Bundled Up

Tuesday December 8, 1992

Frank is sore in the groin. It's swollen. We go out to breakfast. I feel pretty good. The breakfast tastes good. It's a waffle, bacon and egg. Frank enjoys his too. Later, at home, I don't feel too good, nausea and tired. I manage to do the wash but can't get to the Christmas cards. Frank goes to his carving class.

Later that night I feel too ill to fix the pot roast dinner. Frank fixes it and eats and enjoys it. Much later I eat a little. I get very cold again. I bundle up with coats and blankets.

It seems Mom has not learned that every time she eats she gets nauseous, and more than that even flu-like chills. Small portions of bland food might go down OK, but certainly not bacon. I hope Frank is not about to have a medical crisis too.

Mom always sent out hundreds of hand-written Christmas cards every year, not just a short note, but several pages, each one individually written. Her example led me to send out Christmas cards every year, not individually hand-written, but a Christmas letter mass produced. I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I always enjoy getting cards and letters from friends at Christmas, and I hope they enjoy mine too. In this age of technology, I have noticed that the number of cards and letters I receive every year has dwindled down to almost nothing. I guess this tradition has become outdated.

Cheesecake For Breakfast

Monday April 27, 1992

I slept very well last night. My body ached alot less. I have cheesecake for breakfast. What a treat! Once cleaned up and the laundry half done, I'm off to get my nails done. I'm a bit tired and my voice is hoarse. I feel like I have a cold. Some coughing. The cough started 2 nights ago. I hope this won't be a big deal. I had wanted to go with Frank tomorrow. He must leave at 8 a.m. to take his mom for cataract surgery in Los Angeles. Maybe I should sleep in and take care of my cold.

After more ham and cheesecake dinner we decide not to go square dancing. I should rest my cold.

Now I'm Sick From the Codeine

Friday March 27, 1992

Awake at 4:15 a.m. aching all over. Unable to get back to sleep I take 2 Tylenol. Fifteen minutes later still awake, I decide to take a teaspoon of cough medicine with codeine. I rest with less pain but not deep sleep. At 6:45 I get up, dress and go downstairs. I am light-headed so eat some oatmeal and orange juice. Now I'm nauseous too. I remain too sick to get off the couch until noon. I am sick from the codeine. I forgot codeine makes me very ill. I manage to eat a good lunch but remain weak and light-headed.

At 3 p.m. Frank gives me a perm though I still feel awful. About 5 p.m. I feel well enough to sit and pay the bills.

God answered my prayer. My cold is gone when I wake up. The cough lingers.

Mom calls to say Frank's Uncle Ricky died this morning at 3:30. I'm so sorry.

I just hate that feeling of being sick and exhausted, and just when I need sleep the most, it eludes me, usually because of a nagging cough. Too bad the codeine made Mom feel even worse. Smelling perm solution for an hour or so while fighting off nausea sounds like a losing battle. Why did she decide to do it today?

I Now Have a Cold

Thursday March 26, 1992

I slept well last night thanks to a codeine/Tylenol tablet. Upon waking I believe my body aches have subsided but I still have chest pain and cough. I'm weak and when I take my shower I get so hot and sweaty it takes 45 minutes to cool down enough to put make-up on. The sweat just streams from my hair and face.

At 2:00 I see a doctor in Simi clinic. She orders a chest X-ray, blood test and 2 EKGs one hour apart. She says I'm OK, but my blood (white cells) count is down to 2.5 when 5-10 is normal. She gives me codeine cough medicine and antibiotics as preventative. About 7 p.m. my nose starts to run like a faucet. I now have a cold! I pray for a healing so I can get ready for our trip on Tuesday.

Uncle Ricky isn't doing very well. I pray for his recovery if that be God's will.

Oh no, I imagine it's going to be hard for her body to fight off a cold when her white cell count is so low. I did a little research on the subject, and it turns out that chemotherapy is one of the causes of low white cell count, as is cancer, and as are viral infections. She's dealing with all of these at once. I hope Mom will just take a rest from her busy life.

Sweating for 45 minutes after a shower doesn't sounds normal. After all that sweating she probably wanted to take another shower. It doesn't appear to be a symptom of either cancer or chemotherapy, but could have been a menopausal symptom caused by her hysterectomy.

