After more than two long months since my last blog (when I was still really sick but doin’ my darnedest to get something written for you!), I’m back…

…and I’ll start my beloved blogging again today by saying that as you read this, I have no idea whether you too have ever suffered a great tragedy in your life, physically and/or emotionally.

If you have, maybe it’s been from young romance, or adult romance, and love lost that almost did you in. Or even more seriously, you may have suffered from the painful, untimely passing of a close family member or friend. More than once.

Or maybe you’ve been injured in a car accident or at work or on the sports field and been cooped up “forever,” joylessly removed from your schooling and/or the athletic pursuit or recreation or job you’ve lived for.

For all of the above — I’ve also been there, done that, have the T-shirts and bumper stickers and coffee cups.

But more recently, I’ve been through a long period of no-joke misery just as I’ve been approaching my senior years — from multiple back-to-back-to-back illnesses combined with injury.

So, if you, like me, know what it is to go through prolonged “Pits of Despair” (Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress might have called it the “Long Slough of Despond”!) that I’ve been through over the past 18 months from late September of ’16 until just recently, this blog is for you.

Allow me to sum up how in the world I could have been either fully or partly out of commission for a year and a half.

One, I got Mono at age 60. Really.

A quick peck on the lips from someone who didn’t know they were still contagious? Mistakenly sharing an eating utensil with the same? Whatever. I got the dreaded Mono virus. After never having contracted it all my life. (80-90% of adults have the EBV virus in their blood streams.)

And I was still fighting that dastardly Epstein-Barr Virus’s symptoms when I tried to at least get some encouraging exercise. Mono nails you emotionally and you can feel absolutely desperate to get some sunshine, fresh air, and exercise. (Be sure and take some mild anti-depressants and heavy doses of Vitamin C and D3 if you do ever get Mono!)

Anyway, I tried to revive my spirits by taking a risk to go play some golf.

Which led to…

Two, I re-injured my lower back. Big time.

While still sick with Mono.

Arghh. The beautiful golfing outdoors in the sun was giving me a definite boost and I felt encouraged to take back swings too demanding for my lower back. I re-aggravated an old, unhealed injury. Months of pain ensued, even after treatment. Never got addicted to my pain meds, but…

…just before Christmas…

Three, I also caught the flu. Even bigger time.

While still sick with Mono.

This past winter’s flu virus was a monster. I heard from my daughter and son-in-law in Texas that they thought they were gonna die. It was that powerfully miserable an experience. And they’re still only 36 and 46 years old, respectively.

When I myself caught that same flu on top of Mono, I REALLY thought I was gonna die. Could hardly get out of bed to go to the restroom, which I had to do often because I was drinking so much water to keep hydrated.

But the flu came and went. The Mono lingered. Oh, joy.

Still, my suffering wasn’t done yet…

Last but not least,

Four. I got a

horrendous back molar cavity

that spread infection all through my body…

…and could have killed me.

You know how they say, “Brush your teeth. And floss. And even use a water pic. And when you’re not at the moment involved in doing those things, be sure and rinse any sugar off your teeth.”

Well, I at least did the first thing — once a day on the advice years ago of a dentist who was absolutely convinced that too much brushing was abusive to your gums. And my present-day “rescue” dentist said I actually had good oral health. But my cavity was way in the back and way deep. And it got to be a monster before it finally hit a big nerve.

When it did, my dear friend with me almost freaked out, my pain and suffering were so bad. Excruciating pain to my head, to my eye, to my jaw, and all through my neck muscles. Need I describe further?

And multiple medical people let me know that such an infection could have gone to my heart and ended my brief sojourn on this glorious planet Earth.

Enough for now. Next time, the five wonderful secrets of how I survived — and overcame! — all this. Promise!

Okay, okay…I’ll reveal a little already. Here’s the first secret.

If you get Mono, stop everything you’re doing and rest. Stay in bed. Don’t try to keep working or going to school. Rest. And rest. And rest.

First, of course, you’ll want to go to the doctor and let him or her take tests that will confirm your diagnosis. Then rest and take all your vitamins, like I’ve said, along with mild anti-depressants from your doctor’s prescription.

If you do, you could overcome Mono in just a few months.

Otherwise, you’re in for a real fight, emotionally as well as physically, that could last way, way too long.