Isolation, revisited

I've been sick all week, and...yep.... the 'Rona finally got into our house.

Thankfully, we are fully vaccinated, and my experience has not been severe.

It's just been like an enhanced, super-nasty head cold, with a headache, low grade fever, congestion, sore throat, a dry, hacking cough, and LOTS of earthquake sneezing.

Oh, and marked fatigue.

It started Monday night.

I thought I was just super fatigued because of the long day at work, followed by sitting in my car for two hours (I came out from my office day at work to find I had a flat tire, and it took for EVER for roadside assistance to show up).

Nope. It wasn't just fatigue.

Woke up in the night, feeling "that feeling" of coming down with something.

Tuesday was rough....but I worked through the day. Being able to work from home the rest of the week was DEFINITELY a plus.

Wednesday, too.... I did the test Wednesday, and BAM...there it was. Positive.

I think that allowed me to just say "SCREW THEIR RULES," and take a sick day to rest, so I took Thursday off.

I think I slept better during the day Thursday, than either of the previous nights. I used grocery delivery to bring me canned chicken noodle soup, and powerade, not wanting Dave to go out, either. It was cold and rainy...like, REALLY rainy.

The fever broke Thursday night, with the full body sweats. After that, I slept SO well, for about 3 hours!!

Worked through the day Friday, and was SO glad to clock out, knowing that I have the weekend to continue getting better.

Because of the positive test, I had to cancel two appointments this past week: my follow up chemo, for the missing medication (that I've gone without TWICE, now, because of supply issues)... and for ultrasound to investigate that injury around my ribs/right shoulder blade.

The ultrasound was supposed to be Friday, which was 12 days after the injury.

I've rescheduled the appointment, and now it will be 18 days.

The area where whatever happened-happened- is still stiff and sore, but I am pretty sure the hematoma will be completely gone by then.

The hematoma was the reason for the ultrasound, but I am hoping they can see what tore, and determine if it is healing properly.

Yay. I just hope surgery won't be recommended.

So... March has SUCKED for me, so far!!!

The good news is that Dave is FINE. If he is still fine tomorrow, he will have dodged the bullet.

And we can tell you, it's difficult to isolate in such a small house!

Oh, and a word of advice: don't let your phlebotomist hug you (over and over) if she isn't wearing a mask.

...and then, when she tells you, AFTER the hugging, that she's not vaccinated, you really should SAY SOMETHING.

(yes, I was masked, but I only had a procedure mask with me that day, and when those words came out of her mouth, my "stomach dropped" to the floor......UGH!! How can you be in that line of work, going LITERALLY face to face with people who have compromised health, and not be vaccinated? Or, at the VERY least, not wear a KN95 -or better- mask?)

I won't be seeing her again, as the walk-in lab location (that I have been going to for years) is closing. That was why she was hugging me.

That encounter is the only thing I can think of, in terms of where I picked up the virus, because we have been careful when out in public, doing errands, at work, etc.

In a way, I am glad to have gotten this over with. I figured it was inevitable, and now it's done.

Sure, I was anxious, however, I am impressed by my body's resilience. By its capability to process an "alien invasion," as a friend so accurately put it.

I am beyond grateful that the claims that the vaccine keeps patients out of the hospital were accurate, in my case.

I have been taking it really easy this weekend, so far. Slept until after 8 both mornings, and am feeling SO MUCH better.

I did some of my weekly chores yesterday, and rested after each one, and then cooked for the first time all week last night. It was tiring, but felt good to do. I'll finish the chores today, and will cook again tonight.

Took a 90 minute nap in the afternoon yesterday... which is almost unheard of, so I know I still have recovering to do.

This morning, there was no sore throat at all for the first time since Tuesday. Still no fever since it broke Thursday night.

I'm thinking that I will work from home tomorrow, and ask Dave to go get my work at the end of the day, again, like we did when I thought I had a broken rib. It's probably best to not go to the office so soon after being down with Covid.

Not sure what the office rules are on that, if there are any. Surely, there are-since there are rules about everything else.

It was 20 degrees this morning, and my daffodils are frozen. They did really well this year, though, so I am grateful to have been able to enjoy them before this happened.

Some of you may recognize most of this post from "the other place," if we are FB friends. It was easier for me to copy/paste/update that post that to write one from scratch.

Everyone have a good week, stay well, and welcome Spring!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

This has been an.... interesting.... week.

We managed to re-do our taxes, and Dave found one tiny typographical error, in a letter code, and that changed the entire scenario.

