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It has to be in the title because it is certainly not anything any of us got an opportunity to yell out Thursday night! There were numerous times that each of us was "set"...lacking one more number to win...but then some yahoo would make us cringe as they excitedly yelled out, "BINGO!" ::sigh:: It was hard to be excited for them...no, it was impossible!
We did, however, have a scrumptious meal at Pappasito's served by a delightfully refreshing and energetic young man named "T." He happily took this picture for us.
All in all, it was a good night!
My inner child has strep. I got up Tuesday morning feeling dizzy and a bit nauseated along with tired to the core of my being. I finally lay down for a nap and after waking myself up snoring a half dozen times...I got up. I actually felt better. In the afternoon I felt good enough to go outside and begin painting the trim on our house...something that has needed to be done for about three years! I came in...took a shower...and started feeling like CRAP. During the day I had begun to develop a sore throat, so finally I looked at my throat in the mirror. Much to my horror, right there in the reflection in front of me, were the dreaded "cotton patches" on my tonsils. I knew what that meant. My mom always said, "Cotton on the tonsils means strep throat." Still...
After I left my half day teaching assignment today...(yes, I went to work. Don't judge me! Just once my mom might be wrong...though not likely!)...I ran by Dr. S's office for a throat swab. Diagnosis..."classic case of strep."
If there is a positive side to this it may be that I will be more compassionate in the future. I had forgotten what it felt like to have strep (and the doctor assured me that it is a bit different for adults since we don't normally run a high temp with strep). I feel like "poo poo." My shoulders and neck hurt...my throat hurts...I have a headache...I'm soooo tired...and I just feel like crap in general. The doc says those are all classic symptoms of strep so she wasn't at all surprised that the culture immediately gave a positive reading. She says some adults don't even have a sore throat with strep. Guess I'm just lucky!
I was ready to blame all of this discomfort on the munchkins I work with daily until...
It seems that the day before my trials began my beloved (?) husband woke up feeling light headed with a pretty bad headache. He took it easy through the day and downed a dozen or so tylenol. Hhmmmm...I met him at the door tonight and looked at his throat. Guess what??? There they were...giving away his guilt...tiny little patches at the back of his throat! Damn that man...I've told him not to breathe on me at night!!! Somehow there is no consolation in knowing that he must feel as badly as I do.
Hopefully I had the last medical appointment today for my "problem." I saw a neurologist today who has diagnosed me with "benign essential tremors." What the hell....? According to this doctor (the fifth medical appt. in two weeks!) I am experiencing a medical condition in which the gross motor nerves (?)....muscles (?)...are having a tiff. The ones that control side to side movement are battling with the ones that control up and down movement. Oh. And the cause? There is no known cause. And the treatment...take two pills a day and call me in two months.
I guess I should be grateful. Dr. S says I have the bloodwork of an 18 year old Olympic athlete and from all indications my heart will keep pumping until I'm at least 110. I am neither diabetic nor hypoglycemic. The ENT specialist says I am not hypoxic. The EMG says I don't have any neuromuscular diseases, carpal tunnel, pinched nerves or degenerative conditions. And now the neurologist says this is not a major problem. Guess what...it is for me. Seriously, I am grateful for a relatively clean bill of health, but why are my gross motor skills degenerating and why can't anybody make it go away? I am clearly not in "perfect condition" and it's getting pretty damned frustrating that no one can seem to suggest a remedy that offers hope and doesn't involve flooding my body with even more chemicals than I am already ingesting!
Thank goodness this blog can be typed...my handwriting looks like crap!
Holidays are...great! Yes, even "fake" holidays like Presidents' Day. I love knowing ahead of time that there is no possible way for me to work that day...so I can do whatever I want. What I wanted to do today included sleeping in. I don't think that 8:30 is an unreasonable time to start the day...unless it's p.m. So I slept in. Getting up, I savored a delicious cup, or two, of coffee flavored with white chocolate raspberry creamer. Yummy!!! Several games of Wii bowling later I decided that I now had the energy to load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen. At my leisure I did a few loads of laundry. You'll be happy to know that we can now towel dry after our showers! Lunch and a nap followed and then I managed to sneak in a few episodes of the NCIS marathon on USA Network. Then a few games of Wii darts and skiball preceeded a long, luxurious bubble bath. Lord, do I love to exfoliate! My favorite dinner of cereal and a STARS game topped off what I believe to be a very delicious day of relaxation and indulgence. A self-pedicure topped off a totally awesome day. Now, when is the next "holiday:???
