The Winchester Family Business

I’ve gotten so many great messages from people offering me well wishes, so please indulge me in telling a rather long winded story of my three days in Nashville.  Call it my con report, with a twist.  
 
Well, needless to say, Salute to Supernatural in Nashville was not what I expected.  I’ve only given weird comments about what’s been happening on Twitter, because I’ve only had a phone and no laptop for the last 16 hours.  So allow me to tell my story of my weekend in Nashville.  
  It all started Friday evening as we loaded up the car and me, the hubby, my daughter and son began what was supposed to be our six hour trip to Nashville.  Things went a little “south” you might say!  (I know, boo hiss).  We hit very bad traffic in Cincinnati, so while pulling off for dinner I noticed something.  A tiny little bump under my right eye.  I know what that has meant before.  I had been doing intense yardwork the previous few days and I was obviously having a small reaction to something.  All it takes is some antihistamine, right?  Guess what I didn’t pack.  
 
We decided to go on a little farther, fighting more traffic all the way through Cincinnati.  Of course the culprit was clear, the masses were flocking downtown to make their 7 pm Reds game.  My son was instantly sad, because he’s a huge Reds fan and wanted to stay for the game (he and I have been to a few).  So such luck, Tennessee was waiting for us!  We were on a mission from Chuck!  
 
Around Louisville, KY that small bump was a bigger welt.  We most definitely stopped for antihistamine, although it was after we made a stop at the cavernous Liquor Barn across the street.  I mean, for those of you that have never heard of the Liquor Barn, you haven’t lived!  It is a chain of stores out of Lexington and Louisville that sell an insane amount of alcohol at cheaper prices than my state.  They have everything.  Talk about kids in a candy store!  We grabbed our favorite wine at rock bottom prices, and spent a good old time checking out Kentucky’s finer liquors and the massive selection of beer.  
 
As we left with a cart full, our euphoria waned.  Right, we were still two and a half hours out of Nashville.  We had Karaoke to make!  One look in the mirror reminded us that we had to stop at that Walgreens across the street.  The welt was a size of a quarter.  I loaded up on all the Benedryl necessary.  
 
Let me tell you something out taking Benedryl.  That stuff messes you up good, especially if you take extra to avoid a potential catastrophe on J & J day.  I was snoozing in the car for the rest of the trip.  The kids were cranky, we were two hours behind, the hubby was tired from driving the whole way and suddenly I didn’t feel very good.  Karaoke wasn’t going to happen.  It wasn’t in the cards.  We found our hotel nearby, checked in, and crashed. 
 
Okay, next morning.  Remember me wanting to desperately avoid that catastrophe?  Chuck wasn’t listening.  My right eye was swollen shut and the right side of my face was the size of a grapefruit.  Hubby freaked, the kids freaked, and instantly hubby was checking his phone for nearby urgent care facilities.  I had to admit my face was burning and hurt, a lot.  Still, I couldn’t miss the big event!  I took a ton of ibuprofen, more Benedryl, and stubbornly headed to Nashcon with my daughter.  I of course conveyed all my panic over what was happening through Twitter.  I figured fans would understand and support my mentality, even though the family didn’t.  
 
Anyone remember National Lampoon’s Vacation?  You know, The Griswolds endure that hell on a cross country family trip only to find out Walley World was closed?  We pulled into Opry Mills drive and...we didn’t know they stopped reconstruction on the mall after the floods last year.  The hotel opened, why wouldn’t the mall?  That was supposed to be the entertainment for my husband and son while my daughter and I did the con.  No movie theatre, no giant guitar shop, no electronics store, nothing!  That also killed our plans to park at the mall and walk over to the Opryland hotel.
 
We drove around the hotel and couldn’t figure out the parking areas at all.  We especially balked at the one we could find that wanted to charge the $18 flat rate when the husband and son only wanted to stay for a small while to see the hotel and that’s it.  So, we parked at the Grand Ole Opry and walked.  One of the walkways was closed, so we had to go the longer way.  It was hot.  Humid kill you hot.  That’s when I realized maybe I wasn’t doing so good.  
 
We got to the con, and I started texting and trying to contact all the people I planned on seeing.  Everyone was busy with photo ops or other things.  I was in a good deal of discomfort, hiding my swollen face with strategically placed long red hair.  We checked in and bought J & J autograph tickets.  Warning number one.  When I showed the ticket guy my face, his reaction should have been my clear cut sign that urgent care might have been the wiser option.  He was no doctor, but he knew when something didn’t look right.  
 
