In August my brother referred me to a woman named Moneca, who uses a diagnostic machine calibrated to eastern medical uses, in the hopes that I would get more insight into what is causing my muscular dystrophy. I made an appointment in mid-September, which didn't work out, and then my first official diagnostic treatment happened six days ago.
The first time I went to her office in a yoga centre on Burrard St. The visit was fraught with bad timing and circumstances. First, the yoga centre, supposedly a healing centre, is on the second floor with no ramp or elevator access for disabled persons. The railings were too far apart on the broad staircase leading up to reception so I struggled to hoist myself up a step at a time hugging one of the railings. I was shaky and exhausted by the time I reached the top. Inside, the toilets in the washrooms were in stalls on raised platforms with nothing to hold onto to pull myself up. Some of the yoga rooms were also on a split level with no railings to assist with the stairs. The atmosphere was upper-class yuppie elegance, all white and beige with low light and low upholstered furniture without arms or backs that I could not use, and soft, meditative music playing. In spite of the elegance and that Walmart friendliness of the staff who greeted me, I couldn't get over how much disregard they showed for disabled people. I tried to describe how difficult it was to use their facilities, but their cognitive synapses seemed unable to register the information.
Moneca arrived as I was recovering from my climb. She apologized, though she had little choice since I was fuming by this time. She led me down one of the nondescript hallways to the small room she rents. There she discovered that she forgotten the cables she needed to connect her hocus pocus machine to her laptop. She left me sitting on a stool for half an hour while she ran to Office Depot and then to Best Buy looking for replacement cables.
When she returned she found she had also forgotten her batteries and all her running was to no avail. She was stressed out to the point of crying and couldn't put herself in an intuitive space, which is so necessary for this kind of treatment. I was not in a good space either. I had just learned the night before that my second lover Matt had dropped dead of a heart attack at the finish line of a triathlon the weekend before and I was overwhelmed with sadness. She asked me to talk about about my loss while she gave me a free foot massage, but she turned everything I shared around to talk about herself. I surmised that she was too stressed to focus on me.
Moneca does home visits for the same price, which I didn't know at the time she booked me at the yoga centre. I wasn't impressed that she hadn't suggest that when I booked given my mobility issues. The H1N1 flu, the film festival and bed bug infestation delayed her home visit for six weeks. We finally set up a mutually acceptable date for a week ago.
She arrived with her all-encompassing bio-feedback machine and energy "zapper". I don't know its real name, but it's more than a diagnostic machine. It does something with electro-magnetic frequencies to alter bodily responses. She calls it "zapping"; probably not the correct technical term. She strapped bands around my ankles and wrists, and a large band around my head (that left indentations in my forehead for 2 hours after she left), and cables to connect all the components to her laptop. For two hours she assessed my bodily composition, chakkras and emotional patterns and then "zapped" me to make corrections.
The machine seemed to sense that I was both diabetic and had some issues with muscular dystrophy, but it focused on vitamin deficiencies and my emotional state (low-grade depression, low sex drive and my heart chakkra wasn't very open at the time). I didn't get any leads as to what was causing the muscular dystrophy. The machine threw out vague terms for problems I was facing, such as "trauma" and "poison". When I asked for further clarification she just shrugged and said "They're just words on a page." At another point she told me that I come from a very good genetic stock. The machine read my stock to be a "1" while hers was a "19". She wasn't to tell me much about what that meant either. She confessed she was only able to use 10% of the machine's capacity as she was still learning about it. She had paid $23,000 and was obviously trying to recoup some of it be doing these half-ass assessments. I paid her the $100 fee (which she told me later really should have been $150) and she left.
