Author: livewell5777

Good Wednesday Evening to you. It is September 26, 2018 @ 21:54:44 MT and Fall Is Here!

This morning I woke to realizing that we have had at least four days in a row of freezing temperatures. I took a look at my garden plants and I was shocked to see them shriveled up and bent over. The plants sacrificed their lives for the remaining produce they are holding on to. I had to pick everything even though most of the tomatoes were still green. I will compost each of my plants and thank them next spring for making rich soil for  planting.

I am inside my chamber and experimenting with a new purchase I made. I bought a large ice pack that is used for therapeutic purposes. I bought it online and it arrived today. I put it in the freezer so I could use it to provide the comfort I require. It is 21″X14″ and certainly covers my back very nicely. I wrapped a body towel around it and at the moment I am pretty happy with the comfort it is providing me. I still need the air that is being pumped in to be cooled so I will use the 12 lunch box hard plastic ice packs I purchased a few weeks ago to help cool that air tomorrow. I ditched the cool vest because it just wasn’t doing it for me. I felt too damp and the initial cool turned hot in a few minutes. I had to wash it twice a week to control the odor. My cool towel only worked for a few minutes so I ditched it too. I continue to use the small personal fan that i wear around my neck. It uses two AA batteries and they die every week. It keeps my neck cool so I will keep using it. I do not have a thyroid/parathyroids. So I do not have the natural ability to sweat or regulate my body temperature well. The stuffiness in here is probably not that unpleasant to other people but I know that I could not do a full dive without a number of cooling aids.

I am beginning to have vivid dreams again. I can also recall them hours later. I am sure that this mHBOT has something to do with it. I am invigorated after I exit the chamber and I usually stay awake for one to three hours following the dives. It is still best that I do my dives in the evening since I have been more energetic throughout the day. My Dr told me to do the dives when I notice my reserves or cognition crashing. I notice it less and less as I progress with hours spent in the chamber. I have a 2018 Sudoku book that I play every day. It is more challenging to me with numbers and letters in each 16X16 square. I leave the easy ones blank hoping that D or anyone who visits me will try them. The Hard, Harder and Hardest ones are what I do. I will look for a new book soon since this year will be over shortly. I still can’t read a book from cover to cover. I have at least five books that I have started and not finished this year. I began reading a great book on nutrition a few nights ago. Thank you Gavin. I read the first four chapters a few nights ago when it was not easy to fall asleep. I will most likely read it to the end soon. I have another book coming in October that I am really looking forward to. Its part of a series. I have read the first four and this is the fifth one. I plan on reading it following my clinical treatments with Dr Hughes @ TBITherapy in mid October.

Fall Is Here! I get all excited inside. That means that the holidays are coming. I love the leaves changing color. Living in beautiful Colorado is breathtaking. Our backyard aspens are all colors right now. They each take their turns in changing colors. Once the leaves are down we have a beautiful view of the mountains to the north of us. A panoramic view! Stunning and remarkable views! I cherish the memories we have of all these years in Colorado. And now that we own this house, it makes it even more special. Thank You LORD for Your Love and Your Beautiful Creation! Thank You for our lovely home!

Fall Is Here also reminds me that we bought two gallons of stain to apply to our large deck in the back before the snow falls. We have some work ahead of us to ready the place for the winter. O, I sure hope that it snows and snows this season. We need many feet of snow.

Thank you for joining me in my safe place this evening. My oxygen has been appreciated and the pressurized chamber has been perfect. Yawning as the chamber is deflating. Good Night Mom! I love you bunches.

Hugs,

Suz

Good Tuesday Evening, September 25, 2018 @ 22:10:44 MT.

Yesterday I speculated at what dive I had completed. Today is #30. I am elated. I sure have learned to appreciate the kindness of our God in leading us to purchase this mHBOT chamber!

Today, I noticed that my ears are so adjusted to the dives that I little notice the changes in  pressure. My left ear is doing really well. I do look forward to the auxiliary oxygen I get in here too. All systems are “go!”

I had my post-op appointment today for a dressing change. The dried blood was pulling on my foot and causing a lot of pain. The relief was gradual as PA Evan had to pour water over the gauze to get it unstuck. There is still a lot of swelling at the suture lines. I expected that since the foot is walked on. I see my Dr next week for suture removal and x-rays. I am so glad that I got the hardware removed. It had been there for five years! The drive and the amount of time I did not have my foot elevated today has it throbbing right now. I will elevate it in bed and take some Tylenol and ibuprofen for the discomfort.

