Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace

July 2017 paintings and health

New lease on life - and painting 

The painting above is from my visit to windy PAROS island some weeks ago with my friend Mary. The wind and I are not friends, yet the waves crashing against the shore brought back my happy teenage life in Morehead City: summer days at Atlantic beach with family and friends, nights dancing at the Pavillion, and very little painting! Now at my present age of 69, having recently escaped the grim reaper's clutches, I think it's time to capture the turbulence of winds and waves and not be afraid. 

I hadn't needed to see a doctor in over 10 years before April 25th 2017. I'm fortunate to be in good health and seldom even catch a cold. If I feel one coming on, I drink warmed honey and cinnamon in lemon water, or sip distasteful Oil of Oregano. However healthily I eat and live my life, I want to warn readers so you can learn from my major mistake. 

During the US elections my younger sister had a stroke. Thankfully, she lives near an excellent hospital treating strokes, and she was soon on the mend and back at home. After that scare, a skin rash erupted on my neck and chest. It wasn't itchy, and I concluded it was from anxiety about my 'baby' sister as well as the political goings on. Topical antihistamine from the pharmacy cleared it up without a doctor's visit. Then in March, a week before our visit to Toronto with my husband's family and meet his 1 year old granddaughter for the first time, my 5 yr old grandnephew was flown by helicopter to the Children's Hospital in Pa with a metabolic stroke. He was in critical condition, and I planned to fly down from Toronto for the weekend to help my niece in whatever way I could, yet a 'flu' hit me on Thursday night and I had to cancel. I was in bed with chills, shaking, chest pain, fever, dry cough, head and body aches while my husband went to the health food shops searching for Oil of Oregano and other natural healing oils. After 4 days, I felt OK and my grandnephew's recovery had blessedly begun. Back in Greece, I continued feeling lethargic, yet I had work to prepare for and no time to see a doctor.(!) On April 25, I was having a conversation with my Smithsonian group on Poros when suddenly, I was coughing up blood. There was no pain, but the blood was the lucky alarm many people don't have. Thus, I was being monitored in intensive care in hospital when I experienced acute respiratory failure. Thanks to the excellent pulmonary team, I was treated with interventional radiology. My plans to attend my goddaughter's wedding in Virginia also had to be cancelled. I will not be able to take any long flights for awhile, yet I've recovered enough in the past 3 months to tell the story. My adorable grandnephew has recovered amazingly well, although his health will continue to be precarious. 

What hit me in Toronto was not 'flu', but a bacterial atypical pneumonia commonly called "walking pneumonia" (LOL - reminds me of music I used to chase away the blues while in hospital - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrASJk5WBU.) I walked around for a month without experiencing pain or shortness of breath, simply thinking I didn't have my usual energy because of my age. My big mistake was not checking on my health because I don't like the idea of caving in to big pharma! Some strains of pneumonia can be cleared up with antibiotics in 3 days or so. My resistance was also low due to election anxiety, thus the bacterial infection had its nasty way with my lungs. 

IF I had been smart, I would have made an appointment with our excellent doctor here on the island when the mysterious rash first appeared. He probably would have told me to cut out anxiety producing activities then. Or after the illness in Toronto, I could have had a blood test that may have shown the bacterial infection in time to treat it successfully. Greek doctors are excellent, by the way. They don't simply hand out prescriptions without a proper diagnosis of the individual. The doctors at Hygeia hospital did tell me that if I hadn't been in good heath generally, I would probably not have made it through the crisis. 

So, life can throw our loved ones (and ourselves) trials and illnesses, and of course our anxiety at those times is difficult to erase. However, if we can get proper sleep, eat organic real foods whenever possible, exercise our bodies, and see a good doctor for a blood test each year or any time we aren't feeling up to par, we can, at any age, become more adept at recovering when illness strikes. Oh, and wearing a medical mask on long flights, especially for those of us over 65, can keep the bad germs away!
If reading this can help just one person in the world avoid being rocked with pneumonia, it's been well worth my time to write it all down. 

Here's yesterday's painting to say bye bye for now - no wind or waves in "Window on Poros" now - just serenity. 

Enjoy each day! 
Yeia mas,(good health to us all) Pamela 

POROS OFFICIAL VIDEO 2017

Let's Go to Poros! by Pamporos