Day #6

"Life is like a frosted window" Photo by Rhonda Boocock

Today was voting day in the general election. As I mentioned I never received my mail-in absentee ballot so I had to try to vote this morning. I wasn't sure about my ability to stand in line so we took my walker to support me and hopefully make everyone pity me and let me move to the front of the line. As it turned out, we were the first ones to arrive so we were in first place. I went to sit in a chair while Paul saved my spot. At about 5 minutes before the polls opened I went back to the door. After standing for a few minutes I suddenly felt extremely woozy and things started to go black. I was sure I was going to pass out. My thought was at least I might be on the evening news in a story about an old sick woman who fainted while trying to vote. A nice human interest piece.  Yes I think about those things when I'm in a crisis. There was a 87 year old woman in Texas who voted for the first time in her life today.. She was on oxygen and brought to the polls in an ambulance. They got special permission to bring the ballot to her in the ambulance. A few hours after she voted she died. It didn't say who she voted for.

 Finally the doors opened and I made it to a chair. There was some confusion about my ballot because I had ordered a mail-in one but when I explained it never arrived and I was told that I could vote normally they made me do some extra paperwork and sent me off to get my ballot and I voted.

Also during the experience I had diarrhea and possibly soiled a few chairs at the polling place. I was mortified!  But decided later I would just consider it my statement about how I feel about politicians and the government. But I voted.

After voting and changing clothes I moved on to the next phase of my illness. Because I can't eat and my intestines are not absorbing nutrients I am becoming malnourished. I have been trying to lose weight for years and this is not the right way to do it. And it causes extreme fatigue and weakness. Hence the almost fainting at the polls. I went to the hospital today to have a PICC line put in so that each night my nutrition will drip into my bloodstream intravenously. My bag of nutrients and a pump are in a cool backpack that I can carry around and still be semi-mobile while it pumps me full of health and energy....I hope. The process of putting in the PICC line was, at least, interesting. They performed an ultrasound on my arm to find just the right vein to thread the line through to reach a spot right above my heart. While watching the ultrasound I turned to Paul and said, "Look it's a boy!" I realized the technicians probably hear that joke a lot and then felt foolish but I couldn't resist. The afternoon was busy with deliveries of formula and supplies. Then the home health nurse visited to show me how to use everything. Yes I'm overwhelmed but hoping for the best. Something that usually gets me in trouble.

One last thought...do we have to call it a polling place? The word place seems so common. Maybe polling salon, polling studio, polling chambers, or maybe den of thieves...something other than a polling place...

Oh, also yesterday I watched the movie Julie and Julia. It's about a woman who cooks and blogs her way through Julia Child's cookbook and ends up with a book and movie deal. I'm not expecting a book or a movie deal but it inspired me about writing in my blog more...and so it goes...