I woke this morning with my “numb” headache. It lasted all day and I even experienced the piercing, stabbing pain with it too. I took an hour nap but woke to the numbness still there. Light and sound sensitivity seem to be elevated when I have all day headaches. I did help with dinner preparation though. I prepared the spaghetti sauce. D got the spaghetti squash prepared and in the oven but it just wasn’t cooking fast enough so we made rice noodles for tonight. There is plenty of the sauce left for tomorrow night and the squash finally cooked. We are set for tomorrow! D added sprigs of our garden basil to the top of the squash and it did get a bit roasted so the flavor should be dynamite!

I am sitting in this chamber full of wonder and gratitude. I am grateful to those who have developed these chambers for people like myself to enjoy. I am grateful to my Dr for prescribing the chamber for me. I am grateful that D is so supportive of everything I am doing to live a better quality of life. I am grateful to God for leading me down this road of recovery. I am grateful to all of the friendships I have acquired through the FB groups I am part of. What a marvelous group of people! I am grateful for the healthy choices I am making to better advance my recovery. I am grateful for my Mom. She has been right beside me whether we are together for a few weeks and for all the rest of the year where she is praying for me and speaking life-giving and love-giving words of encouragement to me every day. I love you Mom! I am grateful.

Last week, as D and I were driving in the dark to the hospital for my surgery, God gave me a chapter to read over us. It was Isaiah 35. I would like to share it with you tonight. It speaks of God’s promises to us and the goodness He has for us. I have been living in that chapter this entire week. Thank You Lord!

Dive #30….Yahoo!

Hugs,

Suz

The Message Bible:  Isaiah 35

Good Monday Evening, September 24, 2018 @ 22:49:40. Today is a special day! Fourteen years ago today D left So Cal for Colorado Springs, CO. for a new job. We reunited months later and truly had a wonderful adventure there. It was the beginning of our best adventure as Colorado residents. I am so happy to be a Coloradoan. We left the Springs for the Boat in 2014.

I absolutely love NW Colorado. It’s still got the ruggedness of western living. I love hearing the cows, horses, coyotes and even the feral cat fights in the middle of the night. We moved from Steamboat Springs a year and a half ago to a laid back community along a state highway. Our new town has no stop lights except for the one on the highway that is used by fire and emergency vehicles on occasion. We have the Merch as our grocery store and a small Ace Hardware. It’s such a cute place to live.

I am in my chamber. I have been here for about a half hour already. The time goes so quickly. I am totally sold on hyperbaric treatment. I am sleeping better! Yahoo! I used to average 20 hours sleep per week (on good weeks) and now I am getting 6-10 hours sleep a night. I still need to take melatonin a few days a week to sleep but even when I get up to use the bathroom I am able to get right back to sleep. It is true that D falls asleep easily and I fidget and stir for a few hours before I sleep soundly but I am fine with that. D doesn’t complain. I still get my best sleep once the dogs have been fed in the morning. I am typically up and out of bed by 10am whether I fall asleep at midnight or three.

Since the TBI a symptom that I have lived with is constant headaches. I have described them earlier in a blog. I can truthfully say that the headaches are not as bothersome as they were. I know the hyperbaric is helping me in that way too. I often wake up with a headache but within an hour it is gone. I am wondering if it is related to my neck that was never addressed in physical therapy much. My TBI Dr has already told me that he is going to examine my neck and possibly inject it with protein rich plasma when I see him in mid October. He will also look at the ongoing difficulty I have with my left knee since the TBI. I think that I will see a therapist who will do some cranial work on me. That’s good because I have lots of pain at the point of impact (right forehead) and especially paine in my right eye orbit and maxilla. Its been 2.5 years since my fall at work and all of these aches and pains are real.

My left foot is healing. I have an appointment for the dressings to be removed. Yes! There is a lot of dried blood at the top of my foot that is so irritating. I really look forward to a good report!

