Just like children, emotions heal when they are heard and validated. —Jill Bolte Taylor

I had to go to Urgent Care yesterday. I was still sick and nauseous and barely able to eat. (Background: 3W+3D, 3W+4D)

I felt like I knew what the problem was, but the sickness was lingering longer than I expected. Although I had thought about everything a bazillion times, and it made rational sense, the nurse’s dismissal of my problems had stung. Maybe she knew something I didn’t.

Even though I know myself. I know my body. I know the weird, 1 in a million problems I have. Things that are rare. I know that they happen to me.

And it’s not paranoia. It’s fact. It’s just how I’m made.

But I didn’t have the confidence to believe it, even though all signs pointed to the problem. One health care professional said it was impossible. That was enough to plant the seed of doubt.

And I hate that!

Even if this is your job and you haven’t seen it before. You haven’t seen me. I am unique. I am not like everyone else. I am special.

And not in a, “I’m better than everyone else” way. I am just saying that I do not have the same DNA as anyone else in this world. And maybe the swirled strands are messed up. Maybe they’re a little different. I don’t know! All I know is that I’m different.

I know my body.

I’ve been studying it for almost 50 years.

It frustrates me. It annoys me. It is confusing. I don’t know what to tell you, except that it is different.

So I go to Urgent Care because I don’t trust the nurse and what she told me. It doesn’t feel right. What she is saying doesn’t feel right.

Guess what?

The doctor told me that I have textbook side effects of the medicine that the surgeon had put me on. Textbook bad reaction. (I guess I’m not so different, after all!)

She was kind.

She told me to take it easy.

She told me it would take a while for my body to regain strength after such a violent setback.

She gave me validation.

Today, I am still nauseous and have to lay down a lot. I am still picking at my food. But, my goodness! Do I feel better!! Just knowing that I am not crazy makes me feel better.

Validation. It’s a beautiful thing.