I do believe this is the longest I've ever gone without blogging. But in my defence, I do have many very good excuses. I have tried to write a few posts, but I just haven't had the energy or concentration to do so. So, in a nutshell, here's what I've been up to over the past 6 weeks or so.

First, I was in Mozambique for 2 weeks. For the most part, it was a great trip. We did a team retreat, so I was travelling with colleagues the whole time, which is more fun than travelling alone (although it does reduce the knitting time somewhat!). The two weeks were full of beaches, good food and good company (oh yeah, and some work!). It was a bit emotional, however, since it was my last trip. I'm starting in a new position soon at work, so I will no longer be travelling regularly to Mozambique. I will still travel, but to different places. It really has been wonderful getting to know a place really well (that was my 13th trip), but it will be nice to add some new countries to my list of places visited (which now stands at 23)

The only problem during my trip was that I came down with a nasty cold and cough. I was sick the last few days of the trip so I missed out on some of the fun (like dolphin watching) and the trip home was pretty miserable. I pity the poor people who sat next to me on the fights. I could barely go 20 minutes without coughing. Once I returned home, I was still sick for a few more days, until I finally started to recuperate.

Two weeks ago, on the Victoria Day long weekend, I spent the Saturday at the Sheep Shearing Festival, knitting with some other members of the Ottawa Knitting Guild. Afterwards, I went out for dinner with Nancy and Lisa. All in all, it was a lovely day. And the last lovely day I would have for a while.

On Sunday afternoon, the pain started. I knew immediately what it was. Gallstones. If you've ever had a gallstone attack, you'll know what I mean. Once you've felt that pain once, you'll know what it is when you feel it again. That is some intense pain.

A quick aside for a little back story – a couple of years ago I had this pain three times. Once in Ottawa (though it didn't last very long) and twice while travelling (once on the plane, and the pain was so intense I told the flight attendant, who paged for a doctor, and once in Nairobi where I was attending a conference at the UN offices, so I saw the doctor at the UN clinic). Both of those doctors (and the friend I was with when I had the very first attack) said it sounded like gallstones. When I returned from that last trip, I saw my doctor and he agreed from the way I described the pain that it sounded like gallstones. He ordered an abdominal ultrasound. When it came back, it showed nothing in the gallbladder. Then, about two months ago, I had an ultrasound for another reason. When my doctor saw the report, he said "you know you have gallstones, right?"

So, back to two weekends ago. I get this very intense pain in the upper abdomen that I know is my gallbladder. Except unlike the previous attacks that passed after a couple of hours, this didn't. It started just after lunch, and by 7pm or so, it was so intense that I could barely stand it. I headed off to the emergency room. (Note to self – next time you get an illness or injury that requires a visit to the emergency room, don't do it on the Sunday of a long weekend). I finally saw a doctor at 1am, by which time the intense pain had passed. But when she examined my abdomen, it was still really tender and sore, right where the gallbladder is, so she suggested I return the next morning for an ultrasound, which I did. As it was a holiday, I waited around all day, finally to be told that not only did I have a gallbladder full of stones, but there was one about 1cm in diameter lodged in opening. Nice. That explained the pain. I then spoke to a surgeon who said that my gallbladder would have to come out in a few weeks. Meanwhile, this stone should pass soon. He gave me some painkillers in case I needed them (I was not in pain at that moment) and told me to come back if I had a fever, started vomiting, or if my eyes turned yellow). So I went home, after spending a total of 13 hours in the hospital between Sunday evening and Monday. So much for a restful long weekend.

On Tuesday I went to work, but by late morning a started to feel funny. No pain at that point, but I just felt off. I headed home. Sometime that afternoon, the pain started up again, and by evening it was even more intense than on Sunday. I took the painkillers – the helped a wee bit, but not much. I waited for the pain to pass, but it didn't. Days passed and I was in constant pain. When I took the painkillers every four hours and didn't move, it was tolerable. But if I went 4 hours and 20 minutes, or if I moved at all, it was unbearable. Finally, last weekend, I decided that if the pain hadn't stopped by Monday I was going back to the emergency room, which I did. I had another ultrasound, which showed that the stone was still in the same spot. My gallbladder was too enlarged to remove it laproscopically, and they don't like to do open surgery unless absolutely necessary. So they admitted me to the hospital to try to get the swelling down in my gallbladder so that the stone would pass. They gave me IV fluids and antibiotics, and some nice painkillers, and I had nothing to eat or drink at all for the first day, then clear liquids only for a couple of days. The highlight of my day was guessing what colour jello I would get at each meal (though even that got boring, as it became quite predictable – red at breakfast, yellow at lunch, red at dinner).

Finally, Thursday afternoon I had another episode of really intense pain that was no match for the painkillers I was on, and then nothing. The pain was gone. I didn't need any painkillers that night, for the first time in 11 days. When I saw the doctor in the morning, my abdomen wasn't even tender to the touch. Finally, the stone has dislodged. I came home Friday morning, with instructions to stay on a soft diet for another day or two, and then gradually introduce real food. I'm still on antibiotics for another few days, and I have painkillers in case I need them (which I haven't so far, touch wood). It's amazing how much something like this takes out of you. I'm still really weak, as I've had very little food in the past two weeks, but I'm finally on the mend. Hopefully I won't have another attack (at least not a long one like that) until they get my gallbladder out, which will be in a couple of months. But it sure is nice to no longer be in constant pain.

Sorry I don't have pretty knitting pictures to show you, but that would take energy I just don't have. I finished a pretty triangular shawl a couple of weeks ago, but it still needs to be blocked. And I started another Seasilk shawl, but I haven't taken any pictures yet. I was not able to do much knitting in the hospital, mainly because I had an IV needle in the crook of my left arm, and I had to keep my arm pretty straight or the machine would start beeping. Very annoying. And even knitting took more energy than I had. I will try to get pictures soon, I promise!