A Year In The Life Of Kicking Pernicious Anemia’s Ass…..

Today is my one year anniversary of being alive. That may sound a bit strange, but on this day last year, I received some news that would change my life forever.

I had been feeling sick for a while, and after I took a blood test, my doctor called to tell me that my hemoglobin was down to a 5 (normal is 15). She told me to go to the hospital immediately for a blood transfusion.

I was so naive that I thought I could just go in, get the transfusion, and go home. Instead, I spent the next week and a half in the hospital, going through more medical procedures than I can count. (you can read about all the blood transfusions and other gory stuff – as well as see pictures by clicking here.)

It took the doctors a while (and a misdiagnosis) to figure out what was going on. The verdict? Pernicious Anemia – which is basically a B12 Deficiency. It was only in the past 50 or so years that doctors have known that Pernicious Anemia can be cured with B12 shots.

In the past, a person died around a year after diagnosis. Honestly, my hemoglobin was so low, I probably would have been dead by last Halloween if they hadn’t figured out what was up, but since this marks the first anniversary of diagnosis, I am celebrating the fact that I am still ALIVE.

For a while there, I really thought I was going to die. I just kept getting sicker and sicker. And when that happens to you at the age of 31, you start thinking about the stuff you haven’t done. And in my case, I decided I was going to start doing the stuff I was scared to do.

Over the past year, I have tried to remember the feelings I had in the hospital and make the correct changes. But after a few months of my blood improving, I realized I wasn’t going to die and I did become complacent about some things.But overall, I have tried to push myself as much as possible to do the things that scare the hell out of me. Here’s a short list of what I did this year:

Got my own place! I had never lived alone. I went straight from my parents’ house into living with my boyfriend, who then became my husband, and after I left him, I shared a place with my sister… I’ll admit it, I was a bit scared about living alone. But I took the plunge and got my own apartment… and I LOVE it. Living alone is not so bad at all!

Got the divorce finalized… Again, I’ll be honest with you. Divorces are expensive. I didn’t want to pay expensive prices, so I decided to do all the paperwork on my own. I have heard horror stories about how awful and difficult this process can be, and how everything needs to be totally mistake-free. Well, I somehow managed to do it, and I got everything finalized (after almost two full years of separation). So, yes, I can finally – legally – use the last name Herron again.

Sent in some speaker proposals – and actually got some gigs! One of my ‘goals’ has been to travel to different cities and basically do what I do online – but in person. You know – explain blogging and how to get traffic to your website without spending a bunch of dough. While this excites me, it also terrifies me!

And it isn’t speaking in front of people that scares me… It’s the traveling to new cities and getting lost and looking like a dumbass part that petrifies me. BUT, I grabbed a hold of that fear, politely told it to eff off, and submitted some speaker proposals.  And yeah, I got some gigs. Not all of the ones I applied for, but I did get about half of them. In fact, I’ll be traveling to New York City in a few weeks to speak on a blogging panel. Yes, that’s right… NEW YORK. The big apple. Hey – if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere! (right?!?)

Took a road trip – The weekend after I got out of the hospital, I took off with my friends Beth and Lish to Columbus to meet up with that city’s craftiest ladies. In hind sight, I probably shouldn’t have went so soon. My hemoglobin fell a whole point while I was there. But I had a lot of fun, and I survived, so it wasn’t all bad. Plus, I got to go to Studio Club 161. It’s something you need to experience first hand to totally understand…

But after that weekend wore me out (utterly and completely) I decided to take a break from traveling for a while and canceled plans to exhibit at Renegade in Chicago that September.

Well, guess what kids? I just signed my vendors’ agreement a few minutes ago for the 2010 Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, so if you are going this September, be sure to swing by my table and say “hi.”

Started Dating... I don’t really enjoy the whole dating process. I find it incredibly awkward and, well, basically stupid. I mean, really… What is the point in trying to impress some dude and try to get him to see how cool I am? I know I’m cool. I don’t really care what that dumbass thinks. And see, attitudes like that do not lead to productive dating. I’m a “put my cards on the table,” “tell it like it is” kind of girl. Again, that doesn’t really lead to productive dating. Dating is hell.  But at least I’m trying.

Sometimes life throws you some wicked curve balls. Sometimes, life throws you a ball that hits you in the head and knocks you the fuck out. And I kinda think that happened to me.

But I never let it get me down. My main phrase became “Make Good Blood.” I knew that I could get better – I just needed to make it happen. I looked at it as a lesson I needed to learn.  And I can tell you that I have learned a lot about being patient, can give myself a B12 shot in the stomach like no one’s business (I have to do that monthly for the rest of my life in order to live), and I definitely grew some balls.

I guess I was pretty brave before, I mean, I did move to Alaska (but I did that with my husband at the time, so not really quite as brave). This past year, I did all the brave stuff on my own. And I’ve never been prouder of myself or more appreciative.

Yay to getting sick (yeah, at the end of the day, I’m glad it happened). Double yays to learning lessons. Triple yays to being able to make good blood.

And just for the record, my hemoglobin, as of Tuesday was 13.5 — YAY, ME!