Zombie Blog !

Wheee ! Both this here blog and me are coming back from the dead ! Whoof. What can I tell ya'll, Summer 2016 has seriously lacked !

Sorry if I made anyone worry. I hadn't been feeling good for a while, so when I got a massive stomach-ache at the end of June, I knew my hernia had come calling, just to make the misery complete. Since it'd been nearly 20 hours by the time I called for help, my primary care Doc advised us to hit the VA ER. Three days later, I had a strangulated hernia operation – it was chewing on some intestine. Ick.

Surgery went well, it didn't even really hurt much. But with all my other health complications, recovery was long and exhausting. Spent my 50^th birthday and the 4^th of July in Critical Care, with zero appetite and little energy. But my guys were there for me, with balloons and glow sticks and some fun little things I could enjoy from my hospital bed. I was still wiped out when I was cleared to go home nearly a week later.

To make a long story short (too late !), more complications landed me back in the ER with a massive infection and a drain tube that I still have. If you've never had a drain bulb, don't look it up. If you have, then you'll know why I reacted like I'd gotten a Christmas present when my surgeon said we'll remove that Thursday. Hooray !

I'd barely been home for three days when I started having severe, crushing headaches, massive visual distortions, and sleep-all-day weakness. Back to the ER, seems a medicine conflict rendered me life-threatening dehydrated, and I was also taking two other medicines that left me wide open to a 'bleeding event'. That, along with my remarkably low blood pressure, meant another week and a half in the VA's tender care. I was feeling much better even before I was admitted, so this most recent stay was the most boring and restless one. Ever find yourself ridiculously happy when you find an unworked Sudoku in the left-behind waiting room newspaper ? Yes, that bored. At least Beloved Hubby visited nearly every day and often brought ginger ale and small, healthy treats (with my doctors' approval).

I just got home last week, and am finally enjoying some of the good health so many people have worked so hard to give me. Got plenty of rest, double-checked all my medicines and cleared up that last misunderstanding, and gave some thought to a lot of things. I wondered if this blog was worth saving, but ultimately, I missed it too much to kill it, although I may not post as frequently as before. So, with your kind, continued indulgence, I'm back ! I drove to a flea market yesterday and two thrifts today, so you know I'm feeling better.

Hope your summer was more memorable, for better reasons !