The Hospital: To Go or not To Go?

Update: 

While I am still out on the sidelines when it comes to physical activity, writing is very much within reach again! I do have this to share about my hospital experience:

We've been conditioned to go to work no matter what. Everything depends upon us being there. To call in at the last minute and say "I can't come in," means someone else has to rearrange their schedule to cover for you, the business will suffer, and a volcano might explode. Maybe two. 

Your coworkers will find a way to survive. You, however, shouldn't overlook what your body is trying to tell you. I am so guilty of this. In South Korea, I tried to convince myself I wasn't coming down sick, even when I could barely speak without coughing, and I ended up in a small hole-in-the-wall clinic strapped up to an IV-bed in a coat closet. Hey, it was a private room. And now recently, when I had sharp lower abdomen pain that kept me up all night, I managed to tell myself that it was indigestion. Maybe I would call in sick. When I started throwing up, okay, maybe it was time to go to urgent care. I could drive myself. Thankfully I called my boyfriend's mother, who told me I was being stupid. 

Ask for help. I had this debate with myself about whether or not to go to the emergency room—the emergency room means steep bills, and lots of them, and really, aren't there people who need the ER's attention more than me? It's good to have such supportive family and friends who dropped everything, because they sensed I probably wouldn't make the smart decision for myself. Especially my boyfriend, who, although starting a brand-new job that day, dashed out of there with barely a word on where he was going. All of that can be straightened out later. Know what can wait and what can't. Struggle against the conditioning. Take a couple weeks off, because even with all the medicine and the incredibly cool new surgical technologies that make recovery time faster than every before, your body is a far cry from Iron Man's.

That brings to me to the second part: Man, do I ever put my characters through the ringer. Here I am, cowed by one medical emergency, while in the Changeling Sisters books, I put my characters through fist fights, stabbings, and worse. I truly am a horrible author to my characters. This will make me re-evaluate how I write fighting sequences in the future. Definitely a reminder to keep the "miraculous recoveries" under wraps. 

So here's to getting better and treating our bodies well! Cheers.  

Earlier:

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately I'm currently recovering from an unexpected surgery, so I'll be out for a bit. It was successful, so as long as I stick to my mochi-juk-jello diet, I should be fine :) Thanks for the well wishes. 

Best,

Heather