Mid morning February 13, 2019, my roomie took me to the emergency room. They told me I was having a stroke. I didn't have the common type of stroke due to a blockage. I had a microvascular bleed. I was life flighted to Tulsa & stayed for a couple of days.
While that seems to have resolved itself, 2019 was not an easy on me. Right before new years I was admitted due to the hospital for either pneumonia or COVID. Testing wasn't available for COVID then, at least not in our area. It didn't feel like pneumonia. That & the COVID vaccines knocked me backed harder than just about anything. I've never fully gotten over the vaccine & booster.
That's about it for now. It got frigid & looks to stay that for a bit. I hate Winter.
Take care.
Cya...
I started this blog 14 years ago. I don't always know where it's going, but it's still here. I've tried to keep this related to HIV matters relating my situation & area. Sometimes it's just about my life & how I'm getting by. Here's to making to 15.
It was 25 years ago I was diagnosed with HIV. I was given 5 years to live at that time. It's been 5 times that. I'm not sure that's a good thing. It's been really stressful & difficult at times. I started new med last September & things were going well. This morning I found out that my pharmacy has issues covering it. Now I'm scrambling to find another provider. Too much of these 25 years have been confusing, hard & anxiety ridden. Maybe the 5 years wasn't the worst option. Hopefully this med thing will work out soon.
That's all for now. Happy Anniversary to the blog & my HIV.
Take care.
Cya...
This is Machen at about 6 weeks old this time last year. We tried to find him another home, that didn't work. No one we knew or could find would take him. Funny how they all got cats shortly after. Shows how much you can count on people. He's a little over a year old now & has been with us a year. He came in the door 11/21/23 & I guess he's staying. He's still growing into cathood, but is already a chunk. As with most the boy cats we've had, he's won't win any IQ awards. The older cat, Millie, still doesn't like him. I think she's decided to think of him as exercise equipment.
A year out & the Thanksgiving kitten is still here. Take care.
Cya...
I finished my 1st month on Dovato yesterday. 30 days in & all seems well. We'll know for sure when labs are drawn. So far, I'm not noticing much difference from Triumeq. Only that, all the side issues the former med had, are a little less on Dovato. Less is better. Maybe they'll tone down a more the longer I'm on the new med.
The kitten finished his run on meds yesterday. We're both happy about that. We just hope that cleared up whatever the issue was.
That's about all the catching up for this 1st bit of the month. Take care.
Cya...
This piece is a history article. The longest running studies of HIV/AIDS are 40 years old. It's a good piece about the programs. While the article doesn't offer much new info, sometimes it's good to remember what came before.
The piece shows researchers & medical professionals are trying. If there are lacking parts in the fight against HIV it's not them. It's with those who represent us in politics, religion, education & our communities. Any failure in this matter is with individuals & groups that refuse to acknowledge the reality of HIV. Instead they want to promote stigma, ignorance & fear. Some are just too disenfranchised to engage in their own care or well being. I understand that, but it shouldn't impact others.
Give the piece a read & take care.
Cya...
Yesterday, was a day my mother's birthday. A day she shared with Lincoln. When I was a kid & still in some states, his birth was celebrated as its own holiday. Now, it's just President's Day, combining him & Washington.
Today is 5 years past my stroke. Here's the post on that. I still have some issues, but they seems to be a reaction to the statins they gave me at the time as a preventative after the event. That didn't work.
There are articles out there discussing whether or not a normal life is possible with HIV. That depends on the definition of normal. Too many article paint a sunshine & lollipops picture of normalcy. I won't say you can't have a version of normalcy. I will say it won't be your old life & that kind of familiar existence. You can get through this, but it won't be the same. There might even be times you question if it was worth it.
I need to get labs drawn next week. Hopefully that goes well. I had to call a lot to get a hold of the specialist's office. Their phones are having issues. My telemed appointment will be in the beginning of March.
That's it for now. Take care.
Cya...
It's still early days, but so far 2024 has behaved. My roomie & I are apprehensive about the coming days. 2023 was a train wreck & we need at least a "doesn't suck" year. A good year seems like a big reach. Just a year where we're not losing so many things, not so much breakage, stress, worry & free falling. It felt like I could never get my footing last year. I'd just get to a bit more solid ground & it'd crumble.
I don't think I can handle another year of that. 2023 left me exhausted. I felt angry, scared & hurt. The problem for most of our issues last year is that none it was our doing. We did all the things we were supposed to; made the appointments, checked the boxes, crossed & dotted. None of it mattered. Things kept breaking, being taken away, disappearing. If 2024 just doesn't suck, that's a great improvement over 2023.
