I'm still in the recovery phase, of course. My face is still swollen, but not grotesquely. The emergency room experience was not horrible by any means, but it was bedlam. There were people running in every direction, and talking in loud voices. All I could do was lie in my bed, or sit up a little, and observe what was happening all around me. There was no food or drink. When I had a very painful sore throat Tuesday night, I asked the doctor if I could have some water to drink. He refused, saying he didn't think that was a good idea.
I was given medications through a catheter inserted into a vein in my right hand. I don't know what it was. Twice during the night I had what the doctor called un aérosol, which was some kind of nebulizer — my mother used one of those to soothe her respiratory discomfort. I think it was dispensing something like prednisone as a kind of mist that you can breathe into your lungs. I wasn't experiencing any respiratory distress, and I'm not now, but I've been prescribed a course of prednisone in pill form for the next week. I'm also taking antihistamines (which are called des antihistaminiques in French — that word is a mouthful.)
Walt and I got a lot done yesterday, but I'll tell you about it later. Temperatures are supposed to be in the 95ºF range this afternoon, and as high as 100 or even 105ºF tomorrow and Sunday. And it will stay hot for another week after that. This is reminiscent of the Grande Canicule of 2003, the year we moved into this house. I guess we ought to have found some air-cooling device we could use in the house during spells like this, but I've always until now thought these kinds of heat waves would stop plaguing us eventually. Now I guess not. It's global warming gone crazy.
Here's some news: we fired the contractor who was supposed to lay new tile on our front, east-facing terrasse. Not that he was doing much work. I went to the bank Tuesday morning and confirmed that an 18-month-old check has expired and cannot be cashed or deposited. I'll tell you the whole story in a few days. Walt pressure-washed the old tile and put the table and chairs out on the terrasse yesterday, after 18 months of safe-keeping in the garage. We can enjoy sitting out there in the shade again, which is a real pleasure in this kind of weather. The temperature out there is about 68ºF right now, which used to be considered a good afternoon high in this part of the world in June.
I've abandoned the loft for the time being. I slept in the guest room downstairs last night. My unusually extensive heat rash on my arms and legs is driving me crazy, but I have plenty of soothing intensive care lotion to slather onto it.
Glad you’re home and continue to improve. But hope you quickly recover completely. Also very glad you know for certain that check can’t be cashed. Good luck with getting someone new scheduled to do the work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mitch, We can live with the deck as it is this year. We'll try to find somebody who can do the work in autumn or next spring. The tiles don't look bad but many of them are loose.
DeleteThank goodness you have been able to fire the contractor.
ReplyDeleteI believe the law around building work is tricky. A few years ago we had a conversation with a couple in France who fell foul of a bad builder. He had started some work and it was going badly wrong but they said that because the devis was accepted and signed, legally they couldn't fire him until the work was finished and then they could claim against him. They had to pay up and then sue but the builder was not keen to finish. They were in a dreadful stalemate situation.
Glad to hear you are recovering. A night in hospital can be a very unsettling or frightening experience.
I was so happy to find out that that check for € 2K was no longer payable. Walt was thinking yesterday about what we would have done if this guy had come it and done the demolition and then disappeared on us for 3, 6, or 9 months. We would have been up the creek. Did I tell you that I got an e-mail from him yesterday afternoon saying that he would be here today to do the patching of the cracks in our garden shed (which he calls le garage). Has he showed up? Of course not. But then maybe he spoke to his wife and learned that we were shutting down the whole job after he sent the e-mail.
DeleteGlad to hear you are healing, sounds like a massive reaction to something. The terrace looks comfy and clean
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoy the terrace in summer. It's east-facing so shady in the afternoon. I'm really glad we'll have use of it this summer.
Deletelet's hope you can find out what caused this reaction
ReplyDeleteI'm not optimistic. But I guess I'll go see an allergist again. The last time I consulted one, in San Francisco in 2002, he told me I needed to leave California and go live somewhere else. Seattle. Northern France. Maybe Québec.
DeleteGlad you are able to use the deck again. I hope the heat wave isn't too awful. Marie bought one of those portable ac machines for our visit last summer but we didn't need it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, last summer was very mild. Too mild, and too damp. It's really hot up in the loft. I'll sleep in the guest room again tonight.
DeleteOh, my goodness, Ken. Wishing you brisk, full recovery. And, geeeeeee, that story of the deck repair is crazy, but it is good to realize that you can use it, and aren't stuck with a demo-ed deck.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you can remember how nice the deck is in summer weather, from when you were here five years ago. Can you believe it's been five years? We still miss Callie.
DeleteIt's 95 degrees on the deck this evening.
ReplyDeleteOne of my classmates just left Besançon and is in Colmar today. She and her sister will be back in Paris shortly and then off to Nantes where I think they will be in for some very, very hot weather.
ReplyDeleteNice to at least have your deck for outside enjoyment. Too bad the contractor wasn't more communicative. Do most contractors ask for money up front like that?
Too bad your doctor couldn't identify some possibilities for your reactions. Had you eaten anything out of the ordinary? Hope your heat rash doesn't continue, and that the heat spell is short-lived.
We're having a cold and wet June. One of my friends joked about it and said, Yea! Summer is almost here: WARM RAIN. We can use all the rain we get, but it becomes a little old on June 17. I'm wearing a top designed to wear for X-C skiing today !
Hello Mary, I wish we could get some of that rainy, cool weather. Today the temperature is supposed to hit 105F. Cooler tomorrow, and around 80 most days next week. So if we can make it through today, we'll be okay. I remember that when we moved here in 2003 we had a dozen or more days in a row with temps over 100, but that was in August. I hope we have a damp and chilly August this year, as we did last year, rather than a major canicule.
DeleteOn Tuesday when the allergy episode started, I hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary. I hadn't eaten any thing for at 3 or 4 hours before the onset, actually. All the ER dr. at Romo would say was that I need to go see an allergist and get tested. I did that in SF 20 years ago, so maybe it's time to get tested again.
I am just so happy that you are feeling well and able to do your preparations for your future guests. That was really scary to see your swelling and to know you had had to go to the emergency. 105 is terrible. We had those temperatures and smoke, too, a couple of years ago. Perhaps it was just a reaction to the heat.
DeleteWhen I feel overheated I immediately try to get water inside my elbows, knees and the back of my neck and of course, drink something liquid. Heat is not our friend.
How is Tasha and Bert handling the heat? I also spent a lot of time "watering down" my cat! Was that ever interesting. He didn't seem to mind a bit - which was not what I expected! I held him next to me while trying to balance his legs on the slim space between me and the sink and then with the water running using my hand to splash water over those similar spots on him. After all, he was wearing a fur coat!
It is a smart decision to sleep downstairs. Each little thing does seem to help. My classmate is in Fribourg today. I didn't really get a full schedule of her trip to France. They rode Segways around the vineyards in Egelsheim. Seems like something they could do around here - we have many vineyards in the Willamette Valley as well as other parts of Oregon. To each his own.
Enjoy your cool weather, glad those 100+ temperatures are history for at least a week.
Your deck really is inviting! Even though you have showed us the repairs needed, from this photo it looks like a nice, shady place with a beautiful view and one that at least now you both can enjoy again.
DeleteI saw an article pop up today about extreme weather in France right now - a record of 114 F was set on the south of the country. I hope you are bale to stay cool where you are.
ReplyDeleteThe Saharan weather is moving northward.
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