I’m The Dive Queen is tonight’s theme. I took it from my precious friend Nancy. Thank you Nancy. I was thinking back on my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health that has improved since I have been doing these dives. I am pretty sure that I am at or near 30 dives and with the accumulated hours, I am at or over 50 hours to date. The extra oxygen is awesome. I am totally loving this experience. Thank you D for giving up part of your office space for my chamber to occupy the NE corner of the room. D assists me in and out of the chamber. He comes in the room to check on me periodically. I am sitting in a chair so I suppose I can call it my throne. It’s also my realm. I possess it. I occupy it. I am The Dive Queen!!

I’m ending now. Thank you for joining me tonight. MOM: I LOVE YOU BUNCHES!

Hugs,

Suz

Good Saturday, September 22, 2018 @ 20:14:50 MT.

I have been away from my mHBOT and blogging for nearly a week. It’s all about recovery!

Short And Sweet! Today I will give you just that! A brief look at how I am doing and what has kept me away from you.

Five days ago I had hardware removed from my left foot. Eight screws and a plate. I received a general anesthetic and an ankle nerve block. It seemed to go very quickly but then, I was asleep! The doctor ordered me a low dose Norco for pain. I thought I wouldn’t need it. Not so! Over the course of three days I took a total 6 pills. Since yesterday morning I have been managing my healing pain with a combo of Tylenol/ibuprofen AND my most favorite pain reliever ICE! I Love ICE! It has helped me through this week pretty well, thank you dear and kind friend of mine….ICE!

Today is the first day back in the chamber. I am doing an hour dive and everything is going very well. My left ear is handling the dives with no negative effect or pain. I am tolerating the stuffiness inside the chamber with the personal fan blowing at the left side of my neck. I have ice wrapped around my shoulders and back so I’m feeling really good. I am taking nice breaths of the oxygen also. The headaches have not been terrible and my sleep has been fairly good. One night I only got 4 hours sleep but I sure slept those few days on Norco.

Two days prior to my surgery, I had a really bad bout with BPPV.  D and I performed the Epley Maneuver and then I slept with my chin raised and didn’t sleep on my side. The next day I still felt a bit dizzy but it was not nauseating like it had been. We checked me with another Epley and my eyes stayed in place. The room did not spin. The paint on the walls did not melt. We successfully did it! I have been noticing more dizziness this week but I had surgery so I’m not too concerned today.

I really missed my daily dives. It has become a natural part of my daily routine. I am speaking good and positive things to my brain and nerves and blood vessels. I am telling me that God created me to complete certain tasks and I know I have not accomplished everything on His bucketlist for me! So I am going to thrive. I am going to live well!

Short And Sweet! I am preparing for the treatments I will be receiving in mid October. I will be taking specific supplementation 15 days before my appointment and I want to get in a good number of hours inside my chamber before then. I watched a video of a friend having the stem cells and protein rich plasma injected up inside his nostrils. It was a bit uneasy to watch, but I will do anything to assist my brain and nerves and blood vessels to correct the damage the TBI did to me. I have a good feeling about myself and the future.

I am running out of battery on my computer so I am going to end now. Thanks so much for rooting for me. Yes! I will score many touchdowns.

Dear mHBOT, I thank you for the positive experience I have having with you! Hmm…I might have to name this chamber. Giving it a name is good for my soul. I will think on this and get back to you.

Short And Sweet! Hugs always,

Suz

Good Tuesday, September 11, 2018 @ 21:12:01. My goodness, where did today go? I slept in this morning and I enjoyed it a lot. I was able to laze for a while before D took me to my primary physician’s office. I had a pre-op appointment with her and I am sure that I did just fine. I should be hearing about the labs and EKG tomorrow. I am having the hardware removed from my left foot next Tuesday. I shattered my left big toe and broke my second toe the day of my Daddy’s funeral nearly five years ago. I needed a plate and a bunch of screws and two pins to repair it. Over the past year I have been struggling with foot pain because the screws have worked their way out and are an irritation. So out they go! Its going to be a very simple procedure and whew….what a relief it will be!

I am enjoying my dive for this evening. And I am looking forward to sleeping the night away. The chamber is a safe place for me to talk with God, to blog, to rest also. I did not have to yawn at all when the chamber was inflating. I have been in here 30 minutes already and I just now yawned my first. I took out the cool vest and I am resting my back against it this evening. D put ice packs in the bucket that holds the air tubes so the blowing air is a bit cool for me. Thanks D!

