A bit uncomfortable but feeling festive

 So yesterday was a full day again. Had my bone scan (ongoing due to age and having had chemo to check for calcium and bone loss) and then another post op appointment. We were able to get funding so we could have lunch between the two appointments and with some spare time we wandered into the Lowe's that was right across the parking lot. 

Feeling festive due to the seasonal display inside. Those are all separate pieces and off to the right is the blonde elf holding a toy. That entire set up is close to $2000 including the elf and let me tell you if we had the money and yard to support it..... so I had to send this picture to Amber. They also have a giant Frosty the snowman further to the right.

 They also were selling a pickle dog toy and sent that to Amber as well since she's all about pickles. That was our jollies for the day, oh they also had multiple colors for large rolling tool cabinets and had a pink one out on display. Can't say they got yours mixed up with theirs if it's pink or teal, or olive colored. There are more women getting mechanic jobs now so this makes sense but I dare anyone to make fun of a veteran mechanic with a pink tool cabinet. Jon said he'd buy one.

So feeling uncomfortable has to do with being able to wear a smaller size bra and then on top of that is a 'bra band'. The point of that is to force my new right side down on my chest a bit more and combine that with 'massaging' (a bit painfully mind you) once or twice a day to get it looser. I'm following directions as much as I can, the PA said I don't have to wear the band constantly just as much as I can tolerate. The band is also reminding me to sit up straighter because it pulls in on my lower back and pulls down on my chest. So this is all bonus stuff for better results. I got to have a full on shower this morning whoohoo! Almost feeling human again! I don't have another appointment with them until close to Thanksgiving. 

Which reminds me I need to start making a grocery list. Turkey is gong to be provided by a friend along with some sides I suspect. We'll be over at Amber's on the day of as usual which is not a problem, family is always good but we don't get any leftovers so hence having our own another day.  

I discovered an abandoned hat project I started a while ago and am working on that to finish up in time to send off. Easier on the hands than doing socks a bit at least, just trying to keep my hands occupied and not chewing my nails with my rising anxiety levels. Everything from the socio-political situation around the world and changing medical coverage paperwork to the pain in my right hand.

We're managing as usual, best we can do with what we've got. At least we have a little extra food  money for the next year and then a little boost to the monthly check in January. Which will be needed but still not enough to cover inflation. Here's hoping there will be relief of sorts by the end of next year.

Tra lala and all that jazz. 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

Infusion day and not much else going on

 As the days wind down, despite the uptick in temps a few days ago, it's definitely chilling down now. My surgery sites are all healing well so sleeping is easier (If I could convince my bladder to not fill up every 2 hours).

Picture is an Angel Face rose growing along one of the building paths in the complex. It's very old, has not been taken care of well and doesn't get nearly enough sun. But it manages to give a flower or two every year.  I have not done anything in the garden since last month for all the reasons I've mentioned before, might be able to do something next month. Hopefully.

Infusion was not as smooth as previous sessions, we got there about 10 minutes late but they hold the chair for patients for 15 or 20 minutes after appointment time or give you a call. So nothing unusual for wait time, the nurse however.... not the greatest in technique. She didn't have my hand at the right angle so it was rather painful and then it was still painful to move my hand around so I couldn't do any knitting. Had to sit there with my arm and hand on a pillow carefully positioned. Scrolling on my phone with my right hand only. Luckily it's only about 45 minutes to an hour so I survived but dang that hurt! No lasting scarring or scab to show for it luckily, the scab from my hospital stay came off a day or two ago. 

My right thumb however is still being cranky which puts a crimp on doing Christmas gift socks. The night time brace is not really helping and neither is the support glove. Well... if I didn't use my hand at all, it might heal faster but.... yeah not happening unfortunately. Yet something else that's going to need a referral from my doctor to a specialist to see if there's anything else that can be done. 