Two days later she sent me a report that was almost a verbatim repeat of the "words on a page" that the machine coughed up without any interpretation. They were largely useless to me. She also gave me 5 points to work on before her next visit: 1) Check wheat consumption (my sister's treatment for a gluten allergy seems to have worn off after the H1N1), 2) Eat less salt, more raw foods, 3) Learn about hormones dopomine, seratonin and oxytocin (to what end she did not explain), 4) Pick up a book by Mantek Chia called "Microcosmic Orbit" to learn the tantric practice of circulating lust energy through the body, and 5) Understand that what I eat affects me. That last point assumes I know nothing after struggling with food allergies, digestive and diabetic issues and their treatments over the past 20 years. One can always learn more, but where exactly should I focus? This report was supposed to be worth $150? Not!
Today I also went to see a famous Vancouver naturopath and acupuncturist, Larry Chan, who I was referred to by Thomas Moore, the "intuitive healer" my sister recommended. Thomas had said my dystrophy has been caused by excessive uric acid in my body over the last 20 years. My GP says that makes no sense since he tests my kidney function and for uric acid every year, but Thomas told me Larry Chan "walks on water" as far as he was concerned. While I didn't put a lot of stock in Thomas's diagnosis I did more more insights into my dystrophy. I waited four months for this appointment. Hopefully something will come out of it.
Although Larry Chan's manner instilled in me more confidence in his professionalism than Moneca's did, the initial hour-long appointment was $250 and he has requested I have two tests done, one that costs $80, a second that costs $158 and a follow-up appointment that costs $90. Total cost before I get any feedback or treatment = $578. There goes Christmas!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
a wet November
It is very much a typical late autumn on the West Coast, also known as the Wet Coast at this time of year. It has rained every day over the past week and it is forecast to rain every day in the coming week.
Here in my warm, dry condo, overlooking an unbroken wall of taller office buildings across Hornby St, the grey day looks much worse than it is because my building, formerly an office building itself, has tinted windows that make the sky look darker than it is.
So I took a stroll outside into the West End (also known as the Wet End this time of year) to have breakfast, do a little shopping and post a book to a friend in Colorado. The rain didn't let up. Sometimes it was just spitting and then it was heavy again. I don't do umbrellas, as I find it harder to walk with them. I always leave them behind or forget to bring them with me anyway. I have waterproofed my cap and wear my Gortex jacket instead.
I have to push myself not to give into my low-grade depression I often struggle with at this time of year. Getting outside helps, but not enough. I rested a bit after coming back, then pushed myself outside the door again, this time to go to Kitsilano to buy two "Settlers of Catan" games for my nieces and nephews for Christmas (they can share). I went to Drexoll Games, a store where board game nerds gather to play complicated games. Even the proprietor was caught up in a game so I waited for him. A cute, post-twink customer noticed I had chosen the wrong set and saved me from making a return trip. He was immersed in looking through a box of special $1 playing cards on the counter, part of a type of wizard game that he had been playing since puberty. Some of the cards, he told me, go for $20-$30 each. Yes, Scarlett, we either have too much spending money on this continent or we don't know how to use it properly.
On the way home the sky started to break in the west and took on the look of a Dutch masters painting. Half an hour later the setting sun, broke through under the clouds still over the city, trapped by the mountains, lighting their underbellies and painting the buildings in a brilliant honey gold. For a few minutes it was stunning.
It's 5:30 and completely dark now. It has been for half an hour. I am leaving in an hour to visit Rich and Luis at their new place in Burnaby, bringing my Settlers of Catan game and a batch of fresh baked pumpkin cookies for us to munch on. I dread going to places in the dark that I am unaccustomed to, but they'll be picking me up at Edmonds Stn so at least I won't need to look for house numbers.
Here in my warm, dry condo, overlooking an unbroken wall of taller office buildings across Hornby St, the grey day looks much worse than it is because my building, formerly an office building itself, has tinted windows that make the sky look darker than it is.
So I took a stroll outside into the West End (also known as the Wet End this time of year) to have breakfast, do a little shopping and post a book to a friend in Colorado. The rain didn't let up. Sometimes it was just spitting and then it was heavy again. I don't do umbrellas, as I find it harder to walk with them. I always leave them behind or forget to bring them with me anyway. I have waterproofed my cap and wear my Gortex jacket instead.
