BPPV or Payback is hell

Memories:  Linda D calling me one morning telling me she didn't know when she would be back to work as the "crystals in her ear got rearranged and the only remedy was physical therapy".  When she got better she told me about being so dizzy and nauseous; then described this maneuver they used on her to "rearrange" them properly. It provided MUCH laughter, ribbing and kidding at the office.  And of course the byword for anything gone a little screwy was "it must be my crystals".  Eventually she DID get better and DID come back to work.  Occasionally she would call to say the crystals are back and we wouldn't see her for a few days.  THAT was 4+ years ago and to my knowledge she has never gotten totally over it. Now rewind to November 12, 2010: For two years we have been getting on a bus in TRC at 7 am and riding 5 hours to Globe Arizona to the Indian Casino.  Once there they gave us $10 to spend (green money NOT plastic money); we spend the night, have scads of fund then load up at 1 pm and riding home.  This year the casino quite providing the bus; thus the Senior Center has dumped this trip.  Boohoo!  However we ARE creative and we DO have a friend that is a much higher roller than us.  High on the hog.  By using pork as a barometer I rate 1 hoof and my friends might be up about an inch.  Our friend plays with about 1 leg of a hog.  ($?,??? if you get my drift.)  I mean in October when we went I went with $20 after expenses to blow.  I knew we were going to get $60 at one casino and $35 at another so I wasn't too worried about fun.  I won $50 on the $60; took it to the other casino and happily lost it and the other $35 and had a blast.  Hey!  I no longer buy shoes, jewelry or googaws at the drop of a hat!  I am maintaining the 10 pair of shoe rule. AND the if you get something new you have to get rid of something you already have to get rid of something you already have.

So on November 11 we went to Albuquerque to Hard Rock Casino.  Our High Roller Friend  (HRF) had a free room and probably free food and she likes to share.  She doesn't have too many people to pal around with so it works for all of us.  So Sharon, Sue, HRF and I headed out.  We had a good time.  This time I left with $200 and some change and came back with $210.90!! Woohoo I say.  Anyway when I woke on the 12th my left ear was plugged.  And it has come and gone since then.  Never getting completely ok.  I irrigated it and haven't really gotten a lot of wax out.  I thought there just wasn't any in there.  (yes, I'm blonde now.) Fast Forward to: Friday night I woke up turning over; getting dizzy and wanting to dry heave.  (I don't throw up remember? I just get to have the most horrible sounding dry heaves.  Why would I do anything quiet hmmmm?) It went away.  Saturday I was dizzy a few times but the wind was picking up so I ignored it.  Sunday I just wasn't up to par.  I really had a good time sittin' on the couch with Deb, Linda and Carol pretending to watch a Broncos game.  Monday the wind was down in the morning so I went outside to sit in the sun.  I love to sit in the sun.  The breeze cools me off when I get too hot.  So we had Happy Hour from 8-9ish.  When I got up I was SOOO ghastly dizzy and horribly nauseous.  Then dry heaves about that fast.  I haven't been that sick since my B52 ride.  I laid on the bed and didn't move anything, nothing, I barely breathed.  In a few minutes I had to go to the bathroom.  When I sat up here it went again.  This cycle went on for eons it seemed like.  Finally, at my wits end I called the doc, any doc.  I must have sounded desperate as they called me back with a time and any doc.  I had a few hours to "kill".  I laid on the bed with my sleep mask on not moving.  I would doze and forget and turn over.  STOP!!  It would start again. Side note: Well we must have looked a sight. Ken (no bundle of steadiness on HIS feet) going in front of me.   Yes, we were stupid.  What's new?  It's not like we weren't surrounded by friends that could have done it, but you know me.  Always the caregiver but very quiet about if I need help.  I always feel comforted knowing that people are there to help and that thought keeps me going.  Yeah, yeah, yeah don't deprive them of helping. ( I must be better if I'm having this argument with myself.) Anyway we get to the doc and after asking me which comes first, etc he takes me into a room where the table  can be lowered.  He has me set on the table and twirl around (SLOWLY) then hyper-extend my head to the left as far as I can and maintain that pose. (I say Holy Spit are you telling me my crystals as messed up?  He is astonished I know about it.  Payback here it comes.  Paint a target on my chest and start harassing me.)  He then says he won't let me fall and if I hurl he'll duck. (He has a sick sense of humor, eh?)  Left first.  HOLY SPIT the world spins 8000mph.  Then the right - nothing.  Then he does this other move the bottom line is I'm hanging over the table with my eyes looking straight down to the floor and my body at a 90* and has Ken time it for 2 minutes.  When the world finally settles down we leave.  Oh yeah there is a wax plug in my left ear - very tight and he won't touch it.  Has us get some "stuff" to put in it twice a day until I go back in a week. I came home and slept in my chair until time to go to bed when I moved to Ken's chair to sleep reclining.  Today I can "feel" the dizziness is there just waiting to zap me.  I sat outside in the sun for 4 hours and didn't move (well except my mouth :)  )  Then came inside; Ken did the procedure on me and I took a nap.    The proper name for this is BPPV - Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.  The good news:  I've heard the first time is the worst.  The bad news: 80% of the time it comes back and back and back.  sigh

Purging the old, nasty and TOO negative and finally posting SOME not all

I am reworking the blog.........I started this to create a diary of what, where and how and cannot let FaceBook take me totally over.  I enjoy reading stuff that Mom, Aunts Della and Sarah, wrote from the 1900's. etc so maybe someday someone will enjoy this of the 2000's.
I have been making notes here there and everywhere so am rereading, deleting, fixing grammer :) and finally will post SOME but not all from the last months.  I have to get in the swim of the blog so that I can purge MORE pictures!!  I found a program that finds duplicates so have deleted several gb of photos - but there is many, many to go.  Thus I will carry on here and work on the past.

