Covid Remix

It got me again

Well, Covid got me again. I’m not sure where I got it, but I got it.

I started getting the slightest tickle in my throat on Saturday night while walking home from ArtWalk. I had plans with a friend on Sunday and told him about my throat tickle, and he said he was still fine with hanging out. By Monday morning, I knew I had something going on and tested positive. It took him a few days to get it.

Despite hearing multiple people say this round is much worse than others, it’s been very much like my first round two years ago. It started off as a throat tickle and moved into severe sinus congestion. Unlike my first time, I’ve had little coughing so far. I keep waiting for the shoe to drop on the hacking Covid cough, but (knock on wood) I think I might have avoided that this time. That was the worst part, by far.

I think what helps is that I attack, attack, attack any time I have a virus like this (which isn’t often). The night of and morning after the throat tickle started, I started with the echinacea tea and zinc lozenges. Then, lots of other teas, veggies, and fruits. Plus, I’m taking a whey protein supplement that has helped with my energy level.

I’m writing this on Saturday and feel almost completely back to normal.

Syncope Surprise

Shortly after sitting down to work on book editing Friday morning, I randomly started having terrible stomach pains, which inevitably leads to syncope for me. (My fabulous fainting issue!) I wish I understood this dynamic better, but when my stomach hurts to almost any degree, my body is like, “Hey, you know what we should do right now? Pass out. Yeah, let’s pass out. That will help this stomach pain.” Unfortunately, it is completely outside my control. My body does what it wants to do in this situation!

This is what I see when I have a bout of syncope. My legs are up a wall to keep my blood pressure from dropping to keep me from dropping onto the floor and passing out. It can last up to an hour and is usually accompanied by diarrhea and nausea.

It's scary to be alone in my apartment, knowing there is a chance I could pass out. What if I vomit after that and choke on it? What if I hit my head?

So, I generally text a few friends to check in on me at intervals. I'm sure these are weird and worrying texts to get. I almost always end up fine, but it feels like I need someone to watch over me in the moment. You just never know what can happen. I’m grateful to these friends for heeding the call a few times a year when this happens.

This whole process drained all my energy, so the rest of the morning was a wash.

And Then a Migraine…

Then, I had a bit of what I assumed was a sinus headache all day Friday, and I was not sure if it was a migraine on Friday night. I did not want to take Nyquil AND my migraine meds, so I made an executive decision to try the Nyquil and hope it would help me sleep through whatever it was.

I chose unwisely and slept terribly with head pain all night.

I got up on Saturday at 7:00 am and started my migraine treatment routine, hoping that no matter what was causing the headache, my normal routine would cure it.

So that was the first two hours of my Saturday morning.

After the migraine was gone, I felt pretty good.

Unless I suddenly develop Covid cough, I think it’s mostly over. Instead of being worse, this round was not too bad for me. I think I even used fewer tissues than the first time. I really do try hard to eat in a way that is inhospitable to germs!

After Covid, syncope, and a migraine, I’m ready for this week to be over, though! But I’m also glad all the bad shit packed itself into this one week.

Grateful to be feeling better as I go into a new week.

Travel Preparations

I’ve been pretty distracted the last couple of weeks, but I am learning some Turkish on Duolingo for my trip. Some of the words and phrases are very long! For instance, “teşekkürler” means “thanks.” Then there is some weird spelling/pronunciation like “İyi akşamlar,” which means “Good evening.” Without learning about the parts of the words first, it will be simple memorization to retain any of this.

I also designed and ordered my Turkish language sticker. Very excited about it.

Other than that, I’m focused on trying to stay in shape for all the walking. That’s not going to be easy with the heat, but I’m hoping to get in enough to be of value.

📑 Project Updates

How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape

The editing is challenging for me, and I am trying to be kind to myself. It’s very brain-intensive, and you really have to be in the right head space for it. This week with Covid was largely a bust, but I know I need to get through this. I think I might move the book to the formatting software after I finish this round of edits and then work on some formatting before the final edit. That will give me a break in between, and the formatting needs to get done, along with the citations, which will be a bit of a chore.

I’ve got one final interior illustration, along with drafts of several others.

And then, when the editing is done, and I know the final page count, I will need to finish the full paperback cover wrap.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

⏰️ Currently

👩 Focused on feeling better and better

📙 Determined to get through all my edits and tasks and be ready to pre-publish my book by September 1st

🎙 Looking forward to the podcast/radio appearances I have set up for next month. I’ll be sharing those soon.