Ok, today I am thankful for water. This is something we usually take for granted- you turn on the faucet and out comes clean, drinkable water. You can cook with it, bathe in it, water flowers with it, or soak in a hot tub of it. But do you know how many people do not have these luxuries?This morning in church we watched a video about a water project in the Sudan. The drinking water there is horrible. Many children die of dehydration. After the destruction in Haiti, part of the relief effort included bringing in safe drinking water. Even our own Dai from Kathmandu has posted pictures of the water from the public tap that must be boiled before it is safe.
So we're lucky to have all this wonderful water available to us at our whim. But I bet you're asking "Why is she concerned about water today?" Well, water today has made all the difference in my life! I woke up this morning with the beginnings of a bladder infection. Immediately, I broke out the water, vitamin C, lemon juice, and orange juice. I have consumed an unknown amount of water today (yes, and gone to the bathroom many, many times) but the infection is mostly gone! I can still feel a little pain every now and then, but not much, At the least, water has kept me from finding medical care on a Sunday. If it isn't cleared up tomorrow, I'll go see my doctor.
So today, I'm totally thankful for water!
pee has 90% water
ReplyDeleteGood one....water helps flush out alot of toxins and stuff.
ReplyDeleteGood thing to be thankful for, Janeen.
ReplyDeleteAnd btw, next time you start getting a bladder infection, try cranberry juice. I used to get them chronically, and that helps more than anything else I've ever tried. :)
Hope you feel better tomorrow!
Yeah, cranberry juice is excellent to have on hand for bladder infections.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you have minor problems there are pills you can get called AZO Standard (Phenazopyridine Hydrochloride 95 mg) for Urinary Pain Relief, someone told me about them and I was able to find them at Walmart. When I bought them I think they were around $7 for a box of 30. If I take just one or two it helps me that same day, they make you pee orange, and it will supposedly stain if you get any on fabric. Check the warnings on the box, you have to ask your doctor about them if you have kidney disease, allergies etc.
I always took water for granted until Allen and I lived in that old cabin. There was no running water inside and the water pump outside quit working because the pipe rusted through. He never did get it fixed. We used to have to take large containers and go somewhere to get water for drinking, cooking, bathing etc. During warm weather we took our baths down at the river. That was when I started realizing how much I always took having a bathtub and shower for granted. Bowl baths and river baths are for the birds. lol Whenever I went to visit people I used to borrow their showers. Ugh, so glad all that is behind me now. That was a long four and a half years. I learned valuable lessons out of that though, it gave me a lot more empathy for the homeless and what they must go through for one thing. And since we had no electric, only a gas powered car battery charger he rigged up and an inverter which we plugged our little black and white TV into, and batteries and oil lamps, and only a wood stove to cook on at first, it showed me just how hard life was in the old days. When I bought an old gas stove at a flea market and we hooked it up to a propane tank it seemed like a luxury.
Guess I would say I'm very thankful for running water and electric and all the other conveniences I now have in my life. I'm just a little bit spoiled again. lol
Wow Sue, when you were talking about the little cabin I had no idea it was that primitive. I suppose you did come to appreciate the very basics- and are also happy to not be living there anymore!
ReplyDeleteKippy, I don't really like cranberry juice and the doctor says lemon juice works just as well. I'm feeling better today but not 100%. If I drink too much more lemon juice, I may come to not like it either! I'm just trying to keep drinking because I really don't want to have to take any antibiotics!
Oh! I didn't know that about lemon juice, Janeen. Good to know. :) I don't like cranberry juice either, but I found I could stand it mixed with others ... cran-strawberry, -apple or -grape. Good luck kicking this thing!
ReplyDeleteThanks- it isn't fun but it doesn't hurt today, just feeling a twinge every now and then that reminds me to keep drinking!
ReplyDeleteOh, and apparently orange juice works, too, according to my mother. My step-father keeps bladder infections with his super-pubic tube, so she should know!
ReplyDeleteI ... whaaaat??
ReplyDeleteI decided to do some research to find out what in these juices keeps bladder infections at bay ... you might find this interesting: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/microbiology/11524
ReplyDeleteIt looks like WebMD also suggests cranberries: "It is known that a substance found in cranberry prevents bacteria from attaching to the urinary tract lining."
But then, they also suggest lots of fluids. :) So probably pretty much anything that gets you drinking a lot and flushing out the system is good.
My scanner won't work with Vista and I haven't bought a new scanner yet so one day I'll go through my photos and take photos of a couple of the photos of the cabin with my digital camera so you can see what it looked like. Actually I had planned on eventually doing a blog on it with photos. The lady down the road from us was the widow of the man who built it. It was built in the 60's but back then most of that area of Smyth County (outside of the town of Saltville) still didn't have running water unless people had wells and some parts didn't even have electric according to her. The cabin was built as a one room hunting cabin and then someone put drywall over the logs inside and also put up a wall turning it into a two room cabin. Eventually someone added on another room that was very poorly constructed of old siding on top of plywood. When Allen started working on that room he found that there weren't even any wall studs-the roof was literally supported by the plywood walls.
ReplyDeleteHe had a lot of plans but stubbornly refused to follow the proper channels as far as getting permits so when we applied for a temporary pole for electric we were turned down. He still doesn't have electric and still has grandiose plans of adding on and also of putting in solar panels. He did finally tap into a wet weather spring up above the cabin in the hillside and ran a hose to a sink in the room that we used as a kitchen. I had cold running water as long as we had regular rain. That even seemed like a luxury at the time. lol The widow told me a family with children lived there at one time and that the kids slept upstairs in the attic. I wouldn't even go up into the attic because when we first saw the place there was a large snake-skin hanging out of the attic hole in the ceiling. We found out there were flying squirrels living in the attic so I guess the snake had been up there looking for a snack. lol
I am thinking of an Imperials song now!
ReplyDeleteThis is good Kippy! Blueberries I can do- have some fresh ones I picked this summer frozen in the freezer. Maybe I'll have a late-night smoothie!
ReplyDeleteCool! I'm just trying to find anything to help you, Janeen. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I appreciate that Kippy! I really hate taking antibiotics, and so far I'm keeping it at bay. But it hasn't gone away, so I may just make that trip to the dr. tomorrow. I'm not in pain, but I'm not comfortable, either!
ReplyDeleteI remember the worst part for me was the feeling of having to go to the bathroom and soooo not wanting to because of the pain at the end. Ugh. I'm so sorry you're having to even deal with it. Even if you're not in pain, your body fighting this infection takes its toll. You know, the first bladder infection I ever had, I didn't know what was happening and I didn't go to the doc for 2 WEEKS (stupid, stupid) and by the time I did I was in serious trouble. The infection had spread into my kidneys and, if I remember right, other internal organs as well. But the biggest problem was, while my body was fighting that raging infection, I caught mono and was in the beginning stages of pneumonia. It was the first time anyone ever told me to "get my affairs in order." So it is not something to mess around with!
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right- and I will go to the doctor tomorrow. It is a little better today but not totally gone. And I sure don't want it to get worse.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes our bodies just need a little help in combatting these things. :) Hate to see you get worse!
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