Headaches!!!

Well, I've ben home now for nearly 3 weeks and there's not a lot to write about besides the headaches that have engulfed my life. 

I have been to my local Dr. and have an appointment with a specialist/neurologist the last week in August.  I told her that the end of August seems like a lifetime away for me right now, and her office staff said they are going to check into finding something sooner.  I have also checked on this myself without any success in finding anything sooner.
My Dr. was also able to write some new prescriptions for the medications that have had some positive effects for me in the past.  She also prescribed an injectable Sumatriptan (a shot in the thigh) which has shown to be effective on some cluster headache patients.  I have yet to see how effective they'll be on my headaches.

I am hopeful that I am on the downward slope, as far as this round of headaches go.
2 days ago, I had an extremely good day, waking up refreshed and feeling anxious to get some work done in the shop.  Days like that have been few & far between, so I relished this one.  I did end up having a very productive day and made the mistake of enjoying a cold beer after dinner that evening.  Alcohol of any kind is a known "trigger" for almost all cluster headache patients.  
I haven't had any alcohol at all since this latest "cluster" of headaches started, because I am/was well aware of it being a "trigger".
It didn't take long at all for me to get a severe headache.  If I was physically capable of kicking myself in the ass for having that beer, I probably would've.
I was awakened on 2 other occasions throughout the night with very painful headaches.

Normally after a bad day or night, like the one I suffered through that night, I am a waste of human flesh the next day.  I'm so exhausted, have NO motivation, and it is literally very, very difficult for me to accomplish anything.
Well, the day after these headaches was no exception.  I had a dull headache all day up until about 5:00 in the afternoon, at which time I started snapping green beans, podding sweet peas, and getting fresh broccoli ready to blanche & freeze.  I did end up getting something done that day (yesterday) so it was not an entire day lost.

Today, I am again feeling pretty darn good.  I went into Pipestone because there's a local rendezvouz going on, and I expected a person to be there, whom I could buy some sumac from for pipe stems.  He was there and I bought all the good stem material he had.

They were also selling Indian taco's at the Indian Center, so I went there for lunch...  The taco's were outstanding & I left there comfortably filled.
I saw my mother-in-law at the Indian Center and she looked good.  She said she's been feeling a little ill this past week. (probably due to the excessive heat)  I encouraged her to drink lots and lots of water & she assured me that she is/was.  It was good to see her again....and good to see her enjoying the company of friends and family at the Center.

We have an ambulance fundraiser/pork tenderloin feed at the park tonight, so in a couple of hours, I will go down there to help.  Today/tonight should be a good test for me as to whether I can take being outside for an extended period of time.  If not, I'll be taking one of those injections and seeing if it has a positive effect.

On another note, I did make it down to Inwood, IA for a day last week to work on my motorcycle with my brother.  I once again have my primary mode of transportation back and feel good about that.  It felt great to get back on the bike & feel the wind through my hair.  Thanks again to Dave for all of his help with the bike!  I wish I knew 1/2 of what he knew when it comes to mechanical issues!

I've had a tough time getting on top of all the weeds in our large garden after being gone the month of June, but when it's not too hot, I'll try to clean 1 row at a time.  It's been extremely hot here lately so I've been losing a little ground on the weed front....  We are however enjoying lots of great fresh vegetables out of the garden on a daily basis.  (sweet peas, green beans, onions, green peppers, jalapeno's, banana peppers, radishes, and soon we should be enjoying tomato's)
My brother says that as long as you plant enough of everything, you got a pretty good chance of having some success with the garden, even if you're not the greatest gardener.  :)

On good days, I try to get lots of work done on pipe orders.  We were losing ground daily, but we're close to having things in a manageable position again.  One thing nice about our little business is that even when we're on vacation, or if one of us isn't feeling well, the orders and the $$$ keep coming in.  That alleviates any stress on the financial front anyways....
Our customers have been extremely understanding of my headache situation also, and seem to be OK with waiting for their orders a little longer than they normally would.

