The following
story is a day in the life of Jason. This is written in hopes that the friends and family of
Meniere’s patients may
get a better understanding as to the challenges and constant misunderstandings that we endure.
Walk a mile in my shoes
A day in my life with Menieres
0230: I finally decide to go to bed, only because my meds are working and I’m tired.
0800: I awake to the alarm, hit snooze about 3 times and then make the effort to get up.
0830: I am up and around. The nausea is overwhelming and I feel like calling in sick to work. Unsure as to how many sick days I have left I decide to make the effort.
0845: In the bathroom splashing water on my face to cool off, I hold onto the sink with the other hand to steady myself. Brush teeth, comb hair, get dressed and leave. No time for breakfast, maybe Ill get something later.
0855: Make my way to the door and realize I forgot my wallet and my watch (which I put right on the stand next to the kitchen (so I won’t forget them).
0900: After stumbling to the car, I start it, take a deep breath and begin my .5 mile commute to work.
0905: Made it to my desk, my ear is pounding and I am still sick to my stomach. My ear is ringing and it feels like a hundred pins poking my eardrum.
From there I work all day answering phones and helping people with their problems. It amazes me how clueless some people are and how dumb others can be. Somewhere along the line I forgot to call a few people and my list of things to do (tomorrow) grows even larger. Maybe I can work on Saturday to catch up. My stomach decides it needs something, and even though I know that whatever I take in is going to want to come out, I decide to imbue some coffee... Whoops! caffeine ! Oh well, I need the buzz to (hopefully) get me going a little. My ear decides that the coffee wasn’t the thing to have and lets me know by screaming at me for a few hours. During which time (of course) the phone rings more often and more people come to the office and the louder it gets. Which makes my ear hurt even more.
1400: Lunch time! Yay! Time to relax. I am feeling somewhat better now. So I drive to my house and make some yummy low salt garbage that passes for food. No more soup, no more pizza, no more good stuff. I am so sick of fruit I could die. Depending on the day I might microwave a bowl of rice Or just eat some canned pineapple.
1500: Back at work. Feeling a little better, the ringing is lessened, but the pressure is there. To much loud talking or laughter makes me cringe. The dizziness is gone, for now.
1800: My day at Office #1 is over! I rush home and dbl. Check my hair, my teeth and change my shirt if I need to. Strange but at this time during the day, I don’t seem to notice how I feel. I guess I am in too much of a hurry to notice.
1810-1815: Back in the car and driving to my other job. I work at UPS because of the benefits. Without them I don’t think I could afford to have MM. It’s pretty easy. I can get up and walk out of the office. When the noise get to be too much. My ears are ringing and I am very tired. I slouch during my whole shift. Good thing I don’t have to deal with J.Q. Public here.
2230: My work is over and I head home. Right now I don’t notice my ear too much and to be honest I do not think that it would bother me. I know that my house is only a few miles away and I'll be home in my comfy clothes real soon.
2245: I collapse on my couch and flip on the tube. Wearing my rip off pants and a tee shirt I scan through all 400 channels that the cable box offers. I am exhausted. So tired that sleep even sounds like too damn much work. The thought of getting up makes me weak. Kaiser, my Miniature Pinscher has other ideas. Time to play. I do what I can with him from the couch. Mostly fetch. He gets worn out and then we go outside. I miss being able to hear the sounds of those annoying crickets and the night birds. The ringing in my ears drowns most sounds out. Kaizer does his thing, I praise him, we go inside. Still not quite tired enough to sleep I decide to do some surfing/gaming. Most times I will play a 2d game because a 3d game involving a lot of moving makes me sick. So CIV 2 gets a spin in the CD-ROM. Eventually the Valium and the length of the day kick in and I tire. Caesar disappears from the world sometime around 1600.
0200: In bed, Kaizer is in his... Too bad I can’t seem to fall asleep... Even with the fan and the TV on.
That's an ok day....sorta like yours.
Jason
May 9, 2001
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