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A Day in the life....  

Entries in ways to embarrass yourself (4)

Tuesday
16Feb2010

The Meteor

DateTuesday, February 16, 2010 at 6:17AM

Not so long ago, following K3's being run over, TOG's bout with swine flu and the loss of TOG's step dad, Asthmagirl's boss took her out to lunch.

Asthmagirl must preface this further by saying that her boss inherited her from the CEO who retired last year. Thus althought they have worked together for 6 years, they have not worked TOGETHER. Their working relationship is still developing. So when he said lets go to lunch, she was not sure what to expect.]

After discussing the minor upheaval which was (is?) her life and how it might be handled at work, he looked at her and said "I swear I don't know what will happen to you next. I expect to recieve a call some morning saying that you can't come in because a meteor has struck your house."

Yet another digression here... Asthmagirl cannot seem to tell a story in sequence to save her life.

You know those people that have an occurrence in their life and then say things like "I knew it would happen to me!"? Asthmagirl is not that person. She is always utterly surprised because her glass is half full, is it not? This is why she never recognizes the Asthma Lungs barreling toward her until it is too late to dodge them.

So there the comment hung and Asthmagirl found herself rather amused by it. So much so that she shared it with a comrade at work, KT. Oh how they laughed... A meteor... [insert lilting laughter]. Then they joked about it. Was this the meteor? Was that the meteor? [insert more laughter except this time a scoffing guffaw, cuz REALLY...!]

And the reason Asthmagirl could joke about it so readily was that she never expected the meteor. Glass half full and all that... Thus, no one could be more surprised than our wheezy heroine to have the meteor knock on the door (metaphorically) and announce "It is I!"

As it turns out... Asthmagirl had a boo boo in her arm pit which TOG assured her was from over shaving. Except she hadn't. (what with caring for K3 and all, Asthmagirl has neglected certain procedures and is regretfylly rockin' 'a 5 o' clock shadow') So she went to the rookie Dr. because she didn't have time to drive all those miles to see Dr. M because K3 was having surgery the next day. The rookie Dr. said "this too shall pass" and Asthmagirl heaved a great sigh (as much as the lungs will allow) and thought 'crisis averted'! There was much rejoicing!

And then it came back except it was like it was Barry Bonds on a steroid bender and it was all going medevil on her arm. So finally TOG drove the feisty and reluctant AG to Dr M's yesterday. AG was fully prepared for "this too shall pass" and instead got "we better swab you for MRSA".

Asthmagirl is now taking 3 different antibiotics and drinking a barrel gallon (3.78 liters for my Canadian readers) of water with each dose. Her glass is more than half full, it runneth over! And even through the the thick frames of her rose colored glasses, Asthmagirl is pretty sure she recognizes the meteor.

It was laughing at her...

AG out!

[Asthmagirl sincerely hopes that you will laugh with her. It really is funny!]

AuthorAsthmagirl | Comment11 Comments |
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Monday
08Feb2010

Retard

DateMonday, February 8, 2010 at 6:38AM

Retard

What a dreadful, ugly, soul stealing, hope shattering, gut wrenching word. If this word makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you read no further.

Retard was in the news last week and after much thought, I decided I wanted to respond in my own forum:

The news coverage started when the press reported that back in August, in a closed white house meeting, Rahm Emmanuel called some members of congress “effing retards”.

Predictably, there was much negative coverage, but it didn’t seem like much of an outcry until Sarah Palin called on Obama to fire Emmanuel stating “his comments were offensive to children with developmental disabilities.”

But it does not end there. A Palin aide criticized an aide of Texas Gov. Rick Perry for using the word “retarded” in a conference call regarding political logistics during his campaign.

Finally, in an effort to call attention to how ultra sensitive we’ve become, Rush Limbaugh stood forth with his assertions that “Our politically correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards”.

Asked for a comment, Sarah Palin’s aide responded by saying “Governor Palin believes crude and demeaning name calling at the expense of others is disrespectful.”

I’m stopping there because this piece isn’t purposed for political observations. It’s personal.

When K3 was labeled retarded early in her kindergarten career, I took it personally. Having the label Retarded applied to your child meant the end of possibilities. The hope and vision I had for my child came to a screeching halt. Moving from “delayed” to retarded implied not just a different life, but a partial life, a life with limited opportunities… Further, it gave me many sleepless nights thinking of how she would be perceived by her peers… devalued, mocked, ignored….

I became hyper sensitive and hyper vigilant about short bus jokes, retard references and name calling. I coached… I educated…I got in blazing arguments with family members… I might have continued down that path, but I came to realize that it wasn’t a healthy focus. Changing the words people spoke was a far cry from changing their thoughts of K3 or anyone else with a disability.

And I needed to concentrate on my daughter and her needs. Policing everyone in my vicinity wasn’t a productive use of my energy. And as a strategy, it lacked realism. The odds that I could change the world to conform to my daughter’s needs were nil. I was far more likely to succeed in keeping my daughter’s corner of the world K3-friendly. And long term, I needed to focus on getting K3 “world ready”.

And that I suppose may be the difference between someone still coming to terms with a child with a disability… or it may just be me. Either way, I’m happy to be at peace with K3’s differences.

In closing, my opinion is that people like Rush Limbaugh harbor a special kind of evil in his heart, one that goes beyond ignorance or naiveté or even showmanship. If our purpose on this planet is to help each other and accept our differences and live in harmony, I think Mr. Limbaugh shows his limitations through both his thoughts and his words.

