Sorry about the lack of posts...

Hey everyone, Jess here!
I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while, I've been a little...preoccupied. You see, about a week after coming home from Belize, I felt really sick. Like, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to die if I throw up again" kind of sick. And then, my mom saw this weird bluish mark on my elbow, that neither of us could identify. So, being the ever so careful person she is, she took me to the hospital. Sitting in the waiting room was the worst part of the experience. It was absolutely dreadful. I spent 3 hours sitting in a chair, trying to read a magazine that I had no interest in whatsoever. Anywho, FINALLY the doctor stepped out into the waiting room and called my name. "Jess Akiko-McConnell, we are ready for you." he called, sending a bright smile my way. "Took you long enough." I thought and sighed. He took my mom and I into a small room, with blinding florescent lights and a cold table for me to lie on. He examined the mark and then bolted out of the room. "What the..." I thought, just as he came running back into the room with another doctor, this one being a woman. She looked thoughtfully at my arm and then spoke. "Ok sweetie, don't freak out about what I'm about to tell you.""That's always a good sign." I said sarcastically in my head. The doctor then went on to explain how that since I was in Belize for such a long time, it wasn't all that surprising that I had contracted a tropical fungus down there. However, mine was a toxic kind of fungus that, if not treated right away, could be deadly. And with that I was hurried onto a one of those metal, rolling beds and whisked away into a too bright, too clean room where doctors hurried this way and that, lab coats swinging as fluid was put into a bag, that was then attached to a needle and stuck into my arm. Before I could even register the pain, I started to feel sleepy and then blacked out. When I woke up my mom was by my side, smiling at me, at least I think she was smiling, the fluid I was given made me pretty loopy. She explained that while I was asleep they had flushed out my body (GROSS RIGHT!), cleaning it of all toxins. The spot on my elbow was fading fast, and I was given medicine to put on it every day until it cleared up. I had to stay in the hospital overnight for observation, and the food wasn't very good, but I felt a lot better. My original guy doctor told me to take it easy for the next few weeks, meaning rest and fluids, so my mom decided it would be better if I caught up on some summer reading than spend my time on the computer. Thus, I haven't blogged lately. Anywho,  the whole experience was really scary, but I'm glad my mom was careful enough to take me to the doctor's. I was taught a really important lesson: It's better to be safe than sorry :)
Here is a photo from my visit: