#this was supposed to be something quick and breezy but I got ill and went too hard. both separate incidents | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

soila-le-kariuki · 5 years

Text

” It’s the toughest climb ” , they said , ”Satima will have you giving up half way,it’s tough, it’s difficult”, they continued.Every blog I read gave me something to dread about climbing Mt Satima. I remember talking to my girl Kate about it and we agreed to push no matter what.

Usually, a week before hiking I always try to eat well and increase my cardio workouts but during this particular week my body gave up on me.On Thursday evening I got so dizzy to even walk,given that I hadn’t had any food during the day I assumed that was the issue until I ended up In hospital two injections later and a week long meds packed in a bag.

There was no way I was gonna give up on a hike I had prepared for , weeks ahead.

A friend insisted that the mountain will always be there and I should just rest until I was better,in my head I was busy arguing with myself,what if i’ll be worse next time,what if i’ll be heavily pregnant next time lol! I was confused.The doctor assured me , extreme physical exercise wouldn’t affect my body during this time and that’s all the motivation I needed.

Preparations started on Friday for the Sunday hike,y’all can tell I was still looking forward to it despite feeling all ill.

I was up by 4 .00 am on Sunday morning,a little bit strong and motivated did a quick check on my essentials especially water ,energy bars and anything else that was supposed to keep me moving that day and met up with the rest of the hiking team at Nairobi’s CBD.

It was an unusual long drive from Nairobi to the Abardare,we got to there through the Wandare gate which sits on the north eastern end of the Abardare national park ,approximately an hour’s drive outside Nyeri town . Our bus took us closer to the mountain as we enjoyed watching herds of Buffaloes grazing on our way like a mini safari.

Mt Satima is the 3rd highest mountain in Kenya and the highest in the Abardare range, It is also known as Ol Donyo Le Satima ‘mountain of the bull calf’ and stands at 4,001m (13,127ft ) ASL.

We started climbing on foot at quite a higher altitude ,the surrounding was so scenic. Colorful flowers had bloomed the weather was nice breezy and moved huge clouds around.For a moment I felt like it was paradise ,actually ,it was because I had never seen anything like it before.We hard two guides one would stay behind to help the rest of the group catch up while Joshua the other guide stayed ahead to give directions .

He was very kind and unlike most guides he kept slowing us down in case we were too first.

We moved past huge bushes of grass,rocks then we entered into a different terrain full of the huge beautiful Dendrosenecio. A genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family native to the higher altitude zones on mountains.

As we went higher it become colder the breeze we enjoyed earlier had us adding layers to cover up from freezing,at this time my water was too cold to drink I kept wishing I had carried my hot water bottle up the mountain. By now it was freezing the fog was getting dense as we conquered the last part of the mountain,the peak.

Getting to the peak is the most satisfying part of hiking ,it’s so rewarding to feel the struggle,endurance pay off and allover sudden you appreciate your body .This was one of my coldest summit and I kid you not it was extremely cold some of us had two layers of gloves ,personally I had an insulated beenie under my fur aviator hat.

We got to spend some minutes at the peak taking photos and rejoicing for the job well done then trekked to lesser cold altitude for a snack break,which was quickly interrupted by drizzle and we quickly ascended before heavy rains . This was a very interesting hike for me and the team we all did great and ready for another challenge.

The entire trip cost us Ksh 3,000 (inclusive of transport and snacks) If you are planning for this trip here is a list of essentials that you may need

Good hiking boots

Good heavy socks

Trekking pants

Gloves

Fleece / Jacket

Raincoat

Balaclava

A warm hat / beenie

Trekking poles / sticks

Water

Energy snack

Water

Change of clothes in case you get rained on

And a positive attitude

This hike was organised by Nutrifit delight .Feel free to contact the page and join the team.

Thank you for stopping by XO

Conquering the third-highest mountain in Kenya '' It's the toughest climb '' , they said , ''Satima will have you giving up half way,it's tough, it's difficult'', they continued.Every blog I read gave me something to dread about climbing Mt Satima.

0 notes

lavieboheme930 · 5 years

Text

590- I Think I’m In Love With You

01. How often do you walk around barefoot? Like never 02. When you eat take-out, do you just eat it out of the containers provided? No 03. How do you prefer to travel? Plane, train, driving? Train 04. Would you need to sleep with someone before considering marrying them? No.

05. How often do you make your bed? every morning

07. Do you carry condoms? No. 08. Would you date someone who has a hearing aid? Yeah. 09. If you were to be stuck on a deserted tropical island, how big would you like the island to be? I don’t know 10. How organized are the files on your computer? Ehhh...just by type really 11. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope. 12. Have you ever brought home a stray animal? No 13. Did you have a childhood hero? Were they real or fictional? Not that I can remember 14. If you are put on hold and the music playing is a song you know, do you sing along? Yes 15. Are you physically strong? No 16. Would you date someone with braces? Sure. 17. Does scuba diving interest you? No 18. Would you ever ask your parents for relationship advice? Sure. 19. Do you think people look up to you? No 20. How often do you have trouble sleeping at night? Depends 21. Can you drive a manual transmission? I don’t drive at all 22. Have you ever re-gifted a gift you didn’t care for? No 23. Do you ever rehearse conversations before you have them? Yes and still forget by the time I talk to the person LOL 24. You notice someone staring intently at you, what do you do? Just ignore them. 25. Do you blush easily? Yes. 26. Do you get angry at yourself or at others more often? myself I guess 27. Can you name five current world leaders? No lol 28. When taking a cab, do you talk to the driver? Only if they start talking 29. Do you like word games like Scrabble or Boggle? No they bore me 30. Would you consider dating a psychiatrist or psychologist? Sure.

-------------------

Quick! Chinese or Mexican food? Either or really LOL

How many significant others have you had in your WHOLE life? None

I have to ask: What does the last text you received say? "Ahhh shit, I never thought of that. I’ll delete it.”

How about the last text you sent? "I’m listening to Crazy in Love and thinking shit why did I sing it while he was looking at me.”

Have you shared any kisses today? No

Did the last person you kissed have soft lips, or were they kind of crusty? I don’t remember

Do you think your life will be any different a year from now? Yes

What all is in your wallet? Not listing things

How many windows are in your bedroom? 2

Have you ever been in a fist fight? Nope.

When was the last time you went to the doctor? It’s been awhile

Are you going out of town anytime soon? No.

Do you hate your ex? N/A

When are you going to get a haircut? I don’t get my hair cut cause I love it long

Can you fit your hand around your wrist? Yes

Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose? Yeah.

When was the last time you applied chapstick? No idea

Are you a coffee person or a tea person? Coffee

Do you have a weird laugh? No

What kind of deodorant do you wear? Dove

Do you have videos on YouTube? Yeah.

When’s the last time you had a phone conversation for more than ten minutes? No idea

Do you laugh at inappropriate times? Yeah, I can’t help it though. I just love laughing lol

What’s your fast food restaurant of choice? None

All the people you’ve kissed, what did their names start with? J and E

Are you in any kind of pain right now? No

Are you the jealous type? No

What did you and your ex fight about most? N/A

Do you have a foot phobia? No.

Well, are you a germaphobe? I can be

Do you get frustrated easily? No

Don’t you love long hugs? Yes!!!

And long kisses? I wouldn’t know

Have you ever purchased condoms? No

Do you have a dirty mind? I can LOL

What’s your favorite soda? None

Do you check the mail everyday, or somebody else? My dad does

Did you think braces were cool when you were little? Yes

Do you ever go without makeup or doing your hair? Without makeup yes

Put your iTunes on shuffle RIGHT NOW and tell me the first song it plays. Dear Life by Delta Goodrem

What is the last song you added to your iTunes library? I don’t use itunes but Spotify. That would be Thank U, Next

Are you embarrassed by any of the songs in your iTunes? No

When was the last time you were sick? Now with this cold

Did you get anybody else sick? No

Have you had your flu shots? I don’t get the flu shot. Never have and never will.

