It’s Saturday morning around 10 am and I’m in the bed trying my best to write this blog post. On Wednesday evening, I had an emergency appendectomy and obviously I had not scheduled that into my week. It all started on Tuesday. I had made a salmon salad for dinner and photographed it for Crazy Blonde Life (it’s coming soon). I tasted a bite of it and started to feel a little queezy and I had some pain in my stomach. I didn’t think anything about it, I guess because I didn’t have time, but in just a few minutes, I was laying on the sofa feeling really bad. I moved upstairs to the bed and texted my husband who was playing golf. He came immediately and by the time he got home, I had decided that I needed to go to the emergency room. We got there and it was a zoo! So many people and I knew the wait would be insane. They got me back to take my vital signs and get some bloodwork. The two nursers that helped me were less than concerned and acted as if I were invisible, which wasn’t helpful. However, I didn’t feel like dealing with them so I was herded in and herded back out to the emergency room waiting area. As we were leaving, I asked how long it would be and one of the nurses said, “I don’t know but there are 28 ahead of you.”! If you know my husband, you would know that what she said didn’t go over well at all. He decided to take matters into his own hands and call an ambulance to go to another hospital 30 minutes away. The only problem with that was that the ambulance couldn’t take me to that hospital for some reason. At this point, he picked me up and carried me back inside because I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk. I don’t know how long I waited (way too long), but finally they took me back to a room. My pain was managed quickly and the doctor on call decided to do a CT scan, which I had never had before. The CT scan didn’t show anything significant except for a little swelling of my small intestine. They called it some kind of “itis” and sent me home pumped full of pain medication. This was at about 1:30 am. The next morning, I woke up in even worse pain that had moved lower and back to the emergency room we went. This time, there was hardly anyone there so I went straight back. They did another CT scan…this time using dye, and it showed that I had an infection in my appendix, but luckily, it hadn’t ruptured. It seemed like forever, but finally at about 4:30 pm, a surgeon removed my appendix.

I’ve never really had health issues. I had an emergency cesarean with my middle daughter that was pretty scary and later had a partial hysterectomy, but that has been it, other than the cosmetic things that have been my choice. No surgery is easy, especially when you have an organ removed, but this appendectomy has been very hard. I came home yesterday morning after spending two nights in the hospital, thinking that everything was under control. I cannot even describe how bloated my stomach is…I honestly look pregnant and it hurts. I’ve tried to walk as much as possible, but the pain (in spite of some intense pain medication) hasn’t allowed me to walk very much. I’ve had what had to have been, gallons of water, but very little food because nothing tastes good to me.

Somehow, before I left the hospital yesterday, I managed to plug these pictures into the blog post, and I’m forcing myself to write this text, partly because it helps to get my mind off of things. What I do know is that I look nothing like the girl in these pictures and they were taken on Monday of this week! I also know how grateful I am for my health and for the health care I have access to. Going through this situation has made me realize that I need to step things up a bit and eat healthier foods, exercise more and keep up with important doctor’s appointments. The truth about this appendicitis is that for several weeks, I’ve been feeling a little nausious every morning as well as a few other little things that “didn’t feel quite right”, but I’ve ignored them because I didn’t have time. Well…this has stopped me in my tracks and now, all I have is time.

The moral to this story is to pay attention to your body when it’s gently trying to tell you something is wrong. Don’t wait until it’s screaming at you and you’re in so much pain that you can’t move. Being healthy is one of the greatest gifts in life and I think that’s the lesson here for me. I can’t do any of the things I love to do everyday if I’m in poor health and it’s time to make some changes.

So completely off the subject of health, except for the fact that I appreciate the body here in these pictures so much and I’m ready to feel like this again very soon…I’m absolutely in love with this cute little dress from Loft! I knew when I saw it in the store that I wanted to style it exactly this way. The cute pink mules are from TopShop and I’m so sad to say that they’re already sold out. I did find some other ones that are really cute and I’ve linked them below. The sunglasses are also from Loft and have just a hint of pink and the hat is from Draper James in Nashville. This outfit is sassy and just screams summer. Maybe it’s the hat, but I’m picturing garden parties and alfresco lunches.

EVERYTHING AT LOFT IS 40% OFF SO IT’S PRACTICALLY FREE! DON’T MISS OUT! HERE IS A BOUTIQUE OF MY FAVORITES INCLUDING THIS DRESS! USE CODE LOVEMOM

My great friends and my husband have taken such good care of me through all of this and I feel beyond blessed. Life is good…I have my health, my sweet family, my good friends! Just as I wrote that sentence, it hit me why I love to blog…I feel so much better now! I’ve written myself out of a funk and I’ve found the bright side of a not so great situation and that’s one more thing to be grateful for!

If you haven’t already downloaded Blondie, my new digital magazine…what are you waiting for! You’ll be inspired by the amazing women on the pages of Blondie, you’ll find great shopable links for essential wardrobe pieces, a discount code from Bess & George Clothing and so much more! Blondie is a quarterly magazine and I’m so excited about the next issue already…coming out August 1!