I got meningitis by following doctor’s orders

Chart by Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.

How I got Drug-Induced Aseptic Meningitis by following doctor’s orders, a cautionary tale.

The last thing I expected when I went into the emergency room at Danbury Hospital for a viral infection was to end up getting meningitis in the process and getting even sicker. The sad thing is, it was avoidable.

How this all began. Shortly after a family gathering this past Easter I came down with what I called a bad case of the “flu.” You know the drill — nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc…  I thought I could ride it out a few days. My husband got it too, so did my in-laws. They were sick a few days and then gradually got better. But I wasn’t riding it out well. Sorry for the graphic description, but I was coughing up “mud” on a continuous basis, and was getting severely weakened and dehydrated.

Hiatus

I went on a hiatus from blogging these past few weeks.

I wish I could say it was because of something wonderful.

Charles Keating, Goodnight Sweet Prince

With James Cromwell and Charles Keating, two wonderful men.

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” —Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

In praise of ASP

ASP crew and members of the family they helped at a work site in West Virginia.

For eight years, my husband Jerry has spent one week of his vacation time on a trip without me.

Fear the mandoline

Katie’s finger, a mandoline victim, bandaged at the Emergency Room.

Every Fourth of July you hear parents warn their kids not to play with fireworks. “You’ll lose a finger,” they say, similar to adults warning Ralphie about losing his eye playing with a B.B. gun in A Christmas Story.

But every year more than 9,000 children and adults are injured in a fireworks accident, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

I Hear America Singing

I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Happy Fourth of July —Patricia Gay

Fourth of July Trivia

Did you know Connecticut was home to the Battle of the Frogs?

Happy Birthday America. Tomorrow, at your family’s annual cookout or barbecue you can amaze everyone, and maybe win a few bets, by reeling off some little known past and present facts about the 13 original colonies.

The Hobbes Experiment: The Final Chapter

Hobbes has found a home.

After just four weeks, the Hobbes Experiment is over and the results are in. Hobbes, a feral cat who was wandering the streets of Bridgeport last month, has found a home.

Bad Eats: The Rainbow Cake Apocalypse

Who would think such a sweet looking cake could cause World War III on the internet? —Tablespoon.com photo

Forget six degrees of separation. When it comes to website comments, it may only take two or three degrees before a discussion runs amok and people start viciously attacking each other. Such is the most recent case of what is being dubbed “The Rainbow Cake Apocalypse.”

The Hobbes Experiment: The Great Outdoors

Hobbes flaunts his plumage during his first stroll in our backyard.

You can take the cat in from the outdoors, but you can’t take the outdoors out of the cat. That’s my convoluted way of saying that during week three of the Hobbes experiment, we let him outside.