Sunday afternoon

This month has flown by. It started out with me feeling less than stellar, probably a mild version of the respiratory virus Gregg eventually caught. He was so sick--he ran fevers for over a week and didn't start to come around (and go back to work) until the day before Thanksgiving. He's still got a pretty bad cough, but otherwise feels better. I was pretty worried about him. Thank you for all the well wishes and concern.

Thanksgiving was okay. I cooked a fairly standard meal: turkey breast, roast potatoes and carrots, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, collard greens. For the first time in his life my husband ate collard greens and LIKED them! I consider that a major cooking victory. For 90% of the time I've known him he wouldn't have even tried a mouthful, so the fact that he ate good size helpings two days in a row was a big deal to me. Over the years he's gradually expanded the list of healthy foods he'll eat, and that makes me happy. 

It's been an uneventful break from work. I've spent a lot of time sitting around watching tv, which is unusual for me. Even reading feels like too much effort at the moment. I supposed it's just some leftover depression from being sick and then looking after a sick person. Also, it's November and there isn't much light. I'm ready to fall asleep by 7pm on these days when it gets dark so early. 

Back to work in the morning. 

Notes from Thanksgiving eve

Last night I spent several hours prepping food for our two-person feast. Here are the highlights:

RIP to my almost 20 year old corkscrew. Thank you for your service, friend. 

Poppy, bored and unattended while I worked in the kitchen, found some mischief to get up to. No turkey for her! Haha.

I made deviled eggs. They're Gregg's favorite and no holiday meal would be complete without them!

I also went ahead and made my cranberry mandarin orange relish with toasted walnuts (it's better after sitting in the fridge overnight), peeled carrots, and chopped celery and onions for the dressing. I also washed and chopped two big bundles of collard greens so they'd be ready to go. 

This morning I can sip a leisurely cup of coffee or three before beginning, thanks to all the prep work I did last night. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Ai yi yi

Another shit day. Gregg woke up running a fever and vomiting this morning. I went to work for a couple of hours (long enough to catch up on stuff and make bank deposits) and came home at 11:00am to take him up to Urgent Care. Even though the ER doctors had run lots of tests, including a CT scan to make sure his lung was clear of any blood clots, as far as I knew they hadn't tested for flu or strep. (They did do a Covid test, which was negative).

After waiting two hours, he finally saw a doctor and tested negative for flu, strep, and a second Covid test. They gave him a shot of Zofran to stop the nausea and a prescription for Zofran tabs that melt under the tongue. Their best guess is that he has a virus that's just going to have to run its course.

Funny story: while we were waiting to be seen (the Urgent Care was packed today, there are lots of things going around) Gregg had to go to the bathroom adjacent to the waiting area to throw up. He was clearly audible, retching and dry heaving, and a little girl went up to the desk and said, "There's a man calling for help in the bathroom!" Two nurses hurried out with a key to unlock the door. I had to rush up and tell them that it was just my husband in there vomiting! But bless that kid for being so concerned for a stranger. None of the adults sitting around the room could have cared less that there was a man in distress in the bathroom. 

Gregg still feels terrible, but at least he's not throwing up now. His sister texted me a little while ago to ask how he was doing. Here's the text exchange between us:

ER (updated)

I'm sitting in the ER with Gregg this morning. He's caught my cold, and he woke me up at 4am having difficulty breathing. Although he argued with me about it, I insisted on bringing him to the emergency room. Shortness of breath isn't anything to fool around with, especially for a person with only one lung.

His oxygen level is okay, thank goodness. Right now they're running some tests to make sure nothing too serious is going on. I'll update later on when we know more. 

Update: we are at home. They didn't find any blood clots (thank God!) or anything else too concerning. There is a slight issue with one side of his heart (with the electrical impulses that flow through one side) that he's seen a cardiologist for in the past and that they think he might want to follow up on again, but the doctor wasn't too worried about it. He's breathing a bit better now, so hopefully everything will be okay. I was scared.

Also, while we were waiting in the ER my mom texted me to let me know that one of my cousins OD'd and died last night. We weren't close, and he'd had drug problems for years and years, but it's still sad. He was only 55 years old. 

It's always something

It's been a rough week. I've managed to both catch a cold and pull some muscles in my lower back at the same time. How lucky can you get! I am not a happy camper!

I've taken two at-home covid tests since that's definitely going around again, but they've both been negative. I guess that's something to be grateful for. At work I've stayed holed up in my office because a terrible stomach virus has been spreading like wildfire through the school. Children are throwing up and having diarrhea left and right, and I don't need that to add to my woes! Several staff members have colds and I suppose that's how I caught mine. Schools are just crawling with germs. I've kept Lysol spray and disinfecting wipes handy and only venture outside my office when absolutely necessary.

I hope I feel better by the weekend. Tomorrow is my dear husband's birthday, and I'd like to make him a cake and a special meal, but if I'm still feeling this way then I'll have to put it off. I ordered him a lot of new clothes online last week, so he'll have gifts, at least. 

How's your week going?