I'm feeling about 80% normal now. I'm fairly certain my illness was in fact pneumonia. My doc put me on some macrolide antibiotics and within 36 hours I was feeling like a new woman. I still have a hard time clearing my chest first thing when I wake up, but it's nothing like it was, thank goodness.
A little family-owned candle store that I worked at for several years in high school is closing, I just found out. It had been there for decades, and was a landmark in my little hometown. The owners are wonderful people. Cathy was supportive of me when I went to college early, always interested in how I was doing in my schoolwork, always willing to work with my schedule, and she even make a little care package of really nice shea butter body products for my sister when she joined the Air Force. She had never even met my sister.
Her husband was a hilarious gentleman named Bob who loved the Beatles and the principles of independence and self reliance ("and it pisses me off that all of a sudden I turn 65 and I have to join up with this government healthcare program and lose my old coverage!!"). He unfortunately passed away several years ago from a stroke, only a year after receiving a lung transplant. I still think of him often, and his spunky attitude that persisted despite his dependence on a portable oxygen tank.
It breaks my heart to see that place close, and not only because I've developed a serious dependence on high-quality essential-oil fragranced candles and rich shea butter soaps. It's a sure sign of the hard times we're living in, and another stepping stone in the path that is laid for my hometown from independent small businesses to vacant storefronts and chain businesses.
4 comments:
I read a blog one time where the guy got his bees in the mail. However, he didn't know that the queen bee was in a separate container and so he never released her and the colony died. I feel goofy passing that along, but it would be a shame to get a colony of bees and not know...and then they all die.
Oh...and one more thing I thought you might be interested in...(and if you're not...I'll butt out now);)
One of my homeopathic/natural medicine friends swears by this for her family AND her chickens!!! Thought you might appreciate under your current health circumstances. I made some myself and it is pretty fantastic. Hope you're back to 100% soon.
Dr. Schultz's Plague Formula (From Organic Chicken Forum)
1 handful each of onion, garlic (regular, not elephant, which is not a true garlic), ginger, hot peppers and horse radish.
Chop coarsely and put into a blender.
Add enough Organic Apple Cider Vinegar to cover and process.
Blend fairly well. Does not have to be smooth.
Pour in a glass jar.
Put wax paper under the lid, so no metal can come into contact with mixture...acid in vinegar (or use a plastic lid).
After it settles down, there should be about 3/4 inch of vinegar covering the pulp.
Sit in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks.
Shake or stir 1 to 2 times per day.
Take 1 - 3 tablespoons per day. If you cannot take that much, start with less and work up to it. The more you take, the more you will build up your hot tolerance. Yes, give to your children and chickens. This tonic will get you well and help you stay well. You do not have to refrigerate it - nothing will live in it. If you take this, you should not get sick with colds, flu, etc. this winter. If I had sickly or confined chickens, I would put some in their water every day (remember to use a plastic watering container not metal...due to the acid in vinegar).
The pulp can be used as a relish on food - quite tasty! Or feed it to the chickens - they cannot taste hot.
Thanks! I have heard of folks killing their colonies by not unplugging the queen's cage and I'm hoping between our two brains, Honeybunch and I will remember to do that!
Thank you for the recipe! I have used a similar formula in the past with success, it really helps clear the sinuses out, that's for sure. And I've been giving ACV and garlic to the chickiechickiepeeperpants clan to help them absorb minerals and kill any GI parasites, they love that stuff!
Diatomaceous Earth (food grade only) is great stuff for internal parasites as well. I put it in their food and on all the cracks of their roosting perches as it is a great preventative for lice and mites. If it gets wet though...they say it's no good anymore.
Regarding work...I think every workplace has its own set of problems. Whe the going gets rough...I realize that I'm one damn person and I can only do my best. No sense getting an ulcer over the current situation. Do your best. Realize you're only one person. I'm sure your patients appreciate your efforts even though their sick and might not be up to being appreciative in the moment. You sound like you're good at what you do. I'd want you as my nurse if I were sick.
I think back to the post you wrote where the elderly man was having a hard time letting go even though his body was failing him. I think you shoulda gone with your instinct and held his hand- letting him know that you were there with him and that it was okay to go on to his next adventure. Your instinct was good. If your instinct is telling you that maybe it's time to find something that resonates better...then maybe it's time. However, for now, it helps pay your bills, gives you the money you need to buy bees, chicks, feed, houses, etc.
You're only one damn person.
Do your best.
Know people DO appreciate all that you do even if they don't tell you and
smile.
Thank you for the encouragement. What's so upsetting isn't really the lack of appreciation from the patients... that is part of the job, and part of the nature of the nurse-patient relationship... but more so the lack of gratitude from the administration. They seem to have no idea what reality is like on the floor, mandating policies and making decisions based on finances and not patient safety or worker satisfaction, and they have no positive feedback to give us based on the massive amount of hard work that every single staff member is putting in on a daily basis. That is what really frustrates the rest of the nursing staff and I.
But this is why we have weekends, right? To rest, recover, and forget enough of how dreadful the work week was to go back in and do it all over again?? :)
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