I have to push myself not to give into my low-grade depression I often struggle with at this time of year. Getting outside helps, but not enough. I rested a bit after coming back, then pushed myself outside the door again, this time to go to Kitsilano to buy two "Settlers of Catan" games for my nieces and nephews for Christmas (they can share). I went to Drexoll Games, a store where board game nerds gather to play complicated games. Even the proprietor was caught up in a game so I waited for him. A cute, post-twink customer noticed I had chosen the wrong set and saved me from making a return trip. He was immersed in looking through a box of special $1 playing cards on the counter, part of a type of wizard game that he had been playing since puberty. Some of the cards, he told me, go for $20-$30 each. Yes, Scarlett, we either have too much spending money on this continent or we don't know how to use it properly.
On the way home the sky started to break in the west and took on the look of a Dutch masters painting. Half an hour later the setting sun, broke through under the clouds still over the city, trapped by the mountains, lighting their underbellies and painting the buildings in a brilliant honey gold. For a few minutes it was stunning.
It's 5:30 and completely dark now. It has been for half an hour. I am leaving in an hour to visit Rich and Luis at their new place in Burnaby, bringing my Settlers of Catan game and a batch of fresh baked pumpkin cookies for us to munch on. I dread going to places in the dark that I am unaccustomed to, but they'll be picking me up at Edmonds Stn so at least I won't need to look for house numbers.
Monday, October 26, 2009
A weekend on the Sunshine Coast
At Raspberry Showboat's 50th birthday party on the 18th, his husband Jasmine Amethyst invited me to a come to the Sunshine Coast this past weekend to celebrate with other Faeries. I got a ride with my close friend Stitch, who picked me up from work at lunchtime. We made the 1:30 ferry to Langdale and were at Tulip's home, the Landing Place, an hour or so later.
Why is it called the "Sunshine Coast"? Why did the Norse call that island iceberg "Greenland"? Why is North Korea called the "The People's Democratic Republic of Korea"? Why does Microsoft Vista claim to be problem-free? Who knows; it was raining of course. 
Jazzy and Raspberry Showboat were already there. They had brought a mountain of food that Jazzy had bought or prepared. We sipped tea, relaxed and waited for the others to arrive. Epick finished his banquet work around 4 and Jazzy drove to the ferry to pick him up around 5:30. Morgain Lessloss didn't arrive until much later, around 10pm. Tangerine was ill, Sat Dharna ate something questionable and Temple was tied up with work so there were only seven of us.
It was a great weekend. I felt very pampered with all of Jazzy's cooking, which was delicious. There were tons of sugary snacks but I was able to avoid most of them. Saturday was deliciously sunny. The others participated in a sweat lodge and late evening hot tub soaks. I couldn't do the sweat lodge as even crawling inside and sitting upright for one or two hours isn't possible for me now. I wouldn't want to anyway, as I hate high heat and dark, enclosed spaces that are not easy to escape from. So I had plenty of quiet time Saturday afternoon to read. I am reading Thomas Moore's "Care of the Soul". I think I could have done the hot tub, but it is always tricky for me to get out. As it was, I was too tired by late evening anyway. The real blessing of the weekend was being assigned to sleep with Epick, a Faerie I had not got to know well before. He's chatty and likes to talk about himself, as most young guys do, but he is intelligent and has had a difficult and interesting life so it was fun listening to him. He is handsome too. In bed, he wanted me to cuddle him. It has been a long time since I have cuddled with another man all night, and even longer since doing with someone as attractive and fit as him. Both of us are wary of casual sex, so it worked out perfectly that touch, not sex, was our mutual priority. The fact that he likes to sleep under half a ton of blankets was forgivable.
