Hello There...

Hello there, dear readers... It's Jitterbug - crawling out of the cave where she's been licking her wounds to check in with the world.

It's been a long few weeks since I last posted. The virus never resulted in dehydration, but shortly after my last post the symptoms morphed into something I thought was a bacterial infection. It actually turned out to have been an ovarian cyst which has since ruptured. Several doctors' visits + 1 CT scan + 2 courses of antibiotics + 1 ultrasound + lots of Vicodin later, I'm finally starting to feel like a human being again.

If there's anything good that's come out this, it's that I've realized how much my life before The Experiment resembled a sick person's. I had been physically healthy for years. My ulcerative colitis had been in remission for five years, yet I was still living the existence of somebody mired in illness. Buying supplies as they occurred to me. Eating catch as catch can. Opening my mail once a month or so. Clueless about how much money I had or where it was going. Moving in a fog from bed to work and back to bed again. I was forced to live like this for the past few weeks --- and it appalls me that I lost half a decade of my life to that lifestyle by choice. It was one thing during the years that I was actually dealing with illness and surgeries. Another thing entirely when the surgeries were over and my body was physically in good order. That's the toll that depression can take on somebody.

Oh, yes --- here's one more good thing. I was stuck at home so much during the last few weeks I got to watch season two of The Tudors. Drama-licious! Especially the finale. I'd never have thought I'd be weeping for the woman who got beheaded when I cheering for it one episode earlier. (Okay, the Vicodin may have been partially responsible for my mood swings.) I'm waiting for season one now so I can see what happened first. If you're on the lookout for a guilty pleasure, The Tudors might just fit the bill. And, hey, it's history. Educational, right?

So, I'm picking up the pieces. I'm not entirely comfortable yet and have two more tests to look forward to, but I want my life back. My biggest goal today is to get outdoors and walk. Slowly. 30 minutes at the park. It will have been the first time in three weeks that I've done a lick of exercise. And I'd like to slowly pick some things up around the house and start a shopping list for things I'll need from the grocery store this weekend. No heavy-duty cleaning, no stretching/toning --- just a little something normal. I promise I'll check in again soon...