My daughter, Kala is going to be visiting us again this coming week, along with our grandson, Jackson.... (who we don't get to see nearly as frequently as the other 3 grandchildren) so we're really looking forward to that!  When Kala comes around, we also see JD a little more frequently....as well as Heather's family....   It's so nice to have them all around.... (even though I sometimes act like I'm in agony to my wife, when she tells me that Heather's 3 grandkids are coming)  :)
I act (to my wife) like they're little terrorists & I can hardly take the stress....   lol
I'm just teasing her though and in reality, I actually love it when they come over!

That being said....There are occasions where... I'd like to smack that naughtiest one!  :)
I know that anybody who knows Heather's family... knows exactly who I'm talkin' about....   lol

Someday soon, I'll have to figure out how to put pictures on this blog....
When I do....I'll introduce you all to the entire family....

Home....Sweet Home...

I ended up sleeping really good that Thursday night in Lusk...and as it turned out, it was a good thing that I got a motel room.  I found out we were in severe thunderstorm watches and/or warnings most of the night.  I slept through everything!

I woke up probably around 10:00 and just laid around for another hour.  I then thought I better get cleaned up and get all my stuff together so that when Riley did get to Lusk, we wouldn't have to waste much time getting on the road again. 

I gave Riley a call around noon or so and he told me that he was in Rapid City....so that told me he'd be in Lusk sometime around 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon.  I didn't mind a bit, as I was still recuperating from the headache the day before.  I ended up going back to sleep and set my phone alarm for 2:30.  
I had everything packed and ready to go before I napped, so all we'd have to do when Riley got here was load the bike onto the back of the pickup.

Riley showed up around 3:30 or so I think...and we didn't waste any time.  Rich (The guy who'd helped me the day before) told me to stop by the shop where he worked and he'd help us load up the bike.  We did that, and I'd say within 1/2 hour or so, we were on the way....

I was a little concerned about getting a headache in the truck and warned Riley of what he might expect if I did...   After talking to my wife about this the other day, I began to realize how uncomfortable people may be when they see me experience a painful headache.

After being back home, and going out to eat twice....and having to leave the restaurant both times, before we could enjoy the meal... I told her that I understood how frustrating the whole headache thing is for her....    As I've explained before the whole headache thing makes life completely different for me...but it also affects her.
Christine explained to me that she wasn't so much frustrated by the inconvenience, but she was more scared....when she sees me in pain...and she can't do anything for it...and she wonders if she should call the ambulance.... 
I guess that makes perfect sense and it helped me to understand what others might see, when they see me having a headache.
That's one reason it's been so nice to be home.  When I get a headache, I can retreat to my "headache room" which is one of our guest rooms in the basement of our home.  It's nice and cool....and dark...and quiet..and about one of the best places for me to be when one comes on...  It's also in a place where other people can't hear me moan & groan, etc....

The ride home with Riley went really good.  He was tired...so I offered to drive for awhile from Newcastle, WY and he accepted.  He was able to get some much needed sleep.  We also had plenty of time to visit....and that helped make the trip easier...for both of us probably. 
He tried getting some dirt on his dad from me... :)  (since he knew we went to high school together) but I really didn't have any dirt to share with him....   lol
His dad & I didn't live real close together so we didn't spend a terrible lot of time together in high school.

We stopped to eat somewhere between Rapid City & Chamberlain....  I felt a headache might be imminent, so he ended up driving the rest of the way home.  I took one of my pills when I felt the headache coming on, and it was effective.  The headache never got really bad...

I think we arrived in Inwood, IA around 2:30 AM or so, and my sister/brother-in-law were kind enough to borrow me a car, and even have it waiting at Riley's house, so I could head straight home from there.

My brother Dave was going to worry about getting the bike unloaded with Riley and his dad the next day.

There are many people to thank for all the help given, & prayers offered on my behalf.  At the risk of forgetting someone, I need to especially thank my brother Dave for all the help with the motorcycle, Kala & Scott in KC for allowing me to spend 2 days while I wasn't feeling well, Rich in WY for the help given after a bad headache, (& help w/ the motorcycle) Riley for being willing to drive nearly 300 miles extra to help a guy in need, Sharon & Craig for allowing me to use a vehicle, (which I still have access to) my mom & dad for their unwavering prayers, and especially my wife for allowing me to go on an adventure like I did....and being her usual supporting self.  There are also others that helped me along the way....and many others that were praying for me the entire trip, especially after the headaches became persistant and bad.....  I sincerely appreciate everyones help & prayers!

