This is a test 1...2...3...

Just kidding it's not that kind of test; it's a do you think you can stay in an upright position test long enough to say something more dignified than I feel like C--P or some other expletive that may offend others with more delicate sensibilities. The non upright part is due to at times a terrific headache or lightheadedness.

Any-who, this is me, Tobi, in case some of you were wondering, and I am back as long as I don’t pass out again like I did after my shower this morning around ten-ish.
Up until then I really thought I had this thing licked.
I even went on face book and answered and wrote some emails, even paid some bills online; things were going just great.
All after I had breakfasted on a hard boiled egg, Jello, and my first cup of coffee in a week, even took my other medicines that I was afraid wouldn’t stay down.
It seemed like I was back on track.

I have been in and out of bed again most of the day.
My blood pressure was lower than norm 93 over 58, and so I could attribute that little problem to that, who knows, but my temperature has come down too; first day below a fever and my low norm too 97.9. It had been prancing around the 102 to 99.7 range up and down for days, five to be exact.

As I sit here I am breaking out into a cold sweat, which has been happening on and off during this horrible infection's process, which is not H1N1 or the infamous Swine Flu, just a really bad UTI the medical professional who tested my specimen said it’s the worst she had seen, and made us leave one at separate Lab to be tested too.

I’m sorry this is all I am capable of writing tonight but please stay tuned hopefully the fourth day’s dose of Cipro (1000 mg. daily) will make an impact by tomorrow.

On that uncertain note I will bid you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!

Tobi is feeling a little better

This is the second day of her antibiotics and so far the improvement is very small. She ate, even thought the amount was minute, it stayed down. As Martha would say “that’s a good thing”. She was out of her bed a few times but still is getting headaches so she winds up back in bed.


The swine flu is getting worse although there have been no cases in our state I think it’s only a matter of time. With all the beaches and amusement parks bringing visitors from all over the country and the world its going to happen. I plan on doing some heavy grocery shopping, like getting hurricane supplies and if we wind up with an outbreak in our area we will hunker down for as long as we can.

Until tomorrow,

hubby

Update on Tobi

We were right, it was a UTI. I took her to the doctor this morning and they tested her and basically said that they really did a number on her when she was in the hospital. She is now on an antibiotic and they said that in three to four days she should start to see a difference. In the mean time she has basically been in bed.

Even thought I’m not Tobi I thought I would throw in something that was on the news tonight. In the next town south of us, in a gated community they have a rule that you can’t park your vehicle on the grass, although I think this is a good rule and I wish they had it in my neighborhood, in my neighborhood there are some people that always park on the lawn and they never have a vehicle in their driveway. Well anyway last night in that gated community a homeowner (who owns her property) park her car in the driveway, there was one inch of one tire on the lawn and they put a tire boot on it. They said that she would have to pay $250 to have it removed. What!!!! With all the people out of work, loosing their homes, earthquakes, tornados, the swine flu and a lot of other things this association manager really did this --- I think she needs a reality check or maybe she needs to get a life.

Hubby

Hubby, pinch hitting again

As Tobi said last night in her blog that she probably had a UTI well that sure looks like what it is. She has spent the day in bed and does not have the strength to write tonight. She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and hopefully they will give her some antibiotics so she can kick this.

If all turns out well she should be back tomorrow to fill you in on the details.

Her hubby

All night long and the Swine Flu is growing too

Well, what I went through last night is not sounding as nasty as what our country and our neighbor to the south are dealing with.
Last night I was up all night in pain going back and forth to the bathroom with an apparent UTI, urinary tract infection, which more than likely was caused by last weekends Foley catheter for three days, and the fact that I took my last Medrol pill this morning, and so it was able to take a stand without having a large dose of steroids to counteract it. But I could be wrong, I’m not that smart. I did call an ask–a- nurse line since that last thing I want to do now is go back to the hospital. I did asked about an over the counter medicine that I recalled from a previous experience with a catheter fifteen years ago. It’s called Phenozopyridine hydrochloride 95 mg and aside from causing your wee to turn orange it works real well on the pain that I was experiencing. The nurse also asked me if I had a fever but when I called I had not taken my temperature, but I did tell her that I was having chills on and off. She said if I had a temperature that I should go into emergency.
At the time that sounded rather drastic so I nixed the idea until I read that it meant a possibility of the infection going into my kidneys.
Well, I took my temperature and it was 101.0, not good, but I opted for Tylenol and the bladder meds.
No more hospital for me if I can avoid it! My temperature went down below 100 within an hour.

Another reason, I know a little ridiculous at this time that I did not want to go anywhere near the hospital is that I received a breaking news report form CNN that the Federal Government declared a public health emergency due the Swine Flu, so staying home sounded safer, doesn’t it?
I know overly concerned.
But one can never be too safe, can one?

