The Plague

After being quite sick for several days, I think the antibiotics have helped me turn the corner into getting better. Temp broke last night, and I had a blissful full night's sleep. Today I'm simply grateful to be feeling better!!

Blargh

It's official. What started as a cold last Friday has progressed to a sinus infection/ear infection. This is the downside to being on Humira. I can't have just a simple cold. My damn immune system isn't strong enough to fight it, and it ALWAYS turns into something worse. So as I sit here wrapped in my electric blanket, sipping orange juice, thermometer in my mouth (last check, temp was down to 100) I'm going to try and find some things to be thankful for . . .

1. Grateful for doctors who listen when I tell them why I need an antibiotic even if they are wavering on the idea. I know my body, I know once I've reached the point of fever and constant cough, an antibiotic is the ONLY thing that is going to help me get well.

2. Grateful for doctors who patiently explain why one antibiotic would be better than what I'm usually prescribed. (For the record, I'm on a 2 week course of Clarithromycin)

3. Grateful for doctors who understand when I explain there is only 1 cough syrup that works well enough for me to get some sleep. Even though it's the "strongest stuff made" and "has a street value" (which the pharmacist explains every. single. time.)

4. Grateful for Kleenex. Grateful that I bought 2 boxes on Saturday, because I've already gone through one.

5. Grateful for EOS lip balm.

6. Grateful for 7-up and orange juice.

7. Grateful for antibiotic gel, which should prevent a case of skin infection around my poor nose.

8. Grateful I have lots of books to read.

9. Grateful I have a recliner I can nap in.

10. Grateful I don't have to leave my house again until Saturday.

Ready to fight the plague.

The frozen Tundra

Since it is 8000 degrees below zero, I figured I should start a grateful post for coffee. Specifically, decaf coffee - because that's what I'm currently addicted to during this cold spell.

I'm also really, really grateful for my rheumatologist, Dr. S. The rheumatologist I'd had for years retired last year. I nearly drowned myself in tears b/c I loved Dr. A. so much, and I was irritated someone was going to replace her. Dr. S. is a great doctor, though he is a man of very, very few words. Getting him to string together 5-6 words in 1 stretch is pushing things, but he's good at what he does, so I just go with it.

Today, I had to go in for bi-lateral cortisone injections in my knees. Just as Dr. S. told me he was getting ready to begin, I sat up, and with a panicked voice asked if it was too late for an epidural. And you know what? He laughed. Out loud. For several seconds. I had never even seen the man smile AND I MADE HIM LAUGH. As thrilled as this made me, it was tempered by the fact he is retiring in June. So, once again, I will have to adjust to a new doctor. I hope she/he's one who will laugh at my jokes! 

Grateful I don't have to build a fire . . .

Because I don't know how anyone survived when it was -24 wind chill livin' out on the prairie in a log house. I might add, I'm grateful I can control the heat of each room of my apartment independently. That means I can crank up the heat in the bathroom before I take a shower.

And I love love LOVE my electric blanket.

It's a bitterly cold night, which I can hear via the sharp cracks the wooden decks make (and are so loud they make me jump every time) in the bitter cold. I'm grateful I'm on my way to curl up in warmth under an electric blanket with a kitty snuggled up to my feet, keeping them warm.

Great Googly-Moogly

Good thing I didn't actually make any New Year resolutions, or I'd feel guilty about forgetting to make a grateful post yesterday. Instead, today I have 2 reasons to be grateful . . . and they are . . .

My love of reading AND my Kindle! Supposedly I was 2 when I could read my first book (Santa Mouse) but my mum is pretty sure I had just memorized the words. In any event, my love of reading emerged early and with startling dedication. My mum tells of numerous times she would be trying to get my attention, but I had my nose so far into a book I didn't listen. I have run into the following (numerous) list of things while reading a book or my Kindle (cell phone reading run-ins are not included in this list!): a door (several), a wall (several), a car, a bike, a dog (several), a cat (several), another person (erm, several), a stop sign, a curb (flat on my face), a parking meter, a lamp post (yes, really), a park bench and a trash can. I still love reading, it is my refuge and my escape. I've sobbed harder reading books (when a certain friend died in the HP series, I cried for almost 2 days) more than any movie or TV show. I've also laughed louder reading them than watching any movie or TV show!

This leads to the next thing I'm grateful for . . . my Kindle! I've had mine for about 3 years, and before I got it, I would never have imagined I would like reading from it. I always swore I needed the feel of the weight of a book and the smell of it's pages. But as I get older, I can't imagine reading without it. Firstly, I'm able to make the font large enough for my old eyes to read! And second - and most importantly - it's easier to hold than a regular book. There are days (in the winter, especially) when the strength needed to hold a book open with my fingers just plain hurts. It's wonderful having the kindle that I can read for hours without my fingers aching.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my latest James Patterson novel . . .

Grateful for sleep

I need a lot of sleep, perhaps more than the average person. I try for 9 hours a night. Obnoxious, right? But if I don't get enough sleep, I end up with several awful things happening. First, my psoriatic arthritis flares. The link there isn't directly sleep, but stress from lack of sleep. So more sleep = less arthritis pain. Getting enough sleep also keeps me healthy. It's almost a guarantee that if I am getting less than 8 hours sleep for longer than 4-5 days I will get sick. The lack of sleep directly taxes my already fragile immunity, and sickness can take hold.

So, I'm incredibly grateful that I have a lifestyle that affords me the opportunity to get enough sleep. Some judge my need for sleep obnoxious, see it as a weakness. But when I let that judgment get to me and forfeit sleep, bad things happen - so I've stopped caring what others think. I've learned to listen to my body and what it needs, and more times than not, I need sleep!