Well, I have to quote the Grateful Dead: "What a long strange trip it's been."
For those who have been wondering, I still don't have the results back from my second pap test, after the first one found atypical cells. A friend of mine has suggested that, in fact, this can be interpreted as good news...because bad results are phoned in and good results are mailed in. Meanwhile, hello, I'd like to just know one way or another...is everything kosher south of the border, or do I have to get a biopsy?
I haven't posted in ten days...due to health reasons. My bronchitis ended up blossoming into laryngitis. There went most of the ten day time period! I ran fevers that ranged from 97 degrees to 102 degrees. My blood presssure soared to 120 over 100 (yikes) and stayed there for several days. (Now it's normal). I was bedridden and without a voice; I actually slept my way through an entire weekend. I've never done that before. I drank more orange juice, water and tea than I thought was humanly possible. I ate my body weight's worth of tea and honey flavored lozenges. I went through not one, but two prescription medications just to combat the bronchitis/laryngitis alone. And because I'm allergic to all ofthe prescription painkillers, I hacked my way through the nights, getting three hours of sleep at a clip. (Now that I think about it, sleeping through that second weekend of illness probably made sense...I had to recover from my sleep deprivation experience).
But as all of this was coming to an end, just when I thought I could begin blogging again, I began to feel pain and pressure any time I bore weight on my left foot. I examined my toes and realized the left great toe was getting purple. Surprise! Ingrown toenail. A seemingly innocent visit to the podiatrist led to surgery...three needles...a thick wrapping...and use of over the counter pain relievers every two hours for over one day's time.
Enough! I'm ready to rebuild my health after hitting a low spot. At no point in time during the past ten days did I totally swoon and do a nosedive into total despair. I kept telling myself, "Soon this will be over. My healthy time will come. This will not last forever." And it didn't. I always tried to look on the bright side. If I was sick in bed and all I could do was sleep, I told myself, "At least my body has this time to mend." If I couldn't get up out of bed to do any work from my computer at home, I reminded myself that this was an awesome opportunity to clean out my Tivo selections and catch up on movies I'd wanted to see. Even when I was writhing in pain from my toe being cut open (extremities are NASTILY sensitive), I felt grateful that my father traveled to the doctor's office to be with me and take me to my parents' house to nurse me back to health over the weekend. It was neat...just me and the rents, while Steve worked.... It was nice to be babied and cared for by my folks.
But now, pending a negative finding on my Pap, it's time to rebuild. Move onward and upward. For anyone who's gone through a long illness jag like mine, hats off to you, because I know from firsthand experience that it sucks...but the negativity of life always helps to make the joys of life sweeter. I'm rebuilding my body and enjoying all the positivity I can find! For example: It's going to be 80 degrees today. I'm going outside to enjoy myself during the workday. And the weather is making it much simpler for my bandaged left foot to be in a shoe that's open toed...ah, the little things in life! :)
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