My birthday was exceptional – exceptionally quiet. I have officially put myself on rest while this cough/congestion heals and am shutting down any activities that are not vital for a week. That means the blog as well. I am pulling myself into self care hibernation – something I’ve never tried. Many people close to me have told me that I keep myself too busy and do too much for too many with detriment to my own well being despite good intentions all around. I think this is my biggest challenge in terms of self care. I also know this is common and so I invite anyone else who needs some self care hibernation to join in.
Day 110 – Chicken Broth and Chiropractor
I wish I had big news to share regarding my ear and cough but everything stayed status quo today. The jeans yesterday helped my mood but not this darn infection.
My self care involved cancelling my volunteer time at both of the kids’ schools, then making a big pot of chicken soup. I bought a fresh organic chicken, carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cooked them all together on the stove with a little seasoning for the afternoon. For someone who was a vegetarian for over 10 years and still only eats white meat and fish periodically, all I want when I am sick is homemade broth and today I made that happen. I drank almost half of it too.
My friend also texted me that she went to a chiropractor for her ear congestion and he made adjustments that allowed it to drain, immediately. That was all I needed to hear to call his office and was able to get in at 3:30pm. As a new patient, I had to go through the whole intake and initial exam which I’ve done at another chiropractor but felt like going to the one my friend recommended since she had success. Poor Emelia was with me for the two hours the process ended up taking.
After checking my alignment, he told me it looked like I have whiplash which threw me. I don’t know what I’ve done to put my neck in a position that he said should cause me discomfort and headaches which I don’t have. Maybe jumping on the trampoline with the kids…or falling down on a running trail when my ankle turns over? Oh well, he did adjust my ear which was not what I expected. I envisioned an adjustment of the neck close to the ear but he actually pulled on the lower, thick part of my lobe three or four times. He would rub then give a quick, hard tug. On the third time, I heard a click and now my ear feels warm in a soothing way though hasn’t cleared. I am heading back tomorrow too.
I’m kind of a bad patient for the doctor though. I almost didn’t take my antibiotics today as my ear is now ringing which is nasty on top of the congestion and tinnitus is a potential side effect (my worrier side kicking in I know but a stuffed ear with ringing does do things to one’s head 🙂 I don’t feel like I need the ear drops or the Mucinex as there is no pain and my nasal passages are clear. The inhaler has helped with the dry chest cough some so I used a couple of times. By 5:30pm today I gave in and took today’s does of the antibiotics and have two more days to go.
Yikes, all this medical talk. I want to go buy myself some flowers instead tomorrow which I might just do since it’s my birthday! My only wish besides love of family and friends? A drained ear!
Day 109 – Put On My Jeans Today
Ok, this ear, chest thing has not got the best of me. Today I put on jeans and that is when you know I’m feeling good (or trying my best to). I am one of the moms; you know the ones I’m talking about, that wear yoga pants or leggings 25 days out of every month. But today I showered, pulled on my faded jeans and said “I’m ready to meet the world.”
The miracle four prescriptions they handed me yesterday have not been a miracle but I feel 90% myself minus any hearing in my left ear. It is really starting to drive me crazy though – muted, swirling sound in my ear with a constant ring and the low beat of my heart playing in the background through a dense fog. This plays on my claustrophobia too (I can ride in elevators but don’t feel comfortable in small spaces but hey, I’m from the Canadian prairies so not surprising), because I can’t get away from the feeling or sound. According to the nurse I asked, there is no draining for ears. I have to wait this out and put my faith on the fierce antibiotic army attacking the nasties in my middle ear and it could take weeks before my hearing comes back completely. I want to scream.
