Health

The Plot Continues

Health, Home and Renovation

Well, it must’ve just been marked down as a bad week.

Wednesday night I got in the car at 6 o’clock to go to work to play the Ash Wednesday service. It was 18°. The car wouldn’t start. I know a thing or two about this and that, and I knew I was the victim of an old battery in freezing weather.

I called our regular Cab guy, and mercifully, he was available. My friend Miss K drove me home. Jonathan called AAA and had them come out and jump the battery so the car could run for a while and hopefully start in the morning.

Thursday morning I called AAA to buy a battery and to bring it to me. The nicest man ever was here within 30 minutes, tested the battery and alternator, hooked up some box so I wouldn’t lose all my data, and installed our shiny new battery.

O

However, standing outside in the 20F-something weather for over an hour was definitely unwise.

Besides, I was feeling a stomach/GI attack beginning. (We’re taking medical steps to get that fixed.) I felt absolutely awful by noon, and my temperature goes up (weird) when this happens. Two of my doctors think that’s weird, and the other two are willing to chalk it up to the G.I. stuff.

I got to 102.9, I think. It goes back down as I start to feel better. It was 99 by evening after lots of rest. Along with this, I was without one of my serious medications because the drugstore hadn’t filled it yet. (Honestly, that was the worst part of it.) It was filled the next day, and I became more an operable human being than a groaning bed warmer.

So, that’s enough of that! I’m up to about 85%, and should feel pretty normal tomorrow.

On a happier note, our adding-a-bedroom project is started!

On the first floor we have the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and this other weird room. I suppose it could be a dining room, but it’s small and in a strange place. Plus, we have never used the dining room when we’ve had one. Of course, it became a “let’s just put it in there” room.

O

We’ve felt a downstairs bedroom would be a good idea for many reasons. (One of them is sick people wanting to be near the bathroom when needed.) My design is below.

We’re starting to move the furniture out of the room, after which my friend and contractor will build a new wall, replace the sockets and switches, and move a ceiling light fixture. After the bedroom is done, we’re looking at a bathroom redo.

My design, and probably very much what you would expect from me. =)

O

So! The process will be fun to take pictures and blog about!

I’ll keep you posted!

When it Snows, it Pours

Health, Home and Renovation, New York

I didn’t feel great on Sunday, but I thought, “Eh, just a day not quite as good as most.” Turns out that wasn’t the case.

Sparing you the (honestly) gory details, it’s been bed/bathroom about every 30 minutes for about 24 hours. Finally thinking to take my temp today, it was 101.1F. Which rose to 102.5F. It’s going back down bit by bit now.

We had a snowstorm overnight. Easily a foot so far. Bless Jonathan for doing all the snow chores!

I was supposed to have an outpatient procedure today. That’s a big nope for several reasons. Very lucky that it got rescheduled in the time frame we needed, on my day off.

Nighty-night!

Failing Your MHC Test

Health, Personal

“Maybe Have Covid,” that is.

I’d been feeling worse-than-terrible. Not just tired or having a rough patch. Truly, I would’ve gone to the ER if it got much worse. I took a Covid test today, and it was indeed positive. I have other stuff as well, so Covid on top of it is never an easy ride.

When the only thing I’m fit for is watching YouTube videos about primitive 1960s Soviet lo-fi synthesizers, I know I’m seriously ill.

Talked to the moms of my students and got that all squared away. One of their responses reminded me of the importance of being pro-active.

O

If you have a suspicion, take the test. This particular mom is immunocompromised, and was so thankful that I took a test, canceled the day, and spoke right up.

This is the world in which we now live. Covid may feel like a rough flu to one person, but could be very dangerous for another person.

School is back in session — keep your guard up. And your spirits. =)

The C Word

Health

No, no that C-word.

I had some great news this week that I need to share.

I was very, very ill a year ago. Four operations, one over eight hours. Four months of two kinds of daily treatments with extreme side effects. A bag for four months that my stomach juice went into. I think you can probably see where I’m going with this. I was quiet about it, very few people knew.

It’s gone, and I am without a doubt the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. So, I don’t name it anymore. I’ve found another way of talking about it — I make fun of it.

This illness starts with a C and rhymes with “prancer.” So we’ll just call it that. Prancer. They rank it too, according to how much it’s moved around — one, two, three, four. I had Page Flea Prancer.

When you have Prancer, you often have a blob. The blob starts with a T and rhymes with “bloomer.” I had a Big Bloomer. There’s a number they measure called your Bloomer Marker. Average is below 3.0 to 5.0.

I had a CAT Scan on Monday and saw my Zoologist yesterday. Absolutely clear. There are no cats inside me. My Bloomer Marker level was 1.38 — way great! I’m one year Prancer-free. =)