Sanoviv: Why yes, it IS 3 a.m.

Hubby is still at the hospital. They have it narrowed down to two bacteria, but need to take him off the antibiotic IV to culture out what is really going on (as I understand it), which will happen tomorrow – oops, this – morning.

He is stark raving bored. He wanted me to stop the program that he had me start (more on that in a bit) and come bring him things that he just doesn’t have, since we left in an ambulance. Clothes, a couple books, computer, etc. The issue is that the hospital is 45 minutes away and if I catch the van that will be leaving here at 7 a.m. to go to the border/San Diego Airport and have them drop me off, they won’t be back through until about 1:00 p.m. (bringing new folks from the airport). It’s not a simple thing. It would be simpler if I had not started the program, because I’d just do it. But if I stop, then there’s no way for me to re-start really, since it’s an intensive one-week program. It’s different than the cancer program, which is a bit “looser” as it’s 3 weeks long and very personalized. This one is very “set” and so if you miss a day, the dominoes start falling. (By way of example, once he’s out of the Tijuana hospital, he could just re-start where he left off.)

We went back and forth a bit about this last night, and came to a “resolution” that I would see if I can send his backpack with clothes, his computer, a couple books, etc. (yes, and a wee love note from me of course) with the van driver to drop off when he comes back over the border tomorrow at 1:00. I can’t see him doing it on the morning “run” because if there is a delay at the border with folks trying to meet planes, I do not want that to be “our fault.” My only fear is that the driver will just drop and run, and there is a computer, etc. in there (as well as the very small amount of “regular clothes” that hubby arrived in!) I guess we’ll see when I try out this “scenario” with the Coordinator at 6:30 a.m. when he gets in.

As for the program I am on, it’s the DeTox/DeStress program. Yesterday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. I was quite literally at a doctor’s appointment, lab appointment, ultrasound, dentist (checking for mercury-containing fillings), nutritionist, mind-body session, psychotherapy session, etc. etc. every single “free” (non-meal) hour. Each day does contain a spa session (yesterday was lymphatic massage, today a 90 minute body wrap), which is great, as well as a Quiet Room session.

I had my Quiet Room “intake” and then a short session yesterday. I’d get up to get the hand-out on what the session was, but it’s 3 a.m. and I don’t feel like it (she says petulantly). It involved binaural headphone sounds, plus a blue light that intermittently went into my third eye area. If Leslie C-D-D is reading this, yes, I was thinking of Chuck the whole time!!!!!

In the “intake” I had a bio-analysis of my stress levels. Har-de-har-har. Actually body stress came in normal, ability to “combat stress” came in normal, but “Your mental stress is so high that it is falling off our charts” (soo-PRIZE, soo-PRIZE). Also my parasympathetic score was nearly zero and my sympathetic score was off the charts. I can’t remember what those mean. (Um, 3:00 a.m.)

The body-mind and psych appointments were really something. They use Narrative Exposure Therapy (“NET”). Hubby had some amazing breakthroughs using it, and it certainly got down to business with me as well.

There’s no time to do work-work, or workout-work unfortunately – at least, there wasn’t yesterday and doesn’t look like there will be today. My daughter mentioned that this is supposed to be a Detox/Destress, and so I should just put those aside for right now, which I think I will likely do. I have some trepidation about putting the workout aside in particular, but today I have a Fitness assessment, so I guess going in fairly “fresh” is not a bad thing! I think that hubby said that you have to do pushups to exhaustion, step up for 2 minutes then they see how high your pulse goes up and how long it takes to come back down, I think that situps might be in there (better Band-Aid my sticky-outy tailbone in anticipation :-) ) Sounds pretty “Presidential Physical Fitness”-y.