But I won’t. Deep breath. Aside from wearing my jeans today, I prepped dinner early so was uber prepared for our busy evening of gymnastics, girl scouts and book reports. And I made time for a 10 minute pause on the couch this afternoon to admire the view out of a small round window we have in our living room. Pink blossoms now adorn the tree branches and make the window look like a painting. Spring is definitely here. Now if only I could hear the birds chirping…
Day 108 – An End in Sight
Not one, but four prescriptions came out of my visit to the medical clinic today. The ear pain hit in the middle of the night and I woke up with a fever so couldn’t wait for my naturopath appointment at 2pm and they couldn’t see me any earlier.
The clinic visit was surprisingly very pleasant – new offices just down the road and I only waited for twenty minutes before getting seen. The cough I started with was likely viral but it seems I made it worse going on the camping trip and in my determination to not slow down, so that I also got a bacterial infection in my ears.
After poking around my ears and listening to my breathing, the young doctor determined there is fluid in my lungs, infection in both ears plus my elevated temperature. Yikes. I’ve never had antibiotics as an adult until today. I also have an inhaler which I’ve never tried, Mucinex tablets (hate those commercials) and ear drops for the pain. I literally passed out all afternoon and just now found some energy later in the day along with a normal temperature. Unfortunately my ear is still blocked though with slightly less pain.
I am very grateful for the friends who helped me out with bringing Emelia home from school today and taking her to dance. Another friend just finished a batch of kombucha so as soon as I am done with the medicine I will be sipping on the golden liquid in the glass bottle she gave me as a means to regenerate the healthy bacteria I want in my digestive system. Yum. Emelia rubbed my head and brought me a water bottle and Nicholas kept giving me hugs so I may not have been able to do wonders for my own self care today, but I had others taking care of me. I see light now. Finally.
Day 107 – Back to Basics
I am highlighting some of the basic self care I started within the last 107 days and since starting this blog. I want to focus there instead of on my crazy ear which I will update on as well.
I have not been drinking coffee for quite awhile and like the way I feel. I never drank coffee until in my 30’s and had forgotten how it was to not drink it. I feel clearer is the best way to describe it. I never did need it for energy so no difference there. I am carrying around my tea thermos constantly and sipping away on any flavor I can find that calls to me – lemon ginger, orange, skin detox, licorice, stinging nettle, etc. Washing my face and moisturizing day and night is now routine. It really is true what they say about forming a habit – give it time and anything can become a habit. I am massaging oil on the recent scar from the Moh’s surgery on my forehead and it is has healed so that the redness is minimal but there is still a bump. These small acts of self care take very little time, don’t interfere with my day and are so worth it.
As for the ear, nothing I have done has cleared up the blockage that feels like warm tar filling up the left side of my head and pushing out hard on my eardrum. I called my naturopath who is my general practitioner and have an appointment tomorrow. I am ready to beg for someone to drain it anyhow, anyway they can. I gave up on Sudafed and tonight I am trying Benadryl which I read about on several websites for drying up lasting ear congestion.
Ironically I never had anything like this as a kid, same as lice which my son brought home three years ago from school. I would have been happy escaping both experiences but I guess I should consider myself lucky that I’ve not been plagued by sinus or ear congestion like many people I know. I don’t really eat dairy as I’ve heard that can cause similar symptoms so not sure what else to do hence the doctor’s appointment.
Hopefully no more ear talk very soon. I have other ideas for self-kindness to get started on.
Day 106 – Broken Record
I fear I’ll sound like a broken record if I go into the details of my day. All is status quo despite trying Sudafed so no wonder miracle there. More tea, fresh air and rest. I squeezed in a 20 minute hot Epsom salt lavender bath by jotting upstairs after dinner and setting my timer so that we would get Emelia to bed on time for her first day back to school in over a week tomorrow. The twenty minutes was joyful and I thought I detected liquid movement in my ear canal. Someone mentioned a Neti pot to me today. Never tried but totally open.
It looks like I will be calling my naturopath tomorrow unless I wake up with my hearing again and without the cough.
