A Question of Health

Somehow I've found myself as a frequent recipient of on-line survey requests. Reputable survey companies send me questionnaires, I fill them in and in turn I often get bonuses as a thank you for my time. Significant discount coupons towards products I already buy, or even cash bonuses once in awhile. Given the amount of time that I spent in bed earlier this year not a bad return for maybe 20 or 30 minutes of my time every week.

The surveys keep coming but I find that I'm completing fewer of them, I just have better things to do with my time now that I'm mobile again! One survey caught my attention a few days ago, the subject was Emergency Health Care. Interesting enough and I was happy to add my two cents hoping that my responses might end up in the hands of government agencies that might be in a situation to improve my country's emergency care (which I've unfortunately experienced first hand to be lacking in many respects).

These surveys usually end with a few questions about my personal demographics. Age, marital status etc., but this last survey also asked about my current state of health.

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

I answered, and was already a bit further along in the survey before it hit me that I had answered "Good". If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that "Good" isn't exactly how one would describe my state of health!

I love it when I have forgotten what I'm dealing with. Blessedly it happens often, but I had to laugh at how I answered that particular survey question. I'm grateful for the mental holidays I'm able to take from my illness, short or long - I'll take 'em.

To those kind friends who email us with messages of support and requests for updates - my hospital visit on Monday confirmed what I suspected, the pericarditis is still going strong. Higher doses of the same meds this week, I seem to be tolerating them fairly well though (except for the steroid "moonface", I'm afraid my vanity is kicking in a bit and I'm not crazy about going out in public these days). But... I finally had a decent night of sleep (thanks to a little white pill that my doctor insisted I take so I'd get more than 3 hours sleep - it was bliss!)