I get to see the chiropractor today – HALLELUJAH! The “real reason” that I went on the program is that about 3 days ago (maybe 4) I threw a rib out, and you’re not “allowed to see” a doctor unless you’re on a program. I completely understand that of course, because there are a lot of Companions here – probably 1/2 of the folks have one. As a Companion you can do any of the spa treatments, but not doctor visits. If they allowed Companions to do doctor visits, I think folks would cherry-pick their way to their own “version” of a program. So I cannot WAIT to get this rib back in!!! (She types, testing to see if it’s still out, wincing, YEE-OWCH!!! . . . WHY do we do that? It’s like when someone says “Oh, I smell skunk!” and then you breathe in deeply to smell it too – I mean, what? )

A little “hospital hot gossip”: There is a wonderful (LOVE HIM) guy in his 20s here with his Mom. He came for the Lyme protocol, but in doing the program they have found 3-4 other things that were never diagnosed (spina bifida occulta, etc.) Well, one test that they did showed that he is 100% infertile.

Um, and his newly-minted fiance is 8 months pregnant with “their” child.

!!!!!

Although I’m eating the same stuff that I was eating before, on the protocol I have been given supplements to “supplement” the food. I find out today what the (52 gallons of) blood tests, etc. show. I also did a bio-impedance test yesterday (shows your percentage of fat, muscle, water, etc.) I had done one before leaving, at my gym, but don’t have that with me so I can’t compare the results.

The one thing that I do know (as you’re weighed, blood pressure-d, pulse-d, blood-oxygen-level’d, etc. every day if you’re a patient) is that I’ve gained 4 pounds here. This is just depressing to the extreme. I – honestly – thought that what with no dairy, gluten, soy, corn, non-organic, blah-blah-name-that-tune, only veggies, small portion of chicken at lunch, no desserts, no sweets, I would have lost weight. Seems not. Harrumph. Interestingly (this being a “Detox” program, after all), I am having some skin issues – overnight I’ve had an eczema flare-up that hasn’t really happened like this since I was a kid. Since we were “re-visiting” issues from when I was a kid in the therapy sessions, I guess my skin is regressing!

While I’m up I really should get some work done. But I think that I’ll just watch some National Geographic. Haven’t had the TV on all the time we’ve been here, though I have read 4 books – How Not To Die, Moneyball, Killer Angels, Long Road to Mercy (the David Baldacci one), and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, plus I’m 1/2 way through Radical Remission. As soon as hubby hit the hospital though I’ve been hangin’ with National Geographic – harder to read when your mind isn’t all there/is partially worried about someone else.

Today, if I get a bit of time, I will probably try and go check out the sauna. It was one of the favorite parts of a friend who was here before. I tend to think that’s because she was here with women – the sauna/spa areas are segregated male/female, and so to do the sauna, I would have been separated from hubby for about 1/2 hour. That sounds pretty ridiculous, but when he was getting treatments, I was either doing work, doing this blog, or doing a workout. That took all the “free by myself” time that I had. When he wasn’t doing a treatment, we would do things together (Thalasso pools, playing a board game, etc.) I heard some gals “raving about” the sauna today, and it made me realize that (especially as I’m on a Detox program) I probably should check it out today. Heck, I’d go now, but – did I mention 3 a.m.? :-)

Selfishly, I’m glad that hubby didn’t insist that I bring the backpack. I know that he’s bored out of his mind, and I am having some serious “bad wife” feelings about staying here. But I really don’t want to stop the Protocol, because I think that it will do me some good. Part of the Therapy yesterday had to do with the whole “doing things for everyone else versus doing things for yourself” issue. However, I do know that sticking to my guns (and trying to get the backpack to hubby a different way) is likely to get me some “cat” reactions when we are back together. I do think it’s the right thing to do though, for me.

And on that note, time to go get my “lab numbers” from Kaiser online (God bless Kaiser!) to give to my doctor here today. Had no reason to download them before coming because, of course, I wasn’t going to be the patient!

Peace, out. Sorry no pictures. Oh – wait a second – I’ll go get you some photos off their website, to show you the spa. I’m sure they won’t mind. ;-)

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