What brand is your camera? My phone.

Do you like raisins? Yeah

Who was your valentine this year? No one

When did you first kiss the last person you kissed? Sometime Jan. 2017

And when did you last kiss the last person you kissed? That same date

Did you borrow that shirt from somebody? Nope.

What was the last thing you put in your mouth? donut

Do you like to swim? Don’t know how to

How many vacations have you been on in the past year? None

Have you ever gone on vacation with your boyfriend/girlfriend? N/A

Are you supposed to be doing homework, young man/lady? Nope.

Do you have to wake up early tomorrow? Yes

Do you have any prescriptions currently? No

Are you upset about anything? Nah

-----------------

Have you ever seen the tv-show Daria? If so, what do you think of it? Love that show. It totally described me and my best friend. I was Daria and she was Jane

Do you have pets? If so, what kind? If not, why not? Dog. Basenji

Who do you live with? parents and Breezy, my dog

What do you usually drink in the morning/at breakfast? coffee

How do you normally wear your hair? Down

Do you follow fashion? If so, why? No

Are you capable to be alone? If not, why not? Yeah

Do you notice children, or do you just ignore them? I notice them

What’s your opinion on teenagers? Annoying and don’t care about anything. I find teenagers these days nastier than when I was a teen

Can you think of a reason to support under-aged drinking? No

What is your biggest dream? Make it big in comedy or as an author

Are you ambitious? Yeah

Which part of the world do you live in? North America.

Who is your favourite fictional character? I can’t choose

What genre of films do you like best? Comedy

What genre of films do you like the least? Documentary

Are you artistic? If so, what’s your area of arts? Writing...that’s an art I guess. Also, I do choreography

Do you want children? If so, what is your main reason to have kids? Yes. I just want to

Do you have a job? If so, what do you do? Yes. Freelance novelist

Do you still have any of your childhood toys? No

Which decade were you born in? 80′s!!!

Do you suffer from a chronic illness? Nope

Are there any family members you never get along with? No

Do you consider yourself “normal”? What is your definition of “normal”? No..I’m unique and proud to be myself.

How tech savvy are you? Ehh...

What is your favourite game? candy crush.

Have you ever played a real pinball machine? If so, which machine was it? Do you have a favourite? No

What do you spend most of your money on? comedy shows

What is the saddest thing that has happened to you? What about the happiest? Happiest, meeting the jokers. Don’t want to go into the saddest

Do you have an Android device? If so, what? No

Are you on Google+? No

What other social network do you use, if any? Facebook,IG, Twitter

Are you interested in celebrity gossip? If so, why? No

What is the first thing you notice about people? I don’t know really

What is something that makes you NOT want to get to know someone? Them being an ass

------------------

Do you have a fan/air conditioning on right now? fan

When was the last time you sang along with a song? Which one was it? Breathless by The Corrs

Are you currently wearing any hair accessories? Which ones? No

Do you often press the wrong keys on the keyboard? not too often

When was the last time you got a splinter stuck in you? Last week

Do you prefer drawing or painting? Any particular reason why? drawing...I’m better at it

Are you saving up for anything right now? What? Comedy shows...someday getting to Scotland

Are you any good at playing pinball? No.

Do you own any figurines? Of what? 2 Bog Monsters and one Ferret Boy

When did you last have itchy eyes? Yesterday

If forced to go camping, would you rather sleep in a tent or a caravan? Neither

Is it dark outside right now? Yes

How often do you get jealous of other people? What is it usually about? I don’t

Do you make things more complicated than is necessary? No.

