my kryptonite

wow. what a ride. i mentioned in my previous post that i want to write about being ill. so here goes...october saw almost 250 prospective students come and go. 250 doesn't include moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, and yes... even pets. having fellowshipped with, entertained, and physically touched hundreds of visitors, the likelihood of succumbing to an illness was inevitable. i spent the entire month of november and into december with chronic diarrhea, stomach pain, and bloating. lovely. i sometimes wonder why my body experiences the things that it does. i have a vitamin b-12 deficiency which i believes contributes to a weak immune system. so in general, i am more susceptible to things than the normal person. after two weeks of abnormal poo (which after 4 days, i began to worry/stress)...i was told to take a sample of my poo to the hospital. i've never had to handle my poo like that before and have never had to give my poo to another person to hold. interesting experience. what's bad...i had to do this TWICE. and in between giving two stool samples, i had a stomach scope performed. i had lost several pounds (which i didn't have to lose in the first place) and the gastroenterologist was concerned and wanted to go in for a look. i was heavily sedated as they shoved a six foot camera cable down my throat. they didn't find anything alarming just a little bit of gastritis and a hiatal hernia (which explains probably my incredibly insane ability to burp like a man...i always thought i inherited it from my mom...i guess she has a hiatal hernia too). :o) my stomach biopsy came back normal after the procedure. so the big question was why i am having this incessant diarrhea? i began to think it was all in my head, stress, and irritable bowel syndrome. i was all down on myself for stressing about it all and causing unnecessary self-infliction all these weeks. but then the news came...the nurse calls me after all was said and done and said indeed that my second stool sample came back positive for a parasite called "cryptosporidium." i have never been so elated and disgusted at the same time. i was like all excited that they finally found out what was wrong with me. and then freaked out that i had a freakin' parasite living inside of me. for those of you that haven't heard of cryptosporidium, it is a parasite that is water-born. who's to say where i picked it up. could have been anywhere really. i am really good about drinking filtered water though (at work and at home), so i am thinking it came from a restaurant or a water fountain. i take bottled water to the gym and restaurants now. :o) not risking being funkitfied again. what a miserable five weeks! the doc put me on antibiotics, and i am on cloud nine. just in time to have a wonderful christmas with family and friends.