Adelaide's normal...

My dear ones, there is a huge reason why I do not write about my current day to day life in detail.  For one thing, it doesn't change, and I think it would not only be BORING😴 but would depress you and me, even with my bright attitude.🥴😱😳  

Today only, I shall open the window and share with you what my days are really like at this time of my journey. 

First, since I must take forty-six pills a day, I spend a great deal of time shoving medication into my mouth while gulping down large amounts of water.🥴 Most are for keeping my digestive tract functioning.  Or acid reflux.  And the never ending nausea.😵 

If I get four or five hours of sleep each night, I am lucky, due to the never-ending pain.  I had been on a potent med for twenty-nine years that helped tremendously, but thanks to the opiate crisis, pain doctors are not allowed to continue writing scripts for it.  On my own I had no choice but to withdraw from it.  Trust me, this made my doctors furious and they made every effort to get a waiver for me but were denied.  So though I am on a strong pain med I am grateful to be on, it gives far less relief than the former. 

My bladder has not been fully functional for years now.  To keep it working I must drink large quantities of a water/Gatorade/caffeine combination 24/7.  So I am also up during the night emptying my bladder.  Only mine does not empty in the normal sense.  It takes a good half-hour to an hour to empty.  We must limit my catheter use due to infection and other problems, so these are a last resort.

With my barely functioning colon, I must take a new expensive jump-start med I did have to inject myself with, but now is in pill form thankfully, because I was limited on where I could reach to inject myself, so my thighs and abdomen were getting in terrible shape!🥴

However, don't be deceived by "jump-start," for after I take the med, it is about an hour before I head to the bathroom.  From there, it takes an additional two to three hours for my colon to become empty.  

So between my bladder and my colon, I spend a great part of my day in the john, where I keep books and my assorted horse, theatre, and art magazines.  Besides working on this blog at times or playing Solitaire using my Smartphone.  Or being on Twitter.🙃

The colon process is very exhausting, and far from being as easy as it may sound here.  At times it is VERY uncomfortable and painful, with severe cramping.

Back to my pain.  As I do not have cartilage in my body, bone is rubbing on bone.  My orthopaedic surgeon cannot figure out how I am still walking as my knees and legs are a mess, as well as my spine.  Nerve damage from the inflammation disease within my spinal cord has weakened my legs considerably too, also causing pain.  Since I have the same muscle mass as an average height person on my short long bones, there is a lot of pain with this.  

Throughout the day I must lie down as this is the only way I can get relief for awhile.  So I am in bed often.  I work on this blog there too, if the nausea isn't intense and I am able to focus.😃

My laptop is in my living room and I spend an hour or two there each day as well.

As far as eating, I am only allowed to eat one meal a day, consisting of soft foods like mashed potatoes, soups, canned peaches, cooked cereals, etc.  And I must drink two to three Boost Protein Drinks each day. Eventually, they may have to surgically insert a port and liquid nourishment will enter my system through it.

In-between all that I care for, and spend time with my three male cats, who are always close.  They are on their summer routine now, indoors during the day and gone at night.  Since I live in the country there is wilderness for Harper, Sweet Cheeks, and Rory to enjoy, as well as my view of endless hills, trees, and horse farms in the distance I forever gaze upon.😃

And this, my dear ones, is what my days are and why I do not write about them.  Thankfully I have lived such a full life even with the many hospitalizations, enabling me to have such a wealth TO write about and share here.  For this, I am grateful beyond words.  Many with and without challenges do not often have such full lives, so I consider myself as being blessed...oh, so very VERY blessed.🐎😃🐎💕💫