October 24, 2026 – I have this ottoman in my living room, and the girls like to lie on it if I’m on the couch. And on Saturday, Eloise was sitting on the ottoman and Lila decided to join her. Cue my squeals!
October 25, 2026 – October book club! We went shuffleboarding and decided this will be a fantastic retirement activity. (We all plan to live together in our retirement!) I’d also like to thank Amber for helping the Dolphins win their first game of the season. While we were playing, she kept saying, “Score a point, and the Dolphins will win today!” She was right!
October 26, 2026 – Okay, how about a sharp left turn? I spent Monday morning in the ER because I’ve been having terrible heartburn for the past few days, accompanied by pain radiating down my back and arms. It comes and goes, and I kept telling myself I was fine. But then on Sunday evening, it got really bad, and when I tested my blood pressure at home, my systolic was in the 170s/180s, which is much higher than usual for me. I decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. Monday morning came, the heartburn was the worst it’s been, and when I took my blood pressure, my systolic was 217. That freaked me out enough that I called my mom and asked if she could take me to the ER.
Long story short: It’s just a really bad case of acid reflux, and the high blood pressure was probably a combination of anxiety and my body being in pain. I wasn’t at the hospital for very long (I went to a freestanding ER that wasn’t very busy, plus you get quick service when you come in complaining about chest pain!), and they released me with a prescription for Nexium and instructions to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist and GI doctor. All of this is likely steroid-related, so that’s fun. Just another notch on the “chronic autoimmune condition” bingo card, I guess!
October 27, 2026 – The ER sent me home with a doctor’s note saying I didn’t have to go back to work until Wednesday, but I was feeling much better on Tuesday. (Mainly because I had peace of mind knowing I wasn’t dealing with anything heart-related!) However, Eloise was really adamant that I take a break mid-afternoon and stole my office chair!
October 28, 2026 – I got to sneak in some Chip and Lucy time on Wednesday, as my mom was at a work event and needed someone to take the dogs out in the afternoon. The dogs enjoyed kissing me a lot and running around the yard, and I also snuck in some selfie time with my main man Chip.
October 29, 2026 – Lila looooves sitting on my open laptop. It’s fine until she messes with my settings and suddenly, I can’t use my keyboard or she’s deleted an entire spreadsheet or she’s turned off the laptop accidentally. Good thing she’s cute!
October 30, 2026 – I dropped off my ballot on Friday afternoon! Keep those fingers crossed that Florida does something right for once.
EEK. That sounds really, really scary and I’m glad you went to the ER. Also I’m obviously glad you’re okay! I hope you’re feeling much better now.
I love the cat photos. Muffin also loves sitting on my laptop keyboard, and it does not end well.
Tell Amber we need her magic again today! And yes… do something right for a change, Florida! I’m voting Tuesday since I don’t work that day.
It was really scary! I didn’t want to go to the ER (mostly because I’ve done so much testing for my heart already and I was pretty certain it wasn’t heart-related), but I’m also glad I got the peace of mind.
I was so hopeful at halftime for our dearest Dolphins. Dang it!
I’m glad it wasn’t anything more serious, but sorry you had that happen anyway! And cats on keyboards …. just stepping over mine, Newman has done things I don’t even know how to do! It’s a mystery.
HA, Lila taught me how to do the split screen view on Chrome! I had heard about it, but never used it until I came back to my laptop one day and two of my tabs were merged. She’s also constantly reviewing keyboard shortcuts! Smart cookie, that one.
Yikes! An ER visit! That is terrifying! I am glad you are ok but sheesh that is scary. You are really playing ‘see all the specialists’ bingo. I hate this for you, friend. I really hope your RA is well managed soon so you can finally taper off steroids. They are brutal! Has your doctor mentioned infusions as an option? They are a PITA but very effective as they can change the dose of the TNF inhibitor (things like Enbrel come in one dose and if it’s not sufficient, you can’t change the dose).
They haven’t mentioned infusions. My next appointment is on the 11th and I have some choice words for them (that I probably won’t voice because I’m so damn non-confrontational).
It is hard to advocate for yourself. But you have been in pain for so long and the side effects of the steroids are wreaking havoc on your body!!
Noooo not another health issue. Man you really do get all the bingos on the bingo card, no?
I hope your body is about done and you can settle and readjust with all the stuff going on.
I am sorry friend.
OMG when the cats’ butts touch. So cute!
Damn, that’s so crazy about the acid reflux! Did the meds help right away? I am so glad you got it checked out!