What’s your favourite type of cake? Cheesecake.

Have you ever woken up from a dream and believed it to have been real? Yes!!!

When was the last time you brushed your teeth? This morning.

How tired are you right now? Very.

If there’s a bug in your room, can you sleep or do you need to get it out? Need to get it out

How long have you gone without sleep? No idea

Do you prefer traveling alone or with people? With people.

Did you listen to the radio today? Only spotify

Generally speaking, is it warmer or colder in your house than outside? Warmer

Have you ever tie-dyed something? No

Name something you thought was cool when you were younger but don’t now: no idea

How long does it usually take you to get to sleep? depends

When did you last get a papercut? The other day.

Which do you prefer: Blackboards or whiteboards? whiteboards

What sort of things do you have bookmarked in your internet browser? Lots of work related stuff

What are you wearing right now? leggings and plaid shirt

What was the last book you read? Tell Her No Lies

#surveys

0 notes

colormusicdying · 6 years

Text

Then, A Wedding .17.

Brain surgery number three in February 2017 itself was relatively easy for the famous brain surgeon to perform. The recovery was supposed to be quick, just a few days. But that was not to be.

Surviving this brain surgery turned out to be brutal.

After the previous two surgeries, Pam woke up after a few hours and spoke a few words. We were satisfied she was OK. She went to sleep and after a grueling day, I would go home for some rest confident that she was in good hands.

But this time she did not wake up, she did not move, she did not speak, she did not do anything. She was clearly still alive with everything functioning properly but wakefulness, maybe even consciousness, was not happening. Even after a few days in intensive care the only sign of cognition was a little tiny squeeze from one hand. Then a weak thumbs up. Finally it was decided to remove her from intensive care into a room. Day in and day out there was still basically not much but a little squeeze of the hand maybe a couple times a day. Every day I would go in the morning and sit there and talk to the doctors talk to the nurses and wait for Pam to move. Go to lunch, come back. Wait for Pam to move or open an eye. Go home and sleep. Do it again.

A week later some friends visited and they reported maybe they saw her move her mouth a little bit. Then she slowly began to reconnect with the world a few minutes a day. Then there was greater recognition and she could make a thumbs up. The medical people set a thumbs up is harder to do than a simple hand squeeze. After almost two weeks you could see that she was recognizing people who were visiting her, the staff and the doctors and me, maybe for a few minutes a day. After almost two weeks and the observation that she recognized what was going on around her, it was time to be discharged from the hospital. If you think that seems awfully quick, you are on the same page I am. Someday if I can figure out how to not get sued, I will write about the insane, to me, regulations that these days all insurance entities enforce on illness. My guess is, to save money.

When she got to the nursing home/rehab center she had to come in an ambulance and be hoisted into bed with a lift. The staff shook their heads. Later they revealed they never thought she would ever do anything again. They've seen so many people.

Back in the hospital, a feeding tube was inserted directly into her stomach, making it possible to get out to the nursing/ rehab place. So now there had to be a nutrition plan for feeding her through that tube.

Immediately they started her in rehab. How stupid! They would prop this woman up in a chair and try to make her do things with her hands and arms and legs. And she couldn't even open her eyes for more than a few minutes a day. Or talk. Oh, she's not progressing they said. No kidding.

Then came the dreaded "Care meeting". May you never go to one of these idiotic meetings which have nothing to do with care. They tell you they are kicking you out. Failure to progress at the rate somebody somewhere says is required. Somebody protecting an insurance company.

Let's just say that sometimes I can be very strong with my language and the poor young social worker woman who was in charge of the meeting got a tongue lashing from me about the stupidity of the entire situation that I hope she, and her poor innocent intern, will never, ever, forget. Stupid to prop a woman up who can't even open her eyes, then try to manipulate her arms like a puppet and then declare she's getting nowhere. This may make some kind of sense in the world of rules and regulations, but out here where we normal humans are trying to live and get better, it makes no damn sense what so ever.

