How it all started

I am going to be writing a little bit at a time about what happened to me when I got meningitis. Sorry to my readers (the few of you out there that aren't family) I hope this isn't boring but it is something I have been wanting to do for some time now and I finally have a couple of minutes to write about it!

I also ask that my family and friends that want to add comments or tell me what they remember about that time please, please, please do. I was not fully with it during most of December so I may get some facts wrong or may remember differently then what actually happened. So here we go.
_______
I had been feeling great, nothing to make me think I was going to be getting really sick soon so one night I think it was December 4th or so I woke up around to or so in the morning with my left ear hurting and an intense pressure behind my right eye. Great! So I actually went to sleep on the couch because I just knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again on the bed. About 20 minutes or so after lying there I realized I really needed to use the bathroom and decided to take some Ibuprofen to help with the ear ache and eye ache. Well, after lying on the couch again for 20 minutes or so I realized that I needed to either use the bathroom again or throw up. I did both and I was so mad. I went crawling from the bathroom to the bedroom, touch Branch and told him I had just thrown up. I couldn't pull myself up to the bed so he helped me and went to go sleep on the couch and left me with the garbage can just in case. Twenty minutes later I needed it and sleeping on the bed wasn't going to cut it. I actually ended up falling asleep in our love chair sitting up because my head hurt to much and throwing up every time I moved. I got like 4 hours of sleep that night. Branch thought I was throwing up because I had taken Ibuprofen on an empty stomach and I was freaking out because I thought I was pregnant!

That day I actually googled ear ache and eye pain and it said meningitis was a possible thing that it could be so I asked my mom, who is a nurse if it could be meningitis but at that time I could touch my chin to my chest so she really didn't think so.

I felt fine for about 3 days and then had a rough night, felt fine for a few days, then had a rough night. Finally a few days before we were scheduled to leave I go see doctor at one of these clinics for poor people and they said I had fluid in both ears, gave me samples of some medicine and sent me on my way. I felt fine for a few days until we got to my dads house and missed church and seeing basketball player Shawn Bradley who is in my dad's ward because I was sick. We went to Green River, felt fine for a few days and got sick. So my moms doctor who said I had fluid in my ears, gave me a different medicine and sent me on my way. We then went to Utah, we were staying at my sister and brother-in-laws house when all the fun really began.
_______

Throughout this I have seen so many blessings. I am so thankful that Little Miss was taking formula so well. I had to stop breastfeeding because of some the medication. I was so blessed to have Branch around and other family members who were able to take care of Little Miss when I just couldn't do it. We almost didn't come for Christmas so we were so blessed to be near family.