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Daniel Hanning of The Other Shoe[/caption].
Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. Well, I am not back to 100%, that is going to take some time. Although, I wanted to talk to you, My Dear Readers, for a moment. First, to everyone that has shown support over the past two weeks. I would like to express a deep and heartfelt “Thank you!” It is only through the kindness and generosity of others that I am here today and on the mend. Very special thanks to my friend from across the pond, Ian Cottier. I ate, for the first time in days, thanks to his generosity.
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First, what I had was an acute bacterial infection of the upper respiratory system. This pathogen was acquired, most likely, via my roommate and caregiver, Allen. He works at a local Kohl’s department store and he remembers a customer, a traveler from Israel, that displayed a raspy cough, while in line. Money… and jet speed international travel are going to be the new ‘lice on rats’ of the next Black Plague.
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This pathogen started its assault on Saturday February the 15th. Yes, I was still writing at that point, good catch! Honestly, My Dear Readers, I tried to keep writing through the life of this pathogen, but was unable towards the end. Your readership means the world to me, and I know that your need for content is voracious. I have reviewed the traffic reports, and last week is a huge hole in a month of tremendous traffic. I diligently worked to publish nearly fifty articles in a period of five weeks, and it showed.
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I just couldn’t have planned this sickness; one never can plan on when they will fall ill. However, for my traffic and future viability of my blog, this was the worst possible time for me to fall ill. I managed to write and publish the regular articles; ‘A Week in Review’ and ‘Sunday Funnies’ on the 14th and 15th. However, on Monday the 17th (through waves of fever and a growing altered state of mind) I managed to publish two more articles about the California Drought and an insanely persistent dome of high pressure.
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By Monday noon I reached 102.4-degree temp and had begun coughing up something that looked with cream of wheat with ketchup missed in. I feared for the worst, both about my health and the health of this blog. For the next hour, or so, I rode the fence of setting up three or four articles to ‘re-publish’ on a schedule. At one PM, Monday the 17th, I knew I was going to be unable to write or publish for at least a week… and I was right. This is one of the times where I would give anything to have a partner/writer or editor here at The Other Shoe. I have asked a couple of people, that I genuinely trust (and that have not used friendship as a toy to play with for their entertainment).
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My Dear Readers I respect your need for new and timely content. For the most part, I am able to meet (and often exceed) your needs. Starting the 17th of this month I failed to meet that need. By 3PM on the 17th my fever reached 103 degrees and my body became a playing field for all types of fever related symptoms. Monday night, I did not sleep for more than a half an hour at a time. My coughing became very raspy, each breath rattled in my chest like bones in a bag. My muscles ached, my head split with pain. About 3AM I actually broke down in tears out of fear of failure.
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Tuesday I awoke at 4AM (after sleeping less than an hour) to Allen preparing to leave for his very last day of his work-release program. Since October of last year, Tuesdays Allen spent working for the county of Orange. He rose, every Tuesday, at 4AM and spent nine hours working at a community service location. As much as I (genuinely) needed Allen at my side, he had to leave me alone with my; fever, chills, coughing, aches, pains and a total lack of food.
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I neither resented his departure or the circumstance, it was a reality I learned to live through. I wished him well, when he walked out the door. By 6AM my fever was on the rise reaching 101.8 before the sun rose. At 10AM I was torn between hunger pains, and coughing so hard it caused black circles under my eyes (I looked like a raccoon). When it came time for my noon medications my fever was 103.6 degrees. I began slipping in and out of an altered state of awareness, and reality. It is somewhere around this time, and when my temp peaked that day at 104.2 degrees, that I had my (I use this word for a lack of a better word… available to me right now) vision.
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Tuesday is when… … … I saw Princess Nadia for the first time since her passing. Now, My Dear Readers, I fully understand that Princess Nadia s dead, I buried her myself. Even though, it was Tuesday February 18th, 2014 at approximately 2PM that I honestly had a discussion with my beloved little girl.
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I am planning on sharing that experience tomorrow… or the next day in another article. I sustained a fever of 104 (or greater) for the next three hours. It was not until 5PM that my fever fell to 103.8 degrees. My Dear Readers, The fear I felt (during this time) was palatable. I was genuinely afraid. Afraid that the extended time spent suffering with this abnormally high fever might well... do damage to my organs… or worse, my brain. When Allen came home, and walked through the door… now I did not tell him this, then… I have yet to tell him… if he reads this article will be when he finds out. I did not recognize Allen… at all.
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I did not recognize the room I was living. It looked like a storage room, and not the apartment I was currently renting. I had so lost my sense of time, I honestly thought we had been evicted (for this apartment) and forced to move into a storage… facility. The room looked half the size I knew it to be, the doorway that leads to our kitchen and bathroom areas? I did not see the doorway, I saw a wall. I saw our HDTV, I heard the sound… I could not see the images on the screen. We have several prints on the walls, if you have watched any of the recent videos (since October of 2013) you have seen the prints.
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On Tuesday evening? They looked like large red and black squares on the wall. I saw nothing of the images. Having not recognized Allen, when he came in the door, I climbed into bed… pulled the covers over my head… and silently wept into the pillow, fearing who had I just let into my home?!?!? My Dear Readers I honestly was in fear that I had let a stranger into my home and that my safety was at risk.
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I have not mentioned this to anyone. This is the first I have written about this week… and what went on in my fever-addled brain. I have yet to tell Allen, but he will find out.. most likely tonight, when he reads this article. I am going to take a break… writing this... was upset me. Thinking about telling this story… and writing this story, are two different things. Please check back tomorrow, for more of this story.
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As always I am deeply honored that you come here and read my work.
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Thank YOU!
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The Other Shoe eBay Store[/caption].
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The Other Shoe's Daniel Hanning[/caption]
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