Happy July

   Alright, let's get this started.
   At the beginning of this month, I woke up one day with puffy eyes. No biggie. But then it lasted for a whole week and I had no idea why. Was it an allergic reaction? Was it all of my lack of sleep suddenly catching up to me? What the heck was it? By the end of that week I had a fever, and then I got a sore throat. It was pretty bad, but I didn't think much of it--I thought it would be over in a few days as usual. Boy was I wrong. I went to the doctor and he told me it could be mono but didn't test me for it, because if it's tested for too early, it will usually come out negative. He prescribed me some steroids to help with the swelling for my throat and some antibiotics. That day and two days after, I took the medicine, but it didn't seem to be helping at all. In fact, the symptoms seemed to be getting worse. I think by then my fever was gone, but my throat got so swollen you could see it just from looking at my neck. I could barely eat, drink, or even talk. I had a hard time sleeping because it was hard to breathe while laying down. And I was almost completely sure I had mono, too, because I was showing every sign for it. So that week, I went to the doctor again because I was obviously not getting better. I was so dehydrated that they had to hook me up to an IV. The doctor tested me for mono, and sure enough, I have it. She prescribed me other medicine and told me that I was actually very close to needing to go to the hospital. Before she let me go, she asked me if I felt okay enough to go home, or if I thought I should go to the hospital. I decided to go home, tried to eat, but the only thing I could get down was liquid, and even that was almost impossible. That evening, I was debating whether I should have the doctor admit me to the hospital or not. I ended up going back to the doctor (thanks, Mom, for telling me to go) and they admitted me. So I went to the hospital, they put an IV in me, and had the doctor come check up on me.
   And guess what?
   Not only did I have pretty bad mono, but I had severe tonsillitis as well. Actually it was life-threatening. Usually when the tonsils swell, they get big and whatever, but mine were so big that they were pushing against each other and nearly blocking my airway. I didn't realize how bad things actually were! I had an emergency tonsillectomy that night, and man, recovering from that and dealing with mono is just flat-out stupid. Fun fact: the doctor said he hasn't seen tonsils as big as mine in years, and the anesthesiologist says he's never seen tonsils as bad or big as mine. Cool beans. Also, I had abscess behind my tonsils, which, I can't exactly remember what it is, but it's some sort of really bad infection that would not have gone away if they didn't take out my tonsils and get rid of it.
   The month is almost over, but my recovery from surgery is almost over, too! I can eat pretty much anything now (except I still can't eat things that are too hard or scratchy, like chips...or oreos...), I can almost talk normal again, and I'm finally able to sleep through the night without waking up.
   I'll be honest, this is definitely the hardest physical trial I've ever been through, but I couldn't be more grateful for it, and for the doctors that helped me get better, and for my family and friends who supported me through it. I'm alive and doing well, and am extra grateful for food (a few weeks with limitations on what you can eat does that to you).
   So, happy July!