This is a perfect day to do inside stuff.  We are under a fire AND wind warning.  I hope we won't be doing either one before long.

We are going to the clubhouse at 3 pm for turkey'tover soup.  It's been smelling good for a few days now.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

What an absolutely stupendous Thanksgiving we had at Cedar Cove.  We "pretended" to use the new room.  They don't have a C.O. yet.  :)  The park manager, Martha welcomes everyone.  Then introduces the cooks, Donna (leader of the pack) and Barb.  Barb also made us the cutest name tags to wear.

They cooked three turkeys and there was so MUCH food.  Then we played Golf and made more friends.  Hopefully we will get to "move in" to the addition next week.  Sharon and I are going through puzzle withdrawal.  :)

"The office" now that the clubhouse addition is nearly finished.

The Village is nearly complete

Here is the  Village Row at Cedar Cove RV Park.  It will be complete when Cliff and Karen get here. Double click on the photo to make it so you can read the names.   Here is the patio at the clubhouse and a picture of the new room which we will pretend to use tomorrow for Thanksgiving.  (No Cert of Occup yet).  We are settling in.  We are content.  Sharon and I (and Ki and Deb and, and) will be very content when we can put a puzzle table up.  I have 14 puzzles to start on which includes the 2000 piece one the DIL got me.

Besides being much nicer to our pocketbook it is easier for Ken to be sociable more than once a day.  We gather outside in the sun in the morning and in the evening.  Bad weather days we go to the clubhouse.  It is rather nice to have him "hanging" around with me more.  :)  Lovin' this life!  Cliff and Karen will be the last ones to get here.  Carol/Gary & Emile/Diane landed yesterday and the day before.  Cliff is getting released from his heart doc and Karen will get her release and they'll be here by next weekend.  (We hope.)

San Mateo Mtns

The goal - San Mateo Mtn.

Remnants of an old CCC camp.

Loren led a group of us (6 vehicles) up to the San Mateo Mtns.  From the pano view it looks like one.  When we got closer in evolves into separate ones.  We stopped at an old CC camp and explored it awhile.

Dave plays King of the Mountain.

Luna Park - a trip to the Biffy.

Crawling up the hills.

We stopped at Lune Park for lunch. Awesome.  We love going with Loren and Marilyn.  They have studied the history of the area and know many interesting anecdotes.  Thank you Loren/Marilyn!

Biffy view.  Wind was very noisy here.

Sue and Linda

Killer aka Tink in "jail" for awhile.

Toby crawlin' the rocks.

Loren and Ken

Bob/Terry and Darrel/Sue from Lakeside went with us.  We "finished" at Springboard (mmm Springsomething) Campground (tents only) behind the ladies is a shelter.  There is one like this at each site.  Darrel told Sue she couldn't walk and talk at the same time; but I'm sure if you look hard here you can see she can.  So there Darrel!  It was a great trip.

We are going to take our pickup and go on these trips this years when we can.  Ken has decided to enjoy the life he has.  So he is taking 800mg of Ibuprofen two or three times a day for his pain. The prescription pain medicine for his nerve damage is ALL also used for epilepsy.  To date the therapeutic dosage for pain means he is messing big time with his epilepsy. MOST of the time the trips we would want to go on we'll be able to.  Today he propped himself into a position that kind of "held" him.  He'll probably be down most of tomorrow; but as he says, "It's my pain.  I'll manage it how I want". Go get'em honey!  We're living our dream.

Mapping a trip to Alaska for Jim and Beth

Jim and Beth from Winter 2008 found us and came to several HH's.  At this one Dave and Beth are mapping a proposed trip to Alaska for them in 2011.

Newell is impressing us with his ability to sit on Clay's stool.
:)  :)  Way to go Newell.  Battin' those balls around is helping
your.............uhhhhh........well it's helping.  :)

OK Beth, Dave says follow this one up and this one down.

They are headed to Yuma to spend the winter.  Jim says it's way warmer there.  So, I'm going to keep track and see.  It's just another gadget on my desktop!

Of a morning we are on the east side of the vehicles and for HH we move to the west side.  

Pool at the Legion

This is pretty self-explanatory!!  Ken is even participating this year.  Gotta love those 800 mg Ibuprofen!  Better living through drug THERAPY!

The Cheering section???

And so it begins..........pulled pork sandwiches

Randy (over near Loren/Marilyn) gave us some Pork so we decided to have our first "LS Village" potluck.  This one was staged between Martin's/Punelei's.  Thanks Randy - it was great.  And good job roasting/pulling Wyn/Ki.

#88 Chris from Alberta, Dave and Jim from  2008 Winter.

We are learning to do "our thing" earlier in the day to take advantage of the sun.

Happy Hour must change to Happy Noon Hour

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We are moving up HH to 3pm.  4:30 in the desert is just too durn cold.    I, however, am STILL in short pants.  Do I even own any long ones?  Hmmmm. Good quesiton.