Two Subjects: My Friend; Illness

Friend: Yesterday I met a friend for breakfast. We live equal driving distance from a town in the Hudson Valley and meet there, with me driving south 30 minutes and her driving north 30 minutes. We always have a lot to talk about, because even though we email almost daily, it doesn’t take the place of, or satisfy as much as, talking face-to-face. The diner in which we planned to have breakfast was closed, so we went to McDonald’s instead. That’s fine. McD’s doesn’t care if we sit and talk for three hours, which is what we did.

Meeting this friend is always special and fun. We share laughter and tears. It eases our sorrows and reinforces what's good in our lives. I always come home feeling refreshed and happy.

Sickness: In January I had what I thought was a lower intestinal bug, only it lingered far longer than a little bug should. All told, I was sick for five weeks, with the middle three being the worst. The good part was I lost 12 pounds, and have kept 10 of them off. The bad part was as time went by, I got weaker and weaker and my entire life was arranged around what to eat or what not to eat -- not that I had much of an appetite anyway -- when to eat and, “Where is the restroom.” I felt so weak and sick at the end, that I had to cancel taking care of Ember. The symptoms went away on their own in February, rather slowly as they had started slowlyl in January.

It was a coincidence that, before getting sick, I had a colonoscopy scheduled for the beginning of February. You may say, “Ewwwwww,” which was my reaction when the doctor suggested it when I turned 50, but at the advanced age of 58, it made sense to me to have this preventative procedure.

According to the doctor, after viewing results of the colonoscopy, I have lymphocitic (often called lymphatic, lymphocytic, or microscopic) colitis. It’s not related to cancer, as the word lymphocitic might suggest. It is related to the lymph system and is an inflammatory bowel problem. It is not life threatening, though it can be life altering when one has to arrange every hour of every day around, “Where is the bathroom.”

Frankly, I thought the diagnosis was wrong. I thought that the four weeks prior to the colonoscopy that I had spent being sick would have skewed any test findings, thus resulting in this weird diagnosis. Therefore, I did not do a follow-up appointment with the doctor.

Now, though, I’m questioning my assumption because the past two days I have started feeling sick again. I’ve got that pain in my mid abdominal area that is exactly the pain I had in January, and this morning, I was very glad that our only bathroom was not occupied by my darling husband.

So I’m thinking I have to make an appointment and see the doctor. What a nuisance. I’ve never had a chronic problem. I’ve had very few tests, and hope to Goddess I don’t have to have more. The only medications I’m on are those associated with aging, that being a cholesterol drug and an HRT. The worst prospect, however, is that it’s not always successfully treated. No one knows the cause. There are many meds out there, but they don’t all work for all people, and what works today might not work next week!

Today’s Weather - It kind of sucks, much like the first half of March. We had a dusting of snow overnight. It’s cold (below 30). It’s a little bit breezy. It’s gray and bleak.

Life changes – Sickness. That one word is certainly a force to change one’s life. Nuf said.