Couple of Bad Days

Where do I begin.....
Sat night, didnt feel very well.... stomach was upset, had some pain inside in my back (not muscular), tried to lay down after the boys went to bed so that I could see if the pain could go away... it didnt. Instead, it began to migrate to the front of my stomach, on the right side.
Could not sleep. Could not get comfortable. If I moved or anything, it felt like I was being stabbed. I was running a fever. I just felt like crap.
Woke up Sunday morning.... felt worse... pain was worse. Had a hard time getting dressed. Had to have dh dress the kids. Couldnt stomach anything for breakfast.
Went to church. Pain got worse.
Dh invites people to go to lunch with us. *scream*
So... go to Big Boy for lunch.... cant really eat... but of course, have to wrestle toddlers around. Now I really feel like absolute crap.
I call my doctor to talk to the doctor on call... of course.... go to urgent care or the er.
Take the kids to their sisters house.... after of course, I have to pack their stuff up and pack a bag for myself....
Go to urgent care, they cant do anything cuz they cant rule out Appendix. Of course not.
I say it isnt that... dh is absolutely sure that is what it is.

Get to er. My blood pressure is high...combined with my symptoms I am whisked away to a private room in the er. Urine testing, blood testing, and a cat scan with contrast later, uh... we wait. Oh... did I forget to mention the oh so lovely pelvic that I also got!!!! Special!
Well... my appendix didnt look enlarged...I had some elevated white cell counts. So... it must be a kidney infection.
I am still in pain. I still feel like crap. I still dont have any other symptoms of a kidney infection.


Yesterday, I am sleeping (at 5pm) and the phone rings.
Dh of course doesnt answer...so I do.
I wish I hadnt.
It was a call from South Africa.
It was AnnaMarie. Our friend Neil's wife. Our friend who has stayed with us for the past 3 years. Who we talk to on the phone quite a bit, who we email with, who we were expecting to see again in January.
AnnaMarie is crying...asking if we had heard yet.
I had no idea what she was talking about....
Then she says she was calling us to tell us that Neil was dead.
Apparently he died on July 17th.... Massive heart attack.
He was only 47 years old.
Dh and I are devastated by the news.... how really does one reconcile a death like this?
He was a brilliant professional hunter, a brilliant scholar, and a great friend.
He really took to our boys (he never met our little lady) and our boys absolutely adored him.
We have not told them yet that he will not be here this year.
Just last week they talked about going to his house and him showing them his elephants. We were waiting till they were a tad older before taking them to South Africa.
Our little Lady sleeps in "Neil's room" according to the boys.
His pictures are in their scrapbooks.
It's so difficult for dh and I. We just dont want to put it on the boys just yet. I'm sure they will notice. Or maybe they will ask. Then we will have to sit down and have the talk with them.
I hope the talk can wait....till dh and I get a handle on things.
AnnaMarie said she was going to try to keep the business going.
I wish her the best. I cant imagine what she is going through right now.
Our prayers and thoughts to AnnaMarie, Mariane, and Geoffry as well as the rest of the Wayland family.

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