Judgement Day
I started July 31, 2004 by having breakfast with Sheila, Jon and John on the patio in Connecticut. The night before, we had a long ride back from Grand Central. I had been feeling sick in a very strange way. My hands itched. We missed the correct Connecticut railroad station because John insisted we needed to take the next one. I begrudgingly agreed with him. He was wrong. We had to call Jon at 2am to pick us up at the wrong station.
The morning of the 31st was warm. My hands looked like lobster claws with blood blisters everywhere. Sheila gave me a bowl of ice water to soak them in. She offered to take me to a local clinic. I agreed.
Emily and Sheila drove me to the clinic where a family practitioner took my temperature and brief history. He attempted to bring my fever down with a shot of something I can't recall. My fever was not affected by the shot, so he arranged for me to be seen at the ER in Norwalk.
There, after ER staff cut off my wedding ring, I was admitted. A full history was taken. I keep forgetting to mention that I was taking Clinoril ( the only NSaid Regence Blue Cross would pay for). Chief in my mind was my visit to Virginia. The following journal entry is a sort of inventory I wrote, trying to recall the events of the past 12 days. In 12 days, John and I had visited 12 states plus DC.
There was something about the stay in Virginia that bothered me. I had been warned by George and David about ticks. I mentioned this to the doctors at Norwalk Hospital. But, I had no obvious bull's eye bite mark. The fact that I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they were giving me, didn't help. I broke out in hives. Still, Lyme Disease is very common in CT.
By this time, I had convinced myself that a tick had bitten me. I had no other explanation because I had never felt the same before. To make matters even worse, I was taking a cocktail of herbal medicines and Chinese herbal formulas for my arthritis. The doctors wanted to know everything I was taking, so I asked Sheila to bring in my medicine kit. I was embarassed to see all of those bottles and viles in one place!
Let's skip to the chase scene. After many tests, and after my cocktail of antibiotic, Benedryl and Prednisone, my hands began to deflate and I stopped carrying a high fever.
I had been told that an infectious disease expert would be examining me, but I seem to have made such good progress that I was dismissed on August 2, 2004. The next day, I took a flight to LA where my car was still parked at John's. Before I knew it, I was in LA. Here's my next journal entry.
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Back to the ER in LA
I called Joyce. She said she would fly to LA and drive me home. It was an interesting ride home. I think I slept most of the way.
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HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN. JIGITTY JIG!
The journal entry that follows is the last one I will be sharing that relates to the 2004 episode. My health history from 2004 to 2008 is not remarkable - depression (probably related to male menopause), continued arthritis pain which I treated with accupuncture and glucosamine/condroitin, and occasional sinus infections. Hey, I live in a rain forest!
In 2005, I played Barney Cashman in OBT's production of "Last of the Red Hot Lovers'. That summer, I made two trips to NYC.
In 2006, I played Dr. Everett Scott in OBT's production of "Rocky Horror Show". It was a great financial success, but I have some regrets about having been involved in that project.
In August 2006, Joyce and I flew to Rome for our first European visit to Rome, Florence and Naples.
In the spring of 2007, I played the Purser on Little Theater on the Bay's production of "Anything Goes".
In August 2007, we took our adult children to Rome, Florence and Venice. My health was generally good. I was not hospitalized for those following four years.
Then, in the fall of 2008, I took a new teaching position at a local high school. Since 2000, I had been teaching special education in an adult transition setting. Economic cutbacks forced my employer ( a state agency) to close some of our classrooms. As a result, I was asked to open a new model classroom.
All went well until February 2, 2009. Yesterday, August 6, 2010, I was told by my doctor that all three Hemacult studies were positive. So, I'll be having another colonoscopy on the 23rd. Also, my dermatologist removed two basal cell moles in May and June. Monomethyl-hydrazine and gyromitrin are known carcinogens.
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