We no longer owe more than we already pay, and will be getting a refund!

  

Hopefully, it will be enough to pay for a plumbing improvement that Dave has been wanting to do for the house.

In other news, last Sunday night, I rolled over in bed, and heard something pop in my rib cage.  It didn't really hurt at the time, but when I moved an hour or so later, there was excruciating pain in my ribs, right below my right shoulder blade.

I decided to work from home on Monday, because the pain was scary, and I was getting a bit of a swelling in the area.  

I messaged my nurse, and she ordered a walk-in x ray for me at the nearest hospital imaging center, so that I would not have to spend the day in the E/R.

I worked a half day, and then went to wait for the xray.  The good news was that there was no rib fracture! 

I made arrangements with my supervisor for Dave to go pick up my work on Monday afternoon, and I worked from home all week.

As the week went along, the swelling got bigger, and I started to feel a bit woozy, here and there.  I was vigilant with the ice pack, and with resting my right arm as much as possible.

I'd been having lots of soft tissue pain in the right shoulder blade area for weeks (more than usual), and had been working on it myself, using stretching, tennis balls, a foam roller, and a back hook....I'd been working it consistently, gently, and with success.  I was able to give myself relief. 

The only reason I could think of something going "pop" in there was that I had hurt myself somehow, or that some old surgical scar tissue had "let go."

The pain has gradually decreased, as has the swelling, at this point, but when I was at the clinic on Thursday for my treatment, my doctor was alarmed at the drop in my hemoglobin count.

He asked if I had been having nose bleeds, or had any other blood loss.... that was when I took off my shirt and showed him the swelling, and bruises, on my side!  

He called my nurse to come in, and they both examined me.  Yeah, there is probably a hematoma in there...and he estimated that I lost at least one pint of blood, possibly closer to two.

We had talked about the pain I'd had, and the x ray not showing anything....but then, the hemoglobin blood test result brought the topic up again!

He ordered an ultrasound at the same imaging center I had gone to for the xray on Monday. 

By the end of the day Friday, however, the order still wasn't in their system, so I am still waiting.

I've given up trying to figure out what happened in there, and will wait for the ultrasound results....and try not to worry.  

In the meantime, I am feeling a LOT better, and have not had any more wooziness.  I am relatively certain that any bleeding has stopped, but I am still taking it easy, using the ice pack, and have started taking some iron supplements.   We also had steak for dinner last night.

Hopefully, I will be able to get in for the ultrasound early in the week.

Once this is all healed up, Doc is going to refer me for physical therapy, as I have had shoulder issues since the surgery, and this past little while, they've just been getting worse.

In other news, the bone building medication for my treatment still wasn't in, so I have gone without it twice now.  

The treatment room nurse said she'd call me when it comes in, so I can go get hooked up for it as soon as possible.

Fortunately, that is a small i.v. bag, and only takes about 15 minutes to infuse.

But, I work full time, and the new management culture has shifted us back to full-on micro-management, and the new director has given other people literal grief over being off work for illness.

Having the x ray last Monday, and now having to go for an ultra sound, and an additional infusion this coming week...and eventually going to physical therapy... well.... I kind of dread the "talking to" I might get.  

Mostly, I dread what I might SAY, if I get a "talking to."  I pray the Gods to hold my tongue!  I need to keep this job until I can retire!

This new micro-management is a highly negative trend, and morale is plummeting.  

We thought we had escaped from that when all of the old guard left, and we literally saved the company from dying.

Not so much, I guess.  It's been very aggravating.  This kind of back pedaling was NOT expected, and is certainly not beneficial.  

They've re-issued the "time off rules," and they're worse than the previous ones.  Far more detailed, in terms of you can do this, but not that, and you can do that, but not until this. It's SO stupid.

Oh, and now we have MONTHLY performance reviews.  Are you serious? Ugh.

Anyway.... we had a bit more rain this past week, and my daffodils are in full bloom!  The back yard is mounded up with henbit, purple dead nettle, and veronica.  It's pretty, and I have seen a couple of honey bees out there!

Yesterday, it was 80 degrees, and last night it was 36. I had REALLY wanted to get into the hot tub last night, but the weather change started earlier than expected, with cold, 40 mile per hour winds.  That canceled getting into the hot tub!

 We will have some chilly weather this week, but no bad storms, or deep freezes.  The roller coaster continues.

Dave is off to Costco today, and I will work on my course.  Planning to go to the office tomorrow, as I doubt that the ultrasound will be scheduled for Monday.