Two nights of cuddling did wonders to sooth my soul. I felt I was floating when I got home. I told him I would be open to doing it again. He said he'd think about it. I think we are beginning to trust each other fairly well but one usually prefers the convenience of his own bed and living arrangements. I know I do, and I cannot get into his place with all the stairs it would require. At least I hope we remain friends.
PHOTO 1: Jasmine Amethyst (Jazzy)
PHOTO 2: Raspberry Showboat & Bonna
PHOTO 3: Morgain Lessloss, Epick & Stitch
PHOTO 4: Jasmine & Tulip in kitchen
PHOTO 5: Tulip & Bonna
PHOTO 6: Stitch & his son Kevin
Rough month
Things have finally settled down after a rough start to the month. The sore throat I acquired on the 25th of September turned out to be the H1N1 virus, in retrospect. My symptoms, including the blistered throat without phlegm, the dry cough, lack of congestion, chills and aches, matched the symptoms published. It hammered me hard for three days, and weakened me somewhat for a couple weeks.
Of course, with the Vancouver International Film Festival starting on Oct 1st, it was challenging to take in 5 or 6 films per day. I tried meditating or just staying quiet between films but it was draining. Then I discovered my bed bug infestation after only two days of the festival and I missed out on seven films while I was washing, "roasting" in a hot dryer and bagging everything in my drawers, closets, etc, while I was still sick. I missed a few more while I waited my old mattress and box spring to be collected and my new ones to be delivered. I also had to make arrangements for others to help me bag the new ones with vinyl covers to avoid reinfestation.
I feel good that the pain and chaos is now all behind me while the hype and panic about the virus is swirling around at its loudest. It's rather like having already seen a film before everyone starts raving about it. I am sure this could be a serious virus for those who have frail health, but the hype is not justified. The Feds have finally got the vaccine ready for the public but it will likely do more damage than good now that the virus in already rampant in schools and workplaces. The vaccine is 50% owned by Donald Rumsfeld's corporation, which has made a couple billion dollars from the over-heated hype, while many of those who get the vaccine will get sicker because of it. One co-worker even says she plans to get the vaccine even though she has already had it. There is no sense speaking logically to anyone who has bought into the panic and hype.
With these troubles behind me, the later part of October feels like a summer breeze, albeit a rather cool, wet one. This week I'll get a letter off to strata council asking them to pay for my spraying of my condo. I doubt they will do, as they have not notified my neighbours above, below and on either side, who are possibly now going to be infested. I will give them a month to answer before approaching a lawyer about their removal of the disabled access through our courtyard, since my efforts to get their attention or a response from City Council have fallen on deaf and disinterested ears.
I also promised Raspberry Showboat a stained glass hanging of an ankh symbol for his 50th birthday, which I need to design. Both Butterfly Menace and Epick are interested in lessons and I feel drawn to design a Celtic window for Tulip's front door at the Landing Place. It's time to get my creative juices flowing again.
Of course, with the Vancouver International Film Festival starting on Oct 1st, it was challenging to take in 5 or 6 films per day. I tried meditating or just staying quiet between films but it was draining. Then I discovered my bed bug infestation after only two days of the festival and I missed out on seven films while I was washing, "roasting" in a hot dryer and bagging everything in my drawers, closets, etc, while I was still sick. I missed a few more while I waited my old mattress and box spring to be collected and my new ones to be delivered. I also had to make arrangements for others to help me bag the new ones with vinyl covers to avoid reinfestation.
I feel good that the pain and chaos is now all behind me while the hype and panic about the virus is swirling around at its loudest. It's rather like having already seen a film before everyone starts raving about it. I am sure this could be a serious virus for those who have frail health, but the hype is not justified. The Feds have finally got the vaccine ready for the public but it will likely do more damage than good now that the virus in already rampant in schools and workplaces. The vaccine is 50% owned by Donald Rumsfeld's corporation, which has made a couple billion dollars from the over-heated hype, while many of those who get the vaccine will get sicker because of it. One co-worker even says she plans to get the vaccine even though she has already had it. There is no sense speaking logically to anyone who has bought into the panic and hype.
