Everything, Nothing, and I'm a Middle Child

I'm kind of hesitant to write about this, as I don't want anyone to get unduly concerned, but... I don't know, somehow I feel compelled.

I had my first trip (ever) to the ER on Saturday. We had all sorts of other plans, including a friend's wedding, but I had a rather minor migraine that refused to go away. I'd taken the maximum dosage of my medication the night before, and, although the migraine was minor, since they get worse over time I wanted to be able to be proactive. I called the doctor and he said to go to the ER (remember, NOTHING is open on Saturdays in Israel) because even if I took more of my medicine it wouldn't help. So, off we went.

Israel has apparently not figured out that smoking and medical facilities generally don't mix. Well, whatever. Since it wasn't any sort of real emergency, my experience was sssslllllooooowwwww. I was there for 6 hours. I got a shot and an IV. I felt pretty good at the ER - don't know if it was the shot or the IV (my guess is the IV). Another odd thing - the entire time I was there: no toilet paper or towels in the bathroom. Huh? You want me to give you a urine sample and you don't supply ANY paper? I don't think that's very sanitary. I just stood there until they'd give me paper - paper anything. Poor Mark was SOOO bored - and on top of it he is hyper sensitive to cigarette smoke. So, Sunday we both ended up staying home from work ('cause my migraine still wasn't gone) and Mark had gotten sick from the smoke.

I almost feel gilted that my experience was so bland - almost. I recognize that I'm much better off this way - not to worry :-) The dumb thing is that my migraine was never even really ... a migraine! I was still functional - heck, I even watched a movie that evening. Of course, I slept the entire next day - it was definitely draining. Ah well, Haifa seems to do this to people - a number of people here get a bit less healthy than they were back home, wherever that was. I wonder what it is. Most people attribute it to the pollution, which granted is bad, but aren't there a lot of polluted places in the world? (i.e. the Olentangy River in Columbus - GROSS!) Fortunately, most get better once they leave. I'm am living my dream - to be able to serve the Faith using my skills, I can't get everything!

Change of topic:
Tonight we are having some Swiss pilgrims over for dinner. We are SO excited! The family is close to my family, through a Baha'i who grew up with them and then moved to our community, who just happens to be a very good friend of my mother. It will be such a privilege to return the hospitality they have shown us. When I was working in France, Mark and I visited them briefly and it was heaven!

Then, tomorrow we head out to visit my brother Nathan in Edinburgh, Scotland! I am crazy excited about this. I just fell in love with the city the last time I visited him. It'll be fun to be there with Mark and just relax for a few days. An added bonus: the last time I went to Scotland I came back migraine-free for the next two months! Let's hope it has a similar effect again this time!