My little K3 is worlds ahead of him. 

AG out!

AuthorAsthmagirl | Comment11 Comments |
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Saturday
29Aug2009

Not so much....

DateSaturday, August 29, 2009 at 7:25AM

Yes... I've been off the blog. Yes, there's a story...*sigh* Yes, I have to backtrack.

So, there I was... just having met Ben and getting ready to go to San Diego. Beneath all the Wheemaw joy I was having headaches that week but it was easy to say "stress, packing, busy, full schedule" and take something for it and move on. It wasn't until the day before we left that I started wondering why the heck it was so perpetual. But the flight left at 7am the next morning so I threw a bottle of ibuprophen in my carryon and off we went to San Diego.

The day of the flight, the headache was wicked. Again... I had lots to tell myself about "the flight, stale airplane air, altitude, smog in San Diego, lack of sleep". I focused on getting an ibuprophen down every 4-5 hours and by the next day, the headache was better... but again, it was best to take that ibuprophen regularly to avert "the headache" reemerging and spoiling our lovely vacation.

By the time we left San Diego, I'd had a wonderful time. My asthma had been surprisingly high maintenance but I'd brought the entire array of medicine and lungs had responded well. The headache had also been pretty managable the last day or so and it wasn't until we were ready to leave for the airport that I began to realize how many ibuprophen I'd taken over the last week. The bottle was empty.

Ironically, when I got back to Seattle, I felt good. Really good. I was out of ibuprophen but my schedule was packed and I didn't buy any more reasoning that whatever the issue had been, it was clearly resolved. The headache appeared to be gone and Ben was cute and I had a ton of stuff to catch up on at work.

And then it hit in spades.... Mega Eye Watering Headache. So bad that I left work in the middle of the day and drove the 30 miles to my doctor....

...who promptly diagnosed a nasty sinus infection, which was making my asthma unstable because of drainage and which I'd probably had for a while, well before it started giving me headaches... likely much of the summer. The only reason I had gotten better in San Diego was because I'd taken so much anti inflammatory that even after I stopped, it was still in my system when we came home.

The cures included sleeping upright in the recliner, two weeks of heavy anitibiotics, which I'm sensetive to, and lots of Prednisone. Crap.

The prednisone was a surprise. I've never taken it during the summer and I knew it was a new and ugly step down this path asthma is dragging me along. A path I don't want to travel. So much for "seasonal asthma" which is what I've claimed since it set in 6 years ago. "Oh, I only have bad flare ups in the winter... summers are great for me!" Yes, I'm very convincing when I want to feel better about things!

Knowing what my next week or so was likely to become, I decided to sign off for a few days. I was feeling oh so pathetic and sick... so sick and I didn't want to blog about it this time. (yes, I recognize the irony that I'm blogging about it now) Not only do I not want to be this asthmatic, but I don't want to be this sick person. I don't want any of this.

I understand that much of this denial is fear. Loss of control, loss of health, loss of privacy... I don't want the asthma to be out control. I certainly don't want to be publically asthmatic. I don't want... I don't want....Well, we don't always get what we want...

Unfortunately, I had a reaction to the antibiotics and I'm on my second one which is going better. My head only throbs occasionally. My stomach is completely shreded from all the meds (I think). I'm almost done with the steroids and I'm ready to go back for more allergy testing which is what my doctor wants. Bless his heart. He never gets tired of me crying in his office... What a guy!

And there you are... going "that's it? she signed off because she doesn't want to be sick"?

Yeah... that's me. Asthmatic in Denial. A masterpiece.

And how are you doing?

AuthorAsthmagirl | Comment14 Comments |
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Thursday
30Jul2009

Fame and Notoriety (and the song within)

DateThursday, July 30, 2009 at 6:40AM

In case anyone has missed it, BlogFest made the news in Mathews, Virginia! I think we made such an impression at the General Store, they felt they must tell everyone! Here is the link!

Now I love the picture they used!

But as I was reading the article, something in the second paragraph caught my eye... "Asthmagirl's love song to hard cider". As much as I would like to take credit for having written such a song, and as much as I do enjoy hard cider and might have indeed written a song about it.... let's set the record straight. I have not written a song about hard cider.

Until now.

I have to live up to the hype! I know I'm no Foolery or Soup is not a finger food, but bear with me!

An Ode to Cider

To the tune of Paperback Writer, by The Beatles:

Dear Blog Festers-I can drink no wine...

Nor yet your cold beer even with a lime...

There’s a drink I like but is it on your coast?

If we find enough we can drink a toast!

 

We can drink a toast cuz you know I love the hard cider!

Love the Hard Cider!

 

If you like the apple we can try some more...

There a peach I like and its fun to pour....

The nectarine is a stellar brew ...

And the raspberry?! Let’s toss back a few!

 

Let’s toss back a few cuz you know I love the hard cider!

Love the Hard Cider!

 

If you really like them, put them in your sock...

TSA won’t find it, their search is a mock...

If the flight is smooth, you’ll arrive to find

The “Sin” you smuggled was worth your time!

 

Now your friends will laugh because you’re such a dork...

But the cider’s worth it and it’s from New York...

Its taste is complex and it’s not too sweet...

We’ll drink a toast because the bloggers love the hard cider!

 

Love the Hard Cider!!!!

 

I wonder when the royalties will start pouring in?

AG out!

AuthorAsthmagirl | Comment13 Comments |
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