Hey, y'all! I'm back again this week for what is unintentionally becoming a weekly blog. I have been really sick. Just too sick to think about words and complete sentences and articulate thought... but I'm hopefully getting better. I came down with a cold about two weeks ago and by Monday, it had developed into pneumonia. I knew at this time last week that I was feeling far sicker than a cold should make me feel. Marvin did such a great job taking care of me last week when our weekly date was pretty much just me sleeping while he brought me stuff to make me feel better. All I have wanted to do for the past two weeks was sleep, honestly. I would wake up enough to talk to him on the phone a couple of times a day but mostly I was just going from sleep to sleep. I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for this past Monday and my dr knew right away... pneumonia. So... I'm on an antibiotic (a whole new world of unpleasantness) and am scheduled for a follow up in two weeks to make sure it has all cleared out because ... with me, it rarely does with just one course of antibiotics.
That's part one. Cold - turned to pneumonia - hopefully getting cleared up with antibiotics. Part two is my blood pressure. Tuesday my blood pressure was 153/120 AFTER starting a new (fifth) medication to try to bring it down. I have been dealing with high blood pressure since I was 35 and for the most part, medication and behavior modification have controlled it. Lately, nothing works. One possible reason is sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with this back in 2011 but there was so much going on with my health then that I just couldn't afford the time off work, cost involved, etc to get that issue sorted and honest to dog... I just don't want to deal with the c-pap machine and all of that nonsense. However, uncontrolled sleep apnea creates so much stress on your blood vessels because of the interruption in breathing... your body goes into fight or flight and your heart pumps harder and harder to keep you alive. Doing that every single night will ruin the elasticity of your blood vessels and cause a lot of other issues... so, as much as I hate the process of controlling sleep apnea, it's a part of the puzzle in getting my bp under control. The other step is seeing a cardiologist because... once your blood pressure is as high as mine has been for as long as it has been without finding a solution with medication... you have to start looking at the mechanics.
The past seven years have caused me to develop a love/hate relationship with the medical profession. I hate that I need them. I hate the cost. I hate the inconvenience of going to appointments, especially when I'm seeing new specialists and I have to start at square one with them. My medical history is crazy. When I start listing diagnosis' I sound like an absolute hypochondriac. OH how much do I wish I was just a hypochondriac. I would love to never have to deal with prescriptions and doctors and copays and ... all the things. There have been times that I have just abandoned the process because I hate dealing with it all... just as with the rheumatologist. I was supposed to follow up in February 2017 in the ongoing quest to isolate the specific auto-immune disorder going on in my body. The bottom line for me is that nothing they suspected was anything they could treat with one magic pill. It's still a symptom by symptom resolution which is what we're already doing... so... anyways... not happy to see a cardiologist. Grateful to have the health insurance to be able to do so. Hopeful that he will have a solution for this blood pressure issue. It just becomes very scary when you know you're taking all the meds and trying to eat healthy and still, not able to lower it.
SOOOO... today's blog is about our trip to Hattie B's Hot Chicken for lunch today. I know it seems completely contradictory to what I've talked about so far but ... I try to take a 80/20 approach to healthy eating. I do the best I can within my resources (as far as feeling too poorly to cook for the past two weeks, not feeling like shopping for myself, etc) and then on date night (and day and night and day) I loosen the boundaries a bit. Honestly, I had one piece of fried chicken, some potato salad, black eyed pea salad and lemonade. It wasn't horrible. What was horrible is that I completely forgot to take pictures. Cody met us for lunch as he was working right down the street and his birthday is the 30th... not sure when we might be able to celebrate so we did today. I've snagged some photos from the web and you should also check out
Hattie B's website.
We had passed by Hattie B's a few weeks back when we went to The Vortex for lunch. Hattie's had a line going down the street so we thought... hmmm... we should go there... and we also though, hmmm... we should get there early. Win on both counts today - we got there about 11:15 and had zero wait time. You order at the counter and they give you a number and bring your food to your table. The menu is pretty straightforward and simple so ordering was easy... the table service is attentive and helpful. We were able to order dessert without getting back in the (then very long) line. The food is fresh and hot (except my potato salad and black eyed pea salad which are meant to be cold). I got the very bland - no spice - chicken because I'm a wimp and because my belly is kind of unwell from the antibiotics. Marvin and Cody both got medium spice and agree that it was about as spicy as they would want to go. I got light meat because that's my preference and it was not the least bit dry. Marvin and Cody got dark meat because they worried that the white meat would be dry. It wasn't. There is limited parking, Cody had to pay to park so... that's a drawback but it's in the city so, it's just part of the process. We snagged what Cosy refers to as "Nana parking" because I have the handicapped tag. Definitely though, if you're in Atlanta / Five Points area, I would recommend Hattie B's. There are also locations in Nashville and Birmingham.
What else can I tell you about the past week? We had lunch with Cosy last Thursday and then had a good time playing with her afterwards. I didn't see her over the weekend because I was feeling so rough and then finally got her again yesterday (Tuesday) and had THE BEST TIME despite my blood pressure being high. Austin was around and did most of the actual caring for Cosy, I just got to enjoy her. She dried my hair for me and helped me put on makeup... she's just the best medicine!
Tomorrow Austin and Cosy are coming to pick me up from Marvin's. I don't have to drive, which helps when I'm not feeling myself. Until then, I'm just tucked in, enjoying being spoiled a little and appreciating the peace and quiet. I'm basically just trying to feel better. I think the blog creativity will improve as I start to feel better... in the meantime, I'll try to keep you posted. Thanks for stopping by! Love and hugs, y'all!
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