Have a good week!

Spring today, winter... next weekend

 It's really quite amazing, the extreme changes in Oklahoma weather.  

Frankly, I am pretty tired of it, HAHA!

The good thing, though, is that we had about an hour of rain this past week, and might see more next week, before the really cold weather comes back. 

It's a gorgeous weekend, and we are hoping to get out into nature today.  Might even go for a long drive to get to a state park.

Everywhere we go will be crowded, though, which it aggravating.  Too many people equals too much noise, and trash, and not enough peace and quiet.

But, it is what it is, and I need to get out there!

My foot is doing much better, and I will put my "medical inserts" into my hiking shoes, and, hopefully, off we will go!

We still haven't satisfactorily completed our taxes.  We both think there's a mistake somewhere that needs to be fixed, because there is really no reasonable way we should still owe $2,000 after both having extra taken out of every pay check toward taxes!

So, we hope to get that re-done today, as well.

This coming week, I have my blood draw, and then my next treatment.  

I've been having some new pains, which worry me quite a lot.  I think I must have hurt myself in trying to do self therapy on some muscular pain I was having.

It's been going on for a week now, and there is some swelling. It's on my back, near my shoulder blade, where I had been having a lot of muscle pain for a few weeks.  No massage in over a year, and I always carry my stress in my shoulders.

So, I bought a new self therapy tool, and was making use of my tennis ball and foam roller, to try to loosen up those knots.

It makes sense that I might have hurt myself, because I was really focusing on that area, and the pain came on suddenly.  Did I crack a rib?  Yikes....

But, of course, as a long term cancer patient, I can't help for freak out about the - other -possibilities.

So, doc may order an x ray, or my next scan.  We'll see.

Not much else to report.  

Have a good week!

All hail the hail!

 Well, today, in Oklahoma Weather, things could get interesting.

It has been really cold the past couple of days, with "100% chance of rain," but not one drop falling. Which is good, because it would have been an ice storm on Friday if it had rained. 

We are still in an exceptional drought, since last summer, unfortunately.

Today, it's supposed to warm back up, and then, tonight, we could see hail, 80 mph straight line winds, and tornadoes.

Weather that is normally expected in April and May.

So, we will put the grill under the car port, as well as anything else that might be damaged by large hail, and wait it out.

Hopefully, the forecasters will be wrong about this, like they've been about the rain.

Little Zoey pulled her feeding tube out last week, and is now at home!  Mommy is having a rough time, since Daddy has to work (and he works in a restaurant, so he has restaurant hours), but Mommy's grandma came to help yesterday.

Zoey is still very tiny, and visitors have not yet been welcomed, so my family has only met her once, and that was back on Superbowl day, in the hospital.

This past Friday, we saw the re-birth of the February Birthday Sushi Night with friends.  We did that for a few years, prior to the pandemic.  We celebrate Dave, his bestie, Lindsay, and one of my besties from the dance studio, Deidre. 

This year, Lindsay brought her boyfriend.  Maybe next year, our newer friend Lori, who was ALSO born in February, will come along!

We missed it for the past two years!!  It was lots of fun, and the food was, as always, spectacular.

This weekend has been a good mix.  Spent about  2 hours getting errands done yesterday, then came back and did chores, and I made a wonderful dinner.

I'd never tried cooking ribs - of any kind - before, and wanted to give it a shot in my new, beautiful braising pan.  I got 4 beef short ribs, and did a red wine and garlic braise.

The result was AMAZING.  I am definitely doing this again.  I'd also like to try Korean style beef short ribs some time.

Today, other than doing some storm prep outside, we will HOPEFULLY get the taxes done.  There is no need for a professional to help us, and charge us hundreds of dollars, this year.  We'll go back to Turbo Tax.

I also have some spiritual work that I want to do.  

We might go for a walk as well, since it's going to be nice out, ahead of the storm.  I hope I can get Dave motivated to do that.

Sometimes, it's virtually impossible to get him to get up from his chair and his scrolling the internet. Ugh.

Anyway, back to the office tomorrow for my weekly day, unless there's storm damage.  Have a good week! 

Cruising along

 Little Zoey is holding her own.  

She is still in the hospital, but has started to gain weight, and feed more consistently.

The feeding tube MIGHT come out TODAY, if all remains looking good.  If that is the case, she might be released to home next week.  We shall see.

My third treatment went fine.  Doc said my blood work looks great.

I complained about the steroid reactions I have, so he cut the dosage by half, and I actually slept the night of treatment!

