CABIN FEVER

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What were the symptoms we experienced? The most common were irritability, restlessness, an inability to concentrate, and lethargy. Later, we found that a prolonged bout with serious hypoxemia could have resulted in more serious physical conditions . . . especially those of a cardiocirculatory, coronaryarterial, atherosclerotic, or cerebrovascular nature (the names alone were enough to scare us!).

You see, when that cabin was built (60 years ago) there was no need to worry about hypoxemia. The only insulation was provided by the leaves that the pack rats deposited in the hollow walls ... and open cracks in the boards and batten let in more than enough fresh air. But, when we sealed the house up we were asking for trouble ... and we got it. One or both of us were often touchy and nervous for no clear reason, and we often experienced a feeling of restriction around our diaphragms. (These pains in the diaphragm area can—in a snowbound cabinquickly degenerate into cardiac neurosis.)

When—after three winters of not feeling "quite right"—our doctor mentioned the possibility of hypoxemia, we suddenly understood all of the senseless January arguments, the occasional lethargy at chore time, and the flu-like symptoms we had experienced in that isolated woods where no virus could possibly have come.

Our solution? Well, we tore away some of the weatherstripping and now keep our loft—bedroom window partly open on all but the coldest nights ..and we've scarcely exchanged a harsh word since.

But now we're well into winter again, and we feel a vague anxiety. It seems like the first buttercup should be only weeks away, and we'd like to go somewhere for a couple of days, but we're snowed in. Our only consolation is that this time it's the real cabin fever ... hypoxemia is another matter entirely.

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