And on we go...

I woke up this morning pretty early - around 5:00 AM - feeling something moist on my pillow. With a great deal of trepidation, I looked down and sure enough, I had yet another bloody nose. This has been going on for over eighteen months now and started with me coughing up blood every morning. After going to several doctors about my asthma and lung conditions, it was determined that the blood was not coming from that part of my body. I was terrified of cancer, having had lifelong lung issues and spending a great deal of time in a cloud of second hand smoke (I have never smoked). And the first otolaryngologist I went to said "I don't think this is cancer" after he looked at my nose. Mind you, I had never mentioned to him that I thought it was so that really freaked me out. After following his protocols for some time with no result, I decided to get a second opinion.

According to my new doctor (Dr. Mandpe at Cal Pacific in San Francisco) it is definitely not cancer but rather, chronic irritation from bad allergies and sinus infections exacerbated by medications and prophylactic steroids. This was verified by use of a small lighted telescope inserted in my nasal cavities. After looking in both sides of my nose, each ear and my throat, Dr. Mandpe prescribed a change in meds and I hope this works.

At one point, it was suggested that this condition may be from high blood pressure. Hah. I almost wish. My blood pressure rocks steady at 98/70 now that I have gained so much weight (thanks in no small part to the steroid medications for the aforementioned allergies). Before this "spike" I was a solid 90/60 and often required multiple attempts to get a pressure reading at all. When I used to give blood, they made me drink several cups of coffee and run around the block a few times to bring my pressure high enough to allow them to withdraw the blood. Anyway, I may not be dying but I am still suffering and I hate this.

Meanwhile, all that wood is still in my driveway. Apparently, somebody came along yesterday and took some (which is fine by me, I have a sign out there saying FREE WOOD, HELP YOURSELF) but they barely made a dent.

And the pool... Oh Lord, it never stops. American Leak Detection came out a couple of days ago and said I need a new skimmer ($1900-$2600). I could almost have predicted the amount of the estimate - here in Marin, no matter what the household repair, the initial estimate seems to be $2600. I swear, they run the zipcode and come up with an amount. Anyway, I told the guy that A. I could not afford that right now and B. I had already replaced the skimmer once, so we settled on an alternative plan - to repair the skimmer and keep the water below the tile line so it does not leak out through the skimmer yet the pool equipment will function properly.