Thursday, September 8, 2011

I am so bad about keeping this blog up lately.  Seems like every post starts with that type of statement.  Oh well, I'm not going to think lose sleep over it.

Speaking of sleep, I've been taking Ambien lately...prescribed by the ER doctor on Sunday.  Long story short:  After having my knees hurt almost constantly for over two weeks, and culminating with a feverish Friday night, a horrid Saturday (except for seeing my pals at Secch's Pig Fest) and there being no let up on Sunday, Sandy took me to the ER....we went to the Convenient Care Center...(so I didn't take a bed from a true emergency) and I was diagnosed with Erlichiosis.  I thought I had a sinus infection!  My temp was up to 102, a region my body hasn't been in since I had the Swine flu...it went down a bit and then back up while I was there...even after they gave me tylenol.  Was I miserable, I was so damned cold and they couldn't give me a blanket for fear it would raise my temp even more.

So, now I'm on doxycycline, which works so good but I hate it so much.  He gave me Ambien because he said the nights are the worst and I would need it to help me sleep.  He was right, I didn't take it last night and I will say that it was maybe worse than any night that I spent after chemo!

I didn't take it last night because I needed to be able to drive to see Kathleen, my nurse, today at 10.  She told me the doctor gave me too high a dose of Ambien.  Well, I guess!  The first night, I don't remember much about what happened, but Sandy said I told her I was "couldn't figure out" my pj bottoms...about how to put them on!  Then I was dropping stuff all over the floor and other weird stuff.

The next night she told me to get in bed and THEN take it.  So I did...I got my sound machine on my iPhone going the way I like it and then went to drop the iPhone on the floor.  She reached across to get it from me and put it where it belongs and I bit her on the forearm!  YIKES!   I remember nothing.

So now I will take half the amount and Kathleen says I should be able to function in the AM, without staggering around and acting goofy.

We've had a "Big Blow" since I last wrote and suffice it to say these two Girl Scouts were prepared, most notably by having purchased that 33' Winnebago that sits out in our driveway.  We made sure we were loaded with water and turned the fridge on ahead of time to get it chilled, fresh sheets on the bed, etc. 

We didn't lose power until the storm was over, oddly enough.  It was still daylight, so we could see what we were doing when we evacuated the pups and ourselves to the "escape pod."   We even hooked up our fridge, freezer and the neighbor's fridge to the RV to keep them going!

The power came back on Wednesday....and then went out again for a few hours on Friday.  Not too bad at all.  Sandy made it to work every day after the storm and in fact, had to work extra because a few of her coworkers couldn't make it in and of course some major thing went bad. 

Another thing we did since I last posted...the day before Irene hit we took the pups up to LL Bean to see Gina jump Dory and Cue in the Dock Diving event up there.  Gina's boyfriend Andy was there and her sister Tracy too and we had loads of fun with them.  After we went to eat at a neat place around the corner and then headed home, making it with only a smattering of raindrops on the windshield.

Well, the big Ovarian Cancer Coalition 5k Walk/Run To Break the Silence is coming up and I'm trying to get folks to join "Annie's Army"...we're at squad level now, hoping to become a platoon soon.  Hey that rhymes!  Check out my page...make a donation....come walk with us!   My Donation Page   

5k isn't far to walk...a little over three miles.  If I can do it with erlichiosis and Ambien side effects, anyone can do it!

It's going to be fun....it's at Hammonasset Beach so the scenery can't be beat, there will be t-shirts for all the participants, gifts, great gift basket raffles, free snacks/drinks and great company...plus it's only $20 to register and all the money goes towards educating women about the symptoms of ovarian cancer...symptoms I didn't learn until the night before my surgery!

Anyhoo...it would be great to see old pals there if they can make it.  And I want to thank again those folks who have already signed up or donated, or both!

All right, that's enough for the likes of me...back to my pea soup (Carol made it...yum!)

Later!