No, what did I do?  I went to the cocktail station instead, thinking a $8 mixed drink couldn’t hurt.  Define hurt.  I wasn’t feeling as much pain, but I got pretty loopy as we took our place in the General Admission line.  Or as I tweeted, the Crowley Hell line.  It was very long, and because they were running late didn’t move.  And I’m sitting there in that line swerving, tweeting, and having no luck tracking anyone down.  Plus my daughter got cranky because 13 year olds don’t grasp the concept of the Crowley Hell line.  I was also too miserable to socialize in line, the one thing I get the biggest kick of out of these cons.  I love meeting new fans, but hiding half of my face with hair and slurring my speech was just a bit too off-putting.
 
Eventually we did get inside, my daughter and I took our seats, and it was again a great J & J panel.  The highlight of my weekend.  I was able to type up all the updates as it happened, get everything posted, and then hook up with a few people that I knew.  Of course when I showed them my face, I should have took warning of their shocked reactions too.  We ended up talking about the boys instead and laughing over the fandom’s latest distraction, Jared’s Twitter account.  
 
We stuck around for autographs, because my daughter and I had to have our dual photo op from San Francisco signed by the J’s.  The picture had to go on my daughter’s wall along with her autographed pictures of Justin Hartley, Tom Welling, and Zachary Levi.  Since the Gold members started with Jensen, the ticket holders started with Jared.  We showed him the picture and he remembered us from San Francisco especially since my daughter was wearing the same seal hat.  He ever told her “nice hat” just like he did in San Francisco.  When he looked up and I saw Jared’s eyes widen over my face (bless him though for not saying anything), I was all out of warnings by then.  
 
By the time we got to Jensen, my face was worse.  Larger, redder, and it was burning hot.  We were the last ones in the autograph line.  I said hello to Guy Bee (with hidden face) who had just arrived and told him how glad I was to see he made it.  I was all excited about his panel the next day, which would be first.  Then we left.  I did another walk back to the car in the heat and that time I thought I was going to puke.  Still, we went to dinner.  First stop though, Walgreens so I could get an ice pack for my bulging face.  
 
We had a nice dinner in a part of town I never heard of.  My hubby and I like checking out local brewpubs and he found a nice one near Vanderbilt University.  I was about half way through my beer when it all hit me.  I needed a hospital.  We looked outside and what should there be but signs to the Vanderbilt University Hospital Emergency Room.  We got in the car and were there in minutes (once we figured out which hospital wasn’t Children’s and the VA).  
 
They processed me right away.  I must admit, as someone whose gone through emergency rooms in Michigan and Ohio, and was stunned by their efficiency.  They didn’t have any rooms available but could treat me on a bed in the hall.  I didn’t mind.  If it involved drugs and relief from the pain and pressure I was feeling, I was cool with it.  That still didn’t stop them from profusely apologizing for treating me in the hallway.  As soon as the doctors saw my face, they were definitely worried.  So ticket line guy, several con goers, and Jared were right.  
 
They ordered a whole bunch of tests.  Bloodwork, CT scan, they had me on an IV drip of antibiotics in no time.  A few hours later the diagnosis was clear, I had a serious infection.  Cellulitis was one term I heard.  I was going to be admitted.  All hopes of attending Nashcon the next day were dashed.  Deflated can’t begin to describe my disappointment.  
 
This morning, after a night of antibotics, I was feeling worse.  The face was still burning and bloated, if anything it looked worse, but the infection hadn’t spread.  It hadn’t receded either.  I was going to be here for a few days at least.  I gave my pass to my son and sent my family to the con instead.  There was no way they needed to hang out here while I was groggy and miserable.  They did have a great time, so much so all of them want to come back to next year’s con.  “I don’t know,” I replied, “Do I really want to see Nashville again?”  I was joking, but it will certainly be an exercise in tempting fate.  
 
Of course we haver another complication.  We had to leave town today.  The hubby had a business trip planned to Minneapolis the upcoming week and he was supposed to leave on Monday.  The kids have two days of school left.  And mom is stuck in a hospital 400 miles away for an undetermined amount of time.  We still haven’t figured all that out yet, but that’s where we stand.  
 
I’m going to do my best to keep the site updated while I’m here, but I’m having some bad vision issues right now.  I was able to muster enough with one eye to type this.  My husband did come back with plenty of great notes about the con today so I hope to have a day two con report up soon.  Hopefully you’ll understand the delay.  
 
In the meantime, don’t worry about me, I know I’ll get through this.  It’s just going to take a few days.  On the plus side, I’m finally getting some long overdue rest.  I do blame falling to such a condition because I’ve been overworked and exhausted lately.  I’m going to have to take better care of myself, I know.  I send a big heartfelt thank you to all of you who sent get well messages through Twitter, site comments, and email.  They really mean a lot to me and I’m sorry I can’t reply personally to them all right now.  Until then, Jared’s Twitter is making me laugh.  His timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  
 For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

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