What a storm! Weather and health~

*Bit of a long read...

What a terrible storm on Friday night! I live just outside of D.C. in Northern VA and we got hit extremely hard.

Our power JUST came on this morning after almost 4 days! We lost all our food in fridge and freezer...

My mom uses a walker as she has disc problems, along with diabetes and heart issues.

So, thankfully we called at around 6am Sat. morning to reserve a hotel room as it had already been 9 hours without power and with it heating up to close to 100 during the days....and it looked like it may take a long time to restore the electricity..By the time we got to the hotel mid morning....they were completely sold out as well as every hotel within the area...

The shameful part was we read on the news that  some places (like a Motel 6) were trying to take advantage and charge over $500 per night!!! We lucked out and stayed at a Town Place Suites for $99 that had a full kitchen and takes dogs as I have yellow lab..

Anyway...even though it was money we don't have for the hotel and to replace all the food...we are very blessed to not have damage to the house or car. I really feel pray for those who lost their lives or property...

I was running back and forth each day to check on the house...and taking care of the dog and my mom and was having higher pain but getting by...And then as we were checking out this morning, all excited to go home...as I was lifting the last suitcase..I dropped to my knees in searing pain in my lower back..I have bad discs there as well and can almost guarantee it herniated...It was as bad of pain as my neck when it happened...

So I couldn't move:(..Thankfully I called my ex boyfriend who is a sweetheart and he lives up the street from me....He came to get us and drive us home...un packed...and is even offering to shop for groceries as we have nothing but a few things in the cabinet. As well as going to walk my doggy...

I don't have insurance, and being the holiday tomorrow....so I am trying to just not move and rest for the next few days....I'll call my PM if it gets worse but there is really not much he can do either right now...

Anyway...sorry for the ramble...it's been a rough time since Friday...and I really pray that it heals up enough to start walking again in a few days...Pain I can handle...it's being worried that it's injured to need treatment or sugery:(

Sending out a hug to my peeps on here!!

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 7/3/2012 1:16:04 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks for the well wishes Darn Me...Even though I mentioned the awful hotel chain over charging....It really was wonderful the majority of people trying to help out all their neighbors...

And on Saturday when so many traffic lights were out...people were being so politie driving! LOL...We found this deli that had power near our hotel and the line was out the door!!! But people were sharing stories and felt like a big community...

Yes...I am very blessed on having great friends as my other family lives out of state...

It was super crazy! I live in SW Va and pretty much everything is still shut down. They are saying it will probably be Sunday before everything is up and running. Over a week-nuts. Still huge trees down and power lines across roads. I was at a movie with my friend Friday night. We were seeing Magic Mike. I had just returned from getting treatment at Duke and my friend decided I needed some eye candy. Ended up sheltering in the bathroom with a ton of my new closest friends when everything blew thru. I think we often forget how powerful mother nature can be. The way we all great each other lately has been-You have power? How much damage?

I hope by now most of those affected have power. Unexpected stress adds such a toll on our bodies. Snowbunny-I hate that you are feeling rotten. Hopefully as things calm down, things will improve.

SE..LOL...I love my new nickname from you...Makes me giggle each time:) Since I come from a large military family...we are huge planners and detail oriented so it's served me well in times of need especially...

And yes..I am very blessed that I am friends with my exes..(One ex husband). Actually have always been this way since I started dating as even though things haven't worked out "forever"...we are there for each other if needed. He just got back from the store so we have food now! Yippee..

Thanks for the well wishes..

Rocckyd....Glad that you are safe and sound!....Yes..it was a very scary storm...I've never heard wind like that...and I've been through Hurricanes when I lived in Fl...Did you all get to finish the movie? It looks like a fun one...And I don't blame you for wanting some yummy eye candy..LOL..You deserve it after all your driving, tests, and treatments...I've been following along on your posts...

Grandmaroses....Thanks for the thoughts....I am praying very hard that it is not as bad as it feels right now..the blessing is I have feeling in my legs/arms so it's just the pain that is up there to about an 8 or 9 when I try to move...I am catching up on reading threads as I know you have been recovering...

Appreciate all the love and support from my peeps!..HW is our own great "community":)

Thanks Loretta....Yes...we are lucky that we got our power back after only 4 days...as there are some it may still take until the weekend..

I learned that they can only work when it's daylight as it's too dangerous at night...And because the storm was so unexpected...no one had any time to prepare. It looked like just another regular storm. So now that crews have arrived from around the US and Canada....I hope others will get their power back soon. I know people are so upset but I truly think the crews are working extremely hard in extremely hot conditions..I also learned they have to wear these heavy, rubber jackets over their shirts to help with any possible shocks.

In between the earthquake we had, the flooding last year, and now this...it's been really crazy..

Sending hugs and love back at ya! Hope you are doing ok and get to have some fun for the 4th!..