What A Day it was! Following my long appointment with my primary physician D, Mom and I went to get a bite to eat. We returned to the physician’s office for a walk-in appointment for D. He has been limping over the past few weeks and struggling with muscle spasms in the night. His left ankle began to swell late last week and continued to get progressively worse. So he did need to have all of his symptoms evaluated. Of course he is scheduled for an ultrasound of his left leg and foot tomorrow and he was given compression stockings, a script for physical therapy and a note for his employer that he is off work until October 1. O my goodness! We are quite a couple, aren’t we?

WHEW! What A Day is today’s theme. Sure enough, once we were heading back home my eyes just stopped working well. Everything became blurry and the movement was difficult for me. I was on overload, overwhelmed and fatigued. Six hours away from the safety of our quiet home and my recliner.

I just wanted to rest but when we did get home the dogs were anxious to be let out and then fed. Then there was dinner to fix for the three of us. What was there to eat that wouldn’t tale a lot of energy or talent to pull off? I looked at all of the frozen possibilities and nope that wasn’t it. I thought about leftovers and no way was I going to try to create a unique dinner with those ingredients. Spaghetti! Yes! I quickly made a simple tomato sauce with fresh veggies and herbs from my garden, some fresh garlic and a can of black olives. I cooked Thai rice noodles and shredded a chunk of Romano cheese. Then I made eight nice and juicy meatballs to go with our dinner. Since all three of us were tired from the long day the deliciously simple dinner was perfect.

I have less than a half hour remaining for this dive. I am so enjoying each one more than the last. I yawned twice more but because I am tired. I truly believe that every cell of my body is receiving the benefits of oxygen under pressure. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity to use this tool to assist me in health. mHBOT is great!

This is one of those days when I could get all tied up in knots worrying about my surgery next week, the recovery period, continuing these dives, and most of all worrying about what D is going through. The threat of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) could overwhelm me. The threat that whatever it is causing his lower back pain and discomfort could devastate me. The fear of not being paid the income that helps us each month could ruin my sleep. I can’t. I won’t. Why? Am I numb? Am I hiding from the fear that will creep into me in the dark of night?

OR will I trust God to take care of everything? I choose God. In Deuteronomy 31 God promises me through these words spoken by Moses that “the Lord, He is the One who goes before you, He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” It is this confidence that I hold so close to my heart. It is the assurance I live with every day of my life. I am going to rely on God’s Word. AND I am  going to ask that you pray for us. Yes, take a moment and pray for my precious husband. And pray for me too. Thank you. I cherish your prayers.

Suz

Good Monday evening, September 10, 2018 @ 21:30:15. I have not been writing for a few days because I was so exhausted that I realized the dive was more important. Quoting the flyer Dad in Independence Day….”Hello Boys…..I’m baaaaack!”

I am enjoying my dives more and more. My left ear is adjusting well to the pressure. I yawn often during the dive and especially open my mouth in deep yawns with the chamber is inflating and deflating. I am really liking the effects I already notice with the auxiliary oxygen. I bruise easily because the walls and chairs and table and doors seem to find my arms as I walk past them. Those boogers! I am sure its my gait. Okay, it is! Anyway, I am three weeks in and my arms are nearly the color they should be. I’m hoping for the wrinkles to fade and the few grey hairs to get color back in them. But that’s vanity isn’t it? Why not! I will take all of the good benefits that I will experience because of my mHBOT chamber. My headaches have been cyclic recently. I notice moments when I do not have head pain. YAHOO! My eyes are quite blurry but this morning I realized that they were nice and clear when I first went outside but in less than fifteen minutes the blurriness returned. I got so tired this afternoon it was impossible to keep my eyes open. I slept for two hours. YES!. I am enjoying my essential oils and use them often to combat the headaches, muscle tightness and joint pail I live with every day. I am most of all enjoying sleep again. I realize that I have been dreaming more too. I am sure that it’s a good sign. Mom is still with us and we have been having a good time just being with one another. We play a card game nearly every day and I have been doing pretty good at keeping focused. Its called Three Thirteen. I can not find my dice or we would be playing Chicken too.

