Short post before a wee break + a couple exciting items

The injection sites the day of the radiofrequency ablation procedure in my neck. And my messy grey hair.

Hello dear readers.

You may have noticed (or not) that I did not post anything on June 15 – it has taken me a while to recover from all of May’s #MillionsMissing posts, plus the usual fun things that occupy the time of a chronically ill person – crashes, doctors, more crashes, more doctors, fighting with insurance and providers (why are you sending me a bill from something I had done in October 2019?!?!), a radiofrequency ablation in my neck, the results of which you can see in the photo (an attempt to decrease some of my pain; it did help, in that the feeling of the bottom of my skull being squeezed has abated, but obviously it does nothing for my fibromyalgia pain), another crash or three, trying to sleep, coordinating medications (if I had $1 for every medication my insurance wouldn’t cover, I’d be able to buy those medications), trying new meds, etc. etc.

I know for a fact that you did not notice the post I published on June 17 – a #ThrowBackThursday update of The Questions interview I did with writer R. J. Davnall (originally published September 27, 2012). I re-published the original post, not realizing it wouldn’t automatically send it to my subscribers. (Lesson learned for future The Questions updates.)

In the past, I have (obviously) taken breaks from blogging – all of them unplanned. Unfortunately, I have to take a break and do some long-overdue under-the-hood maintenance on my blog or my blog itself will break.

And I’m not sure I can do it myself, or how long it will take me.

The sad thing is that I was around when the internet got started, and I dragged my employer, the Center for Puppetry Arts, into the Internet age by procuring us the URL puppet.org and getting us email and setting up a website. In 1996. (Check out the Wayback Machine’s first snapshot of the site. Oh, it is sooo bad.)

And my entire marketing career, I did websites and e-marketing and coding and wireframes and froogle and SEO and all of it (i.e. writing and coding and compliance and webmastering).

I was taught how to code by geniuses who could write it in a txt file (a lá off the top of their head, no hints needed).

My first personal website was in 2005 and I coded it using the program Dreamweaver (which included hints), and all the art and photography was my own. And I started my WordPress blog in 2012 (also using my own art and photography, which I still do; you don’t really need to know coding to have a WordPress site, tho my perfectionism means I often tinker with the code. When I can remember it, that is.).

I also used to do freelance work with small businesses and artists to create their web presences and online stores and branding and all that good stuff…

But now I’m disabled and my brain doesn’t work right anymore. Just the thought of all of this makes me nauseous and depressed. I should be able to do it myself, quickly and easily, but I can’t.

And I shouldn’t have let it get so far gone, but I’m doing the very best I can – about 1/90th of what I used to could do.

I’ve been putting off this maintenance for far too long, but I can no longer ignore the big red warning sign and the less-scary-looking “site health should be improved” messages.

Thankfully, my super-awesome web hoster, Lyrical Host, will help me on some of the items, but I still have to direct them and make decisions. And even more thankfully, they just had a contest to win help from a Virtual Assistant, and thank you Lyrical Host and fate! ~ I learned just today I won five hours with a VA, who hopefully will be able to point me in the right direction.

(Note: I’m an affiliate of Lyrical Host, and if you switch your site (which was soooo easy, even for brain-fogged me!) to them, or decide to start one, just use the code “dsblog10” at checkout and get 10% off your first hosting plan payment!)

Hence: the break. Wish me luck.

That’s right my people – in a few short days (on July 11), I will turn 50.

I don’t know how that happened either. Not only is it weird to be this age (as my grandfather used to say: “I knew I would get old; I just didn’t know it would be this soon!”), but I’ve pretty much lost the last decade to chronic illnesses. Both in the sense that they were pretty sucky, but also that I don’t remember most of it.

If I had my druthers, I would have an epic party to celebrate my big Five-Oh, but gestures at everything, and I’m ill with MEcfs (among other things), so that would probably kill me.

Even tho I can’t have a party, you can better believe I will be celebrating. Mysterious packages and cards have been arriving for a few weeks now. (Which I will not open til The Day.)

I ordered a custom silver, purple, and blue tiara from a creator I found on twitter (Kelly, who you can also find on instagram), and let me tell you, it is everything I hoped for and more, plus it was made by a human. (Well, the photos look amazing; it hasn’t arrived yet, tho it has been shipped, and USPS tracking estimates it will arrive on Saturday, July 3.) (Oh, and hubs paid for it, as part of my birthday. Thanks, love!)

I also ordered a dress from Amazon (which ended up a gift from a friend who sent me an early birthday present of an Amazon gift card; Thank you!), and two dresses from a site that’s new to me, eShakti (that you can also visit on Facebook and twitter), and I cannot say enough good things about them. Every dress is more beautiful than the last, and they are very well made. Plus, they have pockets! If you decide to order from them via my referral link, you’ll get the “the gift of perfect fit +$25 off their first order”, and I’ll get money off my next order!

Assuming I have the energy, I’m gonna be like <insert appropriate celebrity name here> at the Oscars with the dress changes!