I made the 45 mile trip home and was welcomed by my wife around 3:30 or 4:00 AM.  Home....Sweet Home...  It's great to be back...and enjoying family again....

When I've been feeling good enough, I've been working hard at trying to catch up on orders that came in while I was gone, and that have continued to come in since I've been back home.
I've had good days & bad with the headaches, but I'm surviving them....and they say that, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" so I should be mighty strong by winter...if this keeps up.

In all honesty, it is sometimes hard to deal with, but I know that eventually they'll go away....& I'm looking so forward to that....  In the meantime I do sincerely appreciate all the thoughts & prayers...

I have yet to make it to the new casino in Larchwood to play poker, but am looking forward to doing that soon.  I'll let you all know my thoughts on the room....and whether or not I'll be a regular visitor, after checking it out for myself....

One last note about getting home....  I mentioned to my wife how much I was missing her home cooking...  I told her that I had only had 2 home cooked meals the entire month of June....   To which she replied....  "That's one more than I had."   :)
Summer's usually pretty busy, so we do eat out quite a bit....but I DO miss that home-cookin' and I've been able to enjoy some since I've been home.
Life is good!

The Dream Turns Into A Nightmare....

After getting a great nights sleep in Fort Collins, I met my buddy, Rod for breakfast at Denny's.  We enjoyed a very nice visit talking about poker, family &kids, God, & other things...  I enjoy visiting with Rod as we seem to have a lot in common and have also experienced some similar challenges in life.  We met in either Reno or Las Vegas (at the poker table) about 15 years ago I suppose...and since then, our wives have had the opportunity to meet & visit also.... 

I suppose we ate and visited for about an hour.  He left to go play poker from there and I left for the 2nd leg of my journey home.  I was hoping to put a bunch of miles on again on Thursday, with my sights set on Rapid City, SD (or somewhere near there) as a stopping place.

I had mentioned, on Wednesday night, to my brother Dave (the bike mechanic) that I was starting to hear a noise coming from the bike.  We decided that it probably was the roller and/or cam and would have to be looked at when I got home.  He did bring up the idea of checking into it while I was on the road, if I could find a place, but I wasn't real concerned about it, because the last time I had this same problem on the bike, it rode fine for quite awhile before I had to get it fixed.

I got quite a few miles in before I had to stop for gas.  It was a good start to the day, however the noise on my bike, upon leaving town, was getting a little louder and more noticeable... 
I pulled out of Torrington, WY after putting on my leathers and helmet, due to an ominous dark cloud in the direction that I was going to be heading.

About 2 miles out of town, it started to rain, so I was glad I had prepared for it.  I stayed dry for the most part and it wasn't too cold, so it was pretty easy to put up with.  I rode through the rain for about 1/2 hour or so and by that time the clouds had moved to the East of where I was it.

The noise on my bike was getting noticeably louder and it was beginning to concern me a bit.  I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere between Torrington and Newcastle, WY.  There is a little town called "Lusk" which I knew was coming up....and I decided I better stop there to assess the bike.  Upon arriving, I made a call to my wife, Christine...to let her know where I was, visit, etc...and to Dave...(the mechanic) to discuss bike issues.  We pretty much decided there weren't any/many options and the only sensible one was to get as far as I could on the bike.  Rapid City, SD would be the closest place where I could have somebody look at it.  I told him I'd call him later to let him know where I was at & how things were going.

