My Big Sick (2018)

Earth people - I come in peace...

You know that bad flu virus they've hyped in the news? Uh... not hyping. It's real. I know because I got it.

First I caught the flu - no biggie. I stayed home, stayed warm, rested & drank fluids. Then I felt better, so I got up and resumed life as per normal.

Three days passed and I slowly realized I felt kind of weird. Not sick exactly - just not quite normal. Not quite up to snuff. My friend Barbara, down in Monterey County, we keep in touch pretty much daily, via text/emails. She was more worried about my so-called flu than I was. She is a worry wart thought, that is what she does, worry. So I ignored her. I was fine damn it!

Nag, nag, nag. I said I'd go to an emergency room if she'd quit nagging. So on Monday morning I got in my car and it started, but wouldn't move an inch. I figured it probably dead from having driven into that puddle a week ago. My trip to the ER was a no go.

Next morning Barb called again. She concluded that I sounded 'weird' and stated, if I did not dial 911 inside of ten seconds, she was going to call the police & have them break down my front door. She started the count down: ten... nine... eight...

She meant it. I called. Minutes later (as in, it felt like lost time) I was wisked away by EMTs in a bright & shiny ambulance.

My so-called 'flu' had morphed into pneumonia. The pneumonia allowed bacteria to infest my lungs and poison my blood. My blood was septic. For ten days I lay semi-hallucinatory at the UCD med center while the good docs puzzled out wtf was wrong with me. They bombarded me with a heavy flood of IV to kill the thankfully easy-to-kill bacterial strain and said I'd need a month of IVs. Yikes.

After ten days of too-much-excitement, I was transferred directly to a gawdawful nursing home, the only one that both my insurance accepted and that would accept me.

You never know how good your family/friends are until you get sick and wind up in the hospital I
guess. If it wasn't obvious to you in 'I am well' times, it sure becomes utmost in your mind during 'I sure as hell am sick' times. Thanks y'all!

Beauties from Cousin Yvonne & her hubby Bill

I took a few pix of my visitors (why didn't I photograph everyone?). Rick & Nancy were my first visitors in the hospital. Ron & Jeannie visited me, brought stuff for me from home and even snuck in an item or two for me (score!). Robbie drove in from Berkeley to visit me often not only when I was in the nursing home, but when I got home too. I was sooo happy for breaks in the neverending tedium of not being able to 'go out and play'. 

And I got flowers - more flowers than I ever have received in my life. The flowers - some were crocheted by friends from the Woolverines - were a touch of beauty in my otherwise depressing & dull nursing home room. And a 'CARE' package of wonderous goodies from my cousin Jonnianne & her fam. My cup overflowed like sob!

From Robbie, Cousin David and Jen

Crocheted blooms from Woolverine friends
I kept them on my IV which cheered it up for me

 Here is the family who used to be Barbara's next door neighbors and I became their friends too. They are wonderful, and they came to visit me. Made me so very happy!

The 'Cute' Family - I love them to pieces!

Dear Cousin David and 'moi' at dread nursing home

The biggest & best surprise was my Cousin David flew all the way out from Denver to visit me! I was soooo surprised & happy!  He had come with friend Jen. He hand delivered me a Carter Family Reunion Tee-shirt, one of many he had made for the family reunion I'd missed in San Diego. I love my Cousin David!


There were many things that were done wrong at the hospital and David volunteered (!) to go to bat on those issues, so that hopefully future patients will not go through the stuff I went through. I'll always remember and be grateful to David for that. In future, others will be grateful without even knowing they have David to thank.

And while I'm on the topic of grateful, I also thank Barbara for being 'my person' who nags me when necessary, and also Dru, her support back up.

My stint in the Nursing home lasted three of the longest weeks of my life. UGH! I couldn't wait to get out of the nursing home, and the day I did was epic. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. But eventually I got home where Barbara and her friend Dru were at my house waiting for me. I was grateful to them too for being there when the oxygen supply guy arrived to set things up.

