Mom with her two little ones that aren’t so little anymore!
Oops, it looks like I cheated a little bit with words on #WordlessWednesday. Thank you for still hanging around. I miss you all.
Howdy, folks. It’s really me posting.
Please forgive the length, but if I go back again and try to shorten it, I’ll never get this posted.
Thought I’d post something before passers-by and visitors think I’ve abandoned my home here. Believe me, I never intended to become invisible. Nope, I haven’t neglected my website and you or your blogs by choice. Due to a lingering illness, my life has been put on hold. Needless to say, my upcoming book due out for release this past spring, then delayed until summer, will continue to be on hold for a while longer. The same with Two-Five Ranch Outlaws, Book #2.
I don’t have anything that can be caught by another human. A sinus infection and low electrolytes, especially sodium, have ruined my life.
Even before June, I hadn’t felt myself for some time, and I didn’t know what was going on. A sinus infection made all the other symptoms feel worse. In early July, I emailed my doctor with my symptoms because I continued to get worse, even losing weight.
Almost to the big white tent.
She told me to get tested for the dreadful “virus” because of my symptoms. After a two-hour wait at a drive-thru testing site in ninety-one-degree heat, I had an antibody test and nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19. It took days of going to hell and back to get the (negative) results.
Unfortunately, my troubles didn’t stop there. We discovered my electrolytes had dropped dangerously low. Let’s also add dehydration to this bag of hell! Through my own research, I suspected a drop in sodium because I take two medications that deplete sodium. I’m off of one of them now. This ain’t my first rodeo with low sodium. In the past, a couple of bottles of an energy drink put me back to normal. By the way, sodium controls fluid levels in the body. Hence, dehydration.
Some symptoms of low sodium include: Nausea and vomiting, Headache, Confusion, Loss of energy, Drowsiness and fatigue, Restlessness and irritability, Muscle weakness, spasms, or cramps, Seizures, Coma.
Emergency Room During a Pandemic:
Before having my results back from the Antibody and COVID-19 test, I called 9-1-1 because the symptoms were taking over my body and mind. My body needed something I could no longer provide, and it was SCARY.
2020 Safety First:
On this night, only one tech came inside in full protective gear because I had told them on the phone, that I didn’t have results back yet. After he determined I’d be transported, I chose to walk out. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention at midnight with the sound of a gurney rolling through the door. Five EMTs waited on the walk outside the door with the gurney, while one remained at my side. They had sent two trucks, as they always do here.
I said, “A girl never minds seeing five firemen waiting for her.” I don’t know how I had the sense to think of something so flirty. Once a romance writer, always a romance writer? On the way, the tech with me said he didn’t think I had the virus. My lungs were clear. I barely had a fever.
I ended up going to the ER twice a couple of weeks apart for the same symptoms—low electrolytes. The first time, they also did a nasopharyngeal swab test and bloodwork. This ER nurse did both nostrils. The drive-thru testing guy did only one side as I sat in my car. If you’ve had a nasopharyngeal test, you know what I’m talking about.
Soon after arriving in the emergency room, they attempted a bag of saline for dehydration while waiting for test results, but I blew a vein and the IV stopped dripping. Then they gave me a Sodium Chloride drip. Altogether, I blew out four veins in two visits.
This is how my boat floats, people.
Aside from low electrolytes, other tests came back normal. We still had no COVID-19 results when I had been discharged the first time, though the nurse in the ER said I had no markers in my blood to indicate the virus. So, I was kicked out released with antibiotics for the suspected sinus infection, Sodium Chloride tablets for low sodium, and instructions to eat salty food. French fries would raise sodium. Oh, yum. If only I could eat. *Don’t try this at home without medical supervision. Too much sodium can be just as harmful.
GOOD NEWS! A couple of days after my return home after the first visit, I found out all the COVID-19 tests, including the antibody test were NEGATIVE. Thank the good Lord. Thank you, thank you! THANK YOU!
I learned that when someone offers to help, you have to say okay.
The Waiting Game:
This was the end of July. *Since the second ER visit, and under my doctor’s direction, I’m drinking energy drinks with electrolytes instead of water–which dilutes sodium, while keeping Sodium Chloride tablets on hand for an emergency. I’m eating salty foods to keep my sodium level up until I see a specialist (waiting list) to determine what we’ll do about the medication. Hope all this salt doesn’t cause a stroke.
I’ve made an in-person appointment with a new primary care doctor. It’s time for a change and new set of eyes on my case. The appointment is in September!
Let’s Get Back to Life as a Writer: If Only I could.
Publication? It’s hard enough focusing on dinner, getting my mail, or taking a shower, and it’s taken me longer than three weeks to write this post. But we will see this book published one day. I haven’t given up. I keep trying. I’m too damn stubborn to quit, but I’m thankful for my persistent nature. As if I don’t feel guilty enough, a new holiday story has been calling me to write it. I want to slap my muse upside the head for doing this to me now.
Regardless, as bad as I feel for not getting my books out there, I need to think of myself and my worried family because this is my new reality.
Anyone have any answers? Is there a better way to keep my electrolytes stable? I’d like to be normal again.
I MISS YOU ALL. Thanks for reading. Continue to stay safe.
*Disclaimer: The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his or her health, particularly with respect to any symptoms or accidents that may require diagnosis or medical attention.
