Alas there may come a day when I will not have yet another treatment update!  Yes, Lord willing, I do think so . . .

I got a nasty case of pneumonia within about a week’s time and am in the beginning of intensive treatment.   I understand that if I would have waited then I might have landed in the hospital!  Whew!  What was a sinus infection for my husband was something very different for me.  So a dose of potent cough medicine, nebulizer breathing treatments, Z-Pack antibiotic, and 5 doses of IV Rocephin (with and injection of same to start things off) should take care of it.  Hopefully!

Tis cool that in the background are barely any seizure attack episodes.  (Exception:  stick a nasal culture swab up my nose and all hell still breaks loose!  Ugh.  Those cranial nerves still need more time to heal.)  Increasing the height of my specialized dental appliances  on my own 2 weeks ago appears to have helped improve its overall  effectiveness.  My Craniomandibular Disorders Doctor gave me parameters over the phone to follow in making the adjustments myself.  After about a week of experimentation with a hot glue gun, it was the plastic wing nut screw attached with super glue that saved the day.  And it saved us almost a grand ($$$) in travel expenses since I didn’t need to travel out of State to his office!  The modification looks very weird yet it is working!  I will still need to take a trip to see him before too long to make sure everything in Phase I of my treatment plan is still progressing.  In the meantime, gotter done.

My activity level and tolerance had started to increase some just 10 weeks into this new treatment and before I got sick with pneumonia.  It was actually becoming difficult to judge just how much I could do in a day after having so many restrictions for so long.  In the past I would work in the yard awhile then feel the stress of tasks left undone, wondering if I should keep pushing myself to finish everything just in case I could not get outside for awhile.  I am calling this a “scarcity” mindset that used to be my way of coping for the past 6 years.  I am trying to work in a new way now:  taking breaks along the way, drinking water, stretching a little here and there, and actually stopping early if needed to rest.  In my occupational therapy profession we would call this energy conservation.  Feeling less neuro-irritability is helping me to have the patience to pace myself, to implement these strategies as well.

So there’s a few bits of news of late.  The caregiver role for a family member has slowed some as she vacillates between limited care options and I simply am too hoarse to talk to her on the phone very well.  We will likely connect before too long in person with my husband as well and figure out things face-to-face.  That is really the best way anyways.   She is concerned that my health issues could interfere with caring for her.  That is possible.  I think we can figure things out though as her needs aren’t that great right now.  Continuing to do as much as she can for herself no matter where she is living would make for the best transition and new beginning.  She just needs me to encourage her in this directions sometimes.

Don’t we all need a little of that encouragement, Gentle Reader?  JJ