Month: February 2007

On the one hand, I think I will survive. I am still tired, but not half as much as I was just a few days ago. I am still on that monster sized anti-biotic, though. The abdomen pain is minimal, my ears are almost clear, my nose is not as stuffy, but my cough is still as active.

I am not often sick. I am more used to chronic pain and physical inabilities. Not this fever and infections and various -itises. I keep having nap attacks, just like Garfield. I can go all day now, without having to actually go to bed. Most of the time now I tilt my chair back and rest of I crash on Lorna’s new recliner.

So, why then, am I still up at 3:30 am?

Because an old friend or two is on my mind. Emmit, a huge black German Shepherd, died today. His owners, Gary and Lori, are close friends of ours. We babysit Emmit and Zoe whenever Gary and Lori have to go out of town so we know the dogs just as well as the humans.

Emmit will be missed. He was born to the earth in the wrong body. It never really fit him right. He had a myriad of health problems all his life. None of them were fatal, just annoying as hell. Then, Saturday morning, he had a swollen abdomen full of blood. A mass had ruptured. He died peacefully Saturday afternoon.

Emmit knew Zeus. Slowly, all of them that knew Zeus are leaving. Maggie and Casey are the only ones left. Well, Sparky, too. With the death of each one of them, I feel like I am losing my grip on my memories of him. Zeus was the best dog ever. Smart, obedient, a true sweetheart. Didn’t like to cuddle though. Didn’t like children all that much. But, still, Zeus was one of those dogs that touched everyone that met him. He’s been gone for nearly 7 years but it still hurts that he is gone. He was only 10 and died of the same thing as Emmit.

Here’s to the ones that we have known
Here’s to the ones that are gone
Here’s to the memories that remain
Here’s to the memories we’ve yet to gain

Zeus, Ezekiel, Drew, Emmit, Baskerville, Jake, Bumper, Bandit, Skizoid, Lady, Whoopie, Worried, Willow, Stripes, Mad Max, Cory, Garth, Kizzy, Striker, and to any others my mind has misplaced.

The following information is medical and kinda gross. Don’t read if this is illegal in your state.

I slept all day. I didn’t get up until 3pm. I slept most of yesterday too.

This afternoon, I went to see my doctor. I’d noticed blood in my urine.

I have a bladder infection, a kidney infection, and a sinus infection. Luckily, the same antibiotic treats all of them. I am Cipro for 14 days. The bladder infection should clear in 3 days, the sinus infection at about the same time. The kidney infection will take a lot longer.

The urine test showed white blood cells, blood, and proteins. This means it is the kidney and not just the bladder. It is likely that the kidney infection was first. I don’t have any lower back pain, other than the usual. The bladder thing only showed up today so perhaps we caught it early enough.

My ears, lungs, and throat all look good. The ear problem was probably fluid build-up. The eardrum was not bowed outwards so the fluid is not that bad. Some good news, at least. The headaches were caused by the pressure as well as just my usual reason for headaches.

I’d not eaten all day since I was asleep. We went to the pharmacy then went to get dinner. I had a plain ham and swiss sandwich, chips and some ice tea. Halfway through the sandwich, I took the Cipro and two other meds I hadn’t taken earlier. My headache was getting worse, but was far from being what I’d consider bad.

Got home and my head was really pounding. I now considered it bad. The ice helped some. I decided to take a shower since sometimes the temperature and touch sensation of the water helps. I got finished and was feeling only slightly better. I took an anti-nausea med and Vicoden, a pain pill. I went from the hallway to the bedroom and barely made it back to the bathroom where I vomited dinner. This, of course, did not help the headache any.

We waited a while then I took another anti-nausea since the first was not in there long enough. Because of the empty stomach, I didn’t take another Vicoden. About an hour later, I ate a piece of dry toast and it is sitting there nicely. Lorna went to the store up the hill and got me some Sierra Mist to help with the stomach. I am supposed to be doing a lot of liquid intake to help with the kidney thing. Hurling didn’t help that effort one bit.

I doubt I’ll get any writing done tomorrow. Maybe Thursday. I have permission from the doc to sleep whenever I feel the need. It will help my body to heal.

More later maybe.

I think I shall live.

Still coughing. Still somewhat deaf. We changed the cough medicine from Ye’ Old Generic to Robitussin. I really think that is what’s helping now.

Still not writing. I’m directing my creative energy into my fish tank. That’s about all I feel like doing. Even then, most of it is telling Lorna what to do.

Still fighting this virus. I can hear better today but the pain is about the same.

I want to write. I have a few ideas. But I am so tired. So….blechy.

Maybe tomorrow.

There’s an evil little man living in my right ear. He’s got these big golf shoes on and is kicking my ear drum at random intervals. He’s stuffed my ear with cotton too, so I can’t hear much out of the right one and only slightly more out of the left one. It hurts too but not as bad.

Right now I am trying the hot washcloth remedy. I am open to other suggestions. Don’t make me call my mother.

Whee.

I have an ear problem to go along with this wonderful cold. I tried peroxide last night to see if it would clear it. Whoohoo. Vertigo. The world went spinning and I about hurled up my toenails.

I sleep predominantly on my left side. My left ear is constantly against the pillow, so it doesn’t get proper air flow. I use peroxide once a week to help keep it dried out. Apparently, there’s a bit of wax up against the ear drum, or there is fluid beyond the eardrum because of this cold, either way, the peroxide about had me ill.

I’m going to try it again today. I can’t hear out of that ear and it hurts. Whiny ass me. I hate colds. There’s no cure for it, just gotta ride it out. But I don’t wanna.