• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

A Momentous Occasion

I had to share this right now. I went outside today for the first time since 2015 (besides hospital visits via ambulance, etc.). And I spent 77-minutes in the sunshine!!!

Exhilarating. Wow!

My skin is red and I'm even showing signs of being sunburnt, but heck… Vitamin D, right?

The physical therapist has given me permission to go outside any day of the week (on a stretcher sort of chair), as long as I can find someone to bring me out there.. which she feels won't be an issue. Yes, the whole event was extremely tiring, but there was no way I was passing up the opportunity..

Most of the time I was out there on my own, the exception being… birds! Lots and lots of birds gathering around me.. members of my flock. Or due to my unmoving stillness, I remained invisible to them. Or maybe a non-threat. A comrade in the making?

A few cirrus clouds swirling above, a burning ashtray bonfire that had to be put out with a hose, vines on the walls, a mutilated palm tree, all kinds of stucco, end to end sectioned concrete slabs, and a freshly planted flower bed set the scene.

And ouch! Yes, my toes are definitely sunburnt. And speaking of toes, she also trimmed my toenails while outside. It had been 8 months on those. And right now my whole body is sort of vibrating, and I am unsteady and shaking. My ears are still ringing loudly, as though a deafening rock concert was just moments ago attended. But again, all worth it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow!

So yeah, good stuff, huh? Including last week's once-every-six-years shower. Woohoo!

H

Comments

Excellent!!! The first really positive thing ... well, the second, counting the shower ... that they've done for you there.

And there's something really healing about bird-watching. Next time bring some crackers with you if you want to make feathery-friends-for-life ... or Cheeetos, chips, Fritos, small pieces of fruit, what have you .... they'll eat almost anything it they can get their little beaks around it ....

It's likely the staff keeps Saltines or something similar on hand for nausea .... ask your CNA for a few packets ....

Rock on, and stay chirpy !!!
 
This is so delightful to hear you got to enjoy the sunshine and about your exhilaration afterward. I hope you do this every day. I'll be jealous of your tan though.:lol:

Maybe the sun will help you sleep better at night.

Thanks for sharing your awesome moment with us.
 
Last edited:
this scrub jay- where we were staying in an RV in a friends back yard- he/she came in every day, and visited us to get unsalted not roasted peanuts.

Eventually- I discovered the scrub jay was singing this love song, in a whisper, to us, in order to charm us for these peanuts.

its the Love song they sing to their bird partner and its incredibly quiet and hardly audible. I could hear it about 3 feet away from the bird.

Franky. Like Frank Sinatra.

1636067155530.jpeg
 
20211104_143636.jpg


Been outside 2 hours thus far.... everybody is out here smoking, so that's not good... But WAY flipping better than the horrifically loud noise in my room.... He's got the tv blaring TMZ something, and some repeating country song going at the same time so I will be sleeping out here ... seriously, I wish I could!!!!
 
But WAY flipping better than the horrifically loud noise in my room

oh Nice....pretty soon the place will want to know when its Howard's Office Hours....you can chat up with the folks taking their breaks and getting some slightly "tainted" fresh air!

just so nice to change the scenery- this is called, "a Locational" in Scientology.
 
Made it past the three hour mark outside! There were times when I felt unwell and a bit overheated, but I was able to push past.

I have other additional positive happenings to report as well.. several, as a matter of fact. Stay tuned! :)
 
The sky is so blue in that picture--just lovely.

Whenever I see a sky like that my eyes just want to drink it in. Something about it settles a peace in my soul.

So now @Howard not only do you have your own blog, you can also become an official member of the "Sunny Day Went for a Walk" Thread. :D

Edit: Don't push too hard. You need all your reserves to deal with living in that place.
 
And there's something really healing about bird-watching. Next time bring some crackers with you if you want to make feathery-friends-for-life ... or Cheeetos, chips, Fritos, small pieces of fruit, what have you .... they'll eat almost anything it they can get their little beaks around it ....

Yes, I'm thrilled about the bird thing. And that's a great suggestion. It's just so wonderful watching them bop around. All sorts and varieties. I know virtually nothing about birds! Which is okay
 
Having your toenails cut makes you far less umkempt and dangerous

Definitely. I've been inadvertently slicing up my ankles with those razor sharp nails of mine. And oddly, these wounds seem to take forever to heal.



Oh wonderful... my roommate just had them open the window all the flippin' way with an assault team of leafblowers loudly blaring away... tree trimmers, ground rakers... and some grinding device.

After having the lights on since 330am--------

Anyway.... Yes Lenora, in retrospect I probably should have weaponized the toenails. LOL
 
Birds. They love calm quiet centered beings.

Yeah, non-human animals like me. Nice bird picture, too. My first and only pet growing up was a parakeet. I was initially against having the poor thing, suspecting it would be a nuisance, if nothing else... but the rest of the family abandoned him, so he and I became good buddies. He was around for seven years before my mother accidentally killed him with hairspray. He died as I held him.
 
Yeah, I think perhaps it did. I know there are all sorts of chemical reactions and interactions that transpire... :)
Vit D isn;t really a vitamin, it's a hormone, and it regulates way more than calcium concentrations.

It's entirely likely that your having been starved of ANY form of Vit D once your lamp died has a lot to do with your torturous sleep patterns and problems ...

So keep getting that sun, feed the birdies (you'll have them literally eating out of your hand in no time at all), and let the healing begin !!!
 
the finch, the baby chipmonk. these deaths tiny deaths affect us so.

My mom blew it and killed my turtle.

the entire concept of Pets, well I set that one aside. Except for Dogs. Or maybe a cat, under certain circumstances.

I'll enjoy the wild animals. I root for them to have a future.
 

Blog entry information

Author
Howard
Read time
2 min read
Views
1,487
Comments
19
Last update

More entries in User Blogs

  • Daily doodal dandy
    Just testing this out
  • Covid day 75
    Well since my last few updates I started to suffer from exhaustion and...
  • Pray
    If you pray, will you pray for me please? I have covid pneumonia and...

More entries from Howard