Day 105 – Bootcamp, Sudafed and Spring Flowers
I didn’t care if I was still hacking this morning. I went to bootcamp and loved it. My energy is high otherwise I would have stayed home to rest but my body wanted the workout and so I followed suit. My nasty cough slowed me down a little and that’s okay. The days are getting lighter and warmer which means 7am bootcamp on a Saturday is easier to stomach minus the rain and dark.
I finally stopped by a pharmacy later in the afternoon to ask what they recommended for this stubborn cough/stuffed ear and the kind, smiling man in the white coat suggested Sudafed. I’m game at this point. I am on my second dose of the day and so far I don’t feel any movement in my plugged ear or soothing to my chest. I drank more tea, used the silver colloidal drops in my ear and rested a lot again today. I’m just not used to being sick for this long or in this nagging, not letting up kind of way.
There are spring blossoms popping up everywhere and I can’t wait to take some photos. I grabbed a quick shot of the pots Emelia and I planted last Sunday with blooms already coming in. The yellow daffodil popped out while we were at gymnastics today. Oh the wonders of nature.
Day 104 – Still Recovering
I slept unusually late – 9am – then tore into the day with renewed energy washing clothes, putting away gear, serving the kids breakfast then driving to Costco for the dreaded Costco shop that I’ve been delaying for two months.
I drank an herbal detox tea all day in an attempt to warm and soothe my throat and chest now that the cough is back with vengeance. I made time to run an edit on my friend’s blog piece which was extremely emotional and engaging. It definitely felt good to get back into editing mode.
My self care is early to bed this evening – in reality I’ve been sleeping off and on since 7pm on the couch while attempting to watch the movie, Frank, with Kris. It turns out my body still isn’t ready to get back to technology because my brain refused to click into the storyline or show any interest in staring at the screen. My humidifier is going again, I’m sucking an herbal lemon drop and just sipped my apple cider vinegar drink non-kombucha style. Instead I warmed filtered water in the kettle until lukewarm then mixed in the apple cider.
I also went through my photos and reduced the number of usable pictures to 790. Here are two for your enjoyment – the sign at the entryway into the Islandwood property and a deer that stopped to visit while I was walking alone in the woods.
Day 103 – Recovery Begins
I feel like a bus just hit me but in a good way. The camping (gorgeous lodge stay) experience with the group of 60+ 5th Graders over four days was exhilarating, fun, inspiring, beautiful and absolutely exhausting. I started the trip off with a nasty cough and plugged left ear and unfortunately it only got worse. Early on in the trip I decided to view my impaired hearing as a bonus, especially on the prolonged bus ride due to a breakdown. Fortunately, everyone forgot about that shortly after arriving in the green oasis that is Islandwood on Bainbridge Island.
I have done a quick peak over the nearly 1,000 pictures I took and am happy with the results. Tonight I am leaving them in place on my camera – saved for a clear head and rested heart. My next goal is to create a slide show movie capturing the experience that can be shared with the kids and their parents. I’m looking forward to the project.
Tonight though, my head and body are all about self care. I didn’t make myself a smoothie or take a long luxurious bath even though my hair hasn’t been washed since Monday morning. Nope. I had quality time with Emelia who I missed immensely – she gave me the biggest and longest squeeze when I picked her up from camp today around 4pm. Lovvvved that.
I then took a nap and shortly after relaxed for the rest of the evening with my family while ignoring the luggage and gear waiting to be tended to in our front entrance. I decided to ‘let it sit.” No unpacking for me tonight. My humidifier is going and I just finished my tea and honey. Camp recovery is fully underway.
Day 100 + 101 – Self Care in the Woods
I am keeping this brief to say self care has been a non issue here on the 5th Grade camping trip. I have no working cell phone, no car, no shopping, cooking or cleaning and the sun is shining. Kids are happy too.
Nature cancels out the stressors and the staff at this camp take care of almost everything else. I have taken almost 600 photos and we are only half way through. Time to get some sleep. I am skipping a post tomorrow since it is our last full day here and I want to live without the connectivity while I can. This is bliss.
365 Days of Self Care 