Yummy fresh 'blooms' from my Sister Dolores

[UPDATE: I was on external oxygen for three long months. Everytime I left the house I carried along a little oxygen tank in my favorite backpack. That gave me a total of 3 hours or so I could 'BE FREE!' and out of the house. Eventually my oxygen saturation was fine if I was seated, so that meant I could stay out of the house longer, for example, I could go to the movies where I didn't need the extra oxygen while seated watching a movie. Finally in May I was off the oxygen tank. Whew! Do NOT ever want to go through anything like that again. 
OH! And I'd mentioned my car not starting when I wanted to drive myself to the ER? Turns out, I'd turned on the ignition, but did not engage the reverse gear, so guess what? The car wouldn't budge. How freakn' sick I was? I hadn't the brains to back my car out of the garage. When your oxygen is that low your brain doesn't work well. DUH. Thank heavens I couldn't get my car out the garage. If I had, perhaps I'd have caused a ten car pile up on Highway 50. Yep. Glad that is all in the past tense now.]

One Puddle Too Far

The day began innocently enough...

Driving around the boondocks of Sacramento, looking for feathered or furred wildlife. There were plenty of wild turkeys on the Hagin golf course.

The were other birds as well.

A Say's Phoebe













To add a little interest I drove to one of the worst roads in the county. Keifer Road is well known for its deep ruts and puddles. I've driven along this road in every season. When puddled it is a great place to search for shorebirds that love to loiter in country pastures aligning the gawdawful road. If you go far enough to find the bridge you can even find flocks of waterfowl, even wild swans.

The notorious Kiefer Road

Great and exciting plan, but I forged via 4WD, one puddle after another. Then I traversed one puddle too far. My dear old Honda CRV was almost in the 'downward dog' yoga position when it stopped moving. Not at all worried or concerned, I steered sharply left, gave it gas - no movement, just HUMONGOUS rooster tails of mud, flying up and over the car. Then turned sharply right, to the same effect. Uh oh... I was stuck.

Calmly - I mean it, I was as calm as hell - I got on my phone and called AAA. It was having AAA as my ever present back up that kept me so relaxed under such duress. After getting AAA headed out to tow me out, I noted three large SUV type trucks in the distance down Keifer. They were headed towards me, along the road, probably headed for Sunrise Blvd.  When they reached me, all three trucks stopped and several concerned looking gentleman asked, "Need a tow?"

By God, did I ever! They hooked me up to lines on a winch, and towed me back onto muddly, but solid ground.

Once on solid ground I attempted to start up the engine but the Honda was absolutely

       dead

                 dead

                             dead!




Now I was panicky and forlorn. The guys calmly began checking to see if they could fix the engine problem and get the car started. They were deadpan as they concentrated on starting up my car again, Mayo clinic physicians, trying to get a flatlined patient - of the metallic mechanical sort - revived & running again.

While the good samaritan crew worked on the car, I stood around. One of their trucks held a lady with her kids, and I chatted with the amiable & cheery group while the men folk labored away.

My poor little Honda

 Finally the guys gave up. The sun was setting and however much they coddled the car, it would not start. Two of the trucks were guys who as friends, love to spend time in the boonies too, only they do not look for birds, they look for stuck vehicles to tow out for the entertainment value. Really! They had just towed the 3rd truck & its driver out of a puddle when I had spotted them down Keifer when I first got stuck.

The guy that was towed out just before me had some sobering info for all of us. He said he used to work a tow truck and AAA will NOT tow any vehicle that is more than about a quarter mile from a regular road. I was at least a half mile away from a 'regular' road. 'After all', he informed us, 'why would AAA risk a $100,000 tow truck on a muddy, rutted road?'

We were all appropriately stunned. Why indeed? I was mentally wondering how I was going to ride out the remainder of this adventure when my good samaritans said they'd tow me the half mile down to the paved road. So, they did just that. Below is my view of the trash dotted Kiefer Road, as they gently towed me backwards to main road.

Once at the main road, I attempted to pay the gentlemen for their superlative help, but they refused. They were totally into it all for the 'fun'. I waved bye bye as all three vehicles drove off into - literally - the sunset. I called AAA, and was told I had about an hour's wait. But, after about 30 minutes, I tried the engine, and it was dry so it started up. The drive home was a touch and go adventure. The damp engine surged, spun and sputtered. My Honda would drive along calmly, then just as suddenly it would buck like a mustang with a bumblebee up its tailpipe. A couple of times I drove over and parked - engine running - to give my nerves and the car's engine a bit of recovery time. Really, I ought to not have been able to drive the ten or so miles home, but damned, I made it all the way home. Lesson learned. No more mud puddle hopping for this birder.

