Imbolc Full Wild Moon
When I woke up yesterday, my right eye began to jiggle back and forth. The room began to sway. OMG as the kid’s say. I stumbled to the bathroom, hitting a painting on the wall. My insides tried to come outside and a cold, clammy sweat broke out all over my body. Yikes!
At first I thought. Flu. So I waited for everything to calm down. Everything did not calm down. That was I hollered for Kate. “Kate!”
She came and took in what was going on. “Smile for me.” she said. A peculiar response unless your spouse has a medical degree. I smiled my most winning smile. “That’s a test for stroke.” Oh. I passed. Thank god.
“Where’s your blood pressure cuff?” I keep one to take my pressure every now and then. She got it. 122/62. Strange for a guy with essential hypertension. But good news to her.
She had me diagnosed. Labyrinthitis. A viral infection of the inner ear that plays havoc with balance. Each time I moved my body put me into state I had experienced in full only once before. That time came when I found myself in an airplane bathroom during high turbulence. The stewardesses though I was having a heart attack. Hell, so did I. But not Kate. She got me a wheel chair, we got off the plane and waited until I calmed down.
This deal though did not allow the body to calm down. I had one position that did not produce vertigo and nausea. I stayed in for the whole day.
Kate got me some fancy anti-emetics that helped a lot. She said it would lift in a day and it has. I can move around now, but slowly. And, oh, by the way she also said, “You can’t drive for six weeks.” Six weeks!
Well, better grounded than dead, I always say.
One more piece: the Jungian in me jumped at the chance to read the article on Jewish labyrinths in the new Parabola that came the same day. More on that later.