I chose the theme Rituals today because I overheard a person saying that they “hated rituals” and it really stung my heart. So, this girl who has to know everything looked up its definition: Ritual–a religious or solemn ceremony, or a common activity done repeatedly or routinely that follows a certain set of rules or tradition customs. That sounded accurate! Synonyms include an attitude, codes, established ways, etiquette, formalities, manners, morals, policies, practices, principles. protocol, rites, routines, rules, social conduct, standards, and way of life. Antonyms are difference, neglect, disagreement and discord. O my!

I have been thinking about why that person was so objectionable. It’s because of a set-in-stone mindset that is different and is in opposition to another person’s practices and principles. We see this in every realm of life. In school, it’s the playground bully who picks on the compliant schoolmate. In politics, its one party’s agenda over another. In religion, its one denominational practice degraded by another one’s belief system. In marriage, its conduct in discord. WOW!

Rituals: I have chosen to change-up my way of life and do these dives every night before going to bed. It is a new ritual for me. I need these dives to assist me in healing from the TBI and all of the continuing effects associated with the injury. Here’s a list of symptoms I continue to have that effect me to some degree every day: balance problems, blurred vision, cognitive decline or changes, cognitive function problems. compulsive behavior, confusion, difficulty following instruction, difficulty integrating information, difficulty learning new things, difficulty performing familiar tasks, difficulty with concentration, disorganization, disorientation to time or place, distractibility, double vision, severe fatigue, flashbacks of the trauma, frequent headaches, frequent dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, general anxiety, grief, hallucinations, hot flashes, impulse control problems, insomnia, irritability, losing things, loss of appetite, loss of interest in things or people, low frustration tolerance, making careless mistakes, mood swings, muscle pain, muscle spasms, nausea, nightmares, panic attacks, performance anxiety, problems paying attention, problems with abstract thinking, problems with language/word finding, racing thoughts, ringing in both ears, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, sensitivity to touch, short-term memory problems, social anxiety, worry. These are constant with TBI and PTSD.

Rituals are in every area of my life. I brush my teeth in the morning after I wake up. I drink a cup of coffee with whole milk every morning, I watch a news program every weekday morning when I am here at home and not at an appointment or out with D for breakfast. I take our dogs outdoors every few hours daily for them to romp and me to get some sunshine. I take my prescriptive medications in a certain order throughout the day. I play Sudoku daily to wake up my sleepy mind. I tend to my garden every day. I tidy up the house and do the laundry and wash the windows and dishes every day — realistically. Life needs order so the chaos does not overwhelm and overtake me.

Rituals: I have a very important ritual that I practice daily. I developed it as a small child. I continue to make it a way of my life and I pleasingly applaud anyone else who agrees with this daily activity……I say “I Love You” often to my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my Mom, my brothers, my friends and myself. It is my pleasure to express the LOVE I have in words and deeds and also in my prayers.

My dive is ending now. D just came in the room and turned off the air compressors and opened the valve. I am yawning big. All is good.

God Is Good All Of The Time….And All Of The Time God Is Good!

Happy New 5779 to you. Its Rosh Hashanah!

Sending my very best to all of my family and friends tomorrow. The day we remember as 911.

I pray Psalm 91 over you today

I am sending you an “I Love You” tonight. Know that it is a joy to express myself in this way to you. It is who I am. It is what I do. It is my daily way of life. I intend on living fully in the rituals of life!

Suz

Good Thursday evening, September 6, 2018 22:21:48 to you.

I have been enjoying tonight’s dive for about an hour now. It began well. No troubles reaching full inflation. I took an antihistamine before the dive and my left ear did not present with any pain even though it does not adjust as well as my right ear. The ice bath we are currently using does a nice job of cooling the air.

This blog will be Short…But Sweet. I’m far too tired to write much this evening. I got less than five hours sleep last night. And my eye sight is cloudy with double vision. It appears to me that I need to rest.

There are a lot of Short…But Sweet things in life. Today, my Mom handed me a half of a dark chocolate mint candy. It was just right and very sweet of her to give me something so tasty.

