The journey continues in 2010…
January 2010 –
Started out great at dinner with friends laughing and enjoying each other. I was able to handle the noise and activity with my nervous system and it felt great. Then we went to the movies and saw Sherlock Holmes. It was a very good movie that I got dizzy in a few of the scenes and when it was over there was 20 min to midnight. I had made it to midnight feeling pretty good. This was a great way to ring in the New Year. I had so much energy after leaving my friends house because I felt so alive. I felt more alive than I had felt in a couple years. The month started out with high hopes for accomplishing goals in my life that have been put on hold. I had a WNV hangover Jan 1 and was in bed till 11:30am. I felt pretty good considering the night. By late afternoon into evening I was feeling much better. So, I was recovering quicker or I knew what to do to make me better or both. The rest of the month was pretty good health wise. I made sure to take care of my body and listen to it. I went away to Breckenridge for a few days the second week and it rejuvenated my system for the rest of the month. I went to the dentist for a cleaning and my body was anxious. The scraping was a little painful on my nervous system and I endured it. We were packing at work to move to a new building and it was so exhausting that my breast muscle started twitching again, like in the fall. I took it as a sign to slow down and rest my body over the weekend. The packing, lifting, and busy days made my right arm sore with a tired body. Then I had to go back to the dentist for fillings.
They applied the topical numbing agent that proved to be very painful for my jaw, gave me a headache, sent my body into anxiety, and the whole process was exhausting. We had to break it up into two visits. I was very unfocused, noise and light sensitive, and unbalanced the rest of the day. The month ended with exhaustion, sharp pains on the left side of my head with headaches, right arm pain, and the rash on my chest to head.
February-
Started out recovering from the end of January. Work had slowed down and the stress had disappeared. In the news was a Toyota recall and since my car had Toyota parts I was concerned when I got in and it acted funny. In the end the tow truck took it to the dealer and they replaced a computer. A little stress to start the month and thankful for warranties. I had to add a coworker conflict that once resolved created a headache, unbalanced, dizzy, and itchy rash on my head. WNV does not like stress and life is full of stress. I have gained tools to relax and must remind myself to use them. The first weekend I slept 11 hours each day and felt much rested for the week. I was feeling better so I decided to join friends at bar trivia and had a wonderful 2 hours. The next day was a slight WNV hangover that lingered through the weekend. It is possible it was from a combination of 10 minute energy work, the bar, and dehydration. The next weekend my favorite band, The Young Dubliners, was in town and friends flew in for the show. It was a wonderful weekend and I felt so alive again. The next week I came down with a respiratory illness and a good WNV relapse with joint, muscle and skin pain. I went to the doctor and got antibiotics and slept most of the day. The month had finally caught up with me and the illness running through work finally nailed me. I took it in stride and felt better in a couple days.
March
Then a little stress sent me back into sickness with swollen right lymph node, sore ears and throat. I got through the week and scheduled an acupuncture appointment that I had to reschedule due to my unfocused forgetfulness. I feel I have needed acupuncture and I wanted to try it before going back to the doctor again because he was going to suggested steroids. I will not go there again. Sat I felt sick to my stomach, fatigued, grumpy and unmotivated. It felt like 9 mos into WNV when I threw up and relapsed. I did not want to go there again. I slept a few hours, walked Tina in the fresh air, and watched movies while resting. I felt like such a slug with so much to get done, like the dishes, taxes, and various other projects. I am reminded of how fragile life is and how long I have been dealing with being sick. I think slight depression set in again. Then I get angry because we need an advocacy group for WNV to find answers. Our president cut funding for vector disease because they are not important. I lie on the floor crying next to Tina for the person I want to be and all the dreams I want to make reality. This virus just keeps knocking me down. After 2 nights of ear pain I went to the doctor again and I had a raging ear infection so I got another round of antibiotics.
April
The second round antibiotics finally took care of the bacteria stressing my system. I felt good starting a new month. My family went to Avon, CO for a week of rest. I went up for the weekend and then drove home to pack for a work trip that next Monday. We were on the road by 5:30 am headed to Zion National Park. We worked that next day, then walked around the park and drove till 23:00pm. The next day was a WNV hangover and it took half a day of napping, listing to soothing music, ginger ale, and meditation to calm my system down. I was feeling good by the afternoon and excited I had recovered so quick. Later in the trip I lifted too much weight and weekend my right arm to cause pain that I ignored while driving. I was happy to get back home to a routine my body could handle. The next two weeks were very stressful at work with projects starting up and piled up work from being gone. At about 3 weeks and the end of the month my body was feeling the effects of all the stress, like unbalanced, eye floaties, headaches, and fatigue.