(Short tangent: a side effect of my illnesses has been weight gain and weight loss, and then weight gain again, and the dresses in my closet with textures that don’t bother me or a style that doesn’t constrict me or cause pain don’t really fit anymore. It was kind of sad, trying on my pretty dresses that don’t look all that good on me. I really ought to let them go… However, the dress I wore on my 30th birthday [middle picture, above] still fits!)

My family has some surprises in the works, but I’m not supposed to know about them (and I don’t actually know details, just that they are happening).

I have always loved my birthday – it is totally my Favorite Holiday. And when I am able to blog again, I will definitely share some photos with y’all. (I will post a few on my Facebook page, if you can’t wait to see them.)

If are able and would like to help terribly ill #MEcfs patients like me, please donate at least $7.11 in my name to the MEcfs charity of your choice so that I can celebrate a not-so-distant birthday in person: Open Medicine Foundation and SolveMECFSInitiative, organizations that are looking for a biomarker and a cure; or #MEActionNet, an organization that focuses on advocacy. Donate online with a credit card, giftcard, or paypal! (Donations are tax-deductible in the U.S.)

(It is of course not required by any means, but if you feel the urge to send me a present, check out my Amazon wishlist [now conveniently separated into categories: dSavannah’s health needs, Books by Other Spoonies, Miscellaneous stuff., books for my hoard!, crafty stuff, and music I’d like]. If you’re worried your gift may arrive too late – don’t: I have no problem celebrating for a long time. If you’re worried it will arrive too early – don’t: I’m saving them all to open on The Day!)

Help me help others – year 3!

In exciting news, I have once again been nominated for the WEGO Health Awards – the third year in a row! I’m honored to say I’ve been nominated in ✵three✵ categories: Best in Show: Blog, Best in Show: Twitter, and Patient Leader Hero. That means three people think I’m a #PatientLeader who is “making a difference in the online health community”! (Thank you to my nominators!)

Today marks the first day of endorsements: you can “endorse me” on my profile on the WEGO Health Awards the site. Simply click the link (or one of the images) to go right to the “Awards” page on my profile, and click the light blue thumbs-up that says “Endorse this Patient Leader” under the list of my 10th Annual Nominations.

A window will popup that says “Please tap on awards you wish to endorse dSavannah for:” with the three categories under it. Once you click on a category (or all three; I’ve been reliably informed that you can endorse me for all three categories),  and input your name and email address, a blue “endorse” button will show on the bottom of the pop-up. Click it, and that’s it!

As the WEGO people put it: “Think of it as a way to give a shout-out or virtual hug to your favorite Patient Leaders.” (In this case, yours truly! And I’m grateful to every single person who takes the time to do so.)

How does this help me help others? Well, by endorsing me, and then sharing that you’ve done so, I hope this will help other patients find my blog, and that way my words and my advocacy will help even more people! (Did I use the word “help” enough in this paragraph? 😉 )

If you’re wondering who in the heck is WEGO health, according to their about page, “WEGO Health is a mission-driven company connecting healthcare with the experience, skills and insights of Patient Leaders.”

This blog post explains How The WEGO Health Awards Work, a “program created to recognize and honor those making a difference in the online health community.”

FYI, “the endorsement process helps select top Patient Leaders to move on to the finalist round. The three most endorsed nominees in each WEGO Health Award category will automatically become a finalist.”

Now, I don’t expect I’ll be one of the top three most endorsed nominees in any category (in 2020, they received over 15,000 nominations!), but I certainly appreciate the shout-outs and support!

Endorsements are open until July 31.

PS: If you enjoyed or appreciated what you read, and aren’t currently a subscriber, then please follow my blog! Simply enter your email address in the box under “Follow dSavannah Rambles” that’s on top of the right-hand column. (Or, if on mobile, scroll aaallll the way down to the bottom of the page and enter your email address in the subscribe box.) Thanks!

Also, I was obviously kidding about this post being short, and my blogging break probably won’t be very “wee” either. And if you see any typos, as always, please let me know!

Before you go:

If you found this post useful or inspiring, please consider supporting me and my ramblings:

• with a $3 tip at ko-fi.com/dsavannah. Occasionally I post photos there that I don’t post anywhere else – this helps keep my blog ad-free, and supports my habit of taking medication (currently they cost me over $400 a month!). Thanks to the anonymous person who gifted me Ko-fi Gold, you can also set up a monthly donation.

You can also help me by clicking my affiliate links – As an Amazon Associate [affiliate link] I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click a link, and buy something (not necessarily even something I’ve linked to), I supposedly get a wee percentage of the sale. Doesn’t cost you anything, and helps me support my taking medication habit. (Note: links to my wishlist do not count, for whatever reason!)

I am also a (new!) affiliate of Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores in the US, and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. (Sorry; they do not ship internationally as yet.)

Your support keeps me going, even in tough times. Thank you for stopping by my blog.