Wild Wednesday

Sheeesh - what a day.   Yesterday was awful, in some aspects.  I made my annual pilgrimage to my general practitioner of medicine - just to renew my necessary medications.  I also had another short list of things, just for her to note (or so I thought) in my file.  The first was that both of my ring fingers have turned into "trigger fingers" since last May - not horribly, but if I sleep with my fists clenched, the ring fingers don't want to straighten - the right more so than the left.  Secondly, I told her that the enamel had worn through on three teeth - they are dead; but there is no pain, so I see nothing to do at the time. Third, that I was having "itchy bones" in various places  and at various times.  The fourth thing was that I had had the two "white outs" in my left eye - one at the beginning of August, one at the end of October - my vision had returned to normal within 30 minutes each time, and there was no pain.  I had poked around on the internet and read about some folks who had experienced the same thing, and they had been told it was a capillary bursting in their eye... That seemed logical to me, but my MD was horrified.  She's pretty sure that I had two small mini-strokes.
    So now I have agreed to get three tests done - a brain and eye MRI, ultrasounds of my neck arteries, and an electrocardiogram.  And I've agreed to see a dentist - for the first time in 21 years.  I already regret having agreed to all of the above.   I had to have counseling from a case manager, and he was pushing me to give up my caffeine - totally.  I told him that I suffered from migraines, and that in the early 1990s, I had gone caffeine free for 1 year; I spent 10 months of that time in bed with migraines.  The only thing that would stop the migraines was a daily dose of caffeine - so I told him I was keeping my caffeine and would NOT renounce it.  He heaved a big sigh and tried to tell me that coffee was bad - I laughed and told him that I don't drink coffee or tea - I drink diet cola - which set him off on the awfulness of aspartame....  Yada, yada, yada, yada....  Then I had to have blood drawn and get my flu shot,
  After that, Beatrice and I went to the Credit Union, then to Turley's Kitchen for breakfast.  Then we went shopping.  After we returned home, I wrapped a gift, and then went over to Rosie's for a 2 hour walk and love session.  Got back home, took out the trash and recyclables, and then went to Donn's to pick up his mail - and then threaded my way up 36 into Denver, to pick up Donn and Lynn at the Airport...  Their flight was scheduled to arrive at 4:30, and the Flight Stats website said the flight was en route and on time.  So I totally freaked out when my cell phone rang at 4:02 and it was a text message from Lynn saying they had landed, but had to clear customs before they'd be ready for pick-up.  I was freaked out because I was 18 miles away from Pena Blvd, and then had another 12 miles to the terminal.  So I turned into a speed demon, as much as traffic would allow (not much!).  Fifteen minutes later, she texts that they are still on the runway - another plane was blocking their way to the gate...  In any event, I got to the cell phone waiting lot, and actually read a chapter in a book before they got through Customs.  Then I drove to the terminal, picked them up, and was dropped off back at my apartment in time for Jeopardy!
    I was feeling achey from the shot, so I went to bed early last night. This morning, I got to deal with the six phone calls that came in yesterday....  all about dentists and the hospital for setting up appointments.  Yuck.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I just enjoyed a small bit of conversation with someone that I went to school with - from first grade through high school.  There were about 85, or so, of us - started school at Lake Forest Elementary, went to Howard Bishop Junior High, were caught up in desegregation in the 8th grade and were suddenly a part of Eastside Junior - Senior High School, and graduated from Eastside.  I had been assigned a number to post that many things a person might, or might not, know about me (on Facebook).  One of the things I posted was that one of my closest friends had been my music teacher while I was at Lake Forest.  This led to a discussion of the short musical plays that we put on when we were in the fifth and sixth grades - we performed Cowboy on the Moon during fifth grade, school year 1966-67, and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County in our sixth grade.  Kenny Evans had played Jim Smiley in our teacher's musical make-over of Mark Twain's short story.  Randy Wiggins played the dastardly "Stranger" and Linda Crowder was the saloon owner and sweetheart of Jim Smiley.  Rabbitt and I discussed the songs we remembered and the parts we played, and the fact that he had given the papier mache frog to Linda after the last performance.  Such nice memories of easier, younger, times.
   I was a bit perturbed yesterday by my wellness checkup appointment.  I was due to walk Rosie at 8:55, as always, and I figured that having an 8:05 scheduled appointment - the first one of the day - would get me in and out quickly.  All the Doc had to do was listen to my heart, my lungs, and my carotid arteries; then blood was to be drawn (a 12-hour fasting panel), and I'd receive a flu shot.  I arrived at the office at 7:45; the door was unlocked at 8:00.  I had signed in and filled out my paperwork by 8:03 -  I was called into the work area at 8:35, my weight and temperature were taken.  Then in an exam room, my blood pressure, pulse, and respiration was measured and timed.  At 8:50, my MD appeared, asked a few questions, listened to my heart, lungs, and carotids, and left (well before 9:00).  At 9:15, my flu shot was given; at 9:20, my blood was taken.  Then I had to catch a bus to Quince Street, and then jog a mile to Rosie's house to walk her.  I spotted Rosie and her owner at 9:42; they were at the front of the Waldorf School, a block away from their home.  I took Rosie and finished her walk....
  I had thought that I could easily be processed in a few minutes at the MD's office.  Now I know that it does not run that efficiently.  Because I was fasting, I didn't sit at the dining room table to eat breakfast, and, so, I also forgot to remove my cell phone from it's charger.  Stuck at the MD's (where no cell phones are allowed, anyway) - but I would have called Rosie's owner at 8:25, when it became apparent that I would be running late....   Grrrrrr.  Yesterday was not nice .
  Reminiscing today with Rabbitt about grade school was fantastic.  Thanks, Rabbitt!