I, not the staff, had realized that there were problems with Pam's medications and there was no point in stopping rehab until that got fixed. And I made that point VERY clear.

What that tongue lashing, the wallpaper in the room is probably still curled and scorched, accomplished, was that one of the therapists decided to say, let's fix the drugs and give this another try. And so Pam was allowed to stay. And in fact, because we solved her med problems, she did begin to improve.

Then, a wedding. Our daughter Annie's wedding was scheduled for early April, and now it was March. No one, except me, thought Pam would get there. She still could not talk almost a month after surgery, although she could sit up for a while and clearly recognize people. You could see that her brain was waking up and she wanted to talk but it was not happening. She became very very frustrated. Wouldn't you?

A month without words, just little facial expressions. A month without being able to tell the world what was inside of her head, not even hello. A month without hearing her own voice. A month of being silenced by an invisible brain-block that would not let a word be created, spoken to the outside world, to pierce the silence of this neurological jail.

One day she was laying flat in the bed and she yelled out, "I can't talk!" I leaned over the bed and said gently into her good ear, guess what, you just did!! The next thing she said was, "coffee?"

These recoveries are very uneven, but the trend was more wakefulness and more recognition. At this point she could begin to be seeing what was going on around her for about an hour a day. if visitors came, she would give them a little wave or smile, finally say hi. Still on a feed tube. Wedding was coming. Progress in therapy, so she could stay.

As the wedding approached Pam was visited by our bride to be, Annie, and her husband to be Jesse. Annie brought Pam a very kind gift-to-the-Mom, her beautiful drawing to remind Pam of her Tennessee home, a Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, with a quote about Mothers. Framed.

People looked at us quietly out of the corners of their eyes thinking, Pam is never going to get there.

In hope of success, I bought her some new gold shoes to go with her new dress, a blue dress with gold touches, to match the Color scheme of the wedding. One of my friends said, "this must be excruciating."

Rehab continued and small amounts of progress were made. Lift a leg. Bend an ankle. Lift an arm. Move her fingers. Shake hands. Open her eyes and look around the room. Wave. Enough progress.

She was still not allowed to eat anything. Or drink anything. Still on a feeding tube. Every meal poured into that tube.

All drugs put into the tube by the in-a-hurry and overworked nurses. Everything going into that tube.

The visiting speech therapist did not look closely enough to see that Pam could now actually speak. She kept avoiding starting any therapy. Kept avoiding even looking to see if Pam could be recovered enough to eat. I had to have a big argument with her, to get her to LOOK. Finally she realized Pam COULD talk, and it was time to move forward. One day a nursing staff member cleared out Pam's mouth with a sponge, now that somebody was paying attention. Inside that mouth was an inter-tangled web of dried-out God knows what kind of junk. It looked like a spider's cave.

I kept asking for a swallowing test. This is a video test of someone trying to eat something, which is really an excellent idea for the safety of the patient. And have no doubt, for the insurance of the facility. Finally after weeks of insisting we try this, a special van was called. A speech therapist and an M.D. tested her ability to chew and swallow food. The feed tube was still in, and would stay in for months more.

Thirty hours before the wedding, the medical people in the van cleared her to be able to eat soft food and drink. Can she have wedding cake I asked? And they said, yes.

Later that day, we got her hair washed and cut at the in-house beauty shop.

The next day, the day of the wedding, I dressed her in the new blue dress, hiding that feeing tube, and the wheelchair van came on time to convey her to the wedding, purposely timed in the late afternoon so the still low energy Mom could get her nap first.