Everyone Stay Safe and Responsible.
I call 2020: “The year that wasn’t.”
Image from Pixabay: JRMarketingDesign
Update:
Some of you know I’ve been taking a break to let my eyes rest. I’m happy to say they are showing a bit of improvement. Giving them time away from hours of looking at the computer has helped, but my time at the screen is still limited. I’ve been able to spend a small amount of time each day working on one book while gearing up to format my upcoming book. In a nutshell, I have dry-eyes and macular degeneration, so I won’t take a chance with my eyesight.
As much as I wanted Judy’s book, the fifth book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight to be released in May, it isn’t going to happen. Book five takes place three years after book four ends.
By the way, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, book one in the Double Dutch Ranch Series is $0.99 cents. This is the new and revised edition–shortened A LOT yet combined with what used to be book 1.5. Not a bad deal for a book that begins a series where you’ll get to know the whole family including Judy, the ranch matriarch, who binds them all together. Welcome to the Double Dutch Ranch where no one is a stranger at their table.
I’m grateful for any change for the better to my eyes and for time I can spend working on my books. However, I won’t push it.
Thankfully, my Kindle reads to me, so I’m able to enjoy books written by other authors without having to stare at the screen. It’s a pleasant distraction, indeed.
Thanks for your patience.
On top of dealing with my eyesight and the pressure and stress on myself for NOT publishing a book, I was forced to enter a grocery store because of items I NEEDED and couldn’t get with my pick up order. That isn’t all. I HAD TO OPEN UP MY SAFE SPACE to maintenance when I developed a leak in my bathtub. I figured it would be a one-time thing, but after four visits, he still couldn’t fix the problem. This also means he had to go into my bedroom closet to access the pipes.
As my mom would say, “Things don’t run on an even keel all the time.” Something like that. Well, Mom, you were right!
We’re all in this together.
Enjoy your weekend, my friends.
P.S. I didn’t even mention the fact WordPress is changing its editor on June 1st, so now it’s one more thing I don’t have the time or patience to learn. Even though some of you said the new Block Editor was simple, I don’t agree. I looked at it for five minutes and said screw it. Now, it seems I have no choice. On a positive note, the old editor will still be available, but I rarely use it, instead choosing to go into the dashboard and use the old, old editor. What do I do? Use my limited time on the computer to publish a book or learn something I don’t want to learn? The answer is simple.
Signing off for now…
This post was inspired by a documentary I watched on PBS Wednesday night about Climate Change.
Since I bypassed Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge this week, I thought it fitting to share a couple of quotes for Earth Day since I missed the actual date:
“We each have a role to play in ensuring that we do not pass a world beyond repair on to our children. Everyone must do their part, and as long as we unite to protect the one planet we have, we can leave it in better shape for future generations. On Earth Day, let us all accept our individual responsibilities to care for the world we live in, and let us marshal our best efforts toward building a safer, more stable, and more sustainable world.” ~Barack Obama, 2016 April 21st, quoted from The White House Office of the Press Secretary
“Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.” ~Cree Indian Proverb
Thanks for reading.
#StayHome. #StayWell.
The quotes were found on The Quote Garden.
World Image: Pixabay – 272447
Tree Image ©C. A. McCoy
My daughter-in-law sent me a link to this video last night. I’ll share it with all of you around the world since we’re in this together. Stay in. Stay safe. Keep yourself and everyone else safe.
Created by: Shirley Șerban. She has lyrics on the video page. I don’t think a page translator will translate the words on the video.
Welcome to Week 14 in Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge.
The number one hobby I miss a lot is photography. I’ve taken classes at a local college, but I’ve forgotten much of what I’ve learned. However, sometimes my oldest son will ask me a question and I remember the answer. Both of my boys love photography as well. Self-taught, they’re good at it too.
One of the fun parts of the class were the field trips and learning to take night shots. It’s so easy now to take out a cell phone to snap a shot. I use my point-and-shoot digital occasionally like last fall for the scarecrow, fairy, and skeleton displays at festivals. When I worked, I’d take student photos for the school of kids in various activities like the Halloween parade or Christmas parties. Now, all my fancy equipment sits in my camera bag waiting and calling me sometimes.
My dad loved taking pictures so when he had a camera in his hand, look out! He gave me an old Brownie box camera when I was very young. I think it belonged to my step-grandfather. I loved looking down into the view finder in that old thing.
Since photos are mostly in digital these days, it’s been years since I’ve made a collage. The last one I made was for a boyfriend with pictures of him, us, all of our kids—his and mine not ours—and photos of all the places we had traveled to over a five-year span. He was a photographer, too, and a darn good one with a natural talent.
To construct, I’d use a large frame and situate the photos on poster board, because of the thickness, and glue the images on with a glue stick. I’d cut the photos with random fancy edges and set them in different angles so they weren’t all straight. They turned out nice. I always received compliments on them.
I have a couple more, but these are at the top of the list.
Here is the Link to visit the participating authors.
I’m slow to getting around to visit other blogs because I’m writing one book while getting another ready to publish, and to be honest, I’m distracted with the state of the world and my state. It’s bad here right now in so many ways, and saying “bad” is putting it mildly.
To all of you and your families– Stay Safe and well.
Thank you for coming by today.
All images are from Pixabay.
