Exciting, but Exhausting, Time of Year

Whew! What an exhausting past two days! This time of year gets so hectic, and this week has definitely been no exception to the rule. Tim and I drove up to northeast Arkansas yesterday morning so I could help my mom cater their company's Christmas party. He was having a rough pain day, so I was glad he at least felt like going with me. I don't think I could have left him to go up there otherwise. He rested when we got there, while my mom and I worked to prepare everything for the party. Tim got dressed and came down for the party, but I could see that look of pain on his face through most of it. Toward the end of the night everyone gathered in the living room for prizes to be awarded for some games that we had. While we were standing there he started looking around in quiet distress. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I can't do this anymore. I have to sit down." I could tell he was pushing through a lot of pain, so I tried to help him find somewhere to sit. He sat for awhile, then he made it upstairs to lie down and rest.

We had planned to spend the night, but I found out on the way up there that I had a meeting at 8:30am the next morning in our town (2.5 hours away) that I couldn't miss. I am the chair of the fundraising committee for the PTO at my stepson's school, and all of the officers were suppose to meet with a fundraising salesman. Apparently this was the only time he could meet. The way Tim felt made me feel bad for him to have to ride in the vehicle all the way back down, but I didn't have much choice. A few minutes before 11pm we left to drive home. He started feeling so much pain on the way home that he was almost in tears, which is very out of character for him. We got to our house at 1:15am. He laid down to rest, but neither of us were able to get to sleep until 2:30 to 3am.

I got up this morning and went to my meeting. He made it to the couch before I left, and he stayed there sleeping until I got home. The rest of his day was spent on the couch. My hope, though, is that resting today will help him feel better tomorrow.

He's been very positive mentally, though. That is huge! Imagine what it's like when you are very sick or have a terrible headache. I can relate it to migraines, as I get them often. Think of how you just get frustrated after being down for awhile because you don't want to be stuck on the couch or bed. That is what he deals with most days, so frustration is inevitable. But his attitude has been tremendous lately. I don't know how he's doing it, but he amazes me. I just pray that someday we can find him enough relief so he can live a more normal life. Until then, though, we'll just keep pushing to find a fix while still doing everything we can think of to keep his life as active as possible.