It's Been a Rough Week...

My wonderful mother passed away last week on Friday. She had been fighting stage IV lung cancer for about a year, and in the end it took her pretty quickly in her sleep. I'm thankful that she's not suffering in pain any longer, but her absence in our lives will be felt for a very long time.

On Saturday, the very next day after her passing, I was admitted to the ICU ward of our local hospital. I had been having extreme pain throughout my stomach, back and chest, and after extensive testing, they found that I had acute pancreatitis. I was kept there for four days, three of which I was on a strict starvation diet, where I was not allowed to have any food or water. I couldn't even brush my teeth or use lip balm. Here I was, 37 weeks pregnant and not allowed to eat. It felt like torture.

My lipase enzyme levels were in the 23,000s upon admittance (hospital staff were shocked how high they were), but by the next day they were sharply dropping. My hospital stay was much shorter than anticipated, since my pancreas was responding nicely to the "bedrest" it was on.

I was discharged on Wednesday, and my mom's funeral was Friday morning. I'm so glad I didn't miss it. I feel extremely worn-down and my body is still recovering, but hopefully I'll have all my energy back before I go into labor. So, at this point, I'm perfectly content letting this baby grow for another two or three weeks. I can't imagine having a baby any time soon, feeling the way I do.