Halfway

Day 58 of the study, and day 45 of the bed rest phase! Hard to believe! It seems to have gone swiftly to this point, but I find myself wondering if it will seem slower on the downhill side. Not too much happening at the moment... many consecutive days with no procedures for little moi. The newest head-down crowd also had some delays. We all went on high alert when it looked like Hurricane Gustav was potentially headed our way, but didn’t get even a drop of rain, so testing resumed soon after. Next week will see repeats of dorsal vein tests for me... I’ll be interested to see if those or other tests show any blog-worthy changes.

There are now definitely some noticeable physical and mental changes... the most irritating of which is that I cannot read for long periods anymore; either my focus wanders, or I feel like I might doze off, so I must vary my activities a bit more often to stay alert, particularly in the late afternoon. Things like meals, exercise and showers help, and I find I’m also listening to louder music throughout the day. My mother must have seen that coming – she just mailed me a heavy metal CD, which utterly cracked me up!

My neck seems like it’s always a bit stiff, though that may simply be normal tension from using the laptop & mouse a great deal during the day. Typing upward is getting to be more of a challenge, as I notice my arms have weakened. It seems to take a slightly more effort to type or write, though I still do plenty of both. The soles of my feet are tingly to the touch now, and they are baby soft from lack of use. I was told to expect all of this, and it is indeed occurring! They ask daily if I have pain anywhere, and other than intermittent sinus pressure, my answer is almost always no.

One weird thing that I hadn’t predicted is random eye-watering episodes. For no reason, sometimes my eyes glaze over and secrete excess unexpectedly. Perhaps my tear ducts simply chose this time to rebel against being upside down?? There is rarely any warning or pattern for it... I won’t have any foreign object in my eye or be engaged in a weepy movie... sometimes I just move my head to the side or blink, and lacrimal fluid slides down my temples. Harmless but odd.

I’ve settled into a routine here, and I think at this point I’ve met all of the staff involved, even those who only come and go infrequently. Overall I just feel a bit tired sometimes, but I’m so pleased with all I have been able to read, write and accomplish! I updated my Activities List, and there are new pieces of mail in the Postcard Exchange. For everyone who emailed me this past week, Devin and I did a marathon of card-writing so check your mailboxes! :)