I no more got off the phone with David and I felt a headache coming on.  It came on very fast and very hard...  It turned out to be an exceptionally bad headache, and I laid out on a sidewalk, in the shade, with my coat as a pillow, on the North side of a gas station where I'd stopped.  Not unlike when I have had bad headaches before, I ended up falling asleep as soon as the pain got to a tolerable level.  (which seemed like forever that day) I knew I had laid there for awhile...when I woke up.
I looked at my phone to see how long ago I had talked to my brother.  Turned out I had laid there for a little over 3 hours.  The day seemed like it was pretty much shot... (It was about 5:00 PM by the time I woke up) and I hadn't hardly gotten any miles on.  I was exhausted from the headache but was determined to at least get to Newcastle, WY yet that evening.

Well, I went less than 1 mile and my bike was making noise...and it was a-grindin'... and in an instant, I had no power, in any gear.  I coasted to the side of the road and ended up pulling onto a side street in Lusk.  I was near a city park and thought I would probably end up throwin' my tent up and sleeping there that night and work on my other problems in the morning.  I did walk to the park (as there was a little kids baseball game going on) and asked a couple of people if they knew anyone in town that worked on bikes. 

No one did, so I started walking back to my bike (1/2 block away) to reassess that situation.  About that time, I noticed a guy unloading a dirt bike off the back of his pickup...in his backyard.  I walked over and asked him if there was anyone who could/would work on bikes in town and he thought there might be one guy... (a friend of his) who could take a look at it, but it turned out his friend wasn't comfortable tearing into a Harley.

I was still in major recovery mode from my headache. I asked Rich if I could push the bike over to his front yard.  I just felt that it would be safer there than anywhere else.  I asked Rich if there was any motels in town.  There was one and Rich would eventually drive me to it with most of the stuff off of the bike.  I really appreciated this guy's help that day...  He went above & beyond what anyone could've expected, trying to find someone to look at the bike...and eventually hauling me to the motel.  I ended up leaving Rich with some "going out to eat money" for him, his pregnant wife, and 2 children when I eventually did get out of Lusk.  I had a hard time getting him to accept the $$, but I wasn't about to give in.  I SO appreciated his help on Thursday.  In the exhausted state I was in that day, I can't even imagine having to walk to that motel, carrying as much of my items that I could.

Upon getting my stuff in the motel room, and securing that room for the next 2 nights, I collapsed on bed, to shut my eyes, even if it was only for a little while.  I then made a call to Dave, to let him know that I was only about 4 blocks from where I originally called him from...and my bike was about a mile in the other direction, and it was unrideable.

David must be simply awesome at networking, because he knows about a million people....and about that many people seem to also know him....  He got on his blackberry...and I'll be darned if he didn't come up with a young local IA guy, who was going to be leaving for Rapid City that very night, (like at 2:00 AM) to deliver a motorcycle that he'd sold to the HD dealership there.  Riley was his name...(and turns out his dad & I were in the same grade in high school) and he agreed to go the extra 150 miles or so to Lusk and come and get me the next day.

It was probably about 11 or 12:00 by the time I got to sleep that night....but I slept good!  I don't know if I've ever had my energy so depleted....due to the headache....and then the misfortune with the motorcycle.  I also knew someone was going to be coming to pick me up, to make what would hopefully be, the last leg home, at some point on Friday.

This story's getting a little longer than I anticipated, so I'm going to stretch it out over one more blog post.  In the next day or two, I'll tell you about the rest of the trip home....and what I've been up to since getting here.

The Ride Home: A Biker's Dream? or.....A Biker's Nightmare?

Well, I headed out of Vegas on Wednesday morning about 5:00 AM just as it was getting light out.  I wanted to be well on my way before it got super hot out.  The week prior to my leaving, it was not uncommon at all for the temps to be reaching 115 to 120 degrees daily.

I did chalk up another win or two before I left town and ended up the Vegas portion of the trip financially ahead.... but not by much.  I certainly would not call the trip a success from that standpoint.  The trip was probably unlike any I've ever had, in that I had some very large wins and some very large losses.  I just had a real problem stringing any of those large wins together.  It seemed like if I would have 2 good days in a row, then I'd have a real big loss the next day that would wipe out the profits from those days...and that's kind of how the entire 2-1/2 weeks in Vegas went.

