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
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