I am tempering myself from jumping for joy. This morning, for the first time in almost six months, my cheek and eye weren’t swollen on the left side. For the first time in months, it didn’t hurt to wash my face and dry it with a towel without sharp pain, making me cringe. I was able to put on some makeup without grimacing. I am hopeful the drugs are working.
Today is day four since I started the powerful antibiotics, Prednisone, nasal spray, and anti-mucosal meds. This morning I took the last 20 mg dose of Prednisone and will drop it down to 10 mg daily, starting tomorrow morning, for another five days. On Sunday, I will be off of all the meds, hoping none of these awful symptoms will return. If all goes well, I can return to living on my terms, not subject to these debilitating long-haul Covid-19 symptoms.
The outrageously itchy spots all over my body have almost completely stopped itching, and the redness is down by at least 75%. The Prednisone worked on the inflammation from the Covid-19 induced eczema that has kept me awake night after night over the past six months. Once entirely off the medication, I will begin sleeping better at night since it causes insomnia.
Last night, I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30 am, but I slept for almost six hours without waking up. I feel good today, especially with the improvement of the symptoms. Thanks to so many of our readers who’ve written offering love and support as I worked through these post-Omicron conditions. Now, I can stop writing about this rather than briefly mentioning my continued progress in the next few weeks.
Today’s date, October 18, always is on my mind since it’s the anniversary of my father’s death in 1960 when I was 12 years old. Today, it was 62 years ago. It’s hard to believe anything was 62 years ago, and I’m still here to remember it. But memories of my dear father will always remain in my heart and mind. He was a kind and gentle man with a great sense of humor and a profound ability to show love in countless ways. Never a year passes that I don’t think of him on this date.
We’ve had a lot of visitors this morning; kudus including Broken Horn; nyalas Norman, Nina, and Noah; Lollie (our sweet little pig), duiker couple Derek and Delilah; bushbuck Marigold; starling Vega; impala Chevy; nasty warthog Trouble; and a dozen or so helmeted guinea fowls.
There are too many impalas to feed them regularly. Fortunately, Tom only needs to clap his hands, and they run off, and our favorites stay behind, knowing the clapping is not directed at them. They don’t want the impalas around either.
Don’t get me wrong, we like impalas, but we can’t justify feeding 20 or 30 impalas each day. All the animals, including the impalas, look healthy and fit, although the bush is sparse with good food sources. The bush desperately needs rain; hopefully, the rainy season will begin soon.
We don’t mind the rain as long as the power stays on. Load shedding is at Stage Four this week, which means 7½ hours each day without power. Fortunately, lately, the power seems to return a half hour early, lessening the time the power is off for six hours a day, certainly enough to make us very mindful of the food in the refrigerator and freezer staying fresh.
We can no longer grocery shop for two weeks at a time since it’s too risky to keep the food safe with the frequent load shedding. On Thursday, we’ll head out to Komatipoort to the pharmacy to pick up the 1000 – 50 mg vitamin B6 tablets we ordered last week. Tom takes three tablets a day to prevent kidney stones, for which he had surgery three consecutive years before starting the B6.
After the three surgeries, we asked the doctor in the US what Tom could do to prevent the stones, and flippantly he said some people have had success with Vitamin B6. Why didn’t he tell us about that earlier? Tom’s been taking it for 17 years and has not had a recurrence. Go figure. Here’s a study with detailed information about using B6 for kidney stone prevention. Please check with your medical professionals to see if this supplement can benefit you if you suffer from frequent kidney stones.
That’s it for today, folks. Next week, once I am done with the medications, we will head back into Kruger. We hadn’t been there in almost a month when friends Jeff, Connie, and Lindsey were here, and Jeff was able to see wildlife before he passed away at our house on September 21. Connie and the adult kids are doing well and busy with the two memorial services held for Jeff in Excelsior, Minnesota, and Howard, South Dakota. We are with them in our hearts and spirit during this painful time.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, October 18, 2021:
Remembering my wonderful Uncle George, he was the most loving, caring and wonderful person.
I am happy to hear that you are feeling better, missing and love you.
Sending my love to you and Tom.
Thank you, my darling cousin. I remember he adored you too. Can’t wait to see you next September.
Much love,
Jess & Tom