To say it's been a "tough week" is a bit of an understatement. Shari, a very near and dear friend to both Geno and I (so close that we referred to her as our "sister"), passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Saturday morning. To make it even worse for her son (as though it wasn't already bad enough), he found her on the morning of his (19th) birthday. She was only 46, though she'd been having some health related issues - she'd had a migraine for almost 2 weeks before her death and she was also having these weird, unexplainable (despite all sorts of testing and numerous ER visits) seizure-like episodes. It's suspected she had an aneurism, which might explain some of the issues she'd been having. Regardless, her death came as quite the shock. Geno was the last person to talk to her, they'd talked on the phone just before midnight (11:45-ish-pm) and it's estimated she died sometime between 1-3am. We'll know more after the autopsy report. So yeah, it's been rough.
To add insult to injury, my mom called last night to tell me that a family friend's grandmother, Nonna, passed away on Tuesday. Sad to say, I haven't actually been in touch with said family friend, Julie, in years - since '07, I believe. I hate to admit why, but in being honest, she cut off all contact and ties (as did a few other friends) when my life went shit and I spiraled rapidly downhill in my menta health, refusing to recognize just how severe the decline was for a long, long time. Unfortunately I burned a few (or more) bridges in the process and despite apologizing for the crazy, I lost people who meant a lot to me. Live and learn, I suppose.
I myself, despite the last week, am actually doing better mentally and physically. The abscesses have decreased in both severity and amount. I did have to get a few of'em drained at the hospital a couple weeks ago, which sucked, as usual. Since then, I've only had 1 abscess on my left forearm. I thought for sure it was going to need surgical drainage at the hospital but thankfully it ruptured on it's own and has healed up nicely. In other good physical health news, I've lost more weight! I'm now down by EIGHTY FOUR pounds. I actually had to get a bunch of new clothes. Thanks to my thrifty thrift shopping, I got a slew of new t-shirts, a pair of jeans that look fabulous (it's hard to find plus-size jeans for short people like me with short legs like mine), comfy pajama pants and I even scored a rad pair of DCShoeCo shoes for only $7! Yep, seven bucks. I love thrift stores! Hey Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping?. Mentally, doing SO much better. When I look back at the last 10 years, I'm often surprised (and always thankful) that I'm still here. It's taken A LOT of work to gain the stability I have and even though I still have some work to do, I'm glad and proud of where I am now, having come as far as I have in so many ways. I started seeing a psychiatrist in February, finally getting help for myself - not because my mom schlepped from psychiatrist to psychiatrist, not because I'm being forced in a bid to prove myself, but for me. Having been on the same meds for years and not getting much, if any, benefit from them, I was taken off them and put on something new. So far I have noticed a couple small differences. I'm hoping the impact will be bigger/more noticeable once I've been on them for a bit longer (it can take as long as 4-6 weeks before taking full effect). She also gave me something to help me sleep, but other than initially making me sleepy enough to fall asleep, it doesn't do much in terms of helping me stay asleep. It's always been a crapshoot for me when it comes to sleep. Short of a tranquiliser (which I doubt I'd get anyways), I doubt anything's going to work. I'm also working on developing routines for myself, hoping that It'll help me to have better sleeping habits - and benefits in other aspects of my life as well.
Geno's doing well. Saddened by the loss of Shari, of course, but otherwise he's well. He lost a shitload of weight since early summer and is now 200 lbs. Being 6'4", he looks amazing. I love him no matter what, but he looks so much healthier now - even if I am a bit jealous that he lost 100+ lbs in only about 8 (ish) months! Our relationship is fairly steady with a few hiccups here and there. We're taking a couple's course later this spring and I'm really hoping it smoothes the rough edges..
And because I know you're all just dying to hear about Darwin, LOL, he's doing well. He's even lost a few pounds and is now only 14.5 lbs! He continues to make me laugh on a daily basis and leash training is going well. Yes, our cat is taken for daily walks - on a freakin' leash!. Don't believe me? See for yourself :
and while I'm at it, here are a couple cute videos This is probably my fave Darwin video. I don't know why, but as you can see, he loves nom-nom-nomming on his brush. It took some time and patience, but we were able to train him to wait until he's done being brushed (5-10 minutes) before being allowed to go chew crazy with his brush. Playing with is beloved "pig pig". It's just a stuffed toy, but it's his favourite toy ever. The first one we got him was a cute pink pig, so we called it "pig pig" and that stuck, despite the other stuffed toys (exact same type of manufacturing) being frog and turtle shaped. Speaking of which, we need to buy him someone next week. At $5 for 6, I'm not complaining that he destroys one every week or so.I guess that's really all for now. I've made a goal to come by here more often, so I'll be back! Can't wait to catch up with everyone!
Hugs & Kisses Sarah. XOXOX
Loading comments...