One thing I don't enjoy is heat. Summer is one season I don't do well with, heat and my asthma are never happy bedfellows at the best of times but when its too hot and the pollen goes up, my lungs don't like it. I've got to take extra care out and about because if I'm not careful the I will be one more statistic. No one nowadays should die from asthma, but unfortunately because of the way asthma is (or isn't) handled is one of the major reason.
I went out today, I had to get a prescription and a few things from town. I always enjoy a bit of a wander through town and it makes a change from being stuck inside. When I was on my way out, I spotted a familiar face. Because of my condition, I have been regularly seen to by the local Paramedic staff. They have saved my ass more times than I could ever count. This one guy had seen me many times from the YMCA and in my current home. He had placed cannulas in my arms, overtaken nurses and given me nebs and o2 and generally done what I needed someone to do. It was nice to see him and not be gasping. Since being on oxygen, I have been in hospital less. He even said how much better I looked. I never knew how much I would benefit from something that I never thought I would need.
One thing that seems to be an issue is that in my sleep, I knock my cannula off and sometimes my breathing is irregular. It's something to talk to the o2 nurse and the consultant about but there are times when I have to increase my oxygen to keep my levels up a bit. Its not been easy and there have been times where I have wondered why I am doing it but then I see the people precious to me. That spurs me on even when I feel like I can't do it. I don't realise it but I am actually quite strong and I like being able to take control of my own treatments. Whether it's making sure I keep up on tablets and nebulised meds but also when I have to, doing my home IV (although this isn't as common as the other things, I have to have courses of antibiotics IV but doing them at home avoids a trip to the Alex and being able to take care of myself). I think maintaining my independence has been the most important thing and even though I have a little help every day from my carers, I do still try. I try and make sure I have everything, even if it means riding my chair to the other end and getting off to go in to the kitchen.
I think that actually talking to my neighbour about stuff actually had a better effect than anything else. Sometimes I think you do just need to talk to people. Not everyone is unreasonable. Its been great the last few days, nice and quiet and I feel better now the stress is gone. I admit, posting my frustrations publicly probably wasn't the best way but in a way I'm glad I did because it meant I found the person (or he found me) and we opened up a dialogue. Sometimes that is all you need. I'm glad we managed to talk it through and take a mature route around and got a better result in doing so. Maybe people aren't as scary as I sometimes think. But that is good and someone being brave enough to be the first to say, well that has restored my faith in people a little.
It took a few tries to get the prescription through (pred was the sticking point as usual, probably because its something sometimes I need more of it than others, but after explaining it the doctor sorted me out) but it's done now so I can chill for a few days now. Today was so hot and muggy and my lungs really did not like it. I had a period where I was so exhausted that I just flopped and slept for a while. I think it was needed because when I woke up, I felt less dizzy and nauseous. I did make sure that I drank plenty of water as well because dehydration can be a killer in any situation, not just mine. I've been particularly attentive to the needs of my pets as well as they also don't like it when it's too hot.
My pets are well cared for and I take special care to make sure that they are comfortable and their welfare is objective number 1. When one of my guinea pigs had a poorly ear, I spent time making sure that his ear was cleaned daily, drops given to help with the wax and medication given to ensure that my boy was in as little pain as possible. He is doing so much better today and is more like the Tenzou we know and love. He's putting some weight back on and seems a lot better than he was at the start of the week. I really thought that we were going to lose him. Seeing him get better has been so worth it, I have had Tenzou for a long time and he is the sweetest little thing really. He always has time for a cuddle and he thanked my TLC earlier with kisses and as I was giving him his pain meds, he took the syringe off me!! Cheeky little lad! He is a cheeky boy. But he's MY cheeky boy and when he needed me to take care of him, I did. Even though I've been sick myself but that's the thing with me and animals. I have always had this love of animals and compassion for them. I will syringe-feed an animal every hour until he eats himself or sit there patiently with them. Seeing a good outcome is worth it, even if there haven't always been such good endings to the story. As I look around my living room, I smile as I watch all my animals being happy and comfortable.
I'm still working on a few things and will be chasing up leads for the family tree (so far I have managed to get some stuff done) and other things. What can I say? I like keeping myself busy and doing something a bit more productive than sitting around playing games (I do game but I do do other things too) and relying on others to do everything for me. I'm not really a lazy person when it comes down to it.
Loves
Wendy xx
Quick Update
10 years ago
