One Year Ago...

(not really finance based, so feel free to skip if it's not your cup of tea)

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and a very sick little girl. I ended work before Christmas a couple days early as I was so dizzy and weak it was ridiculous. I spent most of the Christmas break at home, including a good part of family time. I learned that those symptoms were a part of the meds I was on.  (Ironically I would be put on that same med, under a different name, and get sick again in April)

While Christmas alone sucked it wasn't the end of the world, but being that weak and down the whole break was no fun at all. I didn't know if I was going to get better or worse.

A couple weeks ago I went for my yearly colonoscopy. It was in the city so I had to stay in a hotel near the hospital while I drank the 'drink of doom' to tidy up my colon. DH actually went down with me, to my complete shock.  He usually steers clear of anything hospital related. He went shopping while I stayed in the room. I took books down to read...silly me. I didn't have the time or the energy to do it.

The procedure itself was different than my first one here at home. I made sure I called ahead to ask that I would be receiving sedation. They assured me I would. Much to my dismay, when I got there, I learned that their idea of sedation was different than mine. For my first one it went like this "It should start working soon...................wake up it's over'. I could tell by the look on their faces that they don't do the same kind of sedation in the big hospital, though the papers I had to sign all looked the same.  It didn't help that it took three nurses and five attempts to get the IV in. I've never had IV troubles before.

They told me the sedation would relax me but I would be awake. I did not take it well and did a bit of crying. In the procedure room they put the sedation into me. I have visions of them giving each other the look and shooting it into me to quiet me down :-). It burned like hell!!  As I twisted myself to look at my hand, sure that flames were shooting out of it, the nurse said sweetly "sometimes it burns a bit when it goes it." My oh so eloquent replay "ya think??????????"

Eventually I did calm down but was wide awake for the whole thing. As in I could feel everything. The video cam was two feet in front of my eyes and ................................I couldn't help but watch. It was disturbingly interesting to see it.  Even the biospy claw that reminded me of those games in the front of a Dennys.....you know the one...with the claw that grabs the toys???

End results (ha! 'end')  My colon was a hot mess of infection last year. This year with the exception of turn #1, it was all beautiful and pink.  Quite amazing. The doctor said the Asacol meds couldn't have done that. I credit the herbal drink I am taking.

The 90 min drive home was awful. I was so nauseous it was ridiculous. It was a great feeling to be at home and curled up on my own couch. I had spent 8 hours of TV watching the day before as I lay in the hotel seeing all kinds of commercials and I knew what I wanted to eat for my first food - a Dairy Queen Candy Cane Blizzard. just a teeny one. my lord it was soooo good.

There is some cost to this. I thought my insurance covered this but apparently not. I am told to save my receipts and I can submit them at income tax time.
 - gas there and back - $75. I claim for mileage apparently.
-  hotel - $160. The ones farther from the hospital were not any cheaper. This was it was only a 5 min drive in the morning. This included parking fee of $8.  They charged me a $2.50 fee on my bill for putting it on my MC!! First time I have ever seen that fee.
- parking at hospital - $14.50
- meds to take for the procedure - $28.50
- mini blizzard - $2.99 ( I don't think I can claim that)
Total cost - $ 280.99

I posted about potential expeneses back HERE.

DH ate in front of me three times when I was on the first. Once on the way down. Once when he came back from shopping and brought A and W. And in the morning at the hospital . By that point I could have cheerfully killed him.  It was really good of him to go get me. I didn't have to go and stay back at the hotel for a second night - taking that sedation makes one legally impaired for 24 hours. I could just close my eyes the whole drive home and home desperately I fell asleep before I threw up.

So the news is much better than it could have been for my colitis. I still have to watch what I eat and steer clear (or just really be careful) of my triggers - nuts, broccoli, popcorn, raw onion and spicy food. I still have incredibly fast stimulus to response time for bathroom visits. But at least most of the colon is pretty  in pink. If it had looked like last year then I would have had to start a new med to clear things up so I didn't run an increased risk of colon cancer.

So happy day before the day before Christmas everyone! It's snowing and blowing here. We are off to DH's sister's house tonight for the family meal on that side.