Stranger and Stranger.

Well, there's just no doubt about it: this has been one of the more bizarre periods of time in my health life, and this blog, while intended to be about weight loss, is quickly looking more and more like a general health battle. I do hope that will end soon, but before it does I need to update once more on this bizarre period (eclipsed only by the Diabetes II onset a year and a half ago in my mind as strangest health periods of my life).

When I wrote two weeks ago, it was because I felt I might be turning the corner toward well-enough-for-the-gym... and that's when round two started. Same sinus problem, a second go-at-it that was now primarily a nasal thing - generally ugly and breathing-inhibitive, and hung around for a good week, until I again felt like I was clearing up around the December 2/3 time frame (when my kids' fall play was). Then, bam, round three... yet stronger sinus mess, including complete nasal clog and the loss of some hearing out of the left ear (no pain, mind you, just congestion)... by last Thursday, I broke down and took a day off work to try and throw some bedrest at it, with the pledge to actually get to a doctor on Saturday if I didn't feel better (and I made an appointment anyway, for Diabetes checkup, after Christmas). But lo and behold, Saturday was here, and I got to enjoy my parents' holiday party and a hockey trip out with my good friend CJ just about free of symptoms.

Then came Sunday. About 5 AM, I woke up with the worst earache in my *right* ear I can remember having save just one from my very young childhood (it was just after I got my new 8 bit Nintendo, to put it in a time frame for you). This sucker was the kind that is so bad and insistent that you can't do anything else - no conversations, no distractions, nothing - because you literally can't concentrate on anything. It was finally time for a trip to the urgent care doctors, and they barely had to glance in my ears to say that I have a severe inner ear infection in both ears. Yuck. So home I went again, first to my parents' house to apologize for cancelling on my Mom's birthday dinner that night, and then loaded in the antibiotics and topical steriod eardrops, and the waiting began.

Well, I'm glad to say that, although I am in constant pain still (I had to stay home again today), the medication has cut through it enough to at least allow me to distract myself (mostly) with things like television, books, this entry, etc. It had better keep getting better because, come hell or high water, I AM going in to work tommorrow and Wednesday and Thursday. My kids need me, and I won't fall through on them (holiday concert and such).

So, dear reader, if you're someone who just happened to stumble across this blog, or you're a friend or family member that doesn't see me regularly, you might be inclined to believe that I've drifted from my determination to battle my weight, and am accepting excuses... but I promise you, I have not... just have to get well enough to make gym trips again. And I'm so determined that, if the holidays might see me well again, I'll go out and get started over the holidays. It will happen.

Oh, one more strange thing. Amidst all the other nonsense of health in my life, at least I haven't degraded further (although I take the small loss as due to illness, not change in actual regular weight). Current weigh in: 345 lbs.