Okay, So Here it Goes

For the most part, I usually try to keep my personal life, well--personal.  But every now and then, events rear their head, whether they be ugly or not, and kind of take over my life.  So, this post won't be art-related, but mostly Christina-related.

*FYI, I'm writing this post mostly so other women who are going through what I'm going through can find this blog and know that they are not alone.  

This point in time is a bittersweet one.  No, there have been no personal or family tragedies, per se, but life hasn't exactly been as blissful as is usually expected when you are--EXPECTING.  Yes, I am 11 weeks pregnant which is the very "sweet" part.  We're so excited to be bringing our nearly 3 year old boy a sibling to stride and leap through life with.  We will be a complete family unit of four--okay six, if you count the dogs.

Now here's where the "bitter" part comes in.  Just as with my first pregnancy, I am experiencing a disease called Hyperemesis Gravidarum.  Yes, it sounds "grave" and it can be if not treated, but what it really boils down to is that I have an extreme version of morning sickness. Yuck.  Yuck to the 5 millionth degree.  Yuck to the power of infinity...

Hyperemesis is a disease that only 2-3% of pregnant women get, and is marked by severe nausea 24 hours a day and a lot of weight loss in a short period of time due to vomiting many, many times a day.  This of course leads to dehydration, which can lead to a bunch of other dangerous body reactions if left untreated.  I, myself, lost about 8 pounds in just over a week, and that's a significant amount for someone with a naturally small frame.  In a matter of only a few weeks, I had to be admitted for 3-day stays in the hospital a couple of times.  It renders you pretty much useless as by the time you've been diagnosed with the disease (if you manage to have a doctor who is aware of the existence of the disease to begin with), as your muscles and fat have already been burned by your body for energy which has technically gone into starvation mode.  Oh, and I forgot to mention the fact that many women (including myself), cannot eat or drink much of anything. I, for example, couldn't even keep down 3 or 4 sips of water without it coming back up.

So, now that the messy details are out of the way, we can move forward with how I'm progressing and what avenues I'm taking to feel better!

I originally thought I 'd be able to journal my progress from the beginning, but the severity of my case is just now starting to lift, so now 11 weeks in, I am finally able to sit on the couch with my laptop without getting nauseated by just the glow of the screen!  Small steps, small steps.  

I'll explain my methods to dealing with this madness in the next post.  So if you are visiting my blog looking for art-related stuff, you know you can skip my next post.

This is a good time for a break.  Time to change my I.V. before I start the next post...

Ciao!