PCT Days 102 – 109
Monday July 24 – Monday August 31
I spent a week at home recovering from my Ulcerative Colitis flare-up. It’s the first time that I’ve arrived in Seattle and not looked forward to returning home. As I rode the light rail into Seattle from the airport I felt depressed and defeated. I didn’t really want to be home. But I knew it was the right thing to do.
When I got home the house was empty. Daniel and Katjia wouldn’t be coming home for another day. I wandered around aimlessly from room to room feeling at loose ends. Thankfully this feeling quickly passed and soon I was sighing with happiness as I sank into my bed. I love my bed. By the next day I was feeling right at home and happy to be there.
I’m thankful that I’m covered under Daniel’s insurance as this medication is ridiculously expensive. A one-month supply of the Mesalamine pills (which is a generic drug, by the way) cost over $1300. You read that right – OVER ONE THOUSAND AND THREE-HUNDRED DOLLARS! After insurance, I only had to pay $40. Whew!
Dr. Carlson also ordered some tests to make sure I wasn’t suffering from any diseases like giardia which could have triggered my current flare-up. I had the pleasure of proving stool samples for 5 different tests. Ugh. I hate giving stool samples. Dr. Carlson wanted the results as quickly as possible so I was encouraged to return the samples to the lab with expediency. Luckily for me, I was feeling particularly motivated to provide said samples when I arrived at the lab to pick up my stool kits – but unluckily for me they did not have a private restroom for this purpose. I rushed to the public bathroom in the hallway and hunkered down in a stall while I tried to sort through how I was supposed to get stool samples into all of the tiny vials and containers which were provided for the various tests. Halfway through this endeavor, a little girl accidentally opened the door to my stall and stared at me, wide-eyed. I was on the toilet with my pants at my ankles and latex gloves on my hands while I tried to scoop poo into a vial with a tiny plastic scoop. I’m pretty sure we were both scarred for life.
Later that day, Daniel and Katjia came home from their vacation to Japan. They’d been traveling for over 20 hours and were utterly exhausted. It was so good to see them both! They were jet-lagged and I was feeling cramped and bloated so together we made a pretty sorry bunch.
One constructive thing that I did do this week is that I voted in our city’s primary election. I’ve been excited about the primary election for months as we will have the opportunity to select candidates in Seattle’s mayoral race. We vote by mail in the state of Washington and I was hoping that Daniel could forward my ballot so that I could vote on the trail. Unfortunately, the ballot got stuck at the Post Office as we had our mail held while Daniel was on vacation. There’s no way I would have received my ballot in time if I had been on the trail.
I spent my last day in Seattle reworking all my remaining resupply boxes – taking out foods I no longer like and adding in foods that I tend to buy in every town. In the evening we barbecued and hung out in the back yard, enjoying the evening. I’m excited to head back to the trail tomorrow but it’s a bittersweet feeling. I’m going to miss my family terribly.
Really good seeing you 🙂 glad you are back out on the trail now!!
Nice side trip. Love your polka dress. Blessings for a healthy return.
Glad you were able to manage the flare easily and quickly! My husband has Crohn’s and we are constantly making hiking adjustments to deal with the disease!
I’m glad you got some R & R and got back on the trail. I’m not sure how many people would take a selfie with their Doctor, It’s cool you are so open about what’s going on. Also stool samples are the worst!
I just stumbled across your blog about a week ago. Two friends of mine are hiking Camino Santiago in Spain and sharing their daily experiences on Facebook. Their trip made me curious about hikers’ experiences on the PCT. I, like many, read the book Wild and saw the movie some time ago, and was amazed that people could accomplish such a feat. This time I wanted to find stories about other hikers’ experiences on the PCT. There are many! I sifted through many sites and finally came upon yours. (Remember, this all happened just a week ago). I read some of your posts and thoroughly enjoyed them! I wasn’t even paying attention to the dates, and just assumed I had come across an old blog. Then I quickly realized your PCT experience was very current! So I began reading your posts from the beginning and was so intrigued that I caught up quickly! Only to find out that, sadly, you had to leave the trail only a few weeks ago for health purposes. I’m hoping you are feeling much better now, and your return to the trail has gone well. Looking forward to your future posts!
Thanks Lori! Doing much better now. Stay tuned!! 🙂