blahTo be honest, I'm really happy to see the rear end of September. I suspect that most people are.
While there were a few good moments in the month, September was a month that I will remember because of two things (not including the other stuff I've had to deal with). First, the pain that I'm in. Second, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
First off, I'm not putting any of this behind a cut, as it's something I need to finally talk about, so... I've not spoken about it very much here on the blog, but ever since I had my second COVID-19 vaccine dose back in July, the doctors have suspected that I have a case of myocarditis, possibly enhanced by the potential lingering effects of one of the diabetes drugs (Actos) that I was taking a long time ago. (See this entry, this entry, and this entry for my experience in July.) The very specific tests the doctors want to run have been postponed several times, primarily due to the pandemic, but I'll admit a couple of times out of my morbid fear of hospitals and what the tests entail. Since that second vaccine shot, I've had lingering chest pain, difficulty breathing, and a cough, all signs of myocarditis. Anyway, the appointment has been made for late October finally to have the heart tests done (a 4-hour procedure that will involve inducing-- never mind, I'll talk about that when I'm ready), and I'm already dreading this, but... In the meantime, I'm still also dealing with severe pain in my left leg, my left foot (and to some extent the right foot), and the other issues I've got with my left shoulder (from the dislocation) and the right hand/wrist (the tendon issue). I recently had another test to check the prostate for what's going on there, as there is the suspicion of prostate cancer, but I'm hoping that this month actually gets me into the doctor's office to get some proper medical treatment.
Then there's the COVID-19 pandemic. This is something that was meant to be behind us with the arrival of the vaccines, but people being human and some people being COVIDiots, and medicine being what it is, the fourth wave of the pandemic is upon us. Due to my state of health and underlying health issues, notably the diabetes, my medical care (as noted above) is suffering, but to be honest I'm somewhat...scared...much of the time of going out to get things done, even wearing a mask and having had my two doses of the vaccine and all. I'm back to gaming with both the Friday night and Sunday afternoon gaming groups, and while I'm comfortable doing so, it's the going out for groceries or other errands that has me concerned all the time, and this has stressed me out a good deal, to be honest. Suffice it to say, hopefully October will be the month where I can start to put some of the fears and all behind me, and try to get back to being on an even emotional keel.
I don't know when life will get back to any sense of normality, to be honest, especially given the fourth wave of COVID is seemingly worse than any of the previous waves, but this is largely due to the danger the Delta variant poses and all the unvaccinated (for various reasons, some of them valid) people out there. Throw in the potential of what flu season could bring with it, and well...
Anyway, here's hoping that October is a better, more comfortable month, and that winter doesn't strike too early or too hard at all. ::knock on wood::