News for the New Year

Four months have passed since my last blog entry. Life decided to do what it does best---surprise. Seriously, spies and assassins should take lessons from life regarding the element of surprise. One minute, you're be-bopping along the path when *kapow*, you are flat on your back staring at the sky, wondering if you should address the pain or just look at the clouds floating past since you are already on the ground anyway.

To begin this tale of gloom, my grandma fell and broke her hip in late September. We were getting ready for a hot dog roast when she slipped in the hallway. What followed was an ambulance ride, a sleepless night in the hospital, surgery, and a month of rehab. Thankfully, my best friend and former college suitemate had arrived just prior to Grandma's fall, so she stayed with us for company and support that first long night in the hospital. Grandma was wrapped up on the bed, and Jennalyn and I curled up in chairs beside her. As a side note, hospitals are very similar to airports---there are germs everywhere and the furniture has been built to be as uncomfortable as possible. On the positive side, nurses are pretty much the most amazing people on the planet. They work all hours, offer comfort and relief, and patiently and kindly interact with worried family members. 

Along with Grandma's health setback, I contracted strep throat, an ear infection, the stomach virus, a sinus infection, and the flu all within 12 weeks of each other. My asthma also decided to makes its presence known after six years, and I was diagnosed with a rapid heartbeat from all the coughing and wheezing. To top it all off, I experienced a severe allergic reaction to the medication I was prescribed for the sinus infection. I was then told to never again take that medication because the second reaction could prove fatal. Duly noted. I was sick for two months and felt like I was breathing through a straw. It probably didn't help matters that one of my lungs partially collapsed when I was a kid. I wouldn't have made it back in medieval times when all those plagues were floating around. 

January arrived along with blessed relief from the asthma symptoms.  You don't know how important something is until it is gone. I have been able to breathe normally for the past two weeks. It is better than an ice cream cone on a summer day when I awake each morning and can gulp deep breaths of fresh air. 

I realize no one is interested in reading my complete medical history, but there it is as evidence for the lapse in new blog entries. I pray I will keep feeling better so I can continue blogging about camper life, adventures, and cooking on a teeny tiny stove.

Happy New Year!

-Meriwether

"It is health that is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver." -Mahatma Gandhi