History

I need to give some health history for me at this point.  When I was in high school I experienced some health problems as well.  Luckily those were quickly diagnosed and I learned how to deal with them in my life. 

I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Endometriosis.  Luckily I had a great doctor at the time and he had me into specialists that I needed to see right away and get these issues dealt with.

In the spring of 1995, I went to Japan on a mission trip with my bible school team.  We were in the area of Nagoya, Japan for approximately 1 month.  While there we ate an assortment of new foods to me...mostly sushi and so much raw meat.  It was very hard for this Alberta beef loving girl to eat but, to my credit, I did at least try everything that was presented in front of me. 

Somewhere along the line, while in Japan, I picked up a lovely little parasite named Shigella.  I started to experience symptoms towards the end of the trip and just hoped that it wasn't anything serious and hoped I could deal with it once I got back home to Canada.

Once back home in Canada, the little parasite continued to do much havoc to my intestines and stomach.  By the time I got diagnosed, much damage had been done and the doctor said that it would take about 5-10 years before I would feel like I had my stomach and intestines back to normal.  He wasn't kidding.  Even though the parasite was taken care of and no longer in my system the damage was never ending.  Many "sudden" trips to the bathroom for intense cramping, extreme sweating (my shirts would be soaked through, you could hear the sweat pour off my body and hit the bathroom floor) and then followed by diarrhea.  These episodes would come and go as they pleased...sometimes they would be frequent and other times I would go months before another attack.  Slowly over time the attacks became less and less frequent.

Other than that, I did experience some TMJ difficulties and whiplash after a car accident but nothing too serious or life threatening.  I have been lucky to have escaped broken bones and stitches in my life.

I thought I should mention these health matters now in this part of my story so that you can put the self-diagnosis' out of the way when you continue to read the rest of my story.  My thyroid is continually monitored, my endometriosis is under control and is continually monitored etc.  But they are important to the whole health picture and I thought they should be mentioned.