Nov 10
5.30a woke to Joe’s alarm. Woke from strange dream. Can’t fall back to sleep.)
Nose stuffy. Insideds shivering. Rt hip throbbing. Headache. Whole body aches. Eyes watery.
6.30 inside I’m excited about the day but my outward body is having trouble moving. Thankful God’s plans are best. It’s been great having friends staying with us. It’s nice to have a friend that gets what your feeling or going thru (she got double concussion from bad car accident several yrs ago. Experiencing some of same issues I’m dealing with from my tbi). Gotra get up and going…I can smell Joe searing the roast for lunch.
10.30 brain feels like its swimming today…vision extra blurry on edges, dizzy, unstable – almost fell few times, but able to grab something to catch self
11.00 easily distracted – had hard time playing offertory bc someone was talking. Turned head too fast and got dizzy. Irritated me so much I wanted to stop and tell person to shut up. Ugh! Remembered piano teacher’s instruction to keep mind on piece and play best you can til piece is finished
6.30 sudden sharp pain in lft abs & center of chest. Lasted about 13 minutes
10.30 sharp stabbing pain in rt side. Rt hip throbbing! Hands swollen and achy. Headache. Center of chest hurting. Took pain rx. Muscles spasming in upper lft leg. Skin itching upper lft leg.
Nov 11
6.30 rough night. Fell asleep sometime after midnight. Woke every two hours thereafter.
Joe asked if I was okay before leaving for work. Told him I was hurting all over. Asked why. Told me I had bad nightmare last night. All I remember is being stuck in same dream over and over. I feel like I’ve been beat up. Headache and exhausted.
9.00 I finally fell back to sleep around 7 and slept til 9. Still tired.
Decided to push past comfort zone and do extra chore – fixed box fan bc cover coming off & cleaned it, hung load of towels. Not so sure hanging towels good idea (its such a nice day) bc I’m really hurting now.
1.00p decided to take kids to Krispy Kreme for rewards of good grades. Stopped at thrift store. Found 2 t-shirts for Jordon’s quilt I want to make him for Christmas. Still need a few more but I’m getting there.
10.00p I really hurting now. Definitely not too good idea pushing to do extra day before having to report for jury duty. I’m hurting almost to tears.Â
Gotta figure out herbs/oils to reduce nerve pain.
Nov 12
5a so not today ready for today
7.30a never been to court house. It’s so big. Lots of people here. I have no idea where to go. Officers have all been so kind. People several giving me compassionate looks like they’re sorry I have to be here. Anxiety starting to fester. I’m overwhelmed & scared. Balance is off keep having to adjust and gain my balance so I don’t fall.
Thankful for the tall pillars to lean on. Strange guy asks me where to go. I tell him I have no clue bc I’ve never been here. He says oh and disappears into the large crowd ahead of me.
Crowd starts moving. Not sure where they’re heading. I decide to follow. Oh, they’re heading to elevators. Officer is letting jurors only on elevators at this time to go to 8th floor. Oh, that’s me. I guess I’ll follow.
Once off elevator, another officer instructs people to make sure that jurors have summons filled out & hands out instruction manuals. Once filled out, instructed to wait in long line to enter courtroom. I only made it halfway down long hallway of line of people and had to sit in chairs to rest a while before I could walk more. Eyes began to well up with tears. Told myself not now. Quoted “What time I am afraid I will trust in thee”. Tears got bigger. Not helping. Gave self pep talk. After resting, got in long line. Boy, there’s a lot of people here. Tears started leaking from eyes. Can’t fall apart now haven’t even made it in courtroom.Â
Finally made it to doors. Lady checks my summons to see if filled out right. Explained to her that I’d never been here before. Tells me it’s ok and to take summons to blonde lady. I ask her which blonde lady bc there’s two up there. She chuckles and says she didn’t notice. Asked which colored blouse. She didn’t answer. I proceed to slowly enter room and walk towards front. I’m exhausted, getting dizzier, Lord, please give me strength. After approaching the lady, I asked her to check regarding my summons. I explained that I had been struck by lightning and am still dealing with after effects. I wrote letter but never heard back. She checked computer. She informed me that I had been excused and apologized for the inconvenience of having to come downtown. I thanked her and was glad to get out of there.
I got so turned around when I left the court room I had no clue where to go or how to get out of there. I had to ask an officer how to get out of here. He kindly escorted me to the elevator and to main lobby on bottom floor. I thanked him for his service. He smiled.Â
Glad that my Mom had come with me because I knew it was going to take me a long time to get back to the vehicle. Had to stop frequently to rest to get enough energy to keep going. Thankfully, the bus driver that brought everyone from the parking lot to the courthouse spotted me attempting to return to our vehicle. She stopped the bus in the middle of the road and told us to hop on. I thanked her repeatedly for her help. She smiled.Â
Thankful for God looking out for me today and all the help along the way. I do not want to experience this again in the future. Extra stress adds exponential pain to the scheme of things.
10.53 I’m exhausted and really hurting. Rt hip throbbing
