Today, the delightful Clothing Engineer sent me an email about some potential drafting challenges that she has encountered in making her own Janet Jacket muslin. I don't want to go into them - as I haven't yet had adequate time to reflect on Anne's terrific info - but it puts a slightly different slant on the experience.
Don't misunderstand - I still think I've spent a long time getting nowhere - but I hope that Anne will explore her findings in a post and that I have that much more to go on next time. And, likely, I'll explore the matter in more detail at some point in the near future.
On this topic, I can tell I'm going to have to repurchase the pattern, though when I do, I'm seriously considering getting the size 10 (not 12) for better initial fit in the shoulders. Sure, if I'd traced the pattern before hacking at it, I'd not be in this position. But then I'd have no compelling reason to get a different, and likely better overall, size.
Vis a vis cutting into patterns, btw, I vacillate wildly and go through phases. Right now, with all the work I do on fitting, I can't stand the thought of starting by spending an afternoon tracing the whole freakin' lot - even if that sounds totally counter intuitive. Tracing is the element that just makes it all seem like too much. So, if I've got to spend a whack of money to avoid it - and it is a whack of money shipping from Australia - so be it. Of course, I'll wait till next week when the free pattern of the month-with-purchase changes again. I already own January's.
Bizarrely, I'm thinking of joining the StyleArc club - something I've never been swayed to do with any other pattern vendor, because I do seem to be making my way through a bunch of patterns and they're pricey. Any thoughts on this?
Finally, my Style Arc patterns did arrive today - more on them and what I'm going to sew when in an upcoming post - but my Bengaline fabric must have been sent separately, because it did not arrive along with them. Frustrating. I want to see it and tell you all about it.
But gotta keep this post short because I'm typing like some hen, pecking at feed. I got two vaccines today, one in each arm and they are hurting.
Nothing like going out in the polar vortex (secretly, I just like using this ridiculous term) to get arm-hurty, fever-causing shots, one series of which (for Hepatitis A and B) I'm out of pocket on (as neither my insurance nor OHIP cover it).
And yet, my friends, I urge you to go and get vaccinated for - if nothing else - DPT (Diptheria/Pertussis/Tetanus). It's a combined shot and that pertussis sure is making a come-back. Just last week I learned about an internet friend who's dealing with it now.
Ontarians pls. note: DPT is covered by OHIP so it's free. But even if it weren't free, I'd urge you to pay the bucks and take the shot. Which is precisely the rationale that sees me spending 300 bucks ish on phased Hepatitis vaccinations on the strong recommendation of my doctor.
In truth, I lobbied firmly for MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) as those are the big-time, olde-fashioned, childhood illnesses for which, I assume, my immunity has waned. But apparently, these aren't making a comeback and I have no risk-factors. Over a certain age, it's highly unlikely that one will get these bugs, apparently.
In an ironic turn, my second vaccine today was for DPT. Why? Because big pharma doesn't detangle the three doses and I'm not waiting around for tetanus and diptheria. Furthermore, during the pertussis nightmare of 2011, the hospital lost my test swab so I have no hard evidence that pertussis is actually what I suffered with for months. (Of course, everyone's sure that's what I had, but no one can prove it.)
And on that note, it's off to put some ice on my arms...
Showing posts with label Pertussis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pertussis. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, April 28, 2013
After Pertussis - A Review
It's been a while, so I thought I'd update you on how I'm feeling after Sickfest 12/13... You may recall, 8 months ago I contracted pertussis.
I'm happy to report that all acute symptoms are gone. I can breathe. I can sleep. I can eat. (Trust me, this one's not a problem.) I no longer cough from the pertussis. The ulcers on the back of my throat are gone. I don't look sick anymore.
But I'm not quite myself.
For starters, I won't touch anything (that isn't in my own sphere) without using some kind of barrier (gloves, clothes, paper towels). Yeah, I have become a crazy lady in this way. As I have no idea how on earth I contracted such a hideous sickness, given that I was in good health, I'm very anxious about - well - catching everything.
Now, many of you know that I am not the most sanguine of creatures at the best of times. Pretty classic-case germ-phobia is an ongoing thing for me. But this is a new kind of anxious - and mercifully one which I do feel slowly receding - accompanied by my utter horror to be around illness of any kind. Colds freak me out. Sick children, ditto. People who wear masks on the street almost do me in. I don't know if they're afraid of me or if I should be afraid of them.
