When I hit the big four oh, I found that my body started to fall apart one piece at a time. My warranty had expired and there was No Extended Warranty available! This is the story of my struggle to keep it all together using spare parts and baling twine.
About ready to travel to the airport for my early early morning flight. No reason to sleep - I guess I will catch up on the plane(s). Just about packed, will be checking my bag, but that leaves all my medication (need a briefcase just for that) and my cane and my PC to get on board.
I'm such a baby anymore I carry a warm blanket with me. Tired of freezing to death at airports and on planes, either because I am cold because of The Headache pain, or cold because the airport and the plane are cold. I use it as a pillow too, so the neck doesn't get too cramped.
I get the hand pat down in security because I can't go through the metal detectors. Have some comfy shoes and loose clothes so I can try to circumvent the cankle situation while flying. Haven't eaten too much today, and may not tomorrow until we reach our destination. Less liquids + less food = able to make it between bathrooms!
Am going to go and double check - ID, money, blanket, clothes, reading materials, luggage, PC, medication. Pretty tired, but am catching my second wind. Hope you all have a great Sunday. I will be sitting in uncomfortable chairs in cramped conditions trying to get from point A to point B. It's a lot more fun when you go with a group of people tho, and my coworkers are all good travelers, so I will probably enjoy myself despite the discomfort. The Headache and The Belly and The Legs are not good travelers, so I'm going to try to fool them by thinking I'm a little Monarch butterfly on my way to Mexico, like Winnie the Pooh pretending to be a rain cloud to fool the Bees in the Honey Tree. Tut, tut, it looks like Rain!
Getting into road warrior mode - this is when you have everything arranged, ready to go, with a minimum of preparation, able to travel at the drop of a hat. You know true road warriors when you travel - they are the folks who always have their coats and shoes off already at the TSA checkpoints at the airport. They always know what time zone they are in, what the local weather is like, and where you can get the best barbque. They speed through rental car kiosks, and navigate strange roads with impunity. My bosses are the true road warriors, I am still just a road warrior in training!
A looooong week last week, going to work today to print out materials for next week. The new trainer is MARVELOUS!!! I think I am going to be able to hand over duties to her without a worry, she just needs to learn some of the jargon that goes with hospital business offices and she's ready to roll on her own, at least for the modules she has seen trained! I don't want her to get burned out traveling, because she has two school aged children and that is a worry when you are on the road - not the kids themselves but all the appointments they need to keep, and practices they need to go to, and activities they are in. Modern moms tho, seem to have the organization thing down pat with cell phones, internet calendars, and texting. Guess I'm just too old for that.
The Headache was bad a couple of days last week, but I managed to ice down the head at night to keep it in control with help from the stimulator. Last year this couldn't have happened - The Headache would have been very bad just from walking to the training site from the car! The Belly has been behaving admirably, maybe because I'm not feeding it too much. The Legs are another thing entirely. If it wasn't for The Cane, The Legs would not be making it. Some sleepless nights, but I just can't do the amount of medication it takes to fix The Legs without messing with The Headache and The Brain, so I've just been toughing it mostly. I think I can make it through this install which is a couple of more weeks. I pray I can make it.
My co-workers have been giving me fits because I have a plain black cane. They think I need a cane with bling. I'm not too sure about that - I mostly wear dark colors when in road warrior mode, because they mix and match better and don't show dirt, and feel the black cane blends (as much as a cane can!). I did find myself looking at some blingy canes including one with kitties all over it, but not sure if I could walk leaning on a cane full of kitty cat pictures. I would be thinking "meow, meow, meow" everytime I leaned on it!
I did make sure I reserved a bottom floor room at the hotel. I got stuck once on an install in a top story room when The Legs gave out on me a few years ago. I couldn't get out of bed, let alone down the stairs. Spent a day flat on my back and was able to walk (barely) the next day. Not doing that again at a hotel without an elevator if I can help it!
The backup hotel we were going to use is in a town that got hit by a tornado not long after we drove through it on our way home Friday, and their sewage treatment center is not working having been hit by the tornado also, so not sure if we are going to be able to use it. Sigh. Tornado season in the midwest, it certainly can be an adventure!
The clients are wonderful, easy to train, with lots of good questions. I am hoping that this will be a great install, easy on them and easy on us. Looking forward to go-live day in a week! Now if I can just get The Legs to do what they are supposed to - driving myself next week and the week after because I have different hours than the rest of the team, so not sure how The Legs, The Headache, and The Belly are going to behave. They don't like me to drive very much any more, and I actually used to love to drive long distances. Sigh again.
Unless I take my work laptop with me, I won't be posting on the road, but I hope to be home Tuesday evening this week, and probably not home at all the following week. Take care my blogging friends! Hoping for no pain and no fuss for all of us!
Did too much this week/weekend. Things had to be done, so I did them. I knew what could happen but sometimes you just do what is necessary then deal with the consequences if and when they come. Thank heavens for my handy dandy old fashioned ice pack! I am setting here typing with one balanced on my painful brain.
Tonight the ice is keeping pace with the pain. The stimulator is buzzing away but the pain has increased to the point it is not able to contain it. Tomorrow I pray that The Headache will calm down. The present exacerbation started on Thursday, and hopefully should be winding down tonight, still staying in that old three to four day cycle.
I have tons of work to do tomorrow, plus a GI doctor appointment, and then I have to leave at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to travel to a client. I have no time for The Headache. It's a jealous thing, so I am sure as soon as it realizes I absolutely have no time for it, it will make itself known. I think I will be packing ice packs for next week's travel. Hotels always have an ice machine somewhere!
I haven't had time to go see my PCP to get some kind of rescue medication so I am hoping I am not due for another Bad Headache Day for a few weeks. Time is such a precious thing, and productive time is even more precious. Time keeps on slippin' into the future!!!
Yesterday is mostly a "lost" day. The Headache roared back, but I was able to make myself sleep through most of it. Subsequently I don't remember most of yesterday, and today The Headache is still making itself known. I look at this as a good prospect for my journey which I will try to do starting in the early AM tomorrow morning. Thirteen hours of driving - but I will probably be up at 2:00 AM anyway because The Headache will INSIST.
I found a lovely picture of Cleveland on the internet and am using it to illustrate why I probably won't be blogging for a few days (unless I have the patience to blog in the lobby of the hotel at the communal PC). Luckily I had enought Marriott points to get a couple of nights free just outside Cleveland proper. Yeah, traveling too much does have an advantage! That's about $400 in hotel room cost I am saving.
My initial enthusiasm for going has waned because last Friday was a reminder of how bad this headache can get. I fear being caught somewhere without any means to get to an ER or Urgent Care AND get back. Have had this issue before - if you drive yourself your options are extremely limited for pain relief. Hopefully with yesterday and today being my "bad" days for the week - I am OK until Saturday/Sunday.
Sleepless Night
