Another emotional day

I am very thankful for my West Nile Virus support groups. The last couple of days, a guy from Arizona has been on the news because he came down with WNV. What caught my attention was hearing him cry. He probably doesn’t know it yet, but chances are that he will do a lot more crying that he doesn’t understand. The slightest emotion good or bad brings it on. Lots more crazy fluctuations in emotions are coming his way. The acute phase might be over in a matter of weeks or months, but then symptoms just keep marching along. I feel soooooo bad for the guy. He probably got some sort of flaccid paralysis such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. There’s another one that goes with WNV that is a form of polio. He should be OK as he can already stand and walk with help. Some people never walk again, or die.

On a fairly regular basis, someone in a group will say something that makes everybody chime in and say “me, too”. Each of us thought we were the only ones that felt that way or had some specific weird symptom. Most people are reluctant to talk about the anxiety and strange dreams that came with that mosquito bite…until someone else brought it up first. There’s a heck of a lot a doc doesn’t know and will never tell you. By sharing amongst ourselves, we regain strength and confidence. People who got the first cases of WNV in the US are still going through the aftermath of the virus. It messes with our heads and ravages our bodies. In the beginning of WNV, ignorance is bliss. If we knew what was coming, we might not be too anxious to go on.

I was really weak all day. My left eye kept drooping closed and my voice was several variations of broken. My only obligation for the day was an appointment with the bishop at 6:45 PM. I don’t remember much of the day, except making beef stew. I pressure cooked a one pound roll of frozen stew meat for 6 minutes. While that was cooking, I cut up eight stalks of celery, a pound of sweet potatoes, half a pound of carrots, half a pound of mushrooms and got out a frozen bag of pearl onions. I stirred up the beef chunks, added the veggies and pressure cooked for 12 minutes. Then I stirred in a can of cream of mushroom soup. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning with 21 spices and ingredients. Even though cayenne pepper is near the bottom of the list, it’s too well represented. I like to add a lot of the seasoning for flavor, but then it’s quite spicy. It’s pretty good in this stew, though.

Next I skinned and cut up the 6 nectarines. Way better than the peaches! Very juicy and more flesh. A bowl for now, one for later.

After the bishop and my other home teacher came to visit, I got a phone call from Shanghai saying my daughter was in labor. It’s been 3 hours and I haven’t heard any more. It has been kind of hard to concentrate on blog writing!

Black cat looking out into a black night. Every once in a while, fireworks go off. Whew! Strong sulfur! Olive takes her watch-cat duties seriously. Hmmm….she just reminded me I am 11 minutes late for my meds….