Well, now...where to begin? I have been complaining for about ten months that I am unable to sleep at night. I go to sleep for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours and then I may be awake for as much as four hours before I can go back to sleep. Going to sleep isn't the problem...staying that way is. I don't have to use all of my fingers and toes to count the number of nights I have slept through the night in the last 9 months to a year. In addition to that I have been feeling "shaky" for several months now...like electricity is constantly coursing through my body. I have to force myself to relax or the tension in my muscles causes my legs to jump or my jaws to "hum" at night. The biggest change I have noticed is my handwriting. What was once pretty nice swirls and swoops is now a jagged nightmare. My writing now looks as if an axe wielding psycho attempted to scrawl some clue to lead the cops down a false path. So I decided to take action. Last week I spent about 45 minutes with my primary care doctor "getting to the bottom of all this." A battery of blood tests, EKGs, x-rays and "neuromuscular stimulation" tests have given the following information...they still don't know what's wrong with me. Talk about frustrating! Especially after the neuromuscular testing where I was slathered with goop and something like a stun gun shot electricity into my arms and hands to see how high I could jump and flinch. That, however, was nothing compared to the incredibly long (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches) and threadlike needle that was repeatedly jabbed into my muscles for delivery of the same delightful "stimulation." Today my doctor tells me that I have the blood results of an 18 year old Olympic athlete. So why don't I feel like an 18 year old Olympic athlete?? Hhhhmmmm????
What have I learned in the last week? Let's see. I know that I don't have...ALS, a pinched nerve, carpal tunnel syndrom, any type of degenerative muscle disease, anemia, thyroid issues, liver issues, kidney issues, etc. So, what the hell do I have??
Dr. S now believes that I am suffering from hypoglycemia...something the blood tests don't check for. I have to go in next Monday and have a two hour glucose tolerance test (yum-o) to see if that is the problem. Oh, yeah, and I also have to see an ENT specialist because he says he reread my sleep study report and there was an indication that I would get worse with time (it's been two years since the study). I am now hypoxic...meaning that I am not getting enough oxygen and the carbon dioxide is building up in my blood...waking me up and keeping me awake until those levels drop and I can fall back asleep. I'm probably going to have to have some nightmare inducing mouth device made for me that will keep my throat open and allow me to continue drawing in oxygen during the night...with my luck it will cause me to drool so badly I will drown during the night in my own saliva. I can see the headlines now :shaking head sadly::
The good news...maybe we will find out what is wrong with me. A girl can dream, can't she? Not if she can't sleep! My doctor is the best at giving samples of meds he wants you to try. Today I left with a whole plastic bag full of a medicines he wants me to try for my allergies! Better yet, I left with a prescription for Ambien. Yes, I know that it's not a long term solution, but if I can just get three or four nights of sleep in a row I am convinced that I may feel human again. If not, get the heck out of my way because I am tired, grumpy AND frustrated!
If you're reading this, be praying for some answers early next week. I don't care if I'm hypoglycemic or not...that's treatable. If I'm hypoxic...fix it. I'm ready to move on and enjoy my "golden years!" ::sarcastic snicker::
Anyone who knows me at all also knows that I adore being surrounded by the people I care most about in life. Even acquaintances take on a new and treasured place in my heart the more time I spend with them. That being said, I have begun what I hope will continue as a monthly tradition in our home...GAME NIGHT!! Why, you may wonder? What's the big deal?? Let me tell you...we had game night last Friday night. I invited my daughter and son-in-law (and youngest grandson though he would be clueless about what was going on...just joyful being held and loved on). I invited "my guys," Ryan and Richard, I invited my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Virgil and Carlene. It was a pot luck meal where I provided huge pots of taco soup and tortilla soup along with guacamole and chips and margaritas. The guys brought queso and cookies. Virgil and Carlene brought...queso and cookies! ::chuckle:: So much for the "variety" of pot luck...but it won't stop us from doing it again. Kristin and Scott were to bring dessert...but as luck would have it...Kristin came down with a pretty debilitating virus that day (which she has graciously shared with her husband...Jesus loves it when we share...and one of those two shared it with my beloved older grandson, Trenton). I digress (insert sad, pouty face here).
Back to game night. We started eating about 6:00 p.m. and we continued eating throughout the night. I LOVE to eat!! We also had a few "adult beverages"...some of us more than others...and we had an absolute bellyfull of laughs. I literally laughed until I thought I might throw up. We played Wii games, we had a poker/board game table, and the guys brought their PS2 with kareoke (I'm not sure how to spell that...but it's where you sing along with the words and music and earn points). Some in the group were like the bad....really baaadddd...auditions for American Idol (Carlene and Carol) and some were pretty doggone good (Ryan and Richard) and some wouldn't sing in front of others if their lives depended on it (Ronnie and Virgil).
I must admit that competitiveness reared it's ugly head a time or two but we just refilled the margarita glasses and moved on....until 2:00 a.m. In one six hour span we bowled, played tennis, played baseball, rode in cow races, sang, ate, had the "Last Word" (board game...bad pun intended), golfed and whatever else we played. More importantly...we made memories. We share good times, good food, and good fellowship. We built relationships and we walked away from the evening loving each other a little more...treasuring the blessings of our relationships.
Back to my original statement...I want this to be a monthly commitment on my part. I don't want to end up fifteen or twenty years down the road and "wish" that my grandsons knew me or that my children had time for me. I don't want my husband to regret not having a relationship with his brother like my regrets over my brother. Time costs nothing and it is an investment in a lifetime. How much better can it get?!
For a glimpse of what you might have missed...see slide show above! Oh, hell yes...I take photos. Hey, I'm getting older. My retirement income might not be enough. I might need some blackmail photos to "tide me over" on those short months ::huge, sinister smile accompanied by evil laugh::