[UPDATE: Yeah, I go my car home alright. The very next time I drove it I was on my way to my Honda dealer for what I call a 'well baby check up'. My car died about three blocks from my house! Triple A towed me to my Honda service center and about $600 later, things were set back to rights. I am one lucky lady, I can tell you that, meaning, I didn't - heavens forbid - need to replace my car.]

Point Reyes Day Trippin' at Point Reyes National Seashore

Drake's Beach

Post-cross country drive, William is visiting with me . Mostly we just hang, but we decided as long as he is here, Point Reyes National Seashore required exploration.

At Point Reyes our first stop was the Visitor Center. William went in while I literally sat in the car, wishing to the saints above, to see 'interesting' wildlife. By 'interesting', I meant a little something more than the usual Mule Deer or squirrels. William returned & we set off. Just as the car moved maybe 100 feet from the Visitor Center, what did I spy sitting in the grass but a... kitty cat? The 'kitty' paid us no heed. It got up and ran by, in front of my car and here are the amazing - to us, at least - shots. Wow. Must say I've never before had a plea answered so rapidly or well.

Perhaps the bigger miracle is that my camera was - for once - at the ready. WHOO HOOOO! 

So after watching a wild Bobcat scarper along, believe me, the remainder of the day was gravy. We drove out to the Lighthouse. There were Mule Deer everywhere. I thought, Point Reyes obviously hasn't enough Mountain Lions on hand for deer population control.

One, two, three does headed for low meadows. The Pacific gleamed in the distance.







At the busy Lighthouse parking lot, William & his camera tromped up hill and down dale to the light house, while I stayed put & waited.

Bambi - I am your father!

The ladies lounging nearby

Just as we grew somewhat bored with Mulies, we discovered Dwarf, or Tule Elk, similarly in lounge mode. Having recently seen Rocky Mountain Elk, in Colorado, these bull elk did look small and pale to our jaded eyes. 

Sleepy Bull Tule Elk

I thought William would enjoy the local delicacy - hot buttered clam chowder in a sourdough bow. I took him to Drake's Beach, where I've enjoyed that particular treat in the past, and YIKES: I got two big surprises. We walked along the sidewalk that abuts the beach and William pointed out something I hadn't noticed in the least. At first glance I thought William was pointing at a rock or something in the ocean but the big rock... snored!

Pointing to the seemingly inanimate 'lump'

Big-arse bull Elephant Seal snoozing, just off the walkway

Notice all the 'battle chunks' missing from this bull's neck

Knowing these fat & lazy appearing critters can move with bat-outta-hell speed if you get on their last nerve, we kept a polite distance away from this beach master.

Tail end

I've seen Elephant Seals before, but this is absolutely the closest I've ever been to one. I told William he was having a bumper crop day of critter sightings.

Any further north, and he'd be snoozing on the cement walkway

As I said, that was the first surprise. The second? The Drakes Beach Visitor Center is pretty much, 'no more'. I was horrified. No Visitor Center. No Restaurant. All closed now because of National Park budget cuts. DO NOT get me started on the details of this! I am so pissed.

Change of subject.

We went to the parking lot where interesting birds can be found. We found some.

V. busy California Quail

Mr. and Mrs. Q

We headed off to get some photos in a picturesque spot which William read about. On the way there we were blocked a bit by Elk on the move... did I mention we saw elk?

The entire herd tromped off the hilltop and down over the road leading to Drake's Beach. They caused a Yellowstone style wildlife traffic block.

Elk Jam at crest of roadway hill

One by one, they daintily scuttled past

Rear guard crossing

Our last 'exotic' of the day was the one William knew off - a long driveway, lined with cypress - a popular photo spot. HOLY CRAP! IS THAT...!

Did T-Rex Suzy follow us all the way from Chicago?

We knew if we held stay really still... it wouldn't see us...

Whew! That was a close one.

Wish I'd nicked one of Will's shots of this driveway

So we had a lovely wildlife day at Point Reyes National Seashore. I was annoyed I didn't manage to find any of the local delicacies (bbq wild oysters, chowder in a bread bowl) for William to sample, but there shall be next time!