp. The doctor called in the afternoon. Bad news. The blood test results are in. She thinks I have leukemia and wanted me to go to a hospital ASAP for further tests. WHAT?!?! I had to call our benefits department and insurance company right away to see which hospitals and doctors were covered (this is America). Called my best friend in LA who happens to be a nurse in my chosen hospital to get recommendations about doctors and what to bring to the hospital. Called the doctor back to talk about hospitals and doctors. What do I do with the kids if I have to leave before Robert gets home? Called the HR department and my assistant to break the news to her and leave some instructions while I'm gone. I was going through these tasks like a Zombie, not really knowing what it all meant but fearing the worst. Placed a call to Robert to give him the bad news and figured out logistics for the kids. Started packing and placed a call to my mom to let her know the bad news and to ask her to pray for me. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for the hospital to call to let me know the next step. Robert came home in the meantime. I had to break the news to the girls: mommy is sick and will be staying in the hospital for a few nights until the doctors can find out what's wrong with her. The kids were sad and Katie said, "I hope this sickness doesn't lead to death." From her lips to God's ears! The the hospital called, and my adventure began...
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