"Feeling Bleh..."

...with a vicious attack of the stomach flu bug.

Blogging not very high on my to do list...

Hopefully, soon.!

"Squeeking By..."

...with a rather lame "Cactus Monday " post

of this spiky (cactus inspired?) mandala

drawn in my

zen journal a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry folks...

the ole artistic Muse isn't up to 100% yet. :)

The greatest wealth is health.

~Virgil

"Taking Two Steps Back..."

...feeling more Bleh than before.

So, the beat goes on...and history repeats itself...

almost one year to the day!

See the original full page illos of my progress from

these very same symptoms

at the very same time last year...here and here!

I guess there are some things

one never out grows!

"Raw and on Fire..."

...this is exactly what the inside of my throat feels like.

Chloraseptic and Cepacol

have now become my intimate companions.

Bleh!

Now, here's some food for thought:

"Only in America -

do drugstores make the sick

walk all the way to the back of the store

to get their prescriptions

while healthy people can buy cigarettes

at the front of the store."

~Author Unknown

"Wordless Wednesday...(#25)..."

"I Have a Bad 'Code'..."

...and I cannot breathe.

All I do is blow my nose and sneeze.

No Cactus Monday post today...

and

no cheery quips either!

Bah Humbug to all of that!

I just feel lousy.

Ahhh CHOOO!

"I Got Stoned..."

...this past week...

...kidney stoned, that is...

and I'm not doing much LOL either...:(

It all started last Friday morning, April 24th, when I was awakened

about 6:30 am

by a severe pain on my left side.

Thinking it was a bad muscle pull near my hip...

I took some Tylenol Arthritis tablets

and tried to fall back asleep.

That was not to be.

To make a long story bearable...the pain intensified and

I ended up checking in at the

ER at Banner Del Webb Medical Center

about 11:30 am.

After waiting seemingly forever for the triage nurse to check me out

...and the inevitable flurry of paperwork

to be processed...

I was at last admitted into the ER.

The place was packed...

(what drawing opportunities if one was in the mood!)

Lab work began and shortly

a powerful trio of really good drugs was given intravenously

and finally, I could feel no pain...Ahhh! :)

A CT scan came next.

An hour or so later the results were in

I had two kidney stones...

one small..2mm...the other large...6.1mm.

The smaller to pass on my own...the larger needed a procedure.

At 4:30 in the afternoon...

it was decided that I would need to be admitted into the hospital.

A bed was finally ready for me at 8:30 pm.

I stayed two nights and came home Sunday Afternoon.

I now wait again for further input by a specialist

as to my next course of action...

most likely an sonic or a laser blast of the larger stone.

Geesch!

I am most thankful that the reason for my pain was diagnosed,

that the situation was not super critical, and

that things are now hopefully

on the mend.

The drawing above was started the night I was admitted

and shows the views I had from my bed.

It was painted just today at home.

This week has not only zapped my energy level

but also my artistic enthusiasm.

I have just now gotten back to visiting blogs.

Hopefully, the "hospital funk" is gone...

(at least, until I get my bill...LOL...ugh!)

and I will now be back drawing, and painting,

and simply enjoying

the artistic posts of all my friends.

"A hospital should also have a recovery room

adjoining the cashier's office."

~Author Unknown

"No Worry..." :)

~Sandi, my nurse from Australia

"Magical Drugs..."

Saturday...March 7th, 2009...marked the 2nd week

of dealing with over the counter

remedies for

my miserable "head-cold-throat-ear-sinus-thingy."

It also marked

the day I "went in" for the SERIOUS drugs!

Our local Walgreens has a "Take Care Clinic"

staffed 7 days a week

by nurse practitioners who are most efficient and very professional!

Plus...get this...it was the weekend...and...NO LINES!!!

(I can't even imagine

how long it would have taken to get an appointment

with my doctor!!!)

I got checked over and prescribed an antibiotic

and I went home happy as a lamb.

I sat outside in the brilliant Arizona sun

with my sketchbook and started drawing away.

I feel like a new woman!

I think that the warm penetrating sun,

(to me a natural drug in itself)

the fresh lemon blossom scented air,

my new Rx,

and a few artsy "Ahhh..." moments enjoying the day

were just the 4 magical drugs I needed

to turn this mess around.

Fingers

and toes crossed!

Now...speaking of "magical drugs"...

and

if you are in the mood for a bit of a irreverent medical "spoof"...

click here

for a hysterical You Tube clip

regarding a new "FDA" approved drug for "cheeriness"...

only two minutes...its worth the time...:)

"You shouldn't be sick

a moment longer than it takes

to get well."

~from the Walgreens Take Care Clinic booklet

"You are NOT Invited..."

to my daily tea party...

which has been going on waaaay tooooo long!

This

congestion business is a pain...

nasal passages, chest, sinuses, ears, throat...

You name it...it's stuffy.

It's hard to breathe without gels and sprays and misted air.

The only thing "light and breezy"

around here is my

humidifier!

I really need to find myself a magic rabbit hole.

I need fresh breezy air!

IF Challenge: Friday, February 27, 2009

"Breezy"...(or...in my case NOT!)

"Of all the silly nonsense,

this is the stupidest tea party I've ever been to

in all my life."

~Alice

"It's a Small World..."

...of ATC cards...

The 1st three of my "Sunlight Series"...

Sun Flower...

Suntangle...
...and Sunkissed.

I am dealing with Day #3 of a miserable head cold...

I have been "told" to think happy, positive thoughts...

:( on that!

Instead...(in-between complaining and whining)

I have chosen to draw teeny things...

in small doses...

that's about all I can handle...

small doses...

and

then I breathe and try to decongest...

and

drink more tea

and

then I attempt

another

small

dose

of art.

:(

Tomorrow had best be better!

Fingers...Toes Crossed.

"If you treat a sick child like an adult and a sick adult like a child,

everything usually works out pretty well."
~Ruth Carlisle