How about the seasonal changes that are happening so quickly! Shorter days and longer nights are upon us. My aspen trees in the back yard are turning already. One of our trees loses its leaves before the others and its leaves are already yellow. I took my doggie out this evening before I jumped in here and the temperature on our back patio was already 52 degrees F. Summer came with a flurry. It was hot all summer. And the terrible fires were bad. We had many days where the outside air was not nice to breath. My garden veggies did not produce as well as I had hoped but what we did get was delicious. Short…But Sweet.

I am really tired so I am going to end now. I am so grateful for this chamber. I am seeing the benefits already in my daily life. I have more energy. I am sleeping much better. I seem to be able to better accomplish a few more tasks a day. I look forward to clearer thinking and better walking and fewer headaches. I will keep putting one foot in front of the other. I will continue to push through the visual disturbances I experience daily. I will delight in not being so dizzy and hopefully find peace of mind as the tinnitus decreases. Those are my hopes. I also hope that one day I will be able to be a passenger in our vehicle and enjoy driving to the city or even into Denver. That will be awesome. One day! One day!

I need to also rest because tomorrow is Mom’s 90th Birthday! We are celebrating! O yes we are! I purchased a lovely tiara for Mom to wear. We will celebrate her tomorrow and Saturday…..I will be preparing foods for the feast we will be sharing at Venue Church’s Fourth Year Anniversary Party on Saturday evening. I am going to get the ingredients ready for the potato salad, rice and black beans, and 90 cupcakes that I will be baking for the dual-celebration. Yahoo!

God bless you dear one,

Suz

It is Wednesday evening, September 5, 2018 @ 20:57:15 and I am nearing the 1.3 ATA required to begin the 90 minute daily dive. I am still not tolerating the pressure in my left ear as well as I would like. I am giving my left ear a lot of my attention and speaking kind words to my precious ear. I am blessing it. I am reminding my left ear of my appreciation for its most excellent talent in caring for me. I am so sure that my left ear likes hearing me speak to it. I know that the sensitivity in my left ear will ease because I am attending to both of my ears and they both like me!

I am beginning the dive right now. We are cooling the air hoses with more ice and cold water. They seem to like the bath they are getting. Most of all, the cabin’s atmosphere is more pleasant to be in. I tried to drink water as the chamber was inflating. It seemed to help with my left ear popping. I knew that! Swallowing is important to equilibrium.

Secrets, yes secrets. What do you do with your darkest secrets? Do you trust anyone with the information and the terrible emotions that accompany them? Or do you shove them down so deep that every now and then you wonder if they really happened or were they a nightmare? It is the nature and plan of darkness to not let any light or fresh air or freedom into its place of captivity. Watch out. Take the best care of yourself that you can.

Secrets. What about the silent secrets of your heart? Do you share them with anyone? Are you embarrassed to share them with even your spouse or your best friend? Do you feel qualified or good enough to receive such blessings? Do you have your own “bucket list” of hopes and dreams that you have not shared with anyone because they are petty or unimaginable in their opinion? What’s inside of you that you would love to let out but fear holds you back from expressing yourself? Is your Secret a blueprint or a plan that seems so out-of-the-world that you hide it away and only visit it now and then? I speak FREEDOM to you! Love yourself. Take perfect care of yourself and find all of the ways to enjoy life.

Well, here I sit revealing so much of what is inside of me. I’m an open blog!! I wonder if it really matters to anyone else but myself and yet I continue to write. It is cathartic. It is revelatory. It is relieving. Its me!

Secrets. I have Secrets. I am positive that everyone does. I have deep and profound secrets. I have terrible dark secrets. I have delightful secrets that make me smile. I have hopes and dreams and plans and desires that will not be held captive by fear and doubt and insecurity. I want to live a fully Suz life. And I thank you for sharing in this part of my journey. Don’t stop believing. That’s a song isn’t it? Of course it is. I hear Journey singing it right now. “Don’t stop believing…Hold on to that feeling!”

I am more than half-way through my dive. I am going to stop writing because I want to sit back and relax in here. I haven’t done that yet in the chamber. My left ear is able to open more than it has in a while so I am really happy. The cabin pressure is awesome. The O2 is great. I am comfortable and cool. YES! Yes, I am!

Take care,

Suz

Hello Friends, How is your Tuesday evening? It is 20:51:25 here in the chamber. I overextended myself today. I am exhausted. It was a bit challenging to get in tonight but I need the treatment so here I am. Remember ‘Tag, You’re It’ “Ready or not, here I come!” ‘Remember Red Rover!’ “Send Suz over!” Flashback to childhood..good memories, aren’t they? I’m telling you…..I Have This One!

