I think every October since I began my blog back during the height of COVID-19 (so February of 2020) I have completed or at least attempted to complete a post every day for the duration of the month of October. This would have been the FOURTH year if I had gotten my shit together and decided to go for it. But no. I am having trouble posting once every ten days; let alone every single day this month and now it is October the 4th and trying to play catch up from the beginning is just perpetual Hell. So no. Blogtober will not be a thing this year on my blog, maybe next year, but then again maybe never again.

I told the folks at AA today that I now can empathize with what it is like to get old. I got some laughs and a few scoffs, as I am clearly the youngest one there by at least two or more decades. Well, here’s what happened. Sunday night I am doing my chart notes at work when I got this sharp and intense pain going through the right side of my chest and through my right shoulder blade like I had been stabbed. I was short of breath and everything hurt. I had four nurses get my blood pressure and pulse oxygen and they all told me to go to the ED that night after the shift considering the shift was almost over. One of my co workers strolls through the back door of the office and sees us all silent gathered around me and the blood pressure machine and he sees it is me in the chair as the “patient” and he just turned around and out the back door again yelling “NOPE.”

Well I went to urgent care Monday morning to find that I have a thoracic sprain and right shoulder sprain even though there was no incident for this to happen. My only thought was I was in my car accident where air bags deployed approximately six weeks ago but the pain from the wreck subsided greatly since then and this was very sudden. The first 24 hours I could hardly breath or cough without pain and I’ve been in a sling and taking 800mg of Ibuprofen every six hours and the pain hasn’t moved an inch but my breathing is better. Honestly this is just annoying because I am right handed so I gotta take my arm out of the sling to write and to type and to eat properly.

Goes without saying that I had to take this whole week off of work but my coworkers witness this event happen to me. I told them I got a chest X-ray (which I did) but it’s not pneumonia thank the Lord. But at least with that, the pain would get better with meds and as the infection clears. This little incident used the rest of my personal leave which sucks ass but if this prevents further injury or surgery down the line it will be well worth my time.

So today (Wednesday) I went to AA in my sling and I cracked my joke that some found annoying and the others found it amusing. I proclaimed I didn’t hurt myself drinking or drugging nor did I succumb to my addiction although a joint sounds wonderful as all else for pain.

Might have been a good reason I’ve been sober for these 48 days now because my attorney called this afternoon. He might have struck a deal with the prosecuting attorney and if I schedule another doctor’s appointment with my PCP and explain to her I got in another DUI situation with a BAC of 0.03 and if she alters my medication at all before my next court date and after the accident, my lawyer can make the argument that this was purely a medication error and an accident of me falling asleep at the wheel; not an act of reckless impaired driving. I know for a fact we won’t be using a deferred prosecution and I won’t need to be in Intensive OutPatient or potentially need any outpatient classes if the prosecutor sees that lowering my lithium even 100mg would change my alertness during day and night. Might be able to avoid getting a blow and go in my car as well if this plan pans out.

At this point I am waiting for a call back from the doctor’s office to see if they can get me in sooner than two days after my court date. If so, she can write a medication list and showing what has changed since I saw her last and what she wants me to change or alter at least for the time being to help with drowsiness.

In ten days my mom will have seven years sober and in two weeks I will have 60 days sober from weed and alcohol. My mom’s favorite AA person won’t be there on her “birthday” but he gave me his own personal seven year coin to gift to her on her birthday at the meeting. She has gifted me my 24 hour coin and her own personal 30 day coin so this will be odd, yet rewarding to give her one. I invited my sister and her husband to come and my dad as well, despite it being during the DUCKS v HUSKIES game (GOOOOOO DUCKSSSSS) (He had to mention the game was starting during the meeting but he also said he would go and needed his ‘Father’ sunglasses during the meeting seeing me give her the coin. I think we might do a family dinner that night to celebrate but it’s weird to see some things come full circle like they are.

I can’t think of anything else that is new… I am not filing for bankruptcy at least not right now. Now that the majority of my car loan is now paid off and the rest should be paid off shortly and the other car loan that was on my credit report is no longer mine, I see hardly much reason to file for something when I can *hopefully* be consumer debt free by the end of 2025. I think I got about 44k left if I did my math correctly and it will be hard and I will have to sacrifice a lot but I think I can do it. Thinking you can do something is half the battle.

That’s it for me. Deuces.

Much love, Dani