With these troubles behind me, the later part of October feels like a summer breeze, albeit a rather cool, wet one. This week I'll get a letter off to strata council asking them to pay for my spraying of my condo. I doubt they will do, as they have not notified my neighbours above, below and on either side, who are possibly now going to be infested. I will give them a month to answer before approaching a lawyer about their removal of the disabled access through our courtyard, since my efforts to get their attention or a response from City Council have fallen on deaf and disinterested ears.
I also promised Raspberry Showboat a stained glass hanging of an ankh symbol for his 50th birthday, which I need to design. Both Butterfly Menace and Epick are interested in lessons and I feel drawn to design a Celtic window for Tulip's front door at the Landing Place. It's time to get my creative juices flowing again.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
New bed
The new bed and box spring set has arrived. Fred and Eric turned up an hour later to help me put on the vinyl covers and tape up the zippers so future "pets" will have no place to live. The thought of them still sends a chill up my spine. Afterwards, I took the two of them out for lunch at Joe's Diner.
Today I begin the second half of the film festival. I'll put the rest of the condo back in order over the next couple mornings now that the bed is in place. It's 80% back to normal anyway. I feel luckier than ever to have my place and know that I won't lose it anytime soon. Last night I saw "Home", a French-financed documentary about what the human race has done and is doing to destroy the planet--very depressing--and the Lee Daniels film "Precious", about an illiterate, severely overweight Black teenager, pregnant by her father who raped her, who struggles to get on her feet for the first time in her life. Both were very powerful, perhaps the best of the film festival so far.
I sent an e-mail to Tom and Tibi yesterday morning apologizing for having to kick them out so quickly and saying I would still like to be friends. No answer so far. Hopefully they are not mad at me, but I can live with it if they are. I wouldn't have done it differently. Perhaps they have no use for me now that I am no longer their host, but that's OK too. I saved them about $700 by letting them stay so long.
Today I begin the second half of the film festival. I'll put the rest of the condo back in order over the next couple mornings now that the bed is in place. It's 80% back to normal anyway. I feel luckier than ever to have my place and know that I won't lose it anytime soon. Last night I saw "Home", a French-financed documentary about what the human race has done and is doing to destroy the planet--very depressing--and the Lee Daniels film "Precious", about an illiterate, severely overweight Black teenager, pregnant by her father who raped her, who struggles to get on her feet for the first time in her life. Both were very powerful, perhaps the best of the film festival so far.
I sent an e-mail to Tom and Tibi yesterday morning apologizing for having to kick them out so quickly and saying I would still like to be friends. No answer so far. Hopefully they are not mad at me, but I can live with it if they are. I wouldn't have done it differently. Perhaps they have no use for me now that I am no longer their host, but that's OK too. I saved them about $700 by letting them stay so long.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday's aftermath
The spraying is over. For the first day, I couldn't enter the bedroom for the strength of the fumes. The exterminator failed to remember to leave the name of the insecticide or a sample so my sister could clear me on it, and he also forgot to leave my key, which he says he will do immediately, if he remembers. He was also suppose to call yesterday to set a return date on the 17th or 18th, which he hasn't so far.
My place is still in chaos, boxes and bags piled mountainously high on my kitchen counters. The odd item has returned to its old placement but I have moved nothing back into the bedroom yet. I will wait until it is reinspected in two weeks.
I have decided to get rid of the old mattress and box spring. The mattress wasn't too bad, according to the exterminator, but the box spring had several nests inside of it. Regardless, I don't feel like sleeping on all that toxic spray. I suppose I could just seal both in plastic. If any bugs survived the spraying, they could not live long inside the plastic with no access to their host.
Anyway, it has all been an ordeal. I have been exhausted for several days. Now I am returning to the film festival. I could only handle 2 films on Sunday, while my place was being sprayed, but I handled 5 (barely) yesterday. I did have a great sleep last night though, and feel much better today. I plan to get some of the bags unpacked today and the stacks of books taken off of my kitchen counters.
