28 July 2012

Several days after the baptism I forgot one time to take my evening meds and started having a series of attacks of trigeminal neuralgia.  We drove to Bridgetown, only to cancel our appointments and come back the next morning.  It became steadily worse and worse each day till I couldn’t eat or even drink.  If anything came in contact with my right side bottom teeth, anything with salt, sugar, or fat especially, I had another screaming attack!  I was drinking warm water with a straw in the back of my mouth as much as I could, but even that made me cry out in pain, until early this morning, Elder Ashby took me to the hospital emergency room.

They put me on IV drips for dehydration and gave me some meds for pain.  I had not eaten for four and a half days and had overdosed a bit on Lyrica, trying to get some relief.  I was trembling uncontrollably.  We had been awake for most of the night, trying to get something into me.  Even taking the meds made me scream for several minutes.

 Finally while I got a little bit of sleep, he went online to research TN and the available medications.  We were in contact with President and Sister Lindsay, and we began to think we were headed home.  President Lindsay gave us the name of a neurologist in the States, SLC I think, who would be willing to counsel us, so while I was getting settled down in the hospital, Ray went to the church and made an international call to U.S.A. to someone who really seemed to know something about TN!  He came back, looking more confident and optimistic than before, especially when he saw that my color was coming back, and I  was feeling better.  I have had one attack since we came home, but I’m trying to keep ahead of the pain, and drink lots of water, albeit warm and through a straw.  I even got down ½ cup of Angie’s wonderful Butternut Squash soup, watered down of course.  At the moment, we have the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on, and my husband is getting a well-deserved nap.

Of course, things are not secure yet, since I am still feeling so weak and volatile.  But the fact that I am typing this is evidence that things are looking up.  I have felt the love and prayers of those at home who love me.  Thank you.

I’ll keep you posted.