May
I met with my Biofeedback counselor to do a neurofeedback session that would check my brainwaves. I had been feeling more focused and alert the last 6 months like coming out of a fog. The test results showed that my Theta waves (sleep) were back to where they were supposed to be and not in my frontal lobe. That was making me more alert. The waves in my parietal lobe were still high and maybe the cause of my heightened anxiety. I was reminded that I have the tools to calm my system down and I needed to use them. I spent a week of going back to my destress routine and saw improvement within a few days. The same time I was going to some networking group events to socialize. Work was still testing my stress levels and I decided I needed a few days away. My dad and I headed to SD for free fishing weekend with family friends. Just what the DR ordered, time on a boat catching walleye in the middle of SD prairie. My goal was relaxation and rest for my body. The cross conversations would get to my system so I would take a walk or get some air to calm it down. I keep my house pretty dark so when I go somewhere with lots of lights it is also too much for my system. I have become like a bat and want to hang out in a dark cave. It was a great time of rest for me to rejuvenate and refocus on my life goals. The month ended with a walk at the Boulder Boulder. I continue on my supplements, protein every two hours, electrolytes, light exercise to keep my body running. Now I also go to Acupuncture for body chi realignment and deep tissue massage for right arm plus full body massage therapy once a month.
June
The month started out mellow and the summer clothes came out. For some reason my summer shirts were not fitting although I was losing weight. I was walking 2 miles 5 times a week and stationary bike 7 minutes. One day a flea bit me and we were unsure if it was infected so I was on plague watch all month. I had to take my temperature 4 times a day to watch for any spikes. I continued to go to the networking group and meet a lady that needed models for a fashion show. I decided why not, we only live once. I wore an outfit I would never pick out and it looked great. The only challenge was the stiletto heels I was in and I had to sit down until I walked because my leg muscles were getting weak. It felt so good to get out among people again and have some fun! The next day I shopped with the fashion consultant to create a business wardrobe. Then I went to the garden show in the heat and I did not eat well all day. When I do that my body rebels with fatigue, dizzy and nausea. A few days later I went fishing with a friend and rowed out in his pontoon boat. The rowing was a challenge and caused me to have the WNV hangover the next day. Bummer! I had a little family stress and that was enough to bring my immune system down to catch a GI bug. The next night I was up with vomiting and diarrhea so I stayed home and rested the next day. The rest of the month was constantly busy with loud restaurant party, visit by some friends and travel to RMNP, and managing my health to stay mobile. The end of the month I hit my head on the fridge while putting fruit away. This caused a concussion and laid me up for about a week or so. I had taken 2 steps backward with my health and I received a severe pain on the right side of my head. It was reminiscent of the beginning of this WNV journey.
July
July started out slow with the concussion and I took it easy by listening to my body. Friends were impressed that I slowed down to take care of myself. After 3 years of being sick with west nile virus I finally was listening to my body. I rested, laid low and kept it mellow at work. By mid July I was starting to feel better. I noticed when I focused on the computer or driving I would get the pain on my right side of my head behind my eye. Possible edema from the concussion and concentration would cause pressure and pain. I took it easy on the concentration of the computer and driving. Work started to get busy along with extra activities outside of work. After about 10 days of business my body needed a break because I was getting dizzy, nausea, unfocused and fatigued. I realized I had to create a schedule to get done all I wanted to get done and on top of it I decided to create WiSES (West Nile infected Survivors for Education and Support). I was excited to finally be getting my life back by the end of July. I also realized edema was increasing the size of by chest so I looked into possible solutions through my networking group.
August
Wow the year is more the half over! Crazy! The first week in august I was very emotional and grumpy while on the female cycle. It always made west nile virus worse. I had joined the BraveHeart women community and Dr Ellie Drake said our cycle is a special time. Yeah not so much.! The BraveHeart community is an amazing place full of wonderful positive business women. 
The next week I headed on a much needed vacation and business trip. My mom and I drove to Utah to see family I had not seen my cousin in 20 years. Then we drove to ID and I stayed with a dear friend of mine for two days and all we did was rest. It was so wonderful! Then I took a noisy bus ride back to Salt Lake City. My goal for the rest of the week was to stay healthy. I made sure to get rest, ate every 2 hours, stayed hydrated, took my supplements, and listened to my body. I had late nights, socializing, loud sessions and lots of walking. By the end of the week I started coughing like my asthma came back from the late nights. Once back in Ft Collins I started Lymph massage for 30 minutes and 4 sessions to start. Wow that really moved things out of my chest. The month ended with stress and left leg pain then left arm tremors. Neuro invasive west nile virus does not like stress and it sets things off. I’m still working to keep the balance with life.
I used to love reading your blog, but lately it’s been a little boring. I’ll still read it though =)