Remember that song that says, "It's me, it's me, oh, Lord, standing in the need of prayer"? Well, that's me! I've been up since around 4am and frankly, I am miserable at the moment! Contractions? No. It's my left ear. For several months following a cold, I have had a slight sensation of "fullness" in my ear. It wasn't bad at first. I mentioned it to my OB/GYN weeks ago and he didn't feel it was anything to worry about. HA! I should have known better!
Last week, I developed cold-like symptoms again. I am unsure of the cause- whether it was allergy related or actually due to some communicable disease. Then I began having more "fullness" in my ear and extreme sensitivity to sound. Perhaps it's cause could be impacted ear wax or could it be an infection? I've tried several things in order to alleviate the discomfort and symptoms; allergy medicine, flushing out the ear, mineral oil to dissolve possible "wax", Tylenol, a heating pad, etc. Regardless, all week long, my ear has felt more and more full. Saturday was bad and as of last night...it's completely unbearable. I cannot hear at all out of my left ear and it aches tremendously. I can't sleep due to the pain and now I am incredibly sick to my stomach. There's also a nagging ringing.... I have got to be seen by my general practitioner today!
Add on top of this that my oldest son has had cold/allergy symptoms for at least 4 weeks now and has not shown much improvement. I am planning on taking him into the doctor this morning and having him checked. My fear with him is that he has strep or something like that. Now the 2 little boys are coughing and displaying similar symptoms to what Titus was experiencing. With so many kids, if one gets sick then the fear is ALL of them will get sick. It doesn't always happen, but remember, we need to be well because we're going to be bringing a baby home soon!
Yeah, Mom doesn't feel well... we're literally days away from delivery... and all these "sicknesses" to deal with. We need a touch from the Lord today and I need strength. Plus, with Pete having gone back to work, I'm feeling the load of everything on my shoulders again. Things get under "pressure" enough when you're so close to delivery and adding any additional woes... well, it's a lot to handle. I can't tell you how much I wish he would have stayed home to help out instead of insisting on returning to work! But, his paternity leave starts this Friday, so barring me going into labor before my scheduled C-Section, he will be back home soon in time to help out.
So, if you think of us today, friend, please pray. I'll try to update you on our conditions as information becomes available.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Titus found out this morning that he has a double ear infection and a throat infection. He is now taking antibiotic for the next 10 days, but he'll probably start to feel better in 3 days or so. The doctor said it probably wasn't strep, but took a culture anyway since there was concern for the other kids in the house. She said not to worry about them getting what Titus has! Praise the Lord!
Meanwhile, I just got back from the doctor and had a 1/2 inch plug of wax removed from my left ear. How gross. The little boys thought it was cool.
I am also suffering from allergies, but having my ear irrigated and then the wax pulled out with a little hook has me feeling tons better already. I must have been having it build up for some time because I can't believe how well I can hear out of that ear now. I am feeling more positive about things this afternoon. I will still take some allergy medicine and some Tylenol to try to combat the other symptoms. This is simply a horrible year for allergies. We need a good cleansing rain.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! I believe the Lord has answered.