Still Miles to Go

First, I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support we’ve received since my last post. Yes, I know it’s okay to “lose it” every once in a while, but it doesn’t mean I don’t get embarrassed of myself when I do.

Since then, we have made a significant dent in our “to do” list. It makes me feel quite accomplished to take a pen and scratch off yet another burden on my shoulders. The project has officially been deemed our “Autumn Cleaning.” I don’t know where I’d be without Keith. He really steps up when I need him. Also, a big “thank you” to Bill (“Beepa”) and Ralph for helping us out on our bookshelf repair. We’re really lucky to have you all in our lives.

Although the cleaning has been coming along well, I unfortunately caught some kind of bug which made itself comfortable in my throat. I seem to be incredibly susceptible to strep throat (I get it at least once a year – with positive cultures) so we’re treating it as such because I have the usual fever, chills, enlarged lymph nodes, and swollen white patches on my throat. We also take most infections seriously because they tend to find their way to my weak lungs. I’ve had 6 respiratory infections this year, 5 of which started out as something else (flu, sinus infection, etc.). And, boy, do they last – 2 weeks to 2 months! Blech! But no fear: another course of antibiotics and I should be just dandy! Sadly, the strep has put a slight dent in our plans to fix up the apartment. Because any infection causes me to become neutropenic – meaning I’m more susceptible to new viruses and bacteria – I have to be careful about what I expose myself to. When necessary, I’ll wear a mask in public, but usually I just confine myself at home until the infection is gone.

On a different – but equally sucky – note, I’ve slept on the couch for the last 6 nights. For some reason, my reflux has become more difficult to deal with so being able to prop myself up on the couch has been helpful. I seem to be burning (no pun intended!) through reflux meds with no improvement. But we haven’t completely lost hope. There are still a couple more on the list. And if those fail as well, I have my AD motility test at the end of the month. The hope is that it will shed a little more light on how my GI system functions and why we’re having such severe issues. And hopefully that knowledge will provide us with some answers as to how we can proceed.

Finally, I’m looking forward to Monday. We’re getting a group of friends together to go apple picking at Parlee Farms. We’ve been going here for the last two years, but now it’s just 2 minutes from our apartment. We’re excited about how convenient it has become. Although it’s too late for this year, I’m hoping I can make a contact with the management and see about some kind of fundraiser or event sponsored by the orchard. We usually have pretty good luck with local, family-operated places so I’m crossing my fingers. But this year, we’re just doing an informal get-together. If you’re in the New England area and want to join, let me know and I’ll get you all the details.