When It Rains It Pours
Feels like the universe is out to get me. Us. Kim and I. Osteomyelitis for her followed by six weeks of IV antibiotic infusions. A severe reaction to the medicine followed by six more weeks with another mix. So I’m on a strict schedule administering the antibiotics and then find a tick followed by “the rash.” As I down the daily dose of doxycycline I find myself reciting “patience and perseverance.”
Sometimes you just have to buck up and deal with whatever comes along.
Slow Down, Be Patient, Everything Will Return to Normal
Normal. What’s that?
Life is whatever it is right now. Today. And right now I can only make the best of the time on hand and the situation I find myself in. It’s strange to find the world being constrained to a smaller and smaller landscape of activity but it’s neither unpleasant or uncomfortable. As long as I accept the reality of the situation and not delve into the cosmic question of “Why is this happening?”
So a day at a time Kim and I move through this new normal. Slowly, with patience and perseverance.
I do have time between infusions to do some things. It took awhile to realize that. There’s time to write, make photographs, ride, clean the garage, service the Vespa, and pretty much do anything that can be accomplished in six hours or less and has me home at 8am, 4pm and midnight.
On Photography
I’ve been working — shooting 35mm black and white film, and shooting digital images. Slowly a few projects are becoming clear and along with the warmer weather will come a more focused effort on them.
And I’ve begun sketching out a way to create a section on this website for photography. Need to polish a few of my WordPress skills first.
Maintaining Connections
Amidst the process of doing IV pushes and Heparin flushes I’m making time to connect with friends. Scheduling is a bit dicey with sudden changes always a possibility but it is good to get out and talk.
And I wanted to take a few minutes to connect here on Scooter in the Sticks as well. I’m still here and looking forward to more riding and photography. Warm weather is on the horizon and all things medical seem to have stabilized.
For now…
Hope the new treatments are working better for Kim! We recently had a scare with our youngest son Miles and a med that he was recently prescribed, suffice to say the side effects were caught in time and he’s off that crap.
No ticks here Steve, just saying. I look forward to the day you and Kim can travel out here and do some riding….of course you’ll have to stay with us.
So far no adverse reactions to the new mix of antibiotics. Grateful that there’s something to treat the infection. And that we have health insurance. I shudder to think how much this all would cost.
Gee Dom, you’ve moved from suggesting URALs to now Colorado as a tick free environment! *GRIN*
I hope one day Kim and I can get out West. That would be a dream.
Take good care of yourselves and I will include you and Kim in my prayers for full healing
Thank you Karl. We appreciate your prayers.
It’s good that you have the doggo’s for company. Lynne says you included a picture of your favorite model, Paul.
The dogs are great company. Junior is on the floor just three feet away. Paul is a favored model because he’s often nearby and he doesn’t care about the camera. A perfect mix.
I got to this post in the afternoon and instead of waiting till morning coffee I decided to set down and read it this afternoon. At first glance at the photo and the drug info, I got up and went and mixed a drug concoction of my own, a lemon drop martini and returned and started at the top again. I continue to admire your outlook at the world and what it throws at you in such a positive light. It is a inspiration to us all.
ps: I will be riding through PA in late May and would love to share a coffee at anyone of your fine establishments. Actually, we don’t even have to share. I will buy one for each of us.
I’m being a rebel posting in the afternoon. Sorry to upset your schedule and causing you to have to substitute a martini for coffee!
Staying positive has more benefits I think than the alternative. Especially in times of uncertainty. The clock just struck 12 midnight. Time to scrub, prepare the saline flushes and Heparin, and do the last infusion before I sleep.
Look forward to seeing you in late May. Drop me an email and let me know the details. Always love seeing scooter legends!
Thanks for keeping “us” updated Steve on life’s trials for both you and Kim. I’m trying to get better at accepting each day as it is, not as I wish it would be. Makes life smoother. My best to you both – keep on keepin’ on!
You’re right about life being easier when you accept the days as they are and not as you wish they would be. Easy to say. Hard to do.
Thank you for your well wishes — both Kim and I appreciate them.
Good grief! Just remember, it could always be worse. Weird how stuff seems to happen in clumps. Hang in there.
I’m hanging!
As Kathy said, keep on hanging on. Things will get better. Sure hope the new meds work. Side effects can be worse that the meds themselves as it sounds as though you two are finding out.
We’re hanging in. Another month of infusions and then a few weeks off before another MRI to assess the spine. Fingers crossed for good news.
Good luck with your medications. I don’t rememeber the last time I used a 35mm black and white film. Do they still make those?
Lots of film still available in black and white — Kodak, Ilford, Foma, and others. It’s an antique process now I suppose.
Oh my, I am so far behind in my reading, as always, but I came across your post about Kim’s emergency visit and had to catch up quickly on all your recent posts. It does seem that things like this happen in quantities that make one convinced that the universe is, indeed, out to get you. I am sending positive vibes and thoughts, and hoping that things get better as quickly as possible!
Thank you for the positive vibes. Much appreciated. Just finished the midnight infusion. Off to dreamland for a few hours before the next one!
Whew…just coming up for air here myself! (Several days wrestling with an artist-client’s dead iMac, which hasn’t been fun.)
I’m having to keep mindful of the fact that you and Kim are mending from different things, and those meds can send you ’round the bend at least a bit. Hoping (and believing) all this will get lighter on the shoulders before terribly long.
Yes, 35mm is totally in my wheelhouse…has been for, golly, the better part of fifty years. My go-to B&W has been Ilford XP2 Super, based on the fact that (1) it has miles of tonal range and latitude, (2) has crazy-tight grain, and (3) is C41-compatible, which is the proverbial godsend for me as I continue to clear out/clean up the basement for future darkroom action for me and the wife.
Funny thing is, and old friend laid a Hasselblad 500c/m kit on me totally by surprise (long story): body, two film backs, standard-issue 80mm f/2.8 and 140 f/4 macro. Wasn’t sure what I’d do with it, but now I’m going to get a 60° prism finder, hood and strap, and actually do the medium-format thing for the first time in, well, nearly fifty years. (It helps that Le Wife gifted me an Epson V800 scanner for my birthday in January, helping me decide on keeping the Hassy.)
Really looking forward to the film side of your photo work. You’ve already inspired me to dust of and revive my long-dormant WordPress site.
Y’all get well now, hear?
Damn. Typed a long note and inadvertently deleted it. So you’ll get a redacted, shortened, abbreviated version. Sorry.
Kim and I are doing better. Fingers crossed that the infection in her spine is gone. See a neurosurgeon next month.
Never warmed to the C41 B&W film. Locked into decades of TriX and HP5. Having a darkroom makes it all a lot easier.
Have considered buying a used Hasselblad more than once. So far haven’t pulled the trigger. Perhaps I never will since I’m happy with the 35mm work. Hope to get it posted on the blog at some point. Right now I’m trying to figure the best way to present — on WordPress as part of Scooter in the Sticks or on a separate Squarespace site. Squarespace is more elegant but not sure I want to run two sites.
That’s the news from Boalsburg.
Good grief! Hoping things improve steadily!
Slow but steady improvement. Or so it seems. We’re trying to be patient!