by The Best Things Happen When You Aren’t Looking for Them
By November I was burned out and just wanted to be done with the semester. I also just wanted to get to my surgery and get it over with so I could recover.
I had not dated anyone throughout my college career and due to being so busy and nearing graduation, I was not even searching for that. In my mind, I also believed that no one could possibly be interested in me while I was not at 100 percent. Out of nowhere the most wonderful woman showed up in my life. I did not initially tell her I was sick because I figured she would run for the hills. I was a little nervous before our first dates because I really liked her but I was able to keep it all together.
After several great dates, the nerves were still there and she was supposed to come over. I was not feeling well that day and struggling with my tonsils and nausea. I did not want to cancel the date though due to being eager to spend more time with her.
My anxiety was acting up because I was so scared that I would get sick while with her. As soon as she walked in my door, my anxiety went through the roof and the nausea hit like a ton of bricks. Cold sweats started to run all over my body and I rushed to the bathroom and proceeded to throw up. My head was telling me, “Great… You are about to hear that door slam shut and she will be gone. You probably won’t hear from her again.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes and gave myself a moment until the burning sensation stopped. When I went back out to the living room, she was still there. I explained what was wrong and apologized for everything. She listened to my story and said that it did not really matter and she still liked me. She also added that she would be there to support me. I already knew I wanted to date her but I then knew she was even more special than I even initially realized. We started officially dating a week before my graduation and 11 days before my tonsillectomy.
At this moment, I was pulling lots of all-nighters to get my work done and was so drained of energy from the crazy semester. The commencement ceremony finally arrived and to no one’s surprise at this point, I was nauseous for the big day. My legs were once again weak and wobbly but the day still went fairly well.
I finished the semester with a 3.73 GPA and graduated Cum Laude with a 3.63 GPA. I will never understand how I walked away with that after the semester I went through, but I scrapped and clawed to make things happen. After a summer where I could not fight for myself, in the fall I was able to find the strength to do that again.
Four days after graduation, it was time for my surgery. I had been told that a tonsillectomy would be a tough surgery and the recovery would be rough. I also knew that I would be living on a soft food and liquid diet for a bit. If a tonsillectomy is hard for anyone, then it was going to be brutal for me because my stomach already felt so empty after I had lost 15 pounds since the choking incident 7 months prior.
I got through the surgery just fine but it was extremely uncomfortable. The first two days of recovery were not that horrible but I was lacking nutrients and playing the catch up game. I was bed ridden and pretty incapable of doing much. I was fortunate to have my mom taking care of me around the clock.
Before I had the surgery, I bought Christmas presents for my parents but had not yet had the chance to wrap them. My girlfriend showed up with a laundry basket filled with boxes and wrapping paper and helped me wrap everything. I was getting great care and then finally prepared for Christmas.
A few days later, my mom and I drove to their house so I could continue to recover and spend Christmas with the family. The pain got much worse before it got better, which made eating soft foods even that much tougher. Once I began to improve, it was time to start moving towards more solid foods. The pain in my throat not only made it more difficult to swallow with force, but the acid reflux was forcing things back up a bit. A lot of the food started going up my nose or sinuses and made eating quite discouraging.
The last weekend of 2019 was my final weekend with 19 News as the sports intern and I needed to drive back up to Cleveland for the final Browns game of the season. That Saturday night, I went to sleep early because I did not feel well. When I woke up, I was struggling but needed to make it back. I proceeded to make the three-hour drive but could not manage to get any food in me.
By the time I arrived at my apartment, I needed to rest. I laid down in my bed and did not go to Tailgate 19. I did go to the station for the game and Fifth Quarter though so I could finish what I started, thank everyone for the great seven months and turn in my keycard. My girlfriend was coming over once I got back that evening since we had not seen each other in over a week and a half. Instead of simply being excited to see her, I desperately needed her.
I had already climbed in bed and was practically too weak to do anything for myself and was still too nauseous to get any food down. I was becoming more ghostly pale than I already had been. Once she arrived, she immediately started taking care of me. She kept me on a timer and set goals for how many ounces of fluids I needed to intake by the time the alarm sounded. She also started to force small amounts of soft food and that honestly gave me just enough energy to keep my eyes open.
She held me, comforted me and did not leave my side for three days. We had only been dating for nearly a month at this point yet she willingly jumped to my aide and is the reason I did not end up in the emergency room for a third time in 2019.
Once I was able to walk around a bit more, I was still woozy. I was probably stumbling around more than Apollo Creed after getting pummeled in the second round versus Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. I sprawled out face first on the living room floor on the morning of New Year’s Eve and my girlfriend was concerned. She never saw me at my worst but she was getting a glimpse at what my life had been months prior to meeting her.
My stubborn self repeatedly told her that I did not need medical attention but when she wanted to call my parents, I said that was fine. She called and my parents packed some bags to come and stay.
The regression with my health post tonsillectomy was not enjoyable but I had the privilege of spending New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with three people near and dear to my heart. We played lots of board games, told plenty of stories and I started to count my blessings while looking around the room. I continued to learn through this whole process that lots of good can come from bad situations.
