Well, after losing my camera for four months to Grace's couch, she found it and i finally have pictures of Belize to share.
Cory and I looked for destinations we would like to go to for our honeymoon and settled on the island of Belize. We left on my birthday and headed to Billings after a wonderful wedding to catch our flight. The trip did not come without it's excitements. As we were flying into Denver on our way there, I noticed that my left butt cheek hurt. I assumed I had pulled or twisted a muscle and just wrote it off. It really didn't hurt that bad but I definitely noticed something. We tracked on to Belize City where we caught a great wiff of humidity and loaded onto another plane to take us to our final destination on Ambergris Cayes. We got there late and couldn't see much as it was already dark but, already, the people were so nice, friendly and willing to help us get to our hotel We decided to stay at Ramones Village which was a fabulous choice. We had our own private cabana and could see all the way to the ocean from our front porch. We woke up our first morning to a refreshing view and an amazing spot to bathe in the sun and spend time together. We wear geared up to be there for one week and really just went with the intent to relax and enjoy each other's company. We explored a little and went on one tour to the Myan ruins. It was great but a long day. We got to see tons of animals and really experience a remote village out in the jungle. As the days went on, my butt cheek continued to hurt and kept getting worse and worse. I continued to ignore it but couldn't ignore the on and off again fever that I kept getting. I just didn't feel right and every day around 3pm it was as if the life was being sucked out of me. Cory, you could tell, was quite exhausted as well and didn't feel good all the time either so we settled on just sticking around the island and enjoying the good food.
One day Cory even made me jump in the amazing pool at Ramones village. It was quite refreshing given that it was super cold as they had just repainted it and filled it up with fresh cold water the night before. At least it was clean :). After swimming in the pool Cory insisted that we go swim in the ocean. The ocean was so crystal blue and clear you could see all the fish and since my brother in law, Jason traumatized me when I was a little girl with fish :) I didn't want to do it so I watched as Cory dove in and swam around. A couple minutes later he came to the dock and announced "I've lost my wedding ring." I didn't believe him and insisted that he didnt. Sure enough, after showing me his finger, only days after our wedding his ring was lost in the Caribbean sea. He ran to talk to a worker on the dock who found someone to dive in and look for it. Literally, within seconds, the man swam to the surface with a gold ring in his hand. I was so relieved and thankful... as was Cory.
I was layed up most nights not feeling well and couldn't understand what was wrong with me. My but cheek continued to grow in pain until it hurt to stand, hurt to sit and even hurt to lay down. But, I was in Belize and determined to not allow it to affect my time with my new husband.
The weather was cloudy for the most part so we didn't get much time to lay on the beach but one afternoon we did. Little kids were running around selling their homemade jewelry and blankets. Two boys in particular were just super cute and wanted to talk and talk. One had a stick with him and I asked what it was for. He said that if they're lucky, while they're walking and selling things, they will find a coconut that's not on a private resort beach up in the trees and they knock it down with the stick and open it up to drink the juice. I told them that I wanted to learn how so they quickly ran off and came back minutes later with a fresh coconut. They handed it to me and said, "It's for you" Of course I wasn't going to take my coconut but asked if they could show me how to break it open. I invited the little tikes to our cabana which had a cement block at the bottom of the stairs. They boys slammed the coconut down just right for it to burst at the center and open up. They quickly handed it to us to drink. I've tried coconut juice before and never really liked it but I pretended it was GREAT! However, I gave it back to the boys to drink themselves. They were such little cuties. Not shortly after they ran along their way; selling their goods to the tourist.
There was also lots of great food down there. Cory says he had the best fresh lobster he's ever had at one of the restaurants we went to. Unfortunately, I just couldn't seem to enjoy my food much as I continued to get more sick and more sick as the days went by.
After a great week in Belize, we headed back for America. I couldn't hide the pain anymore from my butt cheek and was in quite a bit of misery. Cory was very considerate and gracious during this time. The plane ride was grueling as I couldn't get up and move or stretch out. But, I continued to write it off as a twisted muscle and was anxious to go see a doctor to find some stretches to make it feel better. When we got into Denver, I called my parents. My father insisted that I go to the emergency room if it was hurting that bad but I couldn't imagine going to the emergency room from a sprained muscle so insisted that I wait until returning to Sheridan the next day.
It was good to get back to Sheridan but sad to know that our honeymoon had come to an end. The first order of business when we got back was taking me to my doctor. I wasn't nervous at all but really needed to figure out what I needed to do to make this better. He looked at me and immediately said, "You have an abscess." I thought... no big deal and asked what I needed to do. He then told me that he would have to CUT ME OPEN AND DRAIN IT!!!! I began bawling and wailing so scared of needles and never have I been cut open. I pleaded that he put me to sleep for it but he, of course, refused and said that he would just numb the area. Cory held my hand as I screamed while they cut me open. It's never good when the doctor says, "Holy Cow!" I could feel him reach the abscess about an inch deep into my skin as puss and blood oozed out violently. (I know... DISGUSTING!). Within second, I had instant relief from the pain. I eventually quit bawling but had to remain in the doctors office until I stopped shaking long enough to get in the vehicle and go home. My abscess drained and drained for days. I had to go in every day to have it repacked so the wound would stay open and continue to let all the fluids out. It took me about one month to fully heal and I still get scared that it will come back.
I can certainly say that I will never forget my honeymoon or the aftermath of it. I had already been gone from work for a week and half and was anxious to get back so I could get to my hundreds of emails. Unfortunately, I had to lay down for two days after my doctors visit in order for the wound to drain and heal correctly so Cory nursed me back to health until I could get back on my feet.
Belize was certainly a memorable adventure!
