bringing in the new year

Happy 2012, I think.

I didn't think I wanted to remember the "bringing in" of this year with a post, but figured it is a memory and a story that I will be telling for quite some time, so here goes.

Our week after Christmas up in BML is always filled with fun, food, drink and usually snow. This year was no different. Noticeably this year, the age of the girls has been so great, and we are able to do so much as a family. Needless to say, we were having a great and dare I say uneventful week!

Our New Year's Eve celebration always starts early. By early, I mean like Mimosa's for breakfast, beers around the campfire at the bottom of the sledding hill, and then high balls followed by Boulderdash and champagne (celebratory, of course!) This New Year's Eve though, things took a turn as I took my 5pm shower and began to prepare the girl's dinner and a plethora of fun New Year's Eve appetizers. The only problem, was that my stomach was not saying "fun." I tried to turn it off, but after our "kid New Year celebration," I was ready for bed, thinking sleep was my best bet.

At about 10 p.m., not really having slept, I found my way to the bathroom and threw up (sorry, no nice way to put it!). Thinking I now had infected the entire household, I was thankful that I should now start feeling better. But, 15 minutes later, with a lot of sharp stomach pains, I headed back for round 2 . . . then round 3 . . . then round 10 . . . . then I lost count. Every 10-15 minutes, I was violently throwing up. At about 1 am, "other" things began happening as well. At about 2 am, I told Matt to get my mom. Long story short, still throwing up, mom and dad called our EMT BML neighbor, who came over and as a group, it was decided an ambulance needed to be called. While this is happening, I of course could care less about what I look like, what I am wearing (which wasn't much!), and the words coming out of my mouth (along with everything else coming out of my mouth!).

Let me stop one moment and explain what it means to call an ambulance to BML. 30 minutes, and 3 EMT's (one without teeth) were at our door. Cathy, Tim and Kenny (no teeth). It is about 3:30 now, and I am shivering, close to dehydrated, scared. I put clothes on, and began to walk to the door, when I needed to get to the bathroom, quick. Matt came with me, and thankfully did, because he caught me as I passed out on the floor, and then puked up the ginger ale mom had made me drink.

So . . . in comes the stretcher. Please imagine 3 rural Indian Lake EMT's (one toothless, remember?) and a stretcher. I remember apologizing for not being a lightweight! There were some others helping, but I don't remember a ton of that. Thankfully, because dad told me they almost dropped me on my head.

So, into the ambulance I go, and "snuggled" in for my 70 mile ride to the NEAREST hospital. Yes, 70 miles! Mom and Dad followed, Matt stayed with the girls.

We arrived at Glen Falls Hospital at around 5am. After being admitted, a nurse put in an IV (again, almost passed out, thankfully my mom held my hand through that!) and gave me anti-vomitig medicine and 2 bags of fluids. After some other tests and evaluations (in an ER full of New Year's Eve domestic and alcoholic involved "incidents" - like a husband/wife taser incident), and when I was able to keep ice chips down, we left the hospital . . . .exhausted, a bit in shock, and ready to move on with the year, at 9 am.

When we walked in the door about an hour and a half after leaving the hospital, grandma Meenen, who also slept through everything, looked at me and said in classic grandma . . . "What's the matter Gnome, don't you feel good?"

So with that said, in a nutshell, I became very aware of some blessings . . .

1. My kids slept through everything.

2. My Mom will always be my mom and will help me when I am sick, even though I am almost 34 years old. AND she bleached and cleaned our bathroom after being awake all night.

3. My parents for helping out with my kids so much New Year's Day.

4. My dad for driving behind the ambulance who was hauling on dark wooded roads really early in the morning.

5. Temps just above freezing and little precipitation that early in the morning.

6. Indian Lake Ambulance Corp - they really did care, and they helped me feel "comfortable" on our journey together.

7. Our BML neighbors.

8. Doctors who care - the ER dr. who called New Year's Day, after his shift had ended, to check on me.

9. My loving husband who really meant " . . . in sickness and in health . . . "

So, let's hope the entrance of 2012 is not any type of foreshadowing for this year.

Like I said, a story I think I will hold on to for quite some time!