08/20/2023
Hi guys!
Guess what? I've been on vacation for a week and a half! Bet you never even noticed! (No, no...you likely noticed because I forgot to publish this last week. Apologies.)
It's been a great time, even though we had some bumps in the road.
We've been staying in Wisconsin for the most part, with forays into Minnesota. I got to see Lake Superior from close up, went to a nice little brewery restaurant, and did some shopping in Duluth.
Then I got COVID. Then my sister in law got COVID. Then my husband, brother in law, father in law and younger son got it. We almost made it, but my mother in law, who is immunocompromised, contracted it in the last couple of days, necessitating an antiviral med being prescribed from afar. So far, we've managed to keep the youngest of us, my nebling, healthy, as far as we can tell. Of course, children have the highest percentage of being asymptomatic carriers, so we're all still masking anyway to see if we can keep them from being symptomatic.
It's been a hell of a time, really. We've all been sick to varying degrees, and are all on edge, trying to live that mask life again when most of us haven't had to for several months. Heck, I was just able to stop masking in mid May due to therapy (the last thing you want when you have brain damage is *another* brain issue, so they were more cautious than hospitals).
I made it through ok. Sore throat, nasty barking cough, fever, exhaustion (I'm usually exhausted so not really a big change there). I even napped a couple times. Still having a little asthma going on, and I did end up with a bit more dizziness, hopefully temporarily. (As of Sept 1, this is still a thing.)
At the moment, nearly a week from the first symptoms as of this writing, I'm mostly through it, aside from the asthma thing (which could be allergies) and the dizziness.
Honestly no big whoop there. I mean, it's life as I know it. Also, the desensitization exercises have done a lot of good. So all that making myself nauseated several times per week has been helpful.
The thing I've been most upset about is that I haven't been able to do some of the activities, as I was down with it early on. I missed a beach trip and a hiking day. We couldn't go to many museums (we did go to the train museum, which the kids really liked, and it was fun for the adults. We got to go on a little train excursion, too).
Upshot is, I really need to come back to Minnesota again. This is plausible, as my sister in law and her family live in the state. Heck, we might even move out here some day. It's a nice place.
This is the first vacation truly away from home that I've been on since the stroke. Even before the stroke, we couldn't go many places because my migraines were a problem. However, I imagine there will be other vacations in our future. All of my family live ages away, and some of them are maybe planning to move even farther away.
I think I'd like to visit my sister sometime in the next few years. I haven't seen her since she was up after the stroke, and I only barely remember it. I'd really like to visit my best friend, as she's also far away, and has bought a house I haven't even seen yet. Plus, adorably enough, her son and my youngest get along really well.
So that's the update for this week. I'm a little tired now, and also need to get my inhaler. Hope you all had a less ill week than we have! And have a couple of more healthy weeks until I publish again!
**Small addendum. I am still all done with the COVID nonsense. The dizziness did not, if fact, go away, but I'm back at the desensitizing to deal with the possibly new forever stuff. My MIR (mother in law) is finally on the mend. My husband ended up with a weird inner ear issue that should clear up in a few weeks, though it messes with his hearing a bit. Younger son and other relatives are none the worse for wear, and nebling stayed healthy! Not bad for a group of travelling people.**
