WebKittyn Warbles

I am way behind in my updates. It's been such a stress-filled two weeks and I've been sick the last week like never before so please forgive me.

There's so much going on, I'd be crazy to try and cram it all in one post.

Happy 2008, people. May it be a healthier, happier year all around.

My dad is still in the ICU, still on the ventilator although at this point it's at 40% with his level at 99 so it's not bad. Blue Cross is causing a lot of issues with the rehab center, I'll have a lot to write on health care in NY in the coming days. The system is really a mess, I never realised it before.

Things aren't good but they're better. After the past month I'll take better. It's 35 days today he's been in the ICU and he recently acquired MSRA, a 'super bug' staph infection that he got from being in the damn ICU so long.

I put the patch on again today at 9:30 this morning. I blew it last time, I am going to make it this time. I feel really stupid smoking as I'm crying over a man on a ventilator. Just not right.

So here it is, my big year of change. I was driving with my mother over the Kingston bridge the other day and it hit me what a beautiful area I'm moving to. The Catskills are right there and they have basic mountaineering training there. The people are so completely different from what I'm used to and life is a slower, more laid-back pace. I have so much to write about that, too. Knowing I'm never going to live in Dobbs again is weird but really exciting. I hate what my life had become, more than I ever let on to anyone.

My mother and I were working on what we were going to do with the books. Converting the garage into an organised room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases with books all in order that would become my thing to run. Weekends in Woodstock and getting to know people there.

Christmas sucked. It was as good as it could have been without my dad but it sucked because of the lack of my dad. The presents were wonderful and we did the best we could but let's face it, it wasn't Christmas.

I've been really sick. Ever since he went in I've had this perpetual pain/headache. It's at the top of my spine/bottom of my neck. It's always there but it's not always bad. When it gets bad it's cripping. Runs across my shoulders, up my neck, up my head and eyes. On top of that has been a migraine-esque headache with all the symptoms. For the past 4 days I've been throwing up every day, multiple times. Not hardcore food puking but phlegm and stuff. Yug. 8 times yesterday. I didn't sleep at all Sunday night because every time I laid down I couldn't take a deep breath so I sat up all night listening to 101.5 WPDH Poughkeepsie and cried, which only made it worse. Last night I got fed up and popped a valium and managed to get about 7 hours of sleep. Put the patch on this morning, haven't thrown up all day and managed to eat a pancake.

Resolution #465 is to find at least one positive in everything life throws my way, no matter how hard it seems, so I'm trying to balance all of this without sounding whiney. Things are bad but they were worse 3 weeks ago.

So happy 2008 to anyone reading this, what are your plans for the new year?