2026 Life Logs, Day 24: Winter Storm Fern on the Move
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Frigid; High Temp 17, Low 8 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Winter storm Fern has much of the country a little on edge, but the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they applied to Ollie’s arm when they did the reset procedure yesterday also made this day not your normal Saturday.
The storm is going to impact most of this country east of the Rocky Mountains. Half of the country was under extreme winter weather alert today. Here we had frigid temperatures and tomorrow we are expecting somewhere near a foot of snow, followed by icy rain, and then topped off with a little more snow.
At noon today, I headed to the Green where our weekly rally was dedicated to showing our solidarity with Minnesota. When I got there, I had no idea another person was murdered in the streets of Minneapolis this morning. What people had heard was that it was an immigrant. But as we all now know, it was another citizen protester, 37 year-old Alex Pretti. If you have not already seen the commentary by American historian Heather Cox Richardson, you must. And I really mean this is a must for every person in this country. You can watch it here.
As the day progressed, it became obvious that Ollie’s allergic reaction to what appeared to be the antibiotic solution they used on his arm yesterday when they did the bone reset was not getting better. Slowly, after the procedure, his upper arm was slightly swollen with a red, itchy rash. Heather washed the part of his arm that was exposed, but much of his forearm is splinted and wrapped. The good news is that he no longer needs anything for the pain, but the bad news was that taking Benadryl as the doctor prescribed wasn’t working and when they increased the dosage, it completely knocked him out for three hours. So, tonight the doctor recommended a trip to the ER. It was fairly quick and they decided on trying Allegra instead of Benadryl. And if that doesn’t work, they prescribed prednisone and an EpiPen if things really go wrong. He is home now, wide awake after the 3-hour Benadryl nap, but in good spirits and hoping that when he does fall asleep, it will be an uneventful night. I will certainly sleep more soundly knowing that the ER doctor made sure they have a Plan 2 and Plan 3 if Plan 1 doesn’t work for Ollie.