Fred has convinced me that I need a maid.
My place is still in chaos, boxes and bags piled mountainously high on my kitchen counters. The odd item has returned to its old placement but I have moved nothing back into the bedroom yet. I will wait until it is reinspected in two weeks.
I have decided to get rid of the old mattress and box spring. The mattress wasn't too bad, according to the exterminator, but the box spring had several nests inside of it. Regardless, I don't feel like sleeping on all that toxic spray. I suppose I could just seal both in plastic. If any bugs survived the spraying, they could not live long inside the plastic with no access to their host.
Anyway, it has all been an ordeal. I have been exhausted for several days. Now I am returning to the film festival. I could only handle 2 films on Sunday, while my place was being sprayed, but I handled 5 (barely) yesterday. I did have a great sleep last night though, and feel much better today. I plan to get some of the bags unpacked today and the stacks of books taken off of my kitchen counters.
Fred has convinced me that I need a maid.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
A week from hell
I think the worst is over but it has been definitely the worst week of the year so far. It started off with a sore throat on the 25th and by the 28th it was totally blistered and raw. I was achy, feverish, with little chills running through me, and I was exhausted. Tuesday night, the 29th, I struggled out of bed at 11pm scarcely able to breathe, as my throat had swollen almost shut. I couldn't utter a syllable but I was tempted to try to call 911 anyway. I didn't though. When I got the bright idea of spraying nasal decongestant down my throat, my situation got a lot better and I was able to sleep. I even had a good night's sleep and my health turned for the better.
That was also the first night that I noticed itchy welts on my arm. They spread to my back and legs over the next 3 days. I thought I had somehow picked up fleas, but at 4am yesterday morning I felt something small scampering along my arms, like a bead of sweat that was running half horizontally. It was 4am. I switched on the light and saw the bed crawling with bugs. I freaked.
I haven't been back to bed since. I told the two Hungarian couch surfers that they must leave the following morning. Amazingly, they asked if they could stay one more night, though I would not have a place to sleep if they did. Of course I told them definitely not. I sat up from 4am until 9am waiting for them to wake and start packing. I decided to go for breakfast for the coffee, not the food, as I had no appetite. When I returned they were packing.
The pest control company told me to wash all fabrics throughout the apartment, or at least to put them in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes, then stored them in air-tight clear plastic bags when I brought them back into the apartment. I was exhausted but I had no choice, and no one I could think of was available to help me in my still-weak condition.
My sister suggested I rent a large storage container and a parking spot down the street and she offered to bring in large cardboard boxes and a dolly to help me load all my possessions into it for a couple days. It seemed way too involved and she couldn't be available until Monday. I wanted the spraying to be done today and besides, the pest control company needed my furniture to be on site so they could treat it. It was difficult to do it all myself but it was better than waiting for help later.
It was a minor miracle that no one on our floor wanted to use either the washer or dryer on that Saturday so I was able to put through about 15 to 20 loads. I emptied four full dressers, did all the bedding, table cloths and emptied my closets, cedar chest and bookcase, and throughout it all I couldn't stop scratching myself. Every speck seemed to be crawling and it drove me crazy.
I slept on the futon in the living room last night, freed of its serve to couch surfers. I slept off and on for about 10 hours but I was hype-aware of every itch. This morning it was harder to get going, in spite of the rest, but I continued in a haphazard way until my friend Fred arrived at 11 to help me move the boxes from the closet and to lift the mattress. The bed bug nests were visible in two corners of the box spring.
With the last things fed through the washer and dryer, Fred and I dust-mopped and washed the floors and took a couple more loads of garbage out. It is amazing how much stuff I cleared out--a silver lining to my cloud. The pest control guy showed up an hour later than promised but Fred was still able to squeeze in a quick breakfast with me before leaving for work.