I still got all red and puffy the next day, which is quite uncomfortable, but I did NOT have the moments of unmitigated rage because I dropped a pen, or made a typo!  

So... that was much better.

I guess I am holding my own, too.

The weather is supposed to be April-like for a few days.  We are maybe going to go out to a park this afternoon for a walk.

The fracture in my foot is much better, and I really, REALLY need a nature fix.  I feel like a trapped animal, being unable to get out and take walks, or go to dance class, or go to the woods..... 

So, hopefully, that will re remedied today!

Have a good week. 

The news is out

It's now official on social media!  

My Grand-niece is doing better, at 7 days on this side of the light, but she is still not nursing on her own sufficiently, so she is still in NICU.

Mommy went home a few days ago, and is working on the nursery, when she's not at the hospital.  Daddy has to go back to work tomorrow, which is far too soon.

BUT, he is in the restaurant industry, which is pretty merciless all the way around, regarding paid time off.

They will find a routine for going to the hospital and such, until Mom is allowed to drive again.  Family will help out.

It was a quiet week for us.  Dave's birthday came and went, and he got ONE card in the mail. From my sister.

His brothers did text him- though one was a day late.  That was surprising, and definitely a positive thing.

I have my next treatment this coming Thursday.  I've felt better, over all, this time around.

Hoping that continues. 

I also officially bowed out of the next dance performance.  My fractured foot bone has not felt good enough to even start learning the choreography, and the performance is in about 6 weeks.  

I have been taking very careful care of my foot, though, and just the past couple of days, it's been feeling better.

The podiatrist SAID it should take about a month, and I saw him one month ago this coming week.

I can't wait to get back out and take walks!!

Nothing else to report, really.  I'll be making jambalaya today, because it's some sports game day that used to always happen in New Orleans.

There was one in 1986 that the Chicago Bears won, and another after that where they played and lost, but other than that, it's never really been a thing for me.

Other than it's Jambalaya Day!

Have a good week. 

Februrary Full Moon

 Well, this has been quite a weekend for my family.  

I think it's probably okay to share here, since I don't have many readers, but if you are on my other social media platform, please don't say anything in public view. 

My nephew (my sister's son) and his partner announced, a few months ago, that they were expecting a baby, due at the beginning of March.

They didn't share this information on social media for several weeks.

My niece in law had a rough time with the pregnancy, developing gestational diabetes, but managing it okay. The past few weeks, though, she was increasingly miserable.  

I was chatting with her this past week, and she was having all kinds of issues.

I asked how her blood pressure was, and she never really answered me, but said she had an appointment Friday for her last ultrasound and a check up.

When she went on Friday, they discovered that she was in Pre-eclampsia, and sent her to the hospital.

Labor was induced Friday evening around 8 pm.  She didn't start contractions until around 7 the next morning, and wasn't dilating.

They manually broke her water late yesterday afternoon, and thought things were progressing.   She was still only at 3 centimeters, and that should have stepped things up. 

Apparently, it did not, and I didn't hear anything else until this morning.  

They FINALLY did an emergency C section at 4:30 this morning, about 12 hours after breaking the water.

Little Zoey came out at 4 pounds 6 ounces, 17.2 inches long.  

Both mommy and baby have to stay in the ICU for a day or so, until their magnesium levels normalize, and, well, so they can recover from the traumatic process of this birth.

My nephew is headed home to get some sleep.  They don't want anyone to come visit, so my sister and brother in law, and Elizabeth's mom, aren't able to go see them yet.  That has to suck really hard.

Zoey is almost exactly 4 weeks early, so she will have to stay in the NICU for a while.

Phew!!!  

Anyway, my nephew has asked me not to share any pictures on FB, so I am taking the extra step of not saying anything either, just in case. 

In other news, I have been feeling pretty good this past week, so that's encouraging.  After my first treatment, I had a lot more fatigue.

We never got the ice storms that they kept warning us about, so that was good, but we also didn't get the much needed precipitation we were hoping for.

Today is a beautiful day, for April, after the days of sub freezing, and wind chills barely above 0F.

It's supposed to rain later in the week, so fingers crossed.

Dave's 64th birthday is this coming Wednesday.  I had thought about doing another card bomb for him, but I spaced it out.  It didn't really work last year, anyway, so maybe I'll do it next year, for 65.

Nothing much else to report. I am going to make Julia Child's bouef bourguignon recipe this afternoon.... haven't done that for years, but it needs doing.  I am looking forward to it!