Sunday, August 22, 2010

All Packed Up and Nowhere to Go

I should be on the road to Country Workshops as I write, but something is preventing it.

A stomach ulcer.

I've never had one before, so while I've battled increasingly worse burning nausea for the past five weeks and cut virtually every food item out of my diet (thinking some food product was the cause) except soda crackers and antacid pills (hey, I'm losing all kinds of weight), being doubled over in pain to the point of tears last night finally prompted me to call the doctor-on-call.

Ulcer. Great.

Wish me luck that I can get in to see him tomorrow so that maybe I can make it for the second half of the class.

I'm disappointed, to say the least.

30 comments:

Doug Berch said...

Kari, you are a trooper. I'm impressed that you held out so long in hopes of following your passion. Please take care of yourself and feel better as soon as you can.

Unknown said...

I know you'll hear this a lot Kari, but good luck and we will be thinking of you. Sorry that you have to miss out on the workshop. Sounds kinda like when Shannon had to miss WIA to take care of his sick wife. You spend all kinds of time and energy getting ready and then life says "Whoa there!" Good luck and I hope you feel better.

Larry Marshall said...

So sad to read about your troubles. I had to chuckle, though, because of the woodworker mindset spilling out as you described your pain.

Clearly the pain you're most interested in eliminating is the pain of missing the class. Just as clearly clearly the real and immediate pain is stomach-related.

Woodworker priorities are funny that way. No way to explain it. Get well.

Cheers --- Larry

rgdaniel said...

oh jeez, this is not good... hope you feel better soon...

JimK said...

Kari
So sorry to hear about your ulcer and especially having to miss the wood working class.... that's a real bummer. The good news is they have some real powerful drugs now for controlling stomach acid.
I know you will be beyond this little bump in the road quickly and back to making wood shavings.
Please take care.
JimK

Stephen Shepherd said...

Get better.

You really need to make yourself a good bow saw frame.

Stephen

Eric R said...

Hope you are up and at'em soon Kari !

Douglas Bordner said...

Gut trouble can certainly sap the joy from things. I hope you have swift and long term relief. Get well soon.

randyj.arnold said...

Kari,

This post broke my heart!

I hope that you get to feeling better soon.

Randy

Kari Hultman said...

You guys sure know how to make a gal feel better. Thank you for all the kind remarks.

Stephen, I couldn't agree more. ; ) It cracked me up that you spotted that.

Adrian Baird Ba Than said...

Poor health,the bane of us all at some juncture,usual those times that really fun stuff is planned too!
Get well soon petal...
x

The Apprentice and The Journeyman said...

Hoping the very best for you! Get well real soon.

Al Navas said...

I wish you the best - get well soon, Kari!

Al

TheWoodWhisperer said...

Your health comes first, right? I hope you start feeling better soon Kari!

Darnell said...

Well that sucks.
Feel better soon.

Tico Vogt said...

I think we're all vicariously disappointed and feeling your pain. When you go on a woodworking adventure, many of us feel as though we're packing our bags, too.

Get well soon.

Tico

Kari Hultman said...

Thanks, everyone. :o)

Tico, unless I need to have some procedure, I should be able to make it for the second half of the class. I can't believe the bad timing of this stupid ulcer. : (

Wilbur Pan said...

Hope you're back on your feet soon! Class or no class, there's nothing like good health, and yes, these sorts of things never occur at a good time.

Ian Mackay said...

Ahh, that sucks. Sorry to hear it, take good care of yourself.
Get well.

Gye Greene said...

Kari,


Wow! You can't just have a migraine, or a sprained ankle... no, you have to do something exotic, like a stomach ulcer...

Frame saw: Presuming this means upgrading from the pruning bowsaw? (That's a pretty good kludge.)


Also: I like your "Woodworking Commando" kit. :) Surprising how many pieces you need, in total, for a relatively basic project.


--GG

Gye Greene said...

Also:

1) **Two** hatchets! You're too cool! :) (Is one a "regular" hatchet, and one a hewing hatchet?)

2) What's the "lazy-Z" shaped item draped over your pruning bowsaw? has a wooden handle; overlapping the end of your second hatchet.


--GG

Dyami Plotke said...

Kari,
Godspeed on your recovery. I hope the Doctor's able to patch things up quickly so you can catch the 2nd half of your class.

As I hope you know, our thoughts are with you.

Kari Hultman said...

I'm outta here--woohoo! The doctor said it sounds like a bad case of acid reflux rather than a stomach ulcer. But, she said, if I wake up in excruciating pain, to go to the emergency room (huh?). See you guys in a week. :o)

Gye, I'm taking a small forest hatchet (bevel on both sides) and a carving hatchet (bevel on one side, like a hewing hatchet). Both Gransfors Bruks---->my fave.

The mystery tool is a bowl gouge. The angled handle enables you to get down into the bowl.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. You guys are the best.

bowyerboy said...

It's not often that I get to say this, but, "Yaayyyy for acid reflux!" Hope you're feeling better soon and that you enjoy the course.

Just as a general question to anybody who might know, if you have acid reflux does it mean you can lick rust spots off your tools??? :-)

Gye Greene said...

Bowl chisel: Ahhh... That makes sense; did seem to look like a mutant lock mortise (? - swan neck?) chisel.

--GG

Anonymous said...

Stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterium specifically Helicobacter Pylori.
Your doctor will advise treatment if this is the case. Acid reflux is also very painful but can be controlled as well.
I hope that you don't need surgery as these two conditions can easily be controlled by medication.
Get well soon.

Anonymous said...

Kari resist we are all with you.
Wish you a complete and fast recovery
ciao Vittorio

JimK said...

Way to go Kari
Enjoy the class!

And for Doug....
I don't know if you can lick the rust off your tools with acid reflux but I can rub the nickel plate off a key in about 90 days.

Have a fun trip Kari.
JimK

Steve Branam said...

Ouch, so glad to hear you were able to make it to the class, and hope you can get through it pain-free! Looking forward to the blog report!

Anonymous said...

8-27-10

Ouch is right. And add me to the long list of well wishers.

Annon said: "Stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterium specifically Helicobacter Pylori."

This is also known as H-Pylori. I have a brother-in-law who is a Vet. Yep animals get stomach ulcers also. Some time ago the Vets found a way to cure 'em. Then the MD's used the same procedure and Lo --- it works on humans.

Check the web for H-Pylori. You may be glad you did. Just in case you find out you do have ulcers.

I'm looking forward to more stories about your adventures.

many thanx
The Vilage Sexton :) :)