I really enjoyed the motorcycling both to & from Las Vegas and will probably do it again next year if it works.  If all goes well, it will be on a little newer motorcycle though....  :)

I made really good time that Wednesday that I left, averaging over 125 miles between stops for most of the day.  My first bout with a headache was in Green River Utah.  It was starting to get pretty warm out and it was also extremely windy, so riding the bike was somewhat of a chore by that time.  I ended up going into a gas station/Arby's, ordering a sandwich, and finding a booth where I could stretch out a bit. I believe I was there for about an hour before I felt good enough to get back on the bike. I then rode to Grand Junction, CO and stopped for gas and had a root beer float which really hit the spot.

Got back on the bike and started working my way through the Rocky Mountains.  It was a gorgeous ride and could be any motorcyclists dream.  If you can imagine some of the best riding out in the Black Hills with the roads that go up and down and around hills/mountains and then multiply it by about 10.  Riding through the mountains was basically a good 300+ miles of winding roads with spectacular scenery. 

I got quite a ways through the mountains and started getting another headache.  This one turned out to be a pretty bad one.  I stopped at a rest area, drank a couple of waters, and....laid myself out on a slab of cement under a nearby tree and fought my way through the headache.  I believe I was laying there for about an hour and a half.  When I get a bad one, I will lose track of time. Sometimes, I can faintly remember talking to someone... (If that happens) but rarely can remember what that person told me...or what we talked about.
A typical bad headache will leave me completely and utterly exhausted and once the headache gets to a bearable point, I will usually fall asleep.  That's what happened at this rest area.

Upon waking up, I was tired, but had my sights on getting through the mountains and making it to the Denver area.

It was still very warm out, but I did go ahead and put my leather jacket on, because I was getting pretty high in the mountains and I knew it could cool off fast.  Well, it did....  Not long into the ride, it started to rain.  I was glad I had put my jacket on.  It wasn't a super hard rain or anything, but it was a cold rain, and my jeans were soon soaking wet....and I was cold...  but I was kind of stubborn too...
I knew I was near the summit and once on the other side, the weather could easily be much more bearable....so I kept going.

It didn't take long and I'll be darned if it didn't start to snow!  It was snowing enough that there was a little bit of slush on the road, but as long one was careful, there shouldn't be a problem.  I rode through snow for about an hour or so...before it pretty much stopped.  I pulled over...and I was super cold... 
My jeans were wet and my teeth were chattering....  I pulled out my chaps after I was somewhat warmed up and dressed for the remaining 50 miles or so that I thought I needed to go to get to Denver.

I finally did make it to Denver and stopped at a restaurant and had a french dip sandwich....
They had wi-fi, so I took my computer in and checked emails, etc...
Also, at this time I gave a poker friend of mine a call.  He's from Fort Collins, CO and we made a breakfast appointment in Fort Collins.  So, I decided to get back on the road for another hour or so and go to Fort Collins. 

Before I left Denver, I was behind a vehicle and noticed that my head light wasn't working.  So, I had to stop and tear that apart....and did get the light working again.

I think I pulled into Fort Collins around midnight or so and was very fortunate to get a room.  I had called a motel from Denver and they had told me they were full, but when I went by the place, there wasn't a "no vacancy" sign out, so I stopped.  The kid in charge told me that he had 1 room left...
It ended up to be a room that someone had been in for 2 days...and had paid for 3 days....
They had left early and the room was clean.
However, he couldn't get the computer to accept another guest, because according to the computer the room wasn't available.
It took a little time, but I wasn't about to give up so easily...  I ended up giving this kid $25.00 cash and told him I didn't care what he did with it....as long as he gave me a key to the room.  I assured him, I was just there to sleep and guaranteed that I wouldn't do any damage/steal anything, etc....
He took me up on the deal and I had a place to sleep.

I had gone nearly 850 miles that first day, had survived 2 headaches, had ridden through extreme weather conditions, (heat, wind, snow, & cold) and was very happy to shower & crawl into a warm bed.

The next day would prove to be just as challenging....the major difference being that I would go less than 200 miles...and find myself on a motorcycle that wouldn't move....  :)

I'll blog about that within the next few days....and let you all know what I've been up to since I've been home....