In (mostly) Sickness And In Health
Lyndon and I have been married almost sixteen months.
During this time, he and I have fallen victim to chicken pox, seizures, the common cold, an ear infection and hand foot and mouth disease.
It has been a rough sixteen months.
Why do we keep getting sick?
We have no idea.
It's not as if we live in squalor and only eat junk food.
This isn't the case at all.
We also don't believe it's our house making us sick, Lyndon lived in this house for a year before we got married and he was rarely ill.
So we don't know the why, and all we can do is try to learn something from this time and grow from it.
What have I learned so far?
Enjoy everyday that you AREN'T sick.
Especially a day when your throat doesn't feel like it's swallowing razor blades.
Swallow right now.
Take a nice big swallow.
Does it hurt?
No?
Well you should be grateful for that.
I've had "razor blade throat" twice in my life now and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
The blisters on your face and body also aren't great, but the ones in your throat are the absolute worst.
Being sick the same time as your spouse makes life difficult.
I have also learnt through this time that your husband/wife is extremely precious and should always be treated as such.
Whether they are the sick one or the one looking after you while you're sick.
On average I am sick more often than Lyndon and he has been a huge help to me.
This last week we have both been struck down with hand foot and mouth disease and Lyndon has been a real trooper.
I am very proud of him and grateful to have him.
There have been times when it all seems too much and I can't handle it, but eventually I'll get over these feelings and get on with it.
One of the most valuable things I've picked up in our sixteen months of being sick on and off is that it's okay to have a meltdown as long as you don't DWELL ON IT.
The other night, when I realized I did in fact catch hand foot and mouth disease from Lyndon, I cried and cried and cried.
I was miserable.
Kept repeating things like: "Why does this keep happening?" "It's not fair" etc etc
I cried for ten minutes straight.
After that I pulled myself together and carried on with life.
You can't allow yourself a pity party for too long.
A small one is fine, as long as you suck it up eventually and don't continue to dwell on it.
This last week has been extremely uneventful and boring for Lyndon and myself, as well as uncomfortable.
But it's almost over.
And when we are both well again, we will thank the Lord and live everyday with the knowledge that things could be a lot worse and we are very lucky.
And even when we are sick, it's good to realize that things could be a lot worse.
Yeah, being sick all the time is bad, but it's not THAT bad.
That's an important thing to remember.
Thank you for your prayers and support during this time.
My bout with chicken pox remains the worst thing that's ever happened to me.
While HFM disease ain't no walk in the park, it's survivable.
I should be back to work on Monday and thank goodness for that.
Lyndon and I have both had a long enough holiday.
Thanks for reading x
