The Worst 13 Days I've Ever Had.... (graphic)

I have to say the last 13 days have been HORRIBLE for me.  As if it wasn't bad enough that we had a multitude of awful things happen to our family, unexpected bills and mishaps, and school registration, etc.  I woke up on a Sunday morning having some horrible tooth pain and it felt as if it was moving into my jaw.  I took some tylenol and spent most of the day in bed.  On Monday, I woke up at 4am and was numb on the right side of my face all the way through my jaw - and not the good kind of numb but the kind that throbs uncontrollably. 

By that Friday, I was begging to go to the hospital.  They tried to tell me that I had an abscess tooth which I knew I didn't because I had one two years ago and had none of these current symptoms.  On Saturday, I was finally diagnosed with Mandibular Cellulitis.  If you have no idea what it is, trust me, you don't ever want to experience it and find out first hand. 

It is basically a staph infection that seeps from a tooth into your jaw.  It was causing my jaw to try to break thru so that the pus could exit, but it had nowhere to go.  Finally, yesterday, after I slept for about nine hours straight and had two different antiobiotics over ten days, it broke thru my gum (again very painful) close to one of my front teeth and started seeping faster than we could get it out of my mouth. 

So, that's where I have been the last two weeks.  The boys started school this week and I didn't even get to take them or get pictures of them.  I will try to capture some memories this week if possible.  I hope and pray that all of you sending kids off this week had a wonderful time with your kids and didn't cry too much ;)

Before I go, I do have a few prayer requests:

• My uncle, John Kennedy, has had been experiencing horrible pain in his neck and back.  At some point last week, he was attempting to get to a hospital and had to be rushed by ambulance because they thought he was having a heart attack or stroke.  It turned out he was having some major nerve issues and on Friday he had to have surgery on his neck.  He was supposed to feel relief and be released but I am being told that he is still in severe pain and is not healing like they had hoped. 
• My friends, Maggie and Nathan Wilson, just welcomed a baby girl yesterday named Alyson and my friends, Melanie and Spence Bruner welcomed a baby boy this week too!  Please pray for a speedy recovery for both ladies and that the babies are welcome into their lives with ease.
• Erica Howard is expecting a baby this year.  I posted about her tragic loss of her baby girl last year.  We had previous miscarriages together and I felt led to ask for prayers for her along this pregnancy.