The Adventures of Paisley
Blue
Life is one big, exhausting adventure! hehe
Mechanic has been so sick. Its bad enough that his back was hurting him so bad, but since Friday he has had a fever. Over the weekend it got real bad and I worried about him so much. Finally Monday night I talked him into going to the emergency room. He had not eaten or drank anything all day, and I knew that was bad.
He was dehydrated so they hooked him up to an IV - and he hates needles worse than I do. The woman who gave him his first IV had to stick the needle in over and over and over... I could not really see this because her back was between me and his arm. But when he told me later, I felt so bad for him.
We were just sitting there talking while he was shivering under the heated blankets, when suddenly he mentioned that his arm didn't feel right. He pulled it out from beneath the covers and his forearm was swollen really big. I'm sure my eyes bugged out as I jumped up and ran out to get a nurse. I told them what happened and one of the nurses came immediately.
Later, Mechanic and I discussed how funny it was that the nurses were telling us it was no big deal and stay calm, but they were sure moving around pretty quick. They said the vein had exploded, and that his body would reabsorb the fluid that was making him look like Popeye. In the meantime they removed the old IV and put a new one in the other arm. It took a few hours and a heating pad to bring down that swelling.
They did lab work and finally decided to do a CT scan because his symptoms and findings were not really making any sense. At the end of our six-hour visit at their fine medical facility, the doctors pretty much concluded it must be one of two things - a virus or an infection - and prescribed medicine, fluids and rest. If its a virus, it'll go away on its own. If its an infection, the antibiotics would help.
Well, I haven't been able to afford my own medicine... and we couldn't get his, either. One interesting thing I learned about this man is that when he is dehydrated and won't even drink water, there is one thing that will tempt him into stealing a sip - cold apple juice. The nurse gave me a cup of ice cold juice and he would steal a sip now and then - and OF COURSE I wasn't going to stop him. I was delighted to see him drinking something.
Tuesday morning his fever spiked at 103.7, and that afternoon we had an appointment together that could not be postponed or avoided. Upon our return he went back to bed for the next eight or nine hours. Having only had three hours of sleep the night before, I took a six hour nap, woke up for a while, then went back to bed for the night.
So here we are at today. I am basically pulling a 12-hour day again, and I suppose we're going out to karaoke tonight. Mechanic is tired of staring at the four walls, and I really do understand that. I'll go keep an eye on him and if he starts to look tired, we'll go. He's been well enough today to get out of bed, talk on the phone, and read his email, and who am I to stand in the way of a 6'5" strapping young man?
At work I have had a very good day, getting lots accomplished and doing things that result in nice compliments. I really see why career moms who decide to stay home start to miss that kind of feedback.
This organization offers a scholarship program that pays up to $1,000 towards further education if you win it. The money is paid directly to the institution, though. I am applying in order to attend a four-week class on Project Management. I filled out the application and wrote a letter about why I should get the scholarship. My supervisor also has to write a letter, and they all have to be turned in by Friday.
It'd be really cool if I got it but I am not going to hold my breath. I don't know how many other people sign up for this thing, and I don't know if they award more than one. Just have to wait and see.
I've gotta say that while Mechanic has been sick I have been filled with love, concern, worry, and am overcome by a desire to just care for him. I have done my best to keep him supplied with ice water when I'm at home. I have cooked for him, whatever he desired, as much as in my power to do so... until I killed the hot plate last night making tomato soup for him. I keep thinking how he took care of me whenever I was sick, and all the trips he accompanied me to the emergency room. The least I can do is reciprocate.
We are really going to miss having a hot plate. There's no money to get a new one, obviously, so that leaves the microwave to do all our cooking now. I could just kick myself. But Mechanic was philosophical about it, and did not seem upset at all, and that helped me remain calm over the matter.
Last night he got real playful, too. He woke me up in the middle of the night - well, okay, it was 6:00 am but I did not have to be awake for another hour so it was the middle of the night to me. I don't even remember all the things he did to mess with me and make me wake up but I believe he dripped ice water on me, and tickled me or something to make me swat at my nose and stuff... and I could hear him laughing which is what really woke me up.
But just in case he ever wonders, the grumpiness was only because of getting woke up. Throughout the day today, I have thought back on that time and smiled. How lucky I am to share my life with such a fun, spontaneous person. Despite all the hard times and stress and complications we have on our plate right now, he still finds it within himself to laugh and make me laugh, and my world is better for having him in it.
~Paisley Blue
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http://www.oocities.org/paisley_blue/jour/02/091802.html
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