a collectible figurine

I thought when I hit my quarter of a century in age that I would be just as healthy as I was in year 24 and before.  If you remember my 2009 recap, I explained my old person experiences.  I truly thought that I was healed from all things "over the hill". 

Not so fast...

I don't remember the exact date, but I believe it was sometime in August.  My baby cousin, Andrew, (well, not so baby because he is 22) had emergency heart surgery.  After a going to see a doctor about why he hadn't been sleeping well at night, an aneurysm the size of a grapefruit was removed from his young body.  Now I might ever-so-slightly be a hypochondriac, but I thought I had one too. 

My chest would burn in the middle of the night and I would have uncomfortable bloating all day and night.  After learning Andrew's story, I panicked and went to the doctor.  Come to find out I have acid reflux/heartburn.indigestion/etc.  Oh great....something else to go wrong.

After being prescribed Nexium, I felt like I was well on my way to preventing this terrible feeling from happening again. 

Not so fast...take two...

December has been the most stressful month for me as far as work goes.  There are other ones that have come really close, but this December was unexpected.  I wasn't used to working 9 to 10 hour days for 5 days in a row...to only accomplish nothing.  The piles were getting bigger and multiplying with every day that I went to work. 

Not only was work stressful, but try squeezing in 4 different family holiday functions.  I love being about to spend time with family, but I love being at home that much too.  Sometimes I put it in overdrive and I run out of steam...fast!  On December 26th (a few short days ago), my body told me to slow down...WAY down!

I woke up in the 26th with aches and pains and feeling like crap.  I thought I had the flu, but I never had a fever.  I slept somewhere from 29-33 hours straight trying to rest my tired body.  I woke up the  next day aches-free, but still like crap.  It was my stomach mostly, but it ranged from my throat all the way past my bellybutton.  I could eat or drink without feeling like I had to vomit.  This trend continued up until yesterday.  The good thing is that I dropped about 2 to 3 pounds.  Granted that is definitely not my preferred way, but whatever.

I made my visit to the doctor again to see what was happening this time since the pain was completely unbearable and my Nexium was NOT working AT ALL.  I was tested for bugs (literally) living in my stomach:  negative and my blood count was good.  So what was it?  SEVERE heartburn/acid reflux/indigestion.  UGH.  never again!  I have never felt so close to death before. 

(Well, maybe that one time when I was slung out of the boat doing down the Ocoee River the summer after high school graudation.  I just knew that I was going to drown and never step foot on the Auburn University campus as a student.  But after a handful of football-sized bruises later, I was vowing to NEVER white water raft again.)

Anyway...

I am not as tough as I thought I should be after what 2009 brought my way.  I guess God designed me to be more of a collectible figurine meant to be displayed in an antique cabinet rather than a durable dog's toy.  So here's to 2011...what else could go wrong...the infamous last words...