Happy Birthday To Me...

Life At Number 14 is a year old today...this is my 98th post, almost made it to 100...!!!

Thanks dear friends and followers, I have "met" a whole new group of friends out there who I wouldn't have crossed paths with otherwise...I have loved meeting you and your families and enjoyed peeping inside your open windows...

Recovering Slowly...

It's taking a while but I'm getting back on track...still have very little energy and have to be careful about conserving what I do have.

Saw my GP yesterday and my potassium levels have dropped again so have had to up my medication. They were up to (almost) the lower end of normal but for some unknown reason it has decreased. Have another blood test scheduled for Friday so we will see how things are going then. In the meantime I am craving (& eating lots of) foods rich in potassium...red meat, tomatoes, oranges, steamed potatoes (with skin on), avocado & tuna. In fact, I am ravenous and am craving protein...am eating 4-6 smaller meals a day. Probably just catching up.

Thanks for all of your comments and well wishes...I'm slowly catching up with all of your news. Not back at work until my potassium levels even out but am looking forward to a trip to Victoria next week (alone) to catch up with family & friends.

Lots of love...xoxo

Unwell...

Have been right out of action...

Last Saturday was day 8 of constant nausea, vomiting & diarrhoea (gone on far too long, could keep nothing down) and through the afternoon I had trouble with breathlessness and my heart rate was very fast & erratic so it was off in the ambulance to hospital. After some testing it was discovered my potassium levels were through my boots, normal range is 3.5 - 5.0 mEq/l, mine was 2.0 and later dropped to 1.6...more than low enough to cause a cardiac arrest.

There was also a specific cardiac enzyme called Troponin (which is an indicator of heart muscle damage) present in my blood, it indicated that my heart was under strain so that meant there was no chance of coming home. I had to be admitted for monitoring and I/V Potassium...had a total of 15 bags of the stuff and my levels aren't even in the normal range yet!!! I also had to have a series of Clexane (anticoagulant) injections before the PE was excluded so I am bruised & sore, my arms have bruises from wrist to elbow from the 4x daily blood tests...it's very attractive let me tell you.

There was also concern I had a Pulmonary Embolism but tests yesterday ruled that out (there had to be one that went my way)...the vomiting etc. has stopped and I am feeling much better in myself although have no energy whatsoever...just having a shower and washing my hair this morning took every scrap of energy I had, although I felt so much better for having done it.

I have John at home any time if needed and Matilda is home today cooking chicken soup, just what I need & desire. He has been amazing, just steps up and gets on with what needs to be done without a word of complaint, I'm a very lucky woman indeed.

Have to see my GP in the morning and work out a plan for the next week or so. Am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now...I have lost almost 13kg (28lbs) but do not recommend doing it this way at all.

Hopefully will be back on deck soon & catching up with your news.

Pizza...

It's a relaxed evening here, we have a public holiday tomorrow...Labour Day. Matilda is out at a birthday party sleepover and who knows where Josh is, he hasn't put in an appearance here since Friday evening. I was going to cook a roast for dinner...I have a whole organic Pork Scotch Fillet just waiting to be enjoyed but it seems a bit pointless having it tonight with only three of us home so that will be tomorrow night's dinner.

Instead I pulled out some home made pizza bases from the freezer...last time we had pizza I made about ten so we would have some to freeze. I'm a bit of a pizza purist, having grown up in the midst of a large number of Italian families...(thin base and minimalist toppings)...we ate wood fired pizza in the 1970's, about 30 years before it became fashionable.

I topped the bases with thinly sliced potato, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sea salt then into the oven for fifteen minutes...a little grated parmesan after cooking and they were just divine. There are some tastes that just "go" together and this combo on our pizzas was just meant to be.


We ate the pizzas with a glass of red at about 6pm and have just finished off a bowl of Split Pea & Ham soup that I made on Friday...it was good then but great now.

Life's good really...

*Disclaimer - the photo isn't my pizza, we got into them so quickly I forgot to photograph them but they looked very similar.