Oh Hai!

I missed you too!

I was a leetle depressed because after taking all those tests and while waiting for the results, I got sick again. Fever, chills, then what felt like the beginning of yet another UTI.

I am worn down from all this and it has not helped my outlook one bit. If you add to that the fact that I am mourning my life as I knew it and bemoaning the fact that I have to give up everything I really like this year - woe is me.

It's not really true that I have to give up everything I like but when I'm laying in bed freezing with chills and my joints aching from fever I can very easily convince myself that not being able to smoke cigarettes, eat whatever I want and drink the same is giving up everything that makes life worth living. Add in that I need to change my favorite pastime from laying around with a laptop to doing something that involves actually moving... well, the end is nigh.

But then, I went to the appt with my doctor and she told me that, even before the last episode, I had a low grade infection in my bladder. It could have been there through all of this last year + of feeling like shit and getting sick all the time. She thought the fever was probably it moving into my kidneys as well. The antibiotics were not enough or long enough or something to really get rid of it and so it periodically flared up.

She put me on a different antibiotic for 8 days and then 3 days after I finish that she wants another test to be cultured to make sure whatever it is is either gone or they know exactly what it is.

I've been trying to get that culture test done for over a year. Some of you may remember my frustration with the doctor in California last summer for refusing to do that but insisting that I just go on yet another run of antibiotics.

The good news is the ultrasound showed the key organs looking pretty good. I have some 'mud' in my gall bladder but no stones, so whatever I had last month was not a gall bladder attack. I have low cholesterol, normal blood sugars, everything is functioning and few things out of the normal.

After 7 years of living in Mexico half the year or more, I have only one, very common parasite that usually causes no problems. It's called endolimax Nana and does pretty much nothing in the way of harm to you.

Even so, la doctora wants to treat it as she says in some cases it can contribute to not feeling well. I decided if I have it then Mimi probably does too and she was resistant to the idea of collecting her poop every day for 3 days. So, she's taking the meds as well and our friend Nana is on the way out.

Oddly enough, I started feeling much more optimistic about life as soon as the appointment was over and even before I started taking the antibiotics. I've decided to replace smoking, drinking and eating with growing orchids - we'll see how that goes.

Oh, and I've lost 9.5 kilos since the lung doctor told me I had to lose weight to improve lung function. That was about 6 weeks ago. The week or more of almost no eating with the e coli and all certainly gave me a boost along the way but I have continued to lose since then. Unfortunately, that's where the no drinking and not eating much comes in. I need to get more of the moving around stuff going and hopefully that will be easier without this constant infection.

Let's see, what else have I done to improve my health? Oh, I went to the convenient vaccine clinic across the street from the doctor and had both a pneumonia vaccine and a flu shot. They even gave me a little booklet like we have for the dogs to keep track of all vaccinations.

So, there's the health update and hopefully I will continue to feel better and finally get rid of this year of getting sick.

I have nothing but high praise for the doctors and facilities I've been to here in Merida. I have to say, they make Kaiser in Marin look rather shabby. If you add the fact that each and every doctor has spent a lot of uninterrupted time with me listening, questioning, discussing and really paying attention then you will begin to see why I dread ever having to see another doctor in the US. These are experts in their fields, using top of the line equipment and yet still showing compassion and humanity and caring. Damn! I forgot that was even possible from the medical profession.

Wondering about the first picture of Señor Butt Crack? They were setting up for a big concert for youth in the parking lot next to the RV park. Mimi went over and took a bunch of pictures and I thought that one was the true gem. He's actually not mooning her, he's sitting on a drum seat testing the drums. I didn't post the pic of the drooping stomach that keeps the pants from coming all the way up. The rest are Hombre and Cuba playing here in the park, and one of Tita hiding in the grass and watching them.