Catching Up: Mobile Homes, Health Coach, Social Workers, & Surgery

I’m still feeling like running away from reality.

You may have noticed!

My apologies to the legions of readers who clung to my every word! LOL!

The good news is that sanity and calm are slowly (far too slowly) returning to me, and it’s getting easier for me to breathe. I guess when I’m triggered, even at a “low rate”– when it’s prolonged I just shut down and refuse to listen or speak (or write.) I wish I wasn’t like this. It’s really weird for me to feel like I don’t want to communicate.

The good news is that I’m feeling pretty chipper in general. I’m still spending a lot of time immersed in fiction, to be sure, but my mood is quite good and though I still feel quite bleak about the future, I’m slowly starting to come to terms with our grim reality. I have a plan. I have friends. I’m in a good position for someone with my challenges, and I feel grateful for that.

Still, there are some things going on that I’d like to catch you all up on…

~ Though Cat didn’t get the loan to buy a new mobile home, she does have enough capital to get the old one demolished and hauled off, trim back trees and shrubs to make room for a new one, regravel the old driveway for that, and have the well and septic inspected in that location. If nothing else, things will be ready to go when my sister does get her share of the money for the house she’s in now. Cat will get her money back from the prep work as a part of the deal to accommodate my sister’s living quarters.

~ A very nice young man, friend to Odyssey, has offered to be my health coach to see what natural remedies we can find that help my various issues. So far, he’s helped me realize I need high dose Vitamin D every day I’m not going to be actively outside (which is far too often!) and given me some free samples of a few other supplements. Right now, I’m testing N-Acetyl Cysteine. It’s helped my mental energy for sure, but it has some strange side-effects when taken the same day as cannabis. I’m taking it about once every 3 days, and when what I have runs out, I think I’m going to opt for a lower dose taken every other day.

~ I had my first Zoom meeting with my sister’s social worker, “Jo”, and it went very well! Mostly we went over Erica’s issues with diabetes and how she wasn’t eating the right foods and I knew my mother was feeding her foods that are a big no-no. We came up with some strategies, but I honestly don’t know how to fix that without more active intervention, because if my mother plops food in front of my sister, sis eats it, no matter what it is. We also talked about our plans for Erica to live in her own mobile home, ADA compliant (with a ramp and extra wide halls and doors, because I’m pretty sure my sister will end up in a wheelchair) right by where I live with Cat on the same property. Jo liked the idea for sure, and agreed Erica could be much more independent than she was now. I managed to talk to Jo alone for about 10 minutes when Erica couldn’t get on the meeting to begin with, though, and I had a chance to discuss some awkward things about my sister. Luckily, I can tell that Jo seems pleased with my answers and with the idea of my being more involved with my sister’s life!

~ Over the last few weeks, I’ve had to face a nightmare regarding a weird cavity… Turns out I have had a low-grade infection in my skull between my front teeth and my nose for well over a decade and it’s eaten away at the bone on the left side. So–! I have to have oral surgery to fill in the void, have my left front tooth removed along with my sideways growing canine, and then get a new dental implant there once the void has healed over. This whole mess may be one reason why I’m not feeling really okay just yet. I met with a couple of specialists and the oral surgeon and his staff are super sweet and very understanding people, and I’m not feeling too freaked out by them– which is good, because my dental fears are of THEM, not of the procedure, or the pain, or anything like that. I mean, I’m squeamish and no mistake!! But the actual phobia part revolves around the people, and the people seem nice, so that part is not so bad. The hard part is getting the funds together now. It looks like I’ll have my current dental loan paid off by October, so I can’t get another loan for the surgery until November.

But at least once that’s done– I’m DONE with all the rehabilitative dental stuff, so that will be a big relief.

Anyways… that’s all my personal news from April of 2022!