I know…it’s probably some of y’all’s favorite TV show. I never really got into it, but this is not what I’m about to share.  Just thought I’d get that out of the way…lol!  But, have you ever heard the phrase, “What a difference a day makes?”  I want to tell you the difference two days can make. I was actually very surprised...

A few weeks ago, I was singing and instead of holding the microphone in my hand, it was on a stand.  Someone standing in front of it, elbowed the end of my microphone and it hit me in the mouth. Suuuuper hard.  I mean to the point where, my first question was, “Do I have teeth?” Lol!!!  I’m laughing, but I’m so serious...that was literally my first question.  After finding that my teeth were still in my mouth and not loose, I let out a sigh of relief.  Then I felt my lip to see if it was busted or swollen.  Nothing there.  Another sigh of relief.  I thought to myself, “Whew, that was close.”  But again, I was just happy to have teeth and the right part of my bottom lip after that hit. Now it gets interesting.

Well, in about a couple of hours, I can begin to feel a small bump on the right side of my bottom lip.  I didn’t panic, I just figured that I’d go home, ice it, and take some aspirin and I should be fine.  So, I did just that.  I went home, iced it, and took aspirin.  However, I noticed that the bump was getting a little bigger.  So, I continued to ice, and I assumed that it just needed time to go back down, probably overnight.  I even had a friend to bring me something to gargle with, to treat any possible infection in the bump.  

Now mind you, there was no cut, no blood...it just looked like somebody had put a little pebble inside of my lip.  But as the night went on, it started to look like a whole rock inside of it.  I went to sleep and again, just believed that my lip needed time to come back to itself...lol!  At about 2:30am, I woke up to use the restroom.  As I got out of bed, I said, “Whyyyyy does my mouth feel so heavy?” Once I stood in front of the mirror, my question was answered.  You know I said that at one point, it looked like a small pebble in my lip?  Well...by this time, it looked like someone put a computer mouse in the right side of my lip....no...seriously.  I couldn’t even close my mouth and could barely talk!  I proceeded to put my clothes on and go to the ER, immediately.

Upon arriving at the ER, the nurses jumped up to help me after just one glance at my lip.  The best word I can use to describe myself in that moment is...monstrous.  Hmmmhmmm...something out of a movie or cartoon. Definitely an evil force...I’m so not kidding...it was a scary sight.  I’m not saying that I’m always front-cover-magazine ready, but this particular moment?  I just shouldn’t have even been allowed in public, but I had to get some sort of medical help, in order not to scare people or...keep scaring myself...lol!!!!

Long story short, after three I.V. medications (one that I had an allergic reaction to and wanted to scratch my skin off), vomiting, and sleeping for about three hours in the ER, I was Ubered back home (I couldn’t drive due to I.V. meds causing drowsiness).  I spent all day sleeping, icing, and later that day I went to pick up my other meds that were prescribed (I wore a mask for sure because I still looked like someone in a horror movie).

By the evening of the next day, I looked as if nothing had ever happened to me. NOTHING. 

I mean...nothing.

Although I was amazed by it all, I was kind of mad that I’d gone through all of that just 48 hours prior. You know what I mean?  It’s like a person who tells you they’ve been in bed sick, but by the time you see them, they look like they’ve had the best week ever. Or the person who’s had major health challenges, but they look like they are the spokesperson for health and wellness.  Or what about the person who’s had unimaginable trauma most of their lives, but they have the kindest and most pleasant spirit?

Here’s what I’m saying: 

You don’t have to look like your experience.  What you put on each day you wake up, doesn’t have to scream to the world that you’re damaged, fragile or hurt.  You don’t have to eat defeat, intimidation, unforgiveness, anger, or confusion for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You don’t have to carry the weight of memories that are too heavy.  You don’t have to watch mental videos of traumatic experiences over and over again.

I’m going somewhere.

All of the above doesn’t have to happen to you if you do what you need to do, no matter how scary you look.  Take the necessary steps to take the pain out of memories and the sting out of your experiences.  Exercise every measure available to get the right prescription in your life lenses to be able to look behind you, see it clearly, and realize it’s behind you and not beside you.  The only way it can catch up or go ahead of you, is if your vision is unclear and you go back and get it.

This is what some people do.  They carry the pain and weight of what was and resuscitate it, to be what is.  Therefore, they will always look like their experience. And all I’m saying is that you, my friend?  Don’t have to be this statistic.

I showed back up in front of the same crowd of people who’d seen me the night my lip was hit.  But they had no idea that just the day before, I was in the ER, throwing up, not able to walk on my own (heavy meds), and very uncomfortable.  All because I had an allergic reaction to a previously used microphone.  You know why?  I did the work, and I didn’t carry it with me, I left it…behind me. 

The last instruction from the nurse before leaving the ER was, “Even when your lip goes down, don’t wear any lipstick. Let it heal because we don’t want anything to irritate it.” Now if you know me, you know I love a good lippie! But…in order to leave my experience in the past, I had to follow instructions that would seal my future.  Even after I looked normal again, I did exactly as she said and was happy to do it! 

Ultimately, what landed me in the ER, was a result of an allergic reaction combined with trauma and it caused me to be unrecognizable. So, I’ve summed it up:

Negative Reaction + Trauma = Mistaken Identity.

I think we have all used this equation at some point in our lives.  Do you agree?

I’ll end here by saying, you don’t have to fake it, if you work it.  Nobody has to know the severity of your injuries, unless you decide to tell them! And it’s okay to even share that, as long as you keep it…behind and not beside you.

Experiences are inevitable, but your conclusion depends on you.  Although it didn’t take long to turn into a horrible situation, it also didn’t take long, to come out of it.

48 hours…who knew?

(This is me and my Big Sister Cha, 48 hours later! Can you tell anything happened to me?)