the show indubitably goes on

Hello again!

It’s been a dismal three weeks, but I can see the light. One week of the heart business running amok and and then two weeks with a doozy of a sinus infection. A week ago, when I finally went in to get my sinuses checked out, the doc signed me off of work for the night. This is a big deal on a Monday night. Monday night is one of our big production shows. Nobody here can replace me.

We happen to have another floor tech on board shadowing our automations tech, so we got the harebrained idea that he would fill in for me. The show was in less than 5 hours. So, despite my fever (and being signed off), I spent the next 2 hours going through the show with him. And then he spent the next 2 hours studying it on his own. Then after a few emails between our big guys and the head office, I got a call asking if the doc could see me again to reconsider.

I did the shows. The meds had kicked in and I felt a lot of relief. The other tech shadowed me in case I needed help. In retrospect I really could have used the night off to really start recovering, but to have the show go on, it would have been great to just rest up all before it. No stress. No fevered tutoring.

After that cocktail of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, Benedryl, and some misty stuff, the doc put me on codeine on Thurs.

I have discovered that it’s not so great to be running onstage in black-outs to move large set pieces with codeine induced vertigo. Nothing bad happened, just not a reassuring feeling.

Had my cardiologist visit today, finally. EKG, Cardiac echo, some blood work, a 24 hour heart monitor... and there went my free day in Miami.

Pretty neat set-up the cruise lines have for getting medical stuff done on Sundays (and other weekend days). All of us sick-os get to get off the ship first and get shuttled to a center that serves only cruise staff - and it serves all of the cruise lines. On Sundays, the doctors come in as needed to this one center. The shuttle drivers stay and act as escorts, in a way. I needed to go to another location for my echo and Holter Monitor so these guys take you where you need to go - and when you are done, they come fetch you from whatever wing of the hospital - no getting lost.

Anyway, I brought my labs back on board and had a follow-up with the doc here and we determined that next Sunday I'm going to the endocrinologist…

... and maybe the next Sunday after that I'm going to follow up with the cardiologist...

There go my Sundays.

I have to wear the heart monitor for 24 hours. On the outside, it looks like a little purse, but underneath the facade I have 5 leeches attached to me. I'll be free from it at 1pm tomorrow and precisely at that time you will find me taking a nice, real shower. (EDIT: I just learned we have a rehearsal then. Crap.)

Love and medical leeches,
Jamie