Too Sick for Dancing

Monday January 27, 1992

We sleep in 10-1/2 hours. We really want to go square dance class tonight but our colds are not much better. We hope for a quick recovery but at 6 p.m. we know we would not be welcome, coughing and blowing our noses while touching hands with everyone and lots of hugging. Later at 8 p.m. we realize we really didn't feel well enough after all. We just wanted to go so badly. We miss our friends and love dancing. Hopefully we can go to our country western dance class tomorrow night.

We are more active today. Our colds are definitely better. I have given up wearing my wrist brace. It's so uncomfortable and there's been no improvement in 4 weeks. Seems like it's a little better after 3 days of not wearing it.

It takes alot to slow them down! We'll see if they're up for dancing tomorrow.

Gary is Wishy-Washy

Sunday January 26, 1992

Up early. Gary and Maria will come at 10 a.m. to look at this perfect house we found.

Frank still has lost his voice and feeling too punk today to walk. I feel about the same, maybe a little less mucous.

Gary and Maria arrive with the boys and nephew Brian. Brian is sick and throwing up so we take a towel for him and pile into our car to meet the realtor to see a house like the one I want Gary to buy. We look at that and 2 others to convince ourselves that he should buy the one on Emerald. Gary is wishy-washy now, not sure he wants to live in Simi. They leave at 1 p.m. We go out to lunch, get 2 movies, and veg out trying to cure our colds.

Poor Brian having to drive around when he is throwing up! That cannot have been fun for the others in the car either. With Mom and Frank both sick, riding in that car was virus city!

I can see why my brother was hesitant to move to Simi Valley. He already had a long commute to work for the DWP in Los Angeles, and moving to Simi would add another 20 minutes. Would it be worth it?

Maria's Birthday Party

Saturday January 25, 1992

We're up but feeling really punk. In spite of not feeling well, Frank takes his 4-mile walk. We check out a house for sale for Gary. It's perfect--a great location, price and has all the amenities he'd like. We spend time with Jody the realtor and head for Gary's.

Today is Maria's birthday party. There are lots of people and lots of food. We manage to stay a couple of hours. By the time we get home Frank has nearly lost his voice to his cold. I'm still coughing and blowing and quite tired.

Wow, that is inspiring to hear about Frank taking a 4-mile walk every morning, even when he's sick. I guess it's easier to do that in sunny California in January.

There are always lots of people when Maria has a party, whether it's a holiday, a birthday, or any other celebration. She is one of 9 children and has dozens of nieces and nephews. The photo above was not taken this date, but years later on her 50th birthday when we travelled 400 miles to Simi Valley in a thunderstorm to celebrate with the rest of her family.

Gab Fest at Denny's

Thursday January 23, 1992

Up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for breakfast out. Susan and Penny from the neighborhood have asked to take me out for breakfast. Joan Orr joins us at Denny's for breakfast. We have a great "gab-fest" for 3-1/2 hours. We really enjoy it and plan to do it again real soon. These are lovely Christian women in their late 30s. I try very hard to be a good and caring friend and neighbor to all 18 of our neighbors.

I feel good enough to go shopping at May Co. I'm gone from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. shopping. I'm tired when I get home but I had a good time.

We go out for Japanese dinner. Frank has my cold now.

I just went out to breakfast at Denny's with my Christian friend Teresa a few weeks ago. It was fun. Our breakfast was only 2 hours though, not 3-1/2! Their breakfast deal is cheap and surprisingly good, my first time at Denny's since I was a teenager.

Mom was very good friends with her neighbors on the cul-de-sac. She organized neighborhood parties every year.

I'm Ready To Hit the Couch

Tuesday January 21, 1992

I'm up and doing laundry and then get ready for my nail appointment at 11 a.m. I'm still coughing terribly and now my nose is running heavily. I feel terrible. Sitting for an hour for my nails is very difficult. By the time I get home I'm ready to hit the couch for the rest of the day.

There's no way I can go Country Western dancing tonight. I'm trying hard not to give this cold to Frank.

Yes, it must have been hard to hold her hand still while the manicurist applied polish and Mom was coughing her head off! If I were the manicurist I would be worried about catching her cold.