It's my blog's new year. It's also the anniversary of my father passing a few years back. The weirdest thing about that is, I've had to realize I was fine with it from the start. Its sad someone died, but the concept of my father had died decades before. This was just a voice I occasionally heard on the phone. I'm glad he had other people who were involved in his life & will miss him. That's just not me. May his next life bring him some solace. He needed it.
Take care & may 2024 go well for you. Try to be kind.
Cya...
I started this blog 13 years ago. I'm surprised it & I are still going. I guess I could've started earlier, but I wasn't in the headspace for it. For a while I was still living with my last roommate. His inconsideration wound up causing a lot of stress & issues. When I did start living with my roomie, it took us a while to get things down. Not that we didn't get along, but it was all new. Patterns had to be developed so everything went as smoothly as possible. When I look back at the beginning of this blog in some ways I was worse off medically & emotionally, but still a bit more hopeful about the future.
On January 3, 2000 I was diagnosed with AIDS. I've said before I probably had been + for some time, but the tests didn't catch it. They said I might have 5 years. I tested at such a level & was in such bad shape, I left HIV+ in the dust & went straight to AIDS. Here it is 24 years later. I won't say it's been easy, because it hasn't. There are times when I wish the 5 years had been accurate. Life with HIV on disability is stressful & can be pretty damned scary. I guess I should feel gratitude, but I really don't. This has not been a fun ride & nearly every step has had it's hard points.
I'm here & the blog's still going. They're 13 & 24. My blog is officially a teenager & my HIV can almost get decent insurance. I don't know what this year will hold for myself, this blog or anything else. I guess we'll see. For now, thanks for reading my thoughts, reactions, highs & lows. It's the closest thing to a record of me. Even if only a couple of people ever look at it, at least someone will know it & I are/were here.
Happy Blog & HIV day to me. Remember to acknowledge your milestones. Take care.
Cya..
It's actually Winter, not just the meteorological season that starts with December. Yule is upon us & may it be good for you & yours. It's a time to acknowledge the longest night & welcome the return of the lengthening days.
While Yule may be about lights & festivities, it's also about cleaning house & finishing things needing to be handled before the new year. It's a time to remember the past & look forward to the coming days. It's a time to cherish those with us & call up the memories of those no longer here.
This time, last year our 19 y.o. cat Tinkerbell passed. She passed nearly a decade after the only cat she ever loved, Alice. Below our their pictures. Tink is the siamese.
This will be short. We have things to do. I need to get some shopping handled. I also need to see about getting labs drawn. We have other things we'd like to get handled this week, maybe they'll actually happen. I hate when all my appointments collide.
As I said yesterday, today today is the 4th anniversary of my stroke. Yay me.
That's it for now. Take care.
Cya...
The month is nearly halfway over & it's sunny for the moment. It's supposed to warmer today, yay! It'll get cold again, but for today it's brighter & warmer. This was my mother's birthday & when I was younger, the calendar's marked it as Lincoln's birthday. Washington & him used to get their own days, now they have to share on President's day. That'll happen next week & screw up the mail.
Tomorrow will be an anniversary as well. I might not remember in the morning, so I'll mention it now. On February 13, 2019 I was admitted to the hospital for a stroke. 2019 was not a good year for me. Later that year, I was admitted again for either a weird pneumonia or an early case of COVID. I'm still not sure on that matter. As painful as it was, I'm thinking COVID.
We're 2+ months into meteorological Winter & 1.5 months into seasonal Winter. Either way, I just want it gone. It's too cold & staying too dark for me.
That's it for now, take care.
Cya...
Today marks the 3rd week since I held our cat, Tinkerbell. Technically that's not true, tomorrow is more accurate. But this day was the last time, she was looking back at me & being her beautiful self. She made her farewells to me that day. I think she knew it. I know we expected it, but it was still was hard.
Every morning, I walk out of my bedroom & scan the living room to look for her. I did this to see where she'd slept that night. How she was doing. Did she need anything. Now, there's just a room & no Tinkerbell. I'll adjust, but for now, it's still very strange not to see her nestled up somewhere or catching the morning sun near the windows.
I may be prejudice, because she was our cat & I think this about all cats. Tinkerbell was a grand, beautiful cat. She will be & is missed. Somehow as a person living with a cat, you rarely feel like you did enough. Even if you did all you could. I hope next time around she gets the amazing life she deserved.
I'm sure I'll keep looking for some time.
Cya...
