July Link-Up Party with A Chronic Voice

It is the evening of July 30th and I am finally getting to post my responses to A Chronic Voice’s July Link-Up Party. I have been working on it but my mind has been very disjointed this month – it is probably a combination of the heat, several pain flares, and just being busy in general.

Adding

This may seem simplistic but I have added 500 steps to my daily goal which is now 2,500. It was easier to go over 2,000 when that was my limit, but I have to weigh in being sick,  pain levels and the heat. I am trying to walk in the dog park instead of just sitting on my walker. Today a friend with her dog and I walked the perimeter of the whole park as the City crew were mowing the lawns in the dog park. The trees all along the roads gave nice shade and the keep the grass cut so it is easy with my walker. By the time we got back to the dog park the tractor was out and working on the public area. I am sure I added a few hundred steps – unfortunately, I forgot to charge my fit-bit! My goal is to get physically and medically stronger so maybe I can fight through the winter better.

Spreading

I was spreading myself too thin during the last few months of health challenges. I wasn’t getting better, my blog was suffering, so were other commitments and I had no energy for myself. I knew some things had to go.

As much as it pained me, I recently stepped down as the facilitator for a group of incredible women who schedule posts on the Chronic Illness Bloggers FaceBook page. It wasn’t a lot of work and much of the discussions were more personal than “work” related. But It was still something that was not making my health better so I felt the time was right to leave. I have made some amazing new friends and I know that will never change.

I also lowered my expectations of myself when it comes to socializing, cleaning, even talking or writing. I need to build up my strength again first and then I can spread my wings as far as they will reach.

Ranting

My rant comes from my recent visit to the ER. I had an amazing experience meeting with another patient. However, when it came to the care I received it was a different story. I was in with a cough and chest pain (from coughing for 10 days) and trouble breathing. I was pretty sure it was going to be pneumonia or bronchitis with the better odds on the former.

The doctor came in, listened to my chest and asked if I had a chest x-ray, blood tests and an ECG (all of which I had hours before). You would think he would check tests before coming to see me but no. And he took off so fast I couldn’t tell him about my swollen glands, tongue, and feet. I caught him quickly when he was talking to my cubicle mate and he didn’t even check these symptoms, he just ran off again. Awhile later a tech came to draw more blood to see if there was fluid around my heart.

It was going on another hour and a half before he came back and said I had pneumonia, had left it too long before seeing someone, and my heart was fine. He said he would give me an antibiotic then and started writing a prescription. I asked what he was giving me because there are some that I can’t have including tetracycline (which I had at 12 years old and went into anaphylactic shock) but he didn’t hear that one. He asked if I had tried whatever and I said no. Again, my allergies were in my chart.

I went home and got some sleep but not a lot. My Hubby went to get the medication and the pharmacist said I couldn’t have it because it was in the tetracycline family. Duh. So Hubby had to come and get me (I was sleeping) and take me to the walk-in clinic where I waited another 2 hours for the doctor to give me a new drug. The pharmacist was great filling it immediately so I get home and rest.

Protecting & Dividing

I really couldn’t come up with anything marginally interesting for these two topics so I decided I would have to leave them. After all, there are only two more days in July! LOL

Lydia!