She said it would be a momentary discomfort…

A Pile of Gratitude

Other than the minutes I was actually having a heart attack these past few days are the worse I’ve felt in a long, long time. I knew something was different when the nursing staff donned masks and gloves to work on me — both at my family doctor’s office and at the hospital lab.

A nasal virgin, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the long swabs in the technician’s hand.  “You may find your eyes tear a bit” she said, before pushing the first toward my brain.  First came the sense that it shouldn’t be there, then the acknowledgement that she reached the end followed by the simultaneous realization she was still pushing further as discomfort changed to a slight burn to a sharp pain.

“That wasn’t so bad.” she said as she readied the second.  I understood now why she wore a mask — so I wouldn’t recognize her in public.  A series of throat swabs were equally distressing.  The encounter reminded me of conversations with riders who ventured out in the winter not fully understanding what they were about to encounter.  I thought I was getting a blood test.

As much as I could the past few days, mentally straddling the real world and a netherworld, I’ve been thinking of the changes in my life the past few years.  The medications in the photograph represent the sum total of medical science bearing down on me.  Some I take daily to stay alive, some weekly to keep my body from chewing its joints apart, and others specific for the matter at hand.  It’s stunning what they represent — I’m wearing out.  And unlike a Vespa that wears out I can’t trade myself in.  So my doctor and I keep tinkering like old mechanics to keep me running.

I’m grateful for the medical care I can access.  The situation is just another event on the path that I need only accept and figure out what to do next.  As I write my sinuses are just beginning to clear enough that I don’t have to breath solely through my mouth.

Silver Lining to Being Sick — Sort Of

There is a bright side to the sleeping and laying around — there’s been opportunities to dream.  I’ve looked at and read about the new Fujifilm X-Pro2 Body Professional Mirrorless Camera and plotted out an entire system.  And while imagining life with the new Triumph Street Twin motorcycle I found myself in an email conversation with moto-journalist Frank Melling who did a great review of the bike.  He’s got a new book out that I’m planning to buy that recounts his story of motorcycling and journalism.  The book, A Penguin In A Sparrow’s Nest: The Story of a Freelance Motorcycling Journalist looks like a fine read.  I’ll write a bit more about him when I’m out of the desert.

So no riding, just trying to recover before anything bad happens.  I’m grateful to have the chance.