Hit the ground running

Summer is over for me. The kids come back to school this Monday. I am thankful that I have 16 students this year. 25 was a bit much. I did have to change rooms (and how is it the teacher with the least amount of students ends up in the largest room?) and everything is basically done. Well, I don't really have much of a choice at this point.

I had a fair share of the usual computer problems during in-service week. I tried not to have any, but they always seem to find me! At first, the problem was with the computer not being updated in quite some time, so I had to spend a day doing that. Then by Friday, when all the paperwork was due, my computer wouldn't open a single file (from the internet, flash drive, or saved on the computer just moments before). Very frustrating. No one knew what to do, either. So, I put on my detective gear and googled the error message. Kind of interesting, but I did figure out what the problem was and was able to fix on my own. I don't know what I'd do without Google! :)

Anyway, this school year is going to be busy. Teach in the morning and attend class or work in the library in the evenings. Babysit some weekends. I'll also be getting three allergy shots every week for the next six months. It looks like there will be no social life for me. Oh, wait. I didn't have to begin with. So, no problems there.

I am excited about participating in a Civil War reenactment in October! A friend of mine is going to make a dress for me. Another thing I am looking forward to is changing Sunday school classes this coming Sunday. I've been in a college and career class for nearly 8 years now (by choice, of course) and it's been great. It's just time for me to move on up.

Well, that's life in a nutshell for me at this point.

I'd like some allergies with a side of more allergies

So I have been out of the hospital for about a month now. I've been to the asthma/allergy specialist, PCP, or dentist every week since I've been out. I double scheduled myself today and saw both the specialist and PCP. Between them both, I was poked 62 times.

Yes, there is reason for all the poking. I had an allergy test done today. Of the 62 pokes, 61 came from the testing. Of the 50 allergens they test for, I was allergic to 41 of them. I am highly allergic to trees, grasses, animals/mites/insect and moderately allergic to weeds and molds. Of the nine allergens I wasn't allergic to, there were two weeds and seven molds. This was one of those scratch tests where they poke with a small needle and some of the allergen solution.

What you don't expect to hear is the nurse saying the following types of statements when she walks in 15 minutes later to check on you:

"Oh, my!"
"Wow!"
"I haven't seen someone that allergic in a long time!"
"Oh, my lands!"

Yeah, all from one nurse.

The doctor came in and told me that I won a prize for being the most allergic person all month. And what's my prize? Weekly allergy shots for the next six months. Oh, joy!* (*Read with sarcasm.)

They were all amazed at the level of allergic reaction to (drum roll, please) guinea pigs. Apparently, I am more allergic to them than cats.

Now, I have to leave school early on either Thursdays or Fridays to get the shots. I even have a doctor's note to do so. It's all right with the administration at school, but I still have to let my supervisor know. I may see him tomorrow to tell him about it.

When I was at the PCP, I received a Tdap shot (whooping cough/tetanus booster). That wasn't the main reason for me being there, but we'll see if it helps this school year. I still have to have some more blood work done to see about the high blood pressure and dizzy spells. The doctor want me to have a CBC, thyroid, and other things checked. Hopefully that will explain some the other things.

Other than that, I haven't used my inhaler since getting out of the hospital. I can't remember not ever using this long. Feels good!