And so this wreck of a woman, this woman who could not speak, this woman who had to be mechanically hoisted into a bed from an ambulance stretcher when she arrived, this woman who had sat through weeks of therapy with her eyes closed apparently unresponsive, this woman who could not eat for two months or speak for a month, this woman looked at on the first day by the very experienced staff who then adopted a pose of sadness and shaking heads, was now being wheeled toward the elevator and toward a wedding, smiling, with a new dress and new shoes and freshly done hair. The tired and overworked staff, who had frankly given her little hope of a decent recovery, much less being the Mother of the Bride on this breezy cool day in April, stopped in their tracks, and cheered.

Our bride daughter looked absolutely smashing, as the British would say. As a matter of fact both daughters did. I got to walk the bride down the aisle, and there, sitting in the front row in her wheelchair, totally awake and completely aware, was her mother. The beautiful wedding happened, and what do you know, a celebration broke out.

While tables were being set and drinks were being sipped and a slideshow by the sister Maid of Honor was being enjoyed by all, we only had to cross a hallway to take our formal pictures. We were all there, all together.

There was dinner. Now that she was allowed to eat soft food, I planned to take some of that food and mash it down for Pam to eat, but I was very surprised to discover there was nothing there I could use! We contacted the caterers and I asked them if they had a blender and they said, no. I even had thought of that. I was going to bring my own blender! Should have! So now the day after being approved to eat at least mashed up solid food there was going to be no food to eat. But the caterers did not give up, and they came to our table and told us they had cruised around the building and in another food facility found a blender. So Pam was actually able to eat some of the wedding food. One of my cousins, and Pam's good and true friend Jane helped her with that while I got the opportunity to visit some of the guests.

It was Spring, when the sun gleefully steals a few more minutes from darkness each day. The earth stops spinning for no one, and dusk finally encroached on the light outside. But not on this happy crowd. Pam got to have her wedding dinner, though it be puréed. So now it was time for additional wedding traditions. She got to see everyone sitting at the head table; hear all the speeches, funny and serious. She got to see the bride dance with her father, and the groom dance with his mother. She got one of those lovely cupcakes, this party's wedding cake, which she could eat without modification, and of course, what could be better to go with the wedding cupcake, than COFFEE! Finally!

And when all the official festivities were over, and it was left to the crowd to begin dancing, drinking and schmoozing and celebrating, I looked at her and I could see she was getting tired. It was already hours past her normal bedtime. She had simply been energized to stay up and see it all. But now it was time for her to get some sleep. I called the wheelchair van service. Her very dear and true friend Jane accompanied her back to the rehab facility, so that I could play father of the bride for a little while longer.

I took home a few of those fabulous cupcakes.

In the year Pam's cancer was discovered, our younger daughter Annie was to turn 16 in July. Her older sister, Elizabeth, to turn 20 that October. Since then, everything I have told you about happened: the three brain surgeries, so many MRIs, hundreds of doses of chemo therapy, a month of radiation treatments under the Eyes of Hope, several rounds of rehab in institutions and at home. A few months after the wedding, bride Annie would turn 28, Maid of honor, sister, Elizabeth, 32.

What is more Colorful and Musical than a wedding? The Dying was banished for that day.

On display, to Bride and Groom, sister, officiant, bridesmaids and groomsmen, relatives, friends, caterers, photographers, nursing home staff, wheelchair van driver, and to every molecule of air at the wedding, to the gentle but cool spring breeze outside, to our own star setting slowly in the West, to the moon itself, to the all-seeing Milky Way galaxy, to the floating swirling sparkling Stardust which carries and holds the hopes and dreams of living beings everywhere, to all the invisible intergalactic particles shooting through the room, touching nothing and moving on, to the forces of life yet undiscovered by humans, and to everything all the way out to the very edge of the Universe, where the minds of the geniuses play;

To all of them was displayed and demonstrated, elegantly, happily even, an intense power forged of pure true love by the hottest fires deep in the human spirit, the undefeatable power necessary to create, embolden, and sustain DEFIANCE! TO THE BRUTALITY OF SURVIVAL.

*********************************************************************************************

Next post Thursday Sept 27: The Gentle Beam .18.

1 note · View note