The Best Holiday Gift You Can Give

Christmas is the time of year when many of us visit friends and family, give and receive gifts, watch the school pageant with pride, and decorate our homes with sparkling tinsel and garland. It is a wonderful time of the year for many of us.

If you are anything like me, you sign up for every volunteer position at shelters, schools, and events that are sure to put a smile on someone's face for the holiday season. It is a wonderful feeling to pay it forward. Giving to others that are in need is something that has always been close to my heart. I even involve my children and watch with pride as they hug an elderly person in a local nursing home or scoop some food for someone in line at the food pantry. How rewarding this has always been for all of us! Though we volunteer year round to the local teen mom program and Soldiers Angels this is a special time of year for many people and we like to contribute even more. I baked cookies and delivered smiles everywhere I went.

But I forgot about something very important to give my time and attention to this holiday season. Myself. Being a mother, writer, and full time college student can be very stressful at times. Adding time commitments I made to organizations and extra errands due to the season, I was burning the candle at both ends. But I know my body and thought all I needed was more sleep, so I kept going and going.

Until the day I couldn't go anymore. It was a Saturday morning and I was tired, cold, and grumpy. I went back to bed and stayed there until after 1 PM. My family was worried about me and brought some toast and tea to me, delivering hugs and tentative smiles with the loving tray. After deciding that I was going to come downstairs to join civilization, I realized that standing was very difficult. I did it, and got almost all the way down my 14 stairs. With the help of my husband Geoff, I got to the couch.

At this point, I was unable to focus my eyes on anything and everything was very blurry. I kept my eyes closed and told Geoff I needed to be seen by a doctor. With the help of my daughters whom are 12 and 5, respectfully, panic ensued. Of course, everyone we knew in the area (we just moved 10 hours from home 2 months ago) was not home.

Geoff called 911 and the paramedics came and took me to Akron General Hospital. They decided I was dangerously dehydrated and pushed fluids as fast as the intravenous line would allow. The dehydration cramps were painful and they gave me an injection of pain medication and I began to feel much better.

It was then that the doctors began to look very concerned and I became confused. I was getting better, wasn't I? The dehydration had taken its toll on my body and they could not stabilize my heart rate. I called my husband and my mother. Geoff came immediately, and my mother prayed from 10 hours away in New York. The doctors were using phrases like "myocardial infarction" and "cardiac event". Now I was scared.

Geoff and the kids came to the emergency room and gave me hugs and kisses, got some updates, and left when the kids became too tired to stay in the small and dark room any longer. Though he hated to leave me, Geoff took the kids home and I went to sleep.

After 4 Electrocardiograms and still no answers, the doctors came in to check on me every 15 minutes. They were pumping fluids into me and my arm was cold and swollen from the rush of water. A nurse came in with the crash cart, and told me that if my heart rate goes over 150 and stays there they will have to use the paddles to restart my heart. After 2 hours of watching my heart rate hover at 148, they gave me some medication to help me sleep.

It took 8 hours, a lot of water, and 5 liters of intravenous fluids to stabilize my heart rate and hydrate my body enough to produce some urine. I went home bundled up and exhausted. Upon waking the next morning, I realized how close I came to becoming very sick. I also realized that this scary scene was preventable. By taking time to relax and drinking enough water to sustain my body's needs, this never would have happened. Talk about a major guilt trip for a mother during the holidays.

Less than a week later, I am here on my couch, water bottle nearby and blanket positioned perfectly on my lap. I have called most of the organizations I volunteer for and my friends and family have me on an obligation only schedule. I will work only on writing and school, and the kids will help me around the house. Most of my friends are boycotting the Christmas party I am throwing because they refuse to see me work for their entertainment right now.

Please, learn from me this holiday season. Take some time for yourself. Take the time to eat, drink, be healthy, and sleep! If you need more hours in the day, you are working too hard.

Give yourself the best gift you can this holiday season and love yourself as much as you love your family. Your body, and your children, will thank you!