I talked with the fellow who did the treatment after it was done. Besides forgetting to leave my key or a sample of the insecticide for my sister to clear me on, he told me that the box spring was heavily infested and needed to be replaced. I will replace it and the mattress too, as soon as possible. This whole exercise will coast me just under $1,000.
Shit happens. Everyone I have told is pre-occupied with how I got them. It is impossible to say. I have learned that they can take two or three months to manifest themselves, and I was in 3 hotels in Utah in June. They weren't nesting in the living room where the couch surfers have stayed, so while I suspected them at first I am not so sure anymore. I am more interested in getting my life back to normal, health and condo-wise. I missed 8 films at the international film festival. I have paid $350 for a pass and had only seen 16 when I found the bugs. I may lose seeing a couple more waiting for pick and delivery of mattresses, but it has to be done. That process I'll start tomorrow morning.
That was also the first night that I noticed itchy welts on my arm. They spread to my back and legs over the next 3 days. I thought I had somehow picked up fleas, but at 4am yesterday morning I felt something small scampering along my arms, like a bead of sweat that was running half horizontally. It was 4am. I switched on the light and saw the bed crawling with bugs. I freaked.
I haven't been back to bed since. I told the two Hungarian couch surfers that they must leave the following morning. Amazingly, they asked if they could stay one more night, though I would not have a place to sleep if they did. Of course I told them definitely not. I sat up from 4am until 9am waiting for them to wake and start packing. I decided to go for breakfast for the coffee, not the food, as I had no appetite. When I returned they were packing.
The pest control company told me to wash all fabrics throughout the apartment, or at least to put them in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes, then stored them in air-tight clear plastic bags when I brought them back into the apartment. I was exhausted but I had no choice, and no one I could think of was available to help me in my still-weak condition.
My sister suggested I rent a large storage container and a parking spot down the street and she offered to bring in large cardboard boxes and a dolly to help me load all my possessions into it for a couple days. It seemed way too involved and she couldn't be available until Monday. I wanted the spraying to be done today and besides, the pest control company needed my furniture to be on site so they could treat it. It was difficult to do it all myself but it was better than waiting for help later.
It was a minor miracle that no one on our floor wanted to use either the washer or dryer on that Saturday so I was able to put through about 15 to 20 loads. I emptied four full dressers, did all the bedding, table cloths and emptied my closets, cedar chest and bookcase, and throughout it all I couldn't stop scratching myself. Every speck seemed to be crawling and it drove me crazy.
I slept on the futon in the living room last night, freed of its serve to couch surfers. I slept off and on for about 10 hours but I was hype-aware of every itch. This morning it was harder to get going, in spite of the rest, but I continued in a haphazard way until my friend Fred arrived at 11 to help me move the boxes from the closet and to lift the mattress. The bed bug nests were visible in two corners of the box spring.
With the last things fed through the washer and dryer, Fred and I dust-mopped and washed the floors and took a couple more loads of garbage out. It is amazing how much stuff I cleared out--a silver lining to my cloud. The pest control guy showed up an hour later than promised but Fred was still able to squeeze in a quick breakfast with me before leaving for work.
I talked with the fellow who did the treatment after it was done. Besides forgetting to leave my key or a sample of the insecticide for my sister to clear me on, he told me that the box spring was heavily infested and needed to be replaced. I will replace it and the mattress too, as soon as possible. This whole exercise will coast me just under $1,000.
Shit happens. Everyone I have told is pre-occupied with how I got them. It is impossible to say. I have learned that they can take two or three months to manifest themselves, and I was in 3 hotels in Utah in June. They weren't nesting in the living room where the couch surfers have stayed, so while I suspected them at first I am not so sure anymore. I am more interested in getting my life back to normal, health and condo-wise. I missed 8 films at the international film festival. I have paid $350 for a pass and had only seen 16 when I found the bugs. I may lose seeing a couple more waiting for pick and delivery of mattresses, but it has to be done. That process I'll start tomorrow morning.
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