health – joy murray art~stories~life

Unsalted

July 13, 2026July 13, 2026Posted in UncategorizedTagged family, health, hyponatremia, life, low salt, Mental health, rehabilitation, SIADH, writing12 Comments

On June 11, I was taken to the hospital because I could no longer transfer from my wheelchair to the bed, other chairs, or the toilet without falling. I thought I’d fallen four times in 4 days, but my son said it was more like seven times in 3 days. I had just started a new medication for neuropathy and twitching muscles (part of my disability). I’d also just gotten one of those “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” buttons, so each time I fell and pressed it they called emergency services and my son. I also called my son a few times without calling emergency services. He lives a few blocks from me.

I was nauseated, and light headed and was pretty sure the medication was at fault. The last time emergency services came to get me off the floor, they strongly suggested I go to the hospital. I argued, being hard-headed and sure everything would be okay if I stopped taking the meds. When I argued about going to the hospital, my son stepped in and said very firmly that I was going to the hospital. He’s as hard headed as me, and now he’s bigger than me. The next thing I knew I was being loaded into an ambulance.

Things went a bit blurry after that. The next thing I remember was being in an emergency room. Then more blurriness and I was in the Intensive Care Unit. My sodium levels had dropped to 110, and if it had dropped any lower I could have gone into a coma or died. So, thank goodness for hard headed sons.

When your salt gets that low, they can’t just flood your body with salt or it could cause you to go into shock. So they slowly brought my salt up in the ICU, then sent me to the “step down” unit, which is a step lower than ICU, but still required a blood test every 4 hours.

When your sodium gets so low it affects your neurological system, muscular system, and brain activity. I could not transfer or even stand up without assistance. I had to be strapped to a physical therapist to move from the bed to a chair.

*Bored one afternoon, I cleaned out my purse, and found my Gwenn Seemel mask, which matched my mood for the day*

After my salt was close enough to normal, I was transferred to a rehab facility for two weeks where the real physical therapy began. As my salt stabilized, and therapists worked with me for 3 hours a day, I could make safe transfers, use my manual wheelchair, stand up with a grab bar, and most importantly, transfer myself to the toilet.

pxl_20260713_1949063987267118405869877556 — *My first watercolor attempt at hospital*

*Got in and got out — but didn’t get to drive away and escape*

I got home last Monday, July 6, have had a PT assessment, and will have a therapist coming to work with me twice a week for 2 months.

I’ve always been the envy of my over 60 for my ability to still eat as much salt as I like. The reason is I have a tendency for hyponatremia (low salt) because I have SIADH (sigh-add). SIADH (Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion) is a condition where the body releases too much antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This causes the kidneys to retain excess water, which dilutes blood sodium levels.

It’s very rare for a medication to cause such an extreme loss of salt, and my doctor said he’d never heard of it happening before and is researching the drug and recorded reactions to it. Maybe his research will result in a big fat warning label for people with low salt.

Meanwhile, I’ve been very glad to be home, glad to be alive, and glad to start blogging again. When I became conscious of what happened to me, I was figured I was still on the planet to finish up paintings I’ve been planning and postponing for years. And write more, too.

pxl_20260628_2332124824408011672336362447 — *Second watercolor sketch while in rehab*

I had such good support from my friends who visited and brought flowers, food, and encouragement.

I was so out of it, I was unable to comprehend what doctors and nurses were saying to me. A dear friend stayed with me and took notes to send my family and close friends so they would know what was going on. She sent them to me too because my brain was just not retaining information.

I was worried about how much I was forgetting and miscomprehending and unable to communicate, so I told my nurse if it continued another month, I thought I should get a test for early onset dementia. But she said to wait. A month seems like a long time to me. But in healing time it’s quite short. Give myself at least three months. And it’s true, every day I’m feeling just a bit better, a bit more energetic, and a bit smarter.

So, again, I’m going to try to start blogging more often, and painting more and living as fully as possible. I’ll be salty, too.

Thanks to the doctors, the excellent nurses, and everyone who helped me through this strange medical event.

I’m so happy to be home.

img_20260706_1239205205017494955001578 — *Thanks to my friend for watering my plants*

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Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

Cards and prints of some of my art is available on Redbubble. Also T-shirts and stickers and other odds and ends. When you click an image, in the lower right hand corner you’ll find a link to all the various products that these are printed on. If you have any trouble finding what you’re looking for, let me know. joyzmailbox@gmail.com

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If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Plans Pinched

June 1, 2026June 2, 2026Posted in UncategorizedTagged art, beauty, Collage, creativity, disability, healing, health, humor, life, self care, trancendence9 Comments

After my last post on how I was going to post more consistently, I finished a painting/collage, and was ready to write a post, then got a pinched nerve in my cervical spine (neck). It’s happened last year, too, and is part of the way my spine is weakening due to my HSP, a degenerative condition that causes thinning of the spinal cord. The pinched nerve sends shooting pain down my arm, as well as a sharp pins and needles feeling. Writing on my computer, or by hand for that matter, became excruciating. It’s better now, the pain manageable. I’ve done a lot of physical therapy – otherwise, I just have to wait it out. It usually resolves itself within a month.

So it goes that I’ve reached a point where I can’t make promises on schedules – not that I’ve ever been that good at it anyway.

Art and writing are strange endeavors in these times. It’s like the whole world has a degenerative condition, and things are falling apart in extraordinary and surreal ways. A lot of people are getting hurt and are unable to talk about it; censored somehow, despite the presence of an unprecedented number of media outlets. We’re all drowning in information about problems, and denied access to solutions. So, I took some time away from all that and painted an homage to my chin.

