Who is a Hypochonriac???

For as long as I can remember, at least in my adulthood, I have been...well, a borderline hypochondriac. In defense of myself, a lot of my conditions have proven to be right on. Others...well, not always. Here's a few...

Legit - for months had a sour stomach, nothing settled well, hungry but then too full, felt like someone hitting me between the shoulder blades...gallbladder attach and stones, check.

Low energy, mood swings, very severe cramps...hysterectomy, check.

Severe back pain, couldn't move, problem with disc, took medication and chiropractor, check.

Tee-tee when I ran, coughed or sneezed, bladder suspension, check.

Felt like I had a stick in my knee, swollen, cramped, couldn't straighten my leg, torn meniscus, bone spurs, multiple shots and surgeries, check.

Severe pain in right shoulder, couldn't hold my arm up to blow dry my hair, torn labrum, very painful surgery and rehabilitation, check.

Flying out of bed because I dreamed crickets were attacking me, fell on a shoe on the floor, knee swell to the size of a small city...legit people!

Another bad dream, jumped out of bed and hit the ironing board...hard! My stomach swell like I was 9 months pregnant, lost all bladder control...yeah, hospital again, this time they did a little "investigation"...make sure Steve wasn't abusing me. I guess not too many people complain of complications due to running into an ironing board in the middle of the night.

Suspicious lump that I could sometimes feel, sometimes not, low energy level, malignant tumor, double mastectomy, chemo and radiation, check.

Not so Legit - pregnant with Tiffany, severe cramping (while Steve was playing a softball game), drove 90 with lights flashing, thought I was having a miscarriage...diagnosed as needing to toot, wow, not legit.

On-going headaches that certainly must be a brain tumor, not legit...all MRI's perfectly fine. In defense of myself I take medication for migraines and they go away, so at least they aren't just in my mind!

Being unable to breath one night after dinner, chest pains, dizzy, rushed to hospital thinking I was having a heart attack....acid reflux attack. That is actually good news, but I'm telling you it hurts and it's scary because you can't get air!

Being frightened by bird hiding in my backyard at dark one night, freaked out when it flew at me, thought I broke my foot...not legit. It was bruised and it did hurt, but not broken.

Contrary to what my husband thinks, I really do have a pretty high tolerance for pain. However, I also have a keen sense of knowing when something is not right, and I like to have peace of mind, so I check it out. Maybe the "rush to treatment" gives me the label of hypochondriac. I always joked, regardless of what hurt or where it was, that it was a tumor. Remember the line from the movie..."it's not a tumor"....I wish I had a nickel for every time someone told me that! But then one day, it was a tumor, and the jokes stopped, just like that. Well, I'm officially bringing "the tumor" back. In my restored health I think it's very healthy for the heart, soul and the mind to laugh again, and laugh about everything. Here's to the moving tumor!

My symptoms for today: I have no energy, like none at all. I'm low when I'm doing nothing, but when I do something...play tennis, work in the yard, etc., I am literally wiped out. Almost too tired to eat, but are you kidding me, that would only happen if I were dead. I don't have a big appetite, which is very alarming, and my arms and legs feel heavy, if that makes sense. Headaches, controlled with Tylenol. So, not huge symptoms, just an overall feeling of not feeling good. What are your thoughts?

I'm going with...are you ready - swine flu. I haven't looked it up on the Internet yet, but I'm going to. Regardless of what is wrong, anything, nothing at all, I am so darn grateful to God, the great physician for restoring my health, sense of humor, ability to laugh at myself and my situation...wherever I go, He is always with me, and I absolutely love Him more each day!

XOXO,

May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~