Down to the end of the month and I have two appointments tomorrow, one close by and another post op up in Scripps.  So we'll be out all day essentially and I'll see if Amber can spare $20 so we can grab a cheap lunch while we're out. Jon was starving by the time we got home today so he fixed some leftovers and then I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and a can of tomato bisque soup. Delicious of course but we'll be out tomorrow about the same amount of time as today. 12:30 to about 4pm. There's a chunk of time between the two appointments luckily to drive through somewhere or pick up a hot dog and soda from costco. Will see what happens if I can get some extra money from Amber.

I expect we'll get money on Friday since the first is a Sunday so shopping will happen on the weekend and the first Monday. It's the only time we get out really, shopping and doctor appointments. 

When gas was affordable we would go do stuff. Drive to Balboa Park and walk around, to find a walking trail, take the trolley to downtown or Old Town. We did stuff. Now it's 'I have three doctor appointments that will eat up 3/4 of a tank of gas, we can't afford to drive anywhere'. Let alone spend any money on eating out somewhere 'extravagant' like a real restaurant.  Thank you all for the birthday money, it gave us some freedom and fun with food and it was greatly appreciated! 

Let's hope the winds of change come our way for everyone next month and the world can start healing. 

 

Dr follow ups nothing to note

 Weather is trending up with clear skies so this weekend is going to be hot as predicted. We haven't run the AC for almost a week because the weather has been so wonderful. 

 Blue skies and actually got down to 50 this morning. Shock and surprise, doing laundry on Friday so I'll have my jeans back. Loving my heavy shirt and sweatpants now but not when its going to be 90.

Not the chocolate cake I was hoping for but it is chocolate and a type of 'cake'. Went looking for cake, stopped at Rubio's yesterday for another birthday deal then 85c bakery was almost next door. Prices and selection were not what I was hoping for so we drove over to Von's (I love Santee for all the things within blocks). Small 6" chocolate cake was almost $30. Almost bought a cheesecake factory chocolate cheesecake then Jon found slices of chocolate mousse ganache cheesecake for about $7 each and got those instead. He downed his in one sitting of course and I am just taking a few nibbles here and there. It's delicious, I'm just not big on scarfing down an entire slice that big in one sitting.

Meanwhile back at the doctors. God my belly binder off for good and more stitches out in two weeks from the surgeon. Everything is healing fine apparently just still have to be careful reaching overhead and still not comfortable laying on my side. Still have insomnia but leg issues seem to be resolving. Next appointment is also on the same day as a bone/calcium scan so that will be interesting having to jet from Santee to Scripps but it's almost straight shot and timing is fine.

Saw Dr Keller (GI) at an earlier time today. Got a call yesterday saying he had an emergency hospital situation he needed to attend in the afternoon so morning appointment at 9:50. I left a bit later than I should have given traffic in that direction but it all worked out.

Have I mentioned I love Dr Keller? He is absolutely wonderful, good information, engaging, goes over treatment and why and all that. He has presence in the room and even if he's looking at the screen and checking something he's still aware that I'm in the room. So anyway, asked about how I was feeling post surgery, was glad I got that taken care of (like I had a choice?) talked about another check on blood count and another fecal test beginning of November then depending on that might adjust frequency of my infusions. Also another follow up appointment in about a month and plan on a colonoscopy beginning of next year. 

So he's on top of things with my treatment plan and everything else going on which makes me feel better about what's happening. Told me if serious diarrhea flares up to contact his office and they'll see what to do. I told him about odd nerve twinges on the toilet and all that and he had no answer but shared that other patients have had similar things happen. Just one of those weird neurological things there's no solution for and an oddity of the human body. Also stopped at Jack in the Box on the way home because I was starving and wanted a sourdough jack burger then saw they had monster tacos. I didn't eat anything before I left because I was going to do a fasting blood draw then completely forgot until I was on the freeway. Oh well. I sat in the parking lot of the place were JiB was and scarfed down the two tacos. Stopped at the store on the way home for the lone russet potato, another block of cheese and more bacon. 
 

More gastrobirthday foods for consuming. I finally made another batch of the bacon shrimp chowder. Absolutely lived up to the hype once again with the addition of mushrooms. I am absolutely stuffed on that after having half a burger and two tacos on the way home. Holler if you want the recipe