Strep & Stitch: The Valentine's Day we will not easily forget

The night before Valentine's Day 2014 was a sleepless one as severe throat pain tormented me throughout the evening.  I determined that night that as soon as my doctor's office opened the next morning, I would be there for a strep test.  However, before I crawled out of bed, I heard my husband shouting for someone to bring him a towel.  Drops of blood were sprinkled across the front stoop and our driveway was festive for Valentine's Day in it's new blood red hue. 

While headed to his car for work, he slipped on the ice and got a nasty gash in his forehead.  So I started looking up urgent care centers in our area which took awhile since we're new here.  They were all closed at 7am, so I kept calling only to discover they were all opening on a delay because of the ice.  Okay, so my husband's bleeding head illustrates why a delay might be necessary, but the bleeding would not stop, and I feared he would bleed to death if we waited another three hours until they opened.  Thankfully, I found one that would take us early (Gift #481), so by 9:30 he was in the procedure room getting stitches.  Then I called my insurance company to find a new PCP in our new area and proceeded to call doctors, but they were delayed and then eventually decided to remain closed.  It was Friday, so I had to postpone my strep test until the weekend when I would have to pay urgent care co-pays and endure another LONG night of torment as I flip-flopped between chills and night sweats while swallowing knives (or so it felt) all night long.

We waited so long to get my husband's medications that we eventually gave up and went home only to get a call from the pharmacy announcing the prescriptions were finally filled as soon as we walked inside the door.  My throat was so swollen I could barely swallow, and my poor husband looked like he had spent too much time in the boxing ring.  He had an important business trip the following week with new business partners and debated whether to meet with them (for the first time) wearing the bandage or just showing off his stitches.  At least these new business associates would know not to mess with him. Of course, what he saw there was far more shocking than the few stitches in the forehead, so all went well.

All bandaged up & waiting forever for meds

Introducing Stitch, my Valentine

Despite my sore throat, which my husband assured me was merely the result of a cold and not very contagious since I had no fever or swollen lymph nodes, and despite his busted brow, he insisted that we were still going to the Valentine's dinner/dance our church's marriage ministry was hosting that evening.  I love the way my husband simply does not care what others may think about him (Gift #481) and lets nothing deter him from fulfilling his commitments (Gift #481).  He did spend much of the evening explaining what happened to his head, and he spoke honestly without making up exciting stories involving luges or ninjas.

At home before the dance

The dance was a blast!  (#482)  The decorations were over-the-top.  The tables were beautifully set with dark chocolate hearts scattered about (hello..dark chocolate is my primary love language).  A catering company had several serving lines set up with light dinner buffet (chicken salad croissants, meatballs, chips and dips), and I say "light" because it left plenty of room for dessert at the chocolate fountain where I found most of my nourishment. :-)  There was a live band (with all its members dressed in formal white jackets) playing music from every decade represented while the big screens displayed old photos of most of the couples attending, marriage scriptures, marriage trivia and marriage tips.

The music was fabulous, but the dance instruction was the icing on the cake.

We learned more swing moves, the fox trot, and more line dances.  I had so much fun with my husband and especially enjoyed watching him "let loose" on the dance floor.  Let it be noted that he still had not taken any of his medications, so he was genuinely enjoying himself, which made me very happy indeed. (Gift #483)

The church set up a photo station and then shared all the photos electronically early the next day.

Strep & Stitch at the Valentine's Dance

The church even provided childcare throughout the evening (Gift #484) making it possible for more couples to attend.   Clearly, our Baptist church knows how to do Valentine's Day right!

By the time we returned home late that evening, my throat was raw and miserable.  I tried to gargle with salt water, but it felt like acid.  The sharp knife feeling in my throat suddenly became worse than it had ever been before, so then we knew it was strep, and I quarantined myself for the weekend.  I was the first patient at the Urgent Care center (good thing, because the place was packed by the time I left with people coughing their heads off), and I felt like I deserved a frequent flyer discount after hanging out there the previous morning as well for my husband's stitches.  They confirmed a severe case of strep, so I worried about all the people I could have infected the night before at the dance.  So far, no one has gotten sick from me (Gift #485) except my son who got a very mild case this past week which we treated early and quickly. My husband already had an antibiotic for his head, so he was protected, too, until he left the rest of the bottle at home during his business trip.

It was a lonely weekend in quarantine, but it was certainly a Valentine's Day we will never forget, and I count it a great blessing to walk through stitches, sickness and health with the love of my life.  What a gift my husband is to me, our family, and this world.  (Gift #486)