I’ve always been self-conscious about my double chin (and round face). Now a lot of friends are aging, and their faces are changing as their skin gets a bit wrinkled. I’ve always loved wrinkles, the way we age and change. I find the kind of restrictions we put on ourselves as to what we see as beautiful absurd. Every wrinkle, sag, scar, anomaly, or unique characteristic is fascinating to me. I love the signs of aging and survival.

But I find that I don’t extend that grace to myself. So I took a few pictures of myself at “bad” angles. I painted each one on paper, using watercolor, acrylic paint, paintmarkers, and pens then collaged them onto a canvas, along with some ads for ways to get rid of double chins.

Surprisingly, I was uplifted by the project. I enjoy my chin much more because the overall mood of the painting is happiness. And in spite of the state of the world, I am happy. I’m willing to bet I’m happier than any of the rich and powerful people chipping away at our beloved country and world. I’d rather have a degenerative disorder of my body, than degenerated compassion and lack of regard for the needs and safety of others.

*Forgive Us Our Chins by Joy Murray, 2026, 20×24″*

So what do you think? Should I make it available in my Redbubble shop? Or is it more of a one off, personal self portrait? (It’s now on Redbubble as prints, cards, stickers, etc https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/181208173?asc=u)

Keep your chins up, my friends. As soon as the pain of being pinched by the world passes, make something beautiful or funny or powerful. You make the world a better place.

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Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Me with a Sunflower fabric sculpture I made maybe 20 years ago. Her necks gone a bit weak, too.

65 Years of Joy

September 10, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged aging, chronic pain, disability, happiness, health, life, love3 Comments

I turned 65 yesterday (September 9, 2025). What a surprise that was for me. And to be happy about it! I never thought either thing would happen. To begin with, when I first started having health problems, my doctors told me I might not live until I was 30. (I’ve now lived to see both of my kids enter their 40s.) But as my degenerative spinal cord condition progressed, and I developed bi-polar disorder, I thought if I did live this long I’d be mad about it.

To have to keep dealing with so many health issues and pain for this long used to seem unbearable. Especially after my left leg got too weak to balance with (my right leg had already lost most of it’s movement) and I had to start using a wheelchair full time – stopped being able to use my walker at all. It was so hard to adjust to the new limits and lack of access. I felt a terrible sense of confinement.

But one day, I began to see all the grace and beauty in my life. I felt like I’d received a reward for growing older. My expectations shifted, my acceptance of pain and limits became more than just an act; it’d somehow become a part of who I am (though I still feel misery and sadness – and sometimes I shout out a blazing “Fuck!” in the middle of the night when pain wakes me or keeps me from sleeping). But more often I feel a sense of calm at the same time. We’ve been through this before, I tell myself. We’ll get by. (I refer to myself as a collective – I contain multitudes).

There are hundreds of easy ways to end this story, this life, but I keep wanting to add a little more, another chapter.

What a remarkable thing love and friendship has been. When I’m around friends and family talking, enjoying music, or sharing a meal, all that’s broken within me is reduced to a very small compartment of my being. I open up my heart to those around me, I listen to their stories of pain and sorrow. We laugh and joke, get sad and indignant, then grab a thread of conversation that leads back to the light, or sit in the sadness for as long as we need.

Everything is chaotic and strange. We fall sometimes, more often as we age, but the safety net between friends never breaks, we are there for each other, so we always land softly, and find our way back to love and laughter. No matter how bleak things look, there will never be a shortage of that kind of health or wealth. It’s a great gift to have lived long enough, and through enough, to know that.

*Embrace Imperfection by Joy Murray ,20×24″, mixed media on canvas, 2025*

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Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Updates on Medicaid and SNAP

July 18, 2025July 18, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged budget, disability, health, medicaid, snapLeave a comment

Cuts to the budget, cuts to our hearts and souls

Here’s links to somewhat clear explanations on the Bloated Budget bills effect on Medicaid and Medicare. And another one on SNAP. I am on Medicare Disability but because my income is a low social security payment, Medicaid provides help with my co-pays for neurological treatment and medical supplies, which are very costly. That help may be stopped. I still don’t know what’s going to happen with my SNAP which provides me with food benefits or food stamps, but given the present atmosphere, I expect cuts. It’s all very bewildering and scary.

Again, thanks to everyone who has protested this bill and makes having a degenerative disease easier to bear. I’m so grateful you want your tax money to go to help those of us who are sick and/or poor through no fault of our own. Thank you for wanting, like me, a country that is kind and just for everyone.

Medicaid:

https://www.propel.app/blog/medicaid-cuts-explained-big-beautiful-bill-updates/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLnb7tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkjYUrl4CadftQd8wDo-nfeSCoNb_L8i5cOR1TFxZsypyIUZ2lVLMdFRL50U_aem_2i2imR0lABEGUBXAe9xmGw

SNAP:

https://www.propel.app/snap/cuts-to-snap-big-beautiful-bill-food-stamps-changes/?source_caller=ui&shortlink=BBBeng&lid=e7fhh31x4fio&c=BBB%20Announcement%20(English)&pid=Email&deep_link_value=freshebt%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Fblog%2Fcuts-to-snap-big-beautiful-bill-food-stamps-changes&af_xp=email

Not part of the plan by Joy Murray, acrylic on canvas, 5×7“

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Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

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