I kept my fingers crossed, I was scheduled to get CT scans later that day and it would make things so much better if I could ride the two buses to UPMC without being in too much discomfort.
I continued feeling good that day, even when my neurologist showed me two 'clouds' still in the frontal lobe region from my long covid.
Who cares about clouds, maybe this relapse on September 12 was finally settling down for good.
The next day the good times continued. I called my barber and asked if she had any openings, it had been several weeks since my last haircut. She did, and I got a great cut. The third day, I was still doing great. I knew I had to take advantage of this, so I showered and dressed first thing, and went downtown to renew my expired driver's license. This had been weeks overdue.
I awoke Friday morning with some mild burning in my temples, and a very sore neck. Maybe I slept on it funny and it will fade... but as the day wore on, the pressure in my head increased, as did the pain in the lower right jawline and mouth. That damn long covid was fighting it's way back.
By Friday night, the last 3 days seemed like a dream. At least I made good use of them.
This isn't the first time I got one of those passes. When all of this began in January 2024 (I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary with this) I was housebound and miserable for 4 months. Then in May 2024 I got a 3-4 day reprieve, and was able to visit the senior center a couple times and attend a lunch with friends at Red Lobster. I was happy as a clam, pun intended.
It didn't last, the summer of 2024 was the worst. I didn't leave my place again for 3 months. But I got another "weekly pass" in the Fall, and then again in early December. I was able to attend the Holiday luncheon for Senior Singles at the church next door.
I got a couple more "3 day passes" in February and April, and by May 2025 things had improved enough that I was venturing out again. I was still fighting extreme fatigue, go out for 2-3 hours, come home and sleep for 3-4, but the head and facial pain was 90% gone. Aside from getting plantar fasciitis in August, I really believed the "covid head" stuff was nearly gone for good.
Then of course, on September 12 everything came back. I haven't been to the senior center since.
Anyway, it would've been nice to get a 3 day pass this week so I could spend Thanksgiving with loved ones, but I didn't luck out. I'm hoping I get a pass next week so I can attend this years Senior Singles Holiday Lunch with my gals Mary and Evie. I really miss them.
Finally, here's one thing with a happy ending: a few days ago, I was making a cup of coffee and it tasted like burnt plastic. I tried another k-cup, same result. I ran a cup of white vinegar thru my Keurig and activated the deep cleanse. No change.
My K-Supreme was a month or so past its warranty, so I'd have to purchase another one. This was my third K-Supreme in 5 years!
But feeling face-sore and cranky, I called Customer Service anyway. I got a very polite Indian woman named Sky. I told her what happened, she said "Okay sir, here is what we're going to do. First I want you to try a different brand k-cup..." I told her no, I did that already. She said "Perfect. Okay, now we're going to operate your machine in clean mode. Do you have any white vinegar?"
I said "Sky, I did all that this morning. I'm not wasting anymore time or k-cups on this faulty machine. And I know it's a month past the warranty, so I'm not expecting you to replace it. I just wanted someone to know how disappointed I am. I've been a loyal customer of Keurig for years, but this is ridiculous."
Sky said she was very sorry for the inconvenience, I said thanks for listening. Fifteen minutes later, she called back and asked for the serial number on my Keurig. After giving it to her, Sky said they were sending me a new machine, no charge. I was very surprised, thanked her and asked if I needed to send the bad one back. She said no, just discard it.
It arrived a couple days ago and boy, my coffee tastes great again. I hope this one can stick around for awhile.
