Bad Summer Adios
Posted Mon, 10/05/15
What a long, strange summer it was . . . and I'm so glad it's over.
Aside from the miserable heat, I was ill most of the summer. My ongoing problem with infections definitely got the better of me, culminating with a massive infection in my right leg (the very worst to date, and I've had some whoppers over the years). Being without health insurance, I had to deal with it myself and was down for most of September. I finally found some old antibiotics and began taking them. Within a few days, I began to feel better.
However, my cousin JoAnn directed me to a community clinic that accepts the uninsured. One of the side effects of my illness was blurry vision, so I didn't dare drive myself. JoAnn's niece (my second cousin) Jenna drove me to the clinic, which is about thirty miles away. I obtained new antibiotics, and went on to recover. The blurriness of my vision has since cleared up, and I almost feel human again.
Another problem the antibiotics cleared was my difficulty in breathing, which began last February after I suffered a relapse from an autumn 2014 chest cold. I couldn't walk from the living room to the kitchen without having to stop to catch my breath. It was scary. At one point during spring-early summer 2015, I stopped going to the grocery store because it was just too difficult and exhausting. I bought food essentials (dairy, bread, canned goods, frozen dinners) at Walgreens because the store is small and easier to navigate, and I ordered case lots of dog and cat food through Amazon (which turned out to be cheaper in the long run) because I just couldn't haul the heavy cans from the car to the house anymore. Instead, it was delivered to my doorstep.
Last month's round of antibiotics seemed to clear my breathing issues, leading me to believe I had some sort of infection in my lungs as well. Now I'm able to conduct business as usual, thankfully.
Also during the summer, the basement hallway, loo and laundry room flooded as the outside sewer pipes were finally crushed by tree roots. The old pipes were made of clay, which I believe were original to the house (built in the 1950s). It cost nearly ten thousand dollars by the time clean-up crews and plumbers finished.
Thankfully, my parents carry good homeowners insurance!
The picture below shows the downstairs hallway being dried by turbo fans, which went on for three days. They sounded more like jet engines than fans. There's also a photo taken after the carpet was replaced (at right).
(Above, left to right): Downstairs hallway being dried by turbo fans after flood (07/28/15), and after the carpet was replaced. Click on images to view larger sizes in a new window.
Again, I'm so glad the long miserable summer is over. Perhaps now I can get something worthwhile accomplished - knock on wood.
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