Infection boy rides again...
So I'm back from another whirlwind trip to Houston with mixed news to report. Let's start with the infection in my back: it's still there. The Dr.'s options for dealing with said infection were a)another tube, b)surgery, or c)30 more days of Levaquin, the antibiotic that made me so damn sick over the holidays. Surprisingly, he suggested the Levaquin and of course we went with his recommendation. I'll be taking Diflucan (an anti-fungal) at the same time as the Levaquin, so hopefully I won't have the severe abdominal pains that I had over the last few weeks. The abdominal pains have been debilitating, to say the least. I've been walking around literally doubled over in pain at times, shrinking from my normal 6'4" to about 4'4".

Then there's pneumonia. Apparently I've still been clinging on to pneumonia in my right lung since the last operation. Combined with my other ailments, it makes me extremely short of breath. We live in a split level home and it seems like I'm constantly going up or down. I've gotten to where I have to rest on each level before proceeding to the next. I feel a hell of a lot older than 33 at those times.

Finally, there's my broken rib. The Dr. said that if it hasn't healed by now, it's not going to. He also said that's no big deal though. Eventually enough cartiladge and muscle tissue will fill in the gap and the pain will subside. I need to breath deeply to help fight the pneumonia, but the broken rib makes it seriously painful to do so. It also hurts to cough, but that doesn't seem to stop me. Coughing has become somewhat of a past time for me...no fun.

My weight dropped to the mid 150's during my last round of antibiotics and the Dr. wants me to try harder to keep the weight on. It's honestly not easy. There are so many days now where food seems like the bad guy...I just feel ill after eating. I'm back up to the mid 160's now and I'm trying harder to snack. I'm even drinking Ensure, which I find moderately disgusting. I have to guess that I'll finally end up in the mid 170's...I seriously doubt I'll ever get back to 214 again. We've had to go through my entire wardrobe and donate most of my clothes...they just don't fit anymore.

I've had a few people tell me that they don't know what to say to me in regards to my illness. Those of you who reached out to me during this ordeal, through cards or email or this journal, did more than you could ever know towards helping my recovery. There were so many days in and out of the hospital where everything seemed so damned grey (and I must admit, there are still some damn grey days)...then a single card would clear those clouds. It's SO important that you reach out to those around you who are ill. Saying nothing is the worst thing you can do. Even if you just say, "I'm thinking about you", that's enough. It makes you feel like you're not doing it all alone. So, once again, THANK YOU to everyone who took the time and made the effort to reach out. I owe much of my improving health to you.

If I can get these abdominal pains under control, I hope to return to work in some capacity this month. It'll be hard, but I really want to return to that daily structure. My poor friend Huitt is going to have a time trying to schedule me around all my doctors' appointments and trips to Houston, but I want to go back as soon as I can.

Much love and respect to you all...don't take your next meal for granted