Go to the Mattresses!

Originally posted on my other blog: Texas Adventures in New England on November 15, 2011

One of my favorite movies is ‘You’ve Got Mail!’ starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I love it so much I watch it at least twice a year and listen to the soundtrack in my car.

Throughout this delightful movie are references to ‘The Godfather’ which is not one of my favorite movies. I have seen it twice but it just doesn’t resonate within so I have not memorized many lines until ‘You’ve Got Mail!’ came along. I guess I’m a secondary ‘Godfather’ observer, understanding that movie through the eyes of characters in another movie. No matter. Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen Kelly, brought new meaning to the advice ‘Go to the mattresses!’

Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) in “You’ve Got Mail”

Every day of my life is about struggles and choices. Most of my struggles are physical, but a lot of them are relational and emotional. No longer am I allowed the simplicity of waking to a normal day filled with normal activities. Each day I find myself going to the mattresses.

What am I fighting? My own body is my greatest enemy, filled with who knows what from exposure to tick-borne organisms. My main exposure was the summer of 2006 when I had the classic bullseye rash and Lyme symptoms. Looking back, however, I realize that I had been infected much earlier with something that began to erode my health.

So each morning I get out of bed filled with pain. I drag myself to the kitchen where I work through the fog, make coffee and take my meds and supplements. If I could choose one supplement and no others were available it would be fish oil. Without my two daily doses of fish oil I am in excruciating pain and become useless. With the fish oil I push through, often add a single dose of Ibuprofen for the day, and get my boys up and off to school. I then indulge in the joy of my life, walking the many trails and roadways in Connecticut.

Airline Trail in East Hampton, CT

To get to that walk I feel as though I must ‘go to the mattresses!’ I have to fight how I feel, fight the horrible brain fog, fight the impression that I am wasting gas by driving to these beautiful places (because I am not earning any money I am not worth the expense — talk about sick), fight the desire to give up and go back to the couch languishing away. Fight, fight, fight!!! I am Kathleen Kelly fighting and “daring to believe that I can have a different life.”

Never, ever give up!

UPDATE February 11, 2013:

I started college classes January 23, 2013. I radically changed my diet to eliminate GMOs and toxins (pesticides and other chemicals), added fermented foods and drinks, and am off all medications except the occasional pain reliever for headaches. I continue to fight for my health, continue to “Go to the mattresses!” each and every day. Although my daily life is still a struggle and I do have cognitive difficulties and definite memory issues, I am learning techniques to help learn and retain information, write daily, take pictures of our beautiful world, cook, and enjoy my family. I am so thankful for the positive changes that I have seen since I originally wrote this post. Again, never, ever give up!