I still have occasional challenges with throat mucous and "choking". My trachea is obviously still on a healing-curve. But it's like nothing compared with the serious phase of the illness.
Mouth ulcers are more prevalent. In truth, these were a challenge for me from childhood, as I used to get rounds of cluster canker sores for just about any reason. Then I had a baby, at which point they mysteriously went away and barely ever return. Mind you, they've been worse in the last while than they have been for years.
Then there's fatigue. I need a good 10 hours of sleep to function these days. I've always been an 8-9 hr person, but this is really off the charts. How does one accomplish anything?? I do sense that the summer, with its additional light, is going to be critical to my long-term return to total health.
In terms of my ability to focus, this is slowly but surely returning. Thank God. I really couldn't fix on anything there for a while. Thinking was tough. Acting on thoughts was tougher. Fatigue then inserted itself into the equation and made things tougher still. On a related note: depression, caused by a term of Prednisone to keep my trachea from closing, and by intense sickness that sucked the will out of me, is happily a thing of the past. Alas, see above, anxiety, she lingers (well, she knows she's got a place at the table).
The final thing I've really noted is that my level of fitness has taken a huge hit. I'm a fairly fit person, though with ebbs and flows. I walk at least one way to work each day (40 minutes), I do yoga (though ever less frequently and intently, it would seem), I garden, I cycle. I'm one of those "real world" fit people - not one of those TV-fit people.
Mind you, having struggled to find the energy to walk some days, and having just tortured my body with a few hours of gardening I might formerly have taken for granted, I can say I have experienced notable waning of residual fitness (those youth points are wearing off) and even less motivation.
I intend to make this summer about rediscovering my body's strength, flexibility and focus. I must reconnect with that and, while I'm at it, I've got to stop eating sweets. As I started to get better, my palate changed. Protein is of little interest. All I want is carbs (preferably sweet ones). I can't stand certain foods I used to eat constantly, pre-sickness. For the last 3 months, I've surrendered to this urge. Partly, my sense of discipline - formerly very developed - has gone on a long vacation. Partly, I've been enjoying my appetite. Partly, I refuse to get fussed about something as stupid as food composition when the world is fleeting. However, I've returned to my former weight and my shape, usually toned at any weight, is rather dull and, well, unfit. So gotta get on that bandwagon. Sigh.
Since I got sick (beginning of Sept. 2012), I experienced a month of bad illness, 6 weeks of acute illness followed by another 2 months of feeling hideous constantly. Two months after that were about improvement, but in a phase of tremendous cold and dark. It's hard to return to yourself in a time of hibernation. The last 6 weeks have seen improvements on the energy and focus fronts (the other physical symptoms having largely abated) but I know I need more sun and warmth to complete the metamorphosis.
Anyway, that's an 8-month experience I could have done without. And yet, I am grateful DAILY to have had such a good healing-process, in the scheme of things. I haven't met many people who've had pertussis, but I suspect I'll be meeting more as children are vaccinated less frequently and, as adults with reduced immunity (given that their childhood vaccinations have waned) come into contact with them. Everyone I've met, though, having formerly experienced the illness, has physically shuddered while they described the intensity and length of the illness.
Don't get the vaccination for yourself - though, really, if you're even vaguely sickly at the best of times and moving towards your last third of life, it could kill you I suppose. Get it for the tiny, perfect baby who belongs newly to the person you sit next to at work. Get if for your grandmother, who's always been incredibly healthful but is now pushing 90. Get it for the person you sit next to on the subway, currently on radiation therapy though you'd have no way to know. Those are the people it's rather likely to kill. And then be very glad to know that you will never experience what I can tell you is a horrible thing. It's like a bonus.
I'm happy to report that all acute symptoms are gone. I can breathe. I can sleep. I can eat. (Trust me, this one's not a problem.) I no longer cough from the pertussis. The ulcers on the back of my throat are gone. I don't look sick anymore.
But I'm not quite myself.
