I spent part of Monday morning making notes for a talk with our parish priest. Then I called the Parishes on the Prairie office — P. on the P. are six parishes and a school in central Minnesota.
I left a message, asking our priest to call me back. So far, he hasn’t. Which is probably just as well.
A bit after noon Monday, I ran an errand: picked up meds. After that, I — actually, I don’t remember just what I did. But I do remember feeling cold. Unaccountably cold.
Good news, the furnace was working fine, and inside temperatures were normal. A little below normal in some spots, since my wife was baking. But well within the normal range.
Decades of experience told me that checking my temperature was prudent. So I did.
Here are the numbers:
- Monday 103.3
- Tuesday 104.2
- Wednesday 102.5
- Thursday 99.5
- Friday 100.4
More good news: temperatures, blood sugar counts and other items stayed below ‘I ought to see a doctor’ levels. Thursday’s blood sugar was reaching ‘talk to a medico’ level, but was lower on Friday.
And Friday I wasn’t feeling as weak and ‘I gotta lie down and sleep’ as I’d been from Monday afternoon on. All of which is good news. Although not lying down and getting some sleep Friday may explain my fever going up that day.
Not-so-good news, I’ve been in no condition to write about a remarkable development in fusion. Scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California started and maintained a fusion reaction.
What makes this effort remarkable is that they got marginally more energy out to the reaction than they put in.
This is, I think, a big deal. I also think that I want to be much more clear-headed when I write about it.
Doing What I Can, Not Doing What I Can’t
As for what sort of bug I’ve been experiencing, I don’t know. It could be some flu variety, COVID-19, or something else.
Knowing the bug’s name would be nice, but isn’t necessary. And testing? Unnecessary medical expenses aren’t an option.
I’ve had two COVID-19 shots and a booster, plus my annual flu shot. So ranting about vaccinations being useless, an affront to the Almighty, or some kinda plot is an option. But not, I think, a reasonable one.
Whatever the bug is, I seem to be getting better. That’s nice.
I’ve been sleeping downstairs since Monday night: on a bed we set up in the north room, in case we needed to lower upstairs temperatures to ‘keep the pipes from freezing’ levels.
It’s been an interesting experience. I mentioned I’d been feeling weak, right? Well, I’ve been getting into and out of that downstairs bed by using a walker as an anchor/support. It’s the one my father-in-law used. We miss him, and that’s another topic.
“I Thank You, Lord, For Preserving Me During the Night”
I don’t enjoy feeling the way I have this week. But I woke up each morning: and that’s ALWAYS a good thing.
Which is why I thank our Lord for “preserving me during the night” each morning.
Being alive for another day is a big deal.
A definite ‘up’ side to this bug is that I’ve been sharp enough to do my daily prayer routine.
Being at the Adoration chapel this week wasn’t an option, obviously. I’m not sure about Mass this Sunday. With Friday’s increased temperature, I’m really not sure.
We’ve been told to use our brains, and keep both our health and the common good in mind. I’m pretty sure that someone, somewhere, is offended and repulsed by that example of common sense.
But I’m not. I’ve talked about that, and a mess of other stuff, before:
- “COVID-19 and People Who Need People, Another Year”
(January 25, 2022) - “Light Show in Washington; Law and Life; Masks Back On”
(January 23, 2022) - “Science, Religion, COVID-19 and an Unexpected Opinion”
(November 8, 2021) - “The Unmasked Minnesotan’s Second COVID-19 Shot”
(June 11, 2021) - “New COVID-19 Vaccines: Goodish News, Ethical Issues”
(December 16, 2020)