It's my blog's 12th anniversary. I've not stuck with much of anything this long. This blog is a history of my life, much of it dealing with HIV. It's old enough to be in 7th grade. I'd like a good year. January & I don't have a great relationship. I'm either sick, recovering or someone's passed. 2022 wasn't easy on me. The last several years have been fairly awful. Let's see if 2023 can do any better. The bar's really low. Here's to another year.
This is my 23st HIV Day. On January 3, 2000, I was diagnosed, so my HIV status is actually older. It'd be nice to think this virus could vanish as people like me get older. I don't think that will happen, but it'd be something if HIV was just a bad memory. Here's to the upcoming year, cheers & hoorah! Raise a glass!
Thanks for reading. Take care & be kind.
Cya...
On February 13, 2019 I had a stroke. This is the 1st post I did after. I had what they referred to as a vascular malformation, microvascular bleed or hemorrhagic stroke. They didn't tell me much in the ways of avoiding another incident other than managing my blood pressure. They were never sure if a blood pressure spike caused the stroke or the other way around. Either way I got a helicopter flight to Tulsa & stayed for a couple days until my roomie came & got me.
This is my stroke-aversary. I'll probably never be 100% like I was. A lot of that could be from a bad reaction to some preventative statin meds the doctor had me try. The issue with the statins seemed worse than the stroke.
Oh well, that's my time down memory lane. Take care.
Cya...
My father passed away a year ago. I'm still not sure what I think about that. We weren't close. Still, another person connected to me is gone. For now, that's about all I have on the matter.
Winter is here & it's being harsh. It's been frigid. Thanks to heaters & mounds of covers, my eyes aren't happy. I'm prone to eye issues during the cold part of the year. I think it's all the dry air & fibers. So far, nothing serious, but I'll watch it. Hopefully, it doesn't mean an extra trip to the doctor.
That's about it for today. Hope your new year is going well. Take care.
Cya...
It's my blog's 11th anniversary. I've not stuck with much of anything this long. This blog is a history of my life, much of it dealing with HIV. It's old enough to be in 6th grade. Last year, I was hoping for a better year. 2 years ago, I'd just got out of the hospital for was probably a minor case of COVID & 2019 hadn't been easy on me. The last couple of years have been fairly awful. Let's see if 2022 can do any better. The bar's really low. Here's to another year.
This is my 22st HIV Day. On January 3, 2000, I was diagnosed, so my HIV status is actually older. It'd be nice to think this virus could vanish as people like me get older. I don't think that will happen, but it'd be something if HIV was just a bad memory. Here's to the upcoming year, cheers & hoorah! Raise a glass!
Thanks for reading. Take care & be kind. Maybe next time this COVID crap will be in our rearview mirror.
Cya...
2022 began with a lot of noisy rain. There were also fireworks. January has started off grey & wet. I choose to look at as if we've nearly met our monthly rain averages early. Look at me trying to be positive. How rare. We've had almost 1.5" already this year. The monthly average is only a little over 2" for January. The rain's supposed to last until this afternoon. I'd like some sunlight, but I doubt that'll be a thing today. We're heading into some frigid temps for a while.
December closed out 2022. It had some markers in for me. Christmas Eve 2021 was the last time I spoke to my father. He died 9 days later. Alice cat passed on the 27th years ago. Another anniversary was that somewhere in early December 1999, I smoked my last cigarette. That's 22 years of not smoking. That's longer than I was a smoker.
That's all for now. Happy New Year.
Cya...
It's the last Monday of 2021. With all the issues of December I forgot to place my refill order for a med. I'm usually more on top of this. But, things got lost in the shuffle. I'll be alright. I just need to do better with this.
Nearly a decade ago, our cat, Alice, passed. She wasn't with us long, but she made a huge impact. She had a home that let her become a street cat. Then we took her in with us. She was a great cat & loved having her picture taken. She helped raise the siamese we have now. She was loved & missed. Here's hoping your next home is warm, kind & full of people wanting to take your picture.
Cya...
Albeit, we now know HIV has been around longer, this month marks the recognized 40th anniversary of HIV. This piece & others discuss it. Some of those articles are objective, many aren't. I'd suggest reading them. The problem is, parts of society act like HIV has been beaten & we can move with our lives. This virus hasn't been beat, we haven't won. Researchers found vaccines for COVID in months. They've been working on a HIV vaccine for decades. This virus is much more complex. There is always the possibility HIV could mutate again & leave all currents meds/therapies would be useless. Then we'd be back to just "safer" sex & condoms.
June is still being a dismal beast. It's like trying to hug a dirty, wet mop. This has not been a good Spring for me. It has been a very hard season, much worse than Winter was this year. Maybe things will pick up sometime soon.
Cya...