For starters, I won't touch anything (that isn't in my own sphere) without using some kind of barrier (gloves, clothes, paper towels). Yeah, I have become a crazy lady in this way. As I have no idea how on earth I contracted such a hideous sickness, given that I was in good health, I'm very anxious about - well - catching everything.
Now, many of you know that I am not the most sanguine of creatures at the best of times. Pretty classic-case germ-phobia is an ongoing thing for me. But this is a new kind of anxious - and mercifully one which I do feel slowly receding - accompanied by my utter horror to be around illness of any kind. Colds freak me out. Sick children, ditto. People who wear masks on the street almost do me in. I don't know if they're afraid of me or if I should be afraid of them.
I still have occasional challenges with throat mucous and "choking". My trachea is obviously still on a healing-curve. But it's like nothing compared with the serious phase of the illness.
Mouth ulcers are more prevalent. In truth, these were a challenge for me from childhood, as I used to get rounds of cluster canker sores for just about any reason. Then I had a baby, at which point they mysteriously went away and barely ever return. Mind you, they've been worse in the last while than they have been for years.
Then there's fatigue. I need a good 10 hours of sleep to function these days. I've always been an 8-9 hr person, but this is really off the charts. How does one accomplish anything?? I do sense that the summer, with its additional light, is going to be critical to my long-term return to total health.
In terms of my ability to focus, this is slowly but surely returning. Thank God. I really couldn't fix on anything there for a while. Thinking was tough. Acting on thoughts was tougher. Fatigue then inserted itself into the equation and made things tougher still. On a related note: depression, caused by a term of Prednisone to keep my trachea from closing, and by intense sickness that sucked the will out of me, is happily a thing of the past. Alas, see above, anxiety, she lingers (well, she knows she's got a place at the table).
The final thing I've really noted is that my level of fitness has taken a huge hit. I'm a fairly fit person, though with ebbs and flows. I walk at least one way to work each day (40 minutes), I do yoga (though ever less frequently and intently, it would seem), I garden, I cycle. I'm one of those "real world" fit people - not one of those TV-fit people.
Mind you, having struggled to find the energy to walk some days, and having just tortured my body with a few hours of gardening I might formerly have taken for granted, I can say I have experienced notable waning of residual fitness (those youth points are wearing off) and even less motivation.
I intend to make this summer about rediscovering my body's strength, flexibility and focus. I must reconnect with that and, while I'm at it, I've got to stop eating sweets. As I started to get better, my palate changed. Protein is of little interest. All I want is carbs (preferably sweet ones). I can't stand certain foods I used to eat constantly, pre-sickness. For the last 3 months, I've surrendered to this urge. Partly, my sense of discipline - formerly very developed - has gone on a long vacation. Partly, I've been enjoying my appetite. Partly, I refuse to get fussed about something as stupid as food composition when the world is fleeting. However, I've returned to my former weight and my shape, usually toned at any weight, is rather dull and, well, unfit. So gotta get on that bandwagon. Sigh.
Since I got sick (beginning of Sept. 2012), I experienced a month of bad illness, 6 weeks of acute illness followed by another 2 months of feeling hideous constantly. Two months after that were about improvement, but in a phase of tremendous cold and dark. It's hard to return to yourself in a time of hibernation. The last 6 weeks have seen improvements on the energy and focus fronts (the other physical symptoms having largely abated) but I know I need more sun and warmth to complete the metamorphosis.
Anyway, that's an 8-month experience I could have done without. And yet, I am grateful DAILY to have had such a good healing-process, in the scheme of things. I haven't met many people who've had pertussis, but I suspect I'll be meeting more as children are vaccinated less frequently and, as adults with reduced immunity (given that their childhood vaccinations have waned) come into contact with them. Everyone I've met, though, having formerly experienced the illness, has physically shuddered while they described the intensity and length of the illness.
Don't get the vaccination for yourself - though, really, if you're even vaguely sickly at the best of times and moving towards your last third of life, it could kill you I suppose. Get it for the tiny, perfect baby who belongs newly to the person you sit next to at work. Get if for your grandmother, who's always been incredibly healthful but is now pushing 90. Get it for the person you sit next to on the subway, currently on radiation therapy though you'd have no way to know. Those are the people it's rather likely to kill. And then be very glad to know that you will never experience what I can tell you is a horrible thing. It's like a bonus.
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