I managed to get up to the proper 1.3 ATA with still a bit of pain and fullness in my left ear. My right ear pops and never hurts. The left is a real troublemaker. I’m going to have a long talk with my left ear tonight. I brought a stick of Big Red gum in here. Let’s see how it benefits me or not.

D, my Mom and I went to Steamboat Springs today. Every time we go there I totally get why we moved to the country. Yes, a gorgeous Rocky Mountain tourist adventure is manned by very hard-working locals so that the 40K + visitors who arrive there every week can enjoy the beauty and fun that summer biking and hiking and hot springs-ing and winter skiing, snowboarding, and hot springs-ing can offer. We had errands to do there and I did too much. So, I am overwhelmed, overstimulated, exhausted and numb. The most tiring thing that I did was go shopping and visiting at my prior place of employment. Safeway is still my home-away where I get hugs and smiles and “how are you doing” from everyone who still remember me. The lights and the merchandise and the noise was way too much for me. I felt like jello when I stepped into the truck following my last hug from another friend there. The ride home was not so good either. I do not do well with motion. Walking or being a passenger in a vehicle messes with my eyes, ears, face, head and stomach. I feel the air that we are passing through. It’s hard to explain but here goes…the atmosphere that we move causes pain and numbness to my forehead and eyes and makes my stomach do gymnastics. I burp louder and louder as my head begins to pound. Once home, I then stumbled out of the truck and somehow found my way through the garage with my nearly 90-year-old Mom on my arm….o my. We ate leftovers and a fresh grilled london broil for dinner that D grilled for us. D is actually finishing up cleaning the dishes while I sit here trying to find peace again in my safe chamber. I will attempt to go right to bed when my dive is over. I hope to sleep well tonight because I need to rest all of the unrest inside of me. I Have This One!

I truly enjoy this time of solitude in the chamber. The air could be cooler but the experience is great. I trust that my Dr. understands the benefits that I am receiving from these dives. I certainly do feel energized when I exit the chamber every day. I still get very tired within a half hour and enjoy going to bed soon after the dive. My sleep seems to have improved at many levels. I am able to stay asleep even if I need to get up to use the restroom. Before hyperbaric treatment, if I woke for any reason I was awake for hours or even the rest of the night. I seem to be less restless in my sleep too. I missed too many hours of sleep over the past 2.5 years so I am totally ready for the healing rest that follows each dive. I woke this morning with a nasty headache so I sat up to take my daily Synthroid and then I laid back down and wrapped my head in my king size feather pillow. I slept another two hours and woke to the usual numbness across my forehead but the headache was gone. I Have This One!

The night air is getting cooler. The leaves are turning much earlier this year too. My garden plants are not producing as much either. I have a large number of seedlings that I am going to nurture over the winter months. I am moving them from the two-inch pots to six-inch pots so they will become robust for spring planting. We also need to get our deck stained and sealed soon since the wood is so ready for a new coat. It is fun to be a productive part of my family again, even if it is in small ways. Winter is my favorite season for many reasons. I love cold weather. I enjoy watching the snow fall. I also like to shovel snow. Yes, I do enjoy it. D does most of the work. My attention to snow is limited to the small front porch and a few of the seven stairs and the back deck. I leave the stairs for D. I do contribute to our winter needs in more productive ways such as baking breads and scones and cupcakes. I also love to cook hot delicious meals. I haven’t been able to scale down my recipes yet but that’s ok because I only have to call our son’s house and they will gladly come over to pick up the grubs or eat with us. I Have This One!

Okay, I’m dreaming and hoping too. There are those good days. And there are those not so good days. And and and there are those bad days too.  I live each and every week just like you do. It’s okay to dream. It is okay to hope. It is okay! It’s okay!! Because today I Have This One!

The time has come to begin the deflation. My left ear is not responding as well as my right one. The chewing gum seems to have helped me move my jaw so the pressure is less noticeable but when I yawn just cracklings happen in the left ear. I have noticed more clarity at the end of this dive and we are only at 2 psi. Half-way through depressurization. And guess what? I Have This One!

Hugs,

Suz