So, I was prescribed Apo-bisoprolol (a beta-blocker which keeps my blood pressure low), Coversyl (an ace inhibitor which keeps the heart rate down) plus Lasix as a diuretic to stop fluid retention. I spent the summer behaving and waited for an improvement. Nada, nothing, no change. I still eat a low sodium diet, drink only minimal amounts of red wine and no hard stuff at all, watch my fluid intake. I can't exercise much, so I watch the fats, although I do allow myself two chocolates a day. For my mental health. But I am not getting better.
I didn't like the diuretic at all, and one cavity later (I couldn't get to sleep because of the dry cough so I would suck a throat pastille after getting into bed) and a hemorrhoid (yuck), my doc said I could stop taking it daily, as long as I have some at the ready if I start to see signs of edema. So far so good. But now what?
I am an artist. I still have another 20 years of art to do, and I want to stay around to do it. So I decided to document what was happening to me and create some artworks that would speak about my journey.
So here's the first one, and it's called "Journey":
When the going gets tough, maybe the tough should get spiritual. So that's what this piece is about. Since I am into recycling, and using organic matter wherever I can, the angels are made out of wild cucumber seed pods, and there are actual rose petals in it. And the EKG chart is of my own heart (and boy I had to fight to get that!)
The nurse doing my nuclear medicine test said I couldn't take medical data out of the hospital without written authorization, but this printout couldn't be used because the paper was feeding crooked, so she was going to throw it away anyway. I said why couldn't she just throw it into my coat pocket, because I wanted it for a piece of art. But she still said no, it was against the rules. Then I said I would just raid the garbage when she left the room. She said that was even worse because I'd end up with some other patient's record, and that was against the privacy laws, and when I gave her a determined look, she just thrust this paltry scrap into my husband's hand and said "don't tell anybody." So I haven't, right?
Anyway, the text on this piece says "When the roses have faded and the heart is troubled, look for angels in the seed pods, for a heart that does not love the divine in all things will fail the test." I think I will put text on all of them. I have found some amazing bits of verse from Rumi and Khalil Gibran, and they will give me inspiration as well.
Have you heard "Affairs of the Heart" by Marjan Mozetich? If you haven't, you are in for a treat. A friend of mine heard this violin concerto on the way over to my place and she rushed in and said I had to turn on Radio 2 because it was so gorgeous. And it is. We both live in the country, and the way this music washes over you and then jags up and down is like the rolling hills and stark barns and silos we see all over the place. I went on line and found the playlist and immediately ordered the CD. It has already sparked off some ideas in my mind for another two or three pieces of fibre art.
Next time I'll tell you about some new reading I am doing on Fractal Time. This is all happening for a reason, I am convinced, and it has to do with 2012 being just around the corner. The other thing that I have started is a course of acupuncture treatment, with a diet change that incorporates many aspects of Chinese medicine.
More soon.
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