This will be short again due to me not feeling that great yet. The only good thing that came of last night’s misery was that I lost two pounds, now doesn’t that sound like I am making lemonade out of lemons?
I guess since I am still not quite right health wise that I do get depressed, and bad news doesn’t help any of us.

On that thoughtful blurb I will wish you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!

Jinx, tolerance and a little bit of this and that

I have been thinking perhaps a little too much lately.
About how I affect others lives in occasionally negative ways.
You know that thing about taking inventory of pluses and minuses in your life well; I have been recalling all of the people I care about in my life and how they being in my life may have changed theirs in a not so good way.
Take my friend from way back, from childhood, when her husband was dying of pancreatic cancer she had a dilemma about divorcing him due to her telling me he had been verbally abusive to her, and yet when she was not physically there for him I felt she was the bad one and told her. Now we are no longer friends.
My other friend who most recently had major surgery the one with the rods to hold her head on, well, when I found out that both my brother and niece had passed away and I wanted her compassion and understanding to discuss it, all she wanted to do was talk about her medical bills piling up, and so I gave up on her. Besides we are both now unable physically to be helping each other.
Next my cousins I didn’t say anything to estrange them but maybe hanging around with me caused them to have bad luck. They had such a charmed happy life in their retirement, going to Europe almost every year and driving cross country in the summers. And now due to a nasty broken hip and a heart attack they are stuck in one place.
Makes a woman take inventory, doesn’t one?
Intellectually I do know that no one has such powers to do so much harm, but I must be some kind of Jinx.

My other cousin far away in another state laughingly said that we have good Karma since we have the same hunky hubbies that we started with all those years ago, and I did agree with her logic.
But what about the other stuff that I mentioned.
And now with my worst dream realized with being hospitalized without insurance I truly wonder if there isn’t a black cloud over me?

Just the other night the news had on about the two things that predict longevity is not smoking and having a lot of friends, well I got half of that.
I quit all the organizations that created friendships due to my inability to take part for one reason or another; in my mind, my logic.

Our neighbor from across the street thought she could shock me tonight on her welcomed visit when she announced that she was gay, but we knew all along and never brought it up.
So there you go again not doing what people expect of you, meaning me.
I believe I did learn something this afternoon though… according to her not all gays are born biologically gay they develop from their environment.
See, now I just thought that was what the far right would say so that people could change, but I’m not that smart.

On that provocative note I will wish you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!

Fires still persist ... suspicious package in local grocery

Sadly South Carolinas fires have taken 90 homes at this writing, and they appear to have a cause, someone burning trash in their yard, still blazing in over 20K acres.

Our fire in Florida Big Cyprus Preserve has also spread to over 10K acres and moved up to encompassing route 29 north and jumped to the west of the Alligator Alley. Creating some, believe or not smoky odors are here nearly 100 miles from the action as the crow flies from here.

So I’m staying inside, besides the smoke our heat here has been ungodly in the 90’s, but oddly enough with low humidity, if it was high the fire chance would not have been so high! It has actually been below 30%.

Our news locally reported when they went on air that a grocery store in Englewood, in this county had a suspicious package and it has been evacuated and they are waiting for the bomb squad from our Lee County to the south of us, Ft. Myers territory. Update: 6:17 P.M.: the bomb squad robot is on the scene now!

Interesting how now they, the FAA, released the numbers of bird versus plane strikes just today the tally has been 109K since 1990, who counts this stuff, and isn’t that scary? Only less than 30 planes have actually been destroyed, well, I’m reassured, not!

My slow return to pain has begun unfortunately, shoulders, thighs, neck and chest, my inventory has been taken of where exactly. What I just found out is that what it is called is the MS Hug that is occurring, oh so that’s what it’s called when you feel like someone is strangling you or doing the Heimlich or putting a tourniquet at the top of you thigh, well at least now it’s got a name; no one told me before. My Baclofen is being used for spasms, and I hope it will also help this. The steroids are getting less by the pills graduation weaning. I don’t get to see the doc until 5-6-09 at 9 A.M. And I am starting to panic about what her charge will be, and yes she is a young female neurologist, but informed me I will be seeing her P.A., physician’s assistant also a woman. I hope that means it will not be as expensive for me, and then there is always the fear that they will shock me with a big bill after, or not let me leave without paying, boy…I’m scaring myself again! I have got to stop this!

I am still grasping at straws I have emails or snail-mails to the world at large about my dilemma, who knows it could work, one could only hope, can’t one?
When it gets down to the nitty gritty, as us children of the sixties used to say one gets going and never gives up without that old college try. You may ask yourself just how many useless old expressions she’s got in her arsenal, well, who knows, my brain aint what it used to be. As you might of noticed by those old clams not being quite on target, but you get my point for that I am sure.

So with that ludicrous reasoning I will bid you all good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!
Remember in all insanity there is usually a smidge of enlightenment and lucidity.

Be careful of the swine, flu that is, shocker! 20 dead in Mexico and 8 cases here in the US.
And Jay Leno... please be well.