Sorry you were caught up in that massive outage. Been following it in the news here in SC. Couldn't imagine trying to cope in this heat without A/C. Good luck to you.

David in SC

Snowbunny so glad to hear that you an your mom survived the mess from the storm.Your homeowners insurance will replace the refrigerator if you cannot get the stench out from the food setting in it and contents in any freezer.This happened to some friends of ours recently.

Hope you get to feeling better....Susie

I have a strange message below where the submit/post button is supposed to be for the quick reply...It reads, "Missing Key Value : en-US, 74...

I logged out and then back in again thinking it would go away but it's still there...So...if anyone knows what this is or how to fix...no rush as I know it's the holiday...it seems to still take my post by hitting it when I'm done...but can't seem to get back to normal...LOL

I think Peter updates the site every once in a while, and he finds a bug or two, but I'm guessing he will get it fixed quickly. As long as you can still post, it may not be high on the priority list of his.

You can always report these kind of things to the Admin as well…just send him an email.

SE

…Uh!…Snowball!…your Dog is innocent!…..and how does this master of nothing know this?….Cause I have the same message on mine!

Now take a Nap!…and stop blaming everything on that poor doggy! The weather may be clear there now, ...but your head appears to be full of Fog at the moment! LOL

SE

Hey Tooter!...I know you have had a few rough days there, and we feel for you….just trying to make you smile a bit.

Hope you get to feeling better very soon!

Take care,

SE

SnowBunny, I live in the Baltimore area, although north and east of the city by about 25 miles up in Harford County. I'm really sorry to hear how badly this storm affected you and your aftermath situation is really the pits. I empathize.

We got hit with the northern side of the Derecho, so we had up to 65 mph winds near Joppa.....which is bad but Baltimore, Columbia, and DC/Arlington areas got hit with winds around 80 (which is equal to Hurricane SS1+73) and an area just north of DC got 87 MPH (which is the equal of a EF1 Tornado, 85+). Not all areas have wind clocking stations so if 1 area got EF1 winds, it probably happened in other areas near DC and Baltimore too.

For those that don't know, Wind damage rides on a curve graph, not linear, so 15mph faster can mean the difference between a roof getting shingles pulled off and half of a roof getting ripped off.

Glad to hear atleast you electricity is back on. :)

I was terrified during that storm btw. The lightening was flashing about 5 to 6 times a second and crash-booms that literally shook the apartment were being felt every few seconds. I have extreme astraphobia so I literally huddled into a hallway, shut the doors, and just prayed for it to end, heh. Thank God I wasn't driving because my atraphobia would have probabably landed me in a hospital.....(and yes I do things like frequent storm tracking, run from the car to house or back if I must leave, fast breathing and shortness of breath, even if the lightening isn't severe).

Your are welcome Snowbunny :)

I noticed you have a herniated disc in your lower back. I got an MRI in 2009 that confirmed the L5 (I believe that is the correct term) was pretty much crushed and that the herniation was affecting the medial branch nerves in the region. While my pain for the most part is treatable, I've had a few occasions where yes, I literally could not move. Thank God this hasnt happened in about a year but the last time it happened, I couldn't sit fully in bed and to lay back down I had to kind of lean to the side because it was painful to move any direction. Well, I made the mistake of getting out of bed and I couldn't stand up and end up dropping to my knees, I was literally stuck in that position for a few minutes shaking and somehow I was able to lay down flat. Somewhere between laying down on the floor and my roomate discovering me unconcious, I passed out. She popped me full of breakthrough medication (which had been out of reach) and she was able to get me to the car, to the hospital, and after a hydromorphone injection and presnidone, I was feeling MUCH better.

I don't have the neck issues, but I can truly emphathize with what you mean literally in not being able to move and finding yourself on your knees. Its really a powerless feeling........but the good news is that you aren't alone :)

Have you gotten a confirmation MRI yet?

At my job, we are "keeping an eye" on the Colorado and Montana fires, and yeah it really is bad IMO. I really am just praying for a monsoon of rain. I know it might bring lightening which could spark fires but if it brings in cooler wetter atmosphere, it should help the existing fires to help bring them under control.

As for the astraphobia, its something I was until recently embarrased about. A 32 year old guy and prior soldier cowers to lightening, even in a metal (faraday cage) vehicle and the storm is a few miles away? I'm going to look into cognitive behavior therapy for it because I need to get over this fear. Summer is literally my least favorite season because of the thunder storms. That evening this last storm struck, my roomate tried to rationalize with me and bring me into her room to calm me down, but I saw the lightening through her "shades" and in a panic I quickly left the room (she tried to hold on to me and I broke away saying "did you hear that, its right over us", and I asked her to join me in the crowded corner for her safety) and backed myself into the hallway with blankets and pillows, heh.