Summer of 2025

This past winter was very difficult for me. It was bitter cold and windy. It was my first winter without any children living with me. My first winter, in many years, of not working outside the home. My first winter in a new home with my new husband. So many life changes in a relatively short period of time.

I was anxious for summer to arrive. Summer is typically my least favorite season, but I had high hopes after the long, dark winter. 

In June, I did something fun, which centered around my grandchildren. I had my first grandma‘s camp. It was a week filled with activities, and I kept things moving from one thing to the next. They were all tuckered out, but happy.

I loved that camp week, and I honestly thought that the weeks that followed were weeks of recouping due to age, or whatever. But the recouping went on too long. I just didn’t recover as I should have. My body hurt from head to toe and I found it difficult to walk. 

The first part of July, I got an earache. The earache traveled down into my jaw. I had mild swelling underneath my jaw. I went to an urgent care facility and they diagnosed me with rhinitis. She said I did not have an infection. She told me to take Flonase and Claritin because my sinuses were backed up which I thought it was odd because I didn’t have a stuffy head, runny nose, or any signs of a sinus issue. She said I wouldn’t necessarily feel any of those. I felt I had minor relief while using those products. But I never got over it. I continued to have swelling under my jaw.

Over the months, I tried stronger medication to try to get this sinus issue under control. But it just never went completely away. Meanwhile, my body hurt, ached, like the body aches you get from the flu. My joints became very inflamed and it greatly affected my hip and both knees. The left side of my face hurt terribly, along with all my teeth on that side. Advil became my best friend.

July was a tough month. It was very hot here in Indiana so we kept the drapes and blinds closed to keep the cool inside and the heat out. The darkness along with pain only added to the depression I was already experiencing.

August came and went. September came and went. 

Finally I quit the Flonase and two weeks later I quit the Allegra. I was tired of taking this stuff. But I didn’t feel any better. In fact, I was getting worse. I went back on the Flonase and that’s when I started the Xyzal. 

I went away to Leo for a couple of days. During the night, my jaw and whole left side of my face hurt terribly. The swelling was worse and was actually turning into a hard mass. I decided I would once again go back to the urgent care clinic. I went the day after I got home.

I was seen by a different nurse practitioner and she diagnosed me with sinusitis. But she saw that I actually had an infection and she gave me Augmentin.

I decided to go to an another medical doctor whom I had heard good things about. He got me in about five days after my last clinic visit. He was extremely concerned about the amount of infection in my face and for how long it has been going on. He immediately sent me out that day for a CT scan. He also started me on shots of antibiotics. He said it was either that or be admitted to the hospital to have antibiotics administered through IV.

The radiology facility was an hour and a half from home. So by the time I got home, the doctor called me with the CT scan results. He informed me that I had an abscess under a tooth and a great amount of infection. He said I had been misdiagnosed all along, but at least they finally gave me the right antibiotic. He said I should have been put on antibiotics in July. 

The next step was to get the tooth extracted so we could start working on the infection. The dentist showed me an x-ray and how the infection affected the nerve in my jaw which made all of my teeth on the bottom hurt. I didn’t know that the one tooth was cracked all the way across and down into the root. One tooth didn’t hurt more than  another so this was all very confusing to me all these months. All of my teeth hurt on the bottom and the top teeth on the same side also ached, but not as intensely. So I thought possibly it was related to sinus issues.

Last week was a nightmare for me. Within two days the mass on my jaw almost doubled in size. The pain was traveling down my neck and I could feel it when I was swallowing and talking. I was a sick girl. Without getting into too much detail, I was finally able to find someone to pull my tooth but that, in itself, was a challenge. 

My medical doctor has me on two types of antibiotics currently and I’d say within three or four days the mass in my jaw will be completely gone…if the progress continues as it has been.

Still, I am depleted. My body aches, and I have to rest often. I hope I can recover fully. I believe that I will. It’s just about loving myself and giving myself time, and permission, to be ”lazy” as I heal. But here it is. The summer is gone and we are headed back into winter soon. And I’m so not ready. I did take a couple of fun day trips with my “sisters” (my sister-in-laws and their cousin) this summer. Those were fun trips even though I wasn’t my best.

Needless to say, I have not been writing nor have I had any desire to write on my blog.

I had a reader reach out to me this morning, concerned about why I haven’t been writing. That is why I am writing this post now. I know when I feel better my desire to write will return. I still believe writing is my passion. It’s just been misplaced.

I know that things happen for a reason. It’s all about learning and growing and becoming stronger. I now have a greater compassion for those who are dealing with long-term illnesses, disabilities, and pain. Although my condition could have led to serious life-threatening conditions, it didn’t, even though I need to respect that I am not completely out of the woods yet. But I have learned a lot about myself and that I am not always a positive or pleasant person when I am in pain. 

I’ve read about and watched videos of those who live in constant pain, who have cancer, are disabled, or are on their deathbed. I see how positive, hopeful, loving, and inspiring they are. I have discovered that I am a long way from being anything like them. And I am disappointed in myself with that new revelation. But it’s all about learning and growing, of which, I have much to do of both. 

♥️

Andi