Medium Chunky describes me pretty well, but you didn’t hear that from me.
I guess I’m going to attempt to bring the blog up to date with a few photos and thoughts.
I attended a health fair by my apartment. Former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Senator Doug Jones, and others were on site and held a panel to talk about several things that affect our rural, impoverished town. I’m thankful to know Senator Jones cares about the situations that real, regular people face. He advocates for equality and human rights above all else, and that’s pretty hard to come by in Alabama. I’m glad I voted for him, and I hope he stays. I managed to speak up during the panel and ask Dr. Benjamin two questions, so maybe I’m not dead yet. I just need to get out more. Of course, that’s difficult to do when I can barely leave my bed or bathroom some days.
The gastroparesis is being managed, albeit, not that well. I never know from one day to the next if I’m going to be able to tolerate and successfully digest a food. I’m not willing to exist on soup broth and pudding forever, and my muscles let me know regularly that they’re dying for real food (mainly protein), so I keep trying. It’s a rocky road, and some days are better than others. I'm always in pain.
I’m well-stocked on fluids, thanks to friends who tackled my Amazon wish list. This month, I stocked my freezer with seafood again. It looks like I may be pescetarian for the long haul, at least partially. The stuffed crab and catfish filets in the above photo are out - both were so bad they produced a gag reflex. I’m doing ok with the rest in moderation. I’m still living primarily on soft foods and liquids. Alas, I remain “Medium Chunky” in spite of it all. My current goal is to lose 15 lbs, but that seems to always be my goal. We’ll see what the scale says when I go to the doctor in November.
I began looking for free foreign language classes online, and ended up signing up for a philosophy course, open online through Coursera. It was Intro to Philosophy via University of Edinburgh. It was the typical video lectures and tests, until the last module. Time Travel! And not just time travel, time travel taught by a Steampunk Professor named Alasdair. I smiled the whole time.
It was the only memorable part of the course, to be honest. The app is a bit wonky and the quizzes don't always load right. It was a little frustrating. I finished the course early, and deleted the app from my phone.
My positive distraction of the year has been Pokemon GO. I started it at the end of March, and I'm already level 38 (of the last level, 40). I didn't used to play games on my phone, but this has been an adventure. I'm in a group with thousands of players, all adults, of all ages, who live in my region. I don't get to participate like others do, due to my health, but when I can make a go (pun intended) of it, I seem to do ok. My niece Jo and a couple of siblings are playing as well, so it's fun to send gifts to each other. And it's free, which is the important part. I am hoping to achieve level 40 at the one-year mark, by March 2020.
I have more to blog about, and I'll do that soon. I need sleep.
