Not a Good Patient

I am not a patient person when it comes to not feeling well. That's why I try to eat the right foods and exercise for more than an hour a day, six days a week. I do take Sundays off. I run, do weights and swim. What can be more devastating than a sinus infection? My head feels twice it's size and my face just throbs with pain in addition to my ears being stuffed up.

I haven't had one in a long time; I'd say maybe eight years ago? It started before the week we were to go on vacation. I weathered it out because I didn't want to be taking antibiotics while traveling. I survived the plane ride in addition to the numerous roller coaster rides. I thought it more or less had disappeared.

Nope! This Monday, it started all over again when we had a cold front move through bringing much needed rain. The pain, not throbs, in my sinus cavity was unbearable. I finally broke down and called the doctor and he saw me on Friday. He confirmed my diagnosis and prescribed an antibiotic for me. I know the drug companies come out with many every year and I couldn't remember back eight years ago, what antibiotic I had taken. He wasn't my doctor back then, so he prescribed Ciproloxacin. Okay. He's the doctor and I respect him.

I'm allergic to aspirin, codeine and penicillin, in addition to having SVT, so it's safer to put me on a sulfur-based antibiotic which Cipro is. I read the instructions provided by CVS and it mostly focused on being careful to avoid calcium and dairy products. They provided a time schedule to take the pill two hours before consuming dairy products or six hours after. I took the first pill at five, two hours before dinner.

Then, I started to itch. What was that about? I reread the CVS warnings; didn't see anything. Then I read the side effects provided by the drug company. I was in trouble. This medication might cause rashes, severe cramping, changes in your heart rate, seizures, yeast infections and the list went on. I immediately called the pharmacist who advised me to discontinue the medication and call my doctor first thing Monday morning. In the mean time, eat cheese to diminish the effect of the medication.

I love cheese so not a problem. I continued the night and began to itch like crazy. I couldn't even sleep. Then came the irregular heart rate which I took a double dose of my beta blockers to get back into rhythm.

When I got out of bed at six the next morning, I thought I had this medication out of my system. Nope! I had the most severe leg cramps I've ever experienced, to the point I was in tears. I drank lots of water hoping to flush it out of my system. The rest of the day, I just spent sitting in my chair reading a book. I was so exhausted from the last twenty four hours I went to bed at eight pm.

You know? Maybe the sinus pain isn't as bad as I thought. I can do without the antibiotic!

Rough Week....

I have survived my first week back from vacation! Not only have I had a chance to work intently on my next manuscript, I have had a fight with my neighbor about them always parking in front of my mailbox so that I have to go to the post office to get my mail. I guess having a three car garage; two car driveway and a cul-de-sac in front of their house is not enough for them....

I've had a fight with our FSA insurance because they didn't feel the ER hospital bill I provided them for the $250.00 copay provided sufficient information for them to process the claim. They want an entire itemized bill with ALL charges on it. Really? BCBS of Illinois processed it without any problems. I have requested the bill which will take two weeks to process...

I have unanswered emails...regarding my projects...

I am a normally happy, positive person, but this week has tried my patience. I know there are more serious problems in the world and I should count my blessings. I keep saying prayers for everyone. On day at a time!

Vacation!!!

What a whirl of a vacation! I told you about the wedding but now I need to tell you about the rest of the vacation!

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, VA for the week. I just love Virginia. It is such a pretty state. The only relaxing day I had was on Tuesday when my husband played golf and I stayed behind and relaxed by the pool!

Let me preface by saying, my husband and I, when we first started dating were roller coaster junkies. We went on everything we could. One of the reasons we love Williamsburg is because of Busch Gardens. Starting in 1991, we went every year.

As we got older, we started going every other year. Why? We discovered Hawaii and didn't want to waste every vacation in Williamsburg. Did this stop us from roller coasters? Absolutely not. Where we lived in Pennsylvania, we were only an hour away from Hershey Park and Dorney Park.

Then we moved to Texas where there is Six Flags. Let me tell you, the thought of standing in long lines in the Texas heat didn't really appeal to us. It has been a while since I've been on a coaster. (2008 to be exact!) When we went to Disney World in March, I went on the Harry Potter coaster and got a little sick to my stomach.

This Williamsburg vacation had my husband really excited. He couldn't wait to go on the rides. Okay. I'm not old, but I'm no spring chicken either. With my SVT (fast heartbeat) acting up more often than I want it to, I was a little apprehensive about this journey.

Monday, we were at the park at 10. First couple of rides were just okay. By four, I kind of had had it. But I did learn something important; keep you head forward. That way, you don't bang your brain stem on the back of the seat. Learned that the hard way!

On Wednesday, we were back at it again. This time we got kicked out of the park due to some pretty bad storms. I found myself a little disappointed  because now I looked forward to the rides.

Thursday, in the rain, we did the old town tour. We just love the way Colonial Williamsburg has made a day so enjoyable with great actors and actresses portraying the trying times of that era.
We ate at one of the taverns and also snuck in a wine tour.

Friday? Back at the park. Finally, around 4 (only because we had to pack) my husband conceded he had had enough of the rides.

By the way, as an author, I had become pretty frustrated on my book I'm working on. My characters were not talking to me as I sat in front of my laptop; fingers poised on the keyboard...nothing. Who came to life while I was on these rides? My characters. I had to write things down when I got back to the condo. So, this week I look forward to fine tuning my story!

Dysfunctional Families

Went to a family wedding in New Jersey over the weekend. The last time I've been to a family wedding was when my nephew got married up in Canada three years ago. It was great to see everyone after six years of being in Texas. I know every family has their unique relationships and it gets kind of hard to explain it to people, so where do I begin?

This was my mother's side of the family. My mother was the youngest of five children; two brothers and two sisters. The brothers hated each other and never spoke again. The three sisters only spoke to my mother but not to each other. Lots of internal fights my mother didn't know about. It's the same way in my husbands family with the aunts and uncles. You know, 'back in 1953, she/he said this about me and I'll never forgive her/him'....and they don't!

The oldest, Grace, was much older than my mother. Grace married first and had a son, Paul and daughter, Grace. She later divorced, remarried and had a son, Robert.

Grace named my mother, Estelle, Grace's god mother. My mother was only three years old at the time. So the wedding was for young Grace's grandson, Andrew who is thirty two years old. Grace is ninety and refuses to admit it. She is as sharp as a tack and in great shape. She religiously walks five miles a day. Her husband, Chuck, is a deep sea diver. He finally gave it up three years ago at the young age of ninety.

Other than my sisters and their family, I don't really keep in touch with the rest of the families on my mother or my father's side. I have tried, but most of them want nothing to do with me or the rest are after a hidden agenda better left alone.

After listening to all of the family stories, I have tons of materials for upcoming books!