Somewhat Briefly
(my words aren't exactly working, so please bare with me)
I've got innumerable crazy good things going on here back at Nursing Home Headquarters
Highlights:
The appointment with the neurologist went well (tests scheduled).. not all that physically taxing either.
My Medical Advocate listened-in (contributed) during Thursday's office visit (she's been a REAL find).
I am spending upwards of seven peacefully quiet hours per day outside in the courtyard.
I'm clean (many showers.. tolerating well).
I made a guy friend here.. gonna teach him how to play ukulele.
My recovery time from physical exertion still runs 5 to 6 hours (before muscle strength returns to baseline), but I've decided to push through, not allowing the exhaustion to interrupt my outdoor time (would rather pass out in the quiet 80° than deal with the internal noise).
And I keep having these notable interactions with others..
And I can't quite explain with words (even having written several thousand). Really. It's some kind of joyous otherworldly "something" that's beyond my ability to comprehend. That's one of the reasons why I've not been able to blog of late. I do not know how to explain things as they currently are, or even if I should. I'm experiencing this weird connectedness with at least one individual daily.
Okay, next…..
Under Influence, Under Sun
Mid Saturday morning, 17 minutes under the sun I spent.
Hooray, right? At long last, Vitamin D!!!
Sunday and Monday and most of the day Tuesday. A little red, my skin became, but my discomfort was next to nil.
Tuesday night. Pain. Everywhere. As though I was physically bruised and battered. Angry red, skin sweltering, hot to touch and baked thoroughly through I could not fend.
Oddly, no treatments available besides A and D ointment and a singular ice pack (apparently we have an ice shortage here in the desert.. which somehow makes sense). Then the following day (by my own recognizing) I discovered that I had Hell's Itch. Yes, that's what it's called. And according to the internet….
Hell's itch is a rare, extremely uncomfortable response to a sunburn.
Dr Rekha Tailor, a skin care expert who runs Health and Aesthetics, told The Sun: "We all know that the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause serious damage to skin.
"Sometimes sunburn can escalate to a condition called ‘hell’s itch’.
"This is an extremely rare reaction which occurs approximately 48 hours after the sunburn has taken place and it will last for a similar amount of time.
"It’s basically a severe and uncontrollable itch which can also feel like pins and needles.
"It can feel incredibly painful and whilst there’s little research about it sufferers have reported that it feels like there’s a fire underneath their skin."
So, hooray for me!
Today, finally, it wasn't so bad. The pain and itching subsided (despite the nursing staff having been unable to treat me - besides refreezing and re-using that darned lone ice pack!).
The lesson? Don't be me 17 minutes under the sun six long hellish years after having had absolutely none.
Not Really Mania ----
I unleashed an impromptu comedy stand-up routine (while laying down on the stretcher) at the neurologists office today in front of a partially captivated audience (in the reception area).
It was like, bam, bam, bam! Ceaseless riffing on this and that while repeatedly hitting on the ultimate perfect best answers to questions unasked and innumerable comebacks outwardly flowing followed by rogue commentary wrapped around deft phrases aptly construed ------
Yeah. That's how it was and how it's been. Each day, a similarly improvised event, an internal back and forth experienced outwardly by another or other human members gathered.
And what this is, and what these are, I think ... are bouts of total clarity in purpose without design. It's my mind flowing unimpeded by contradiction, a succession of internal agreements, a cohesiveness, machinery perfectly in sync for fleeting moments in times of grace.
These experiences seldom do occur, perhaps once yearly and possibly twice at most. But not daily like this.
And that's the best I can explain what's now happening. With words I am trying, and with words I am falling short. It's as though there's this incredible intensity in experience. Nothing missed. Everything gained.
Howard
(my words aren't exactly working, so please bare with me)
I've got innumerable crazy good things going on here back at Nursing Home Headquarters
Highlights:
The appointment with the neurologist went well (tests scheduled).. not all that physically taxing either.
My Medical Advocate listened-in (contributed) during Thursday's office visit (she's been a REAL find).
I am spending upwards of seven peacefully quiet hours per day outside in the courtyard.
I'm clean (many showers.. tolerating well).
I made a guy friend here.. gonna teach him how to play ukulele.
My recovery time from physical exertion still runs 5 to 6 hours (before muscle strength returns to baseline), but I've decided to push through, not allowing the exhaustion to interrupt my outdoor time (would rather pass out in the quiet 80° than deal with the internal noise).
And I keep having these notable interactions with others..
And I can't quite explain with words (even having written several thousand). Really. It's some kind of joyous otherworldly "something" that's beyond my ability to comprehend. That's one of the reasons why I've not been able to blog of late. I do not know how to explain things as they currently are, or even if I should. I'm experiencing this weird connectedness with at least one individual daily.
Okay, next…..
Under Influence, Under Sun
Mid Saturday morning, 17 minutes under the sun I spent.
Hooray, right? At long last, Vitamin D!!!
Sunday and Monday and most of the day Tuesday. A little red, my skin became, but my discomfort was next to nil.
Tuesday night. Pain. Everywhere. As though I was physically bruised and battered. Angry red, skin sweltering, hot to touch and baked thoroughly through I could not fend.
Oddly, no treatments available besides A and D ointment and a singular ice pack (apparently we have an ice shortage here in the desert.. which somehow makes sense). Then the following day (by my own recognizing) I discovered that I had Hell's Itch. Yes, that's what it's called. And according to the internet….
Hell's itch is a rare, extremely uncomfortable response to a sunburn.
Dr Rekha Tailor, a skin care expert who runs Health and Aesthetics, told The Sun: "We all know that the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause serious damage to skin.
"Sometimes sunburn can escalate to a condition called ‘hell’s itch’.
"This is an extremely rare reaction which occurs approximately 48 hours after the sunburn has taken place and it will last for a similar amount of time.
"It’s basically a severe and uncontrollable itch which can also feel like pins and needles.
"It can feel incredibly painful and whilst there’s little research about it sufferers have reported that it feels like there’s a fire underneath their skin."
So, hooray for me!
Today, finally, it wasn't so bad. The pain and itching subsided (despite the nursing staff having been unable to treat me - besides refreezing and re-using that darned lone ice pack!).
The lesson? Don't be me 17 minutes under the sun six long hellish years after having had absolutely none.
Not Really Mania ----
I unleashed an impromptu comedy stand-up routine (while laying down on the stretcher) at the neurologists office today in front of a partially captivated audience (in the reception area).
It was like, bam, bam, bam! Ceaseless riffing on this and that while repeatedly hitting on the ultimate perfect best answers to questions unasked and innumerable comebacks outwardly flowing followed by rogue commentary wrapped around deft phrases aptly construed ------
Yeah. That's how it was and how it's been. Each day, a similarly improvised event, an internal back and forth experienced outwardly by another or other human members gathered.
And what this is, and what these are, I think ... are bouts of total clarity in purpose without design. It's my mind flowing unimpeded by contradiction, a succession of internal agreements, a cohesiveness, machinery perfectly in sync for fleeting moments in times of grace.
These experiences seldom do occur, perhaps once yearly and possibly twice at most. But not daily like this.
And that's the best I can explain what's now happening. With words I am trying, and with words I am falling short. It's as though there's this incredible intensity in experience. Nothing missed. Everything gained.
Howard