Welp, I guess yesterday qualifies as a step backward. Or maybe a leap. Whatever progress I thought I was making on the road to recovery reversed itself. Or so it would appear based on my inability to walk the 2K from my house to Hideaway Bar.

But before I was even out of the neighborhood, I was huffing and puffing so bad that I thought I was going to have to sit on the curb to catch my breath. Then the rare trike came by after dropping off a passenger and asked if I wanted a ride. And for the first time ever, I accepted.

I was equally distressed and depressed when I took my seat at the bar in Hideaway and ordered a beer. This is getting downright scary. Luckily, I had the foresight to bring along my portable nebulizer.

I loaded it up and went outside to fill my lungs with sulfate bromide. That did the trick, and soon, I went back inside to commence with the feeding. I knew I’d be making it an early night, though.

I had an SOB coupon to use at the Green Room, and the walk there from Hideaway went without incident. Jim joined me for a couple of beers, and then I got a sandwich from Sit-n-Bull to go and headed home.

Another rough night sleep-wise–lying down exacerbates the shortness of breath. This morning, I had my helper order me a pillow something like this:

I recall a long-ago visit to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia. His bed was designed in a manner that required him to sleep sitting up.

But it turns out that was just one of Jefferson’s healthy lifestyle choices. “Jefferson slept five to eight hours a night in a semi-reclining position since his bed was too short for his height. This position facilitated his habit of reading in bed. “I never go to bed without an hour, or half hour’s previous reading of something moral, whereon to ruminate in the intervals of sleep.”

There is no mention of boinking the slaves, but he did live to be 84. Anyway, that’s enough history for today.

Dr. Jo’s advice is to continue using the nebulizer every couple of hours and the oxygen tank in between. The antibiotics she prescribed will hopefully clear the mucus that is causing my hacking cough. We’ll see. I’m also going to try to do another consult with the pulmonary doctor at Baypointe Hospital tomorrow.

I’ve been resting and napping all morning (I had the helper walk the dogs). I took advantage of the downtime and completed watching the Netflix series Manifest final episodes. The fact that I was motivated to see it through until the end is probably the best review I can offer. The religious overtones were lost on me, but the story of an airliner returning after being missing for over three years was pretty compelling. And there was some pretty tasty eye candy to enjoy:

Scrolling through the Netflix offerings for “What am I going to watch next?” this morning, I felt compelled to give one called Keep Breathing a look for some reason. I mean, that’s my goal, too. I’m on episode two (there are only six), and I’m not grabbed yet. We’ll see.

Look at me, revisiting my passion for American history and spending time in front of the television, both in the same post! What am I thinking? Well, don’t worry; I’m going to attempt the walk into town again tonight and hope it goes better than yesterday.

Seriously, though, I do want to be back into my hiking mode as soon as possible. And I look forward to scheduling some trips, both inside and outside the Philippines. That will be especially nice since I have a traveling partner now. Swan has been an angel in her efforts to comfort me during these troubled days. I am blessed to have her here to care for me.