Returning to WA

Howdy all,

I’m back.

I dropped my membership about a month ago since I could no longer spend time on it. At that point I was facing a very scary time in my life. As you know, my summer was a bust, between shingles and water retention I was in and out of the hospital. Then about a month and a half ago I was dangerously close to my kidneys completely shutting down. I was in the hospital again and lost 22 lbs of water weight in two days. I was also scheduled with a kidney specialist the following week. Thank goodness I was able to get scheduled with him immediately. Through blood tests and his expertise, it took a month to find the right combination of medications that would keep me on an even keel. That has been established and I have been holding steady for three weeks now. In the midst of that month I also fell victim to gout. I woke up at 4:00 am one morning and my left ankle was swollen, red and hot with stabbing pain whenever anything (a sheet on the bed) touched it. I couldn’t figure out what I had done to cause the pain. As the day went on it became more painful, to the point that when Blaine came home from work we went straight to the hospital emergency. I had my suspicions that it might be gout. That was confirmed by xrays and blood tests. I was given a prescription for pain and gout. Luckily the medicine helped within a couple days and then it occurred in the right ankle. I understand why people dread flares of gout. The medication controls it, so as of now, I no longer have the gout flare up.

The doctor finally referred me to a local pain clinic and they are experimenting with a new type of pain patch to keep my chronic pain under control. So, finally, the summer is over and I am actually feeling somewhat normal. It is time to get back on the horse and do some work. I have been doing freelance writing and find it interesting and challenging. It gives me an additional source of income.

I made the decision to return to WA and work on the websites again and I’ll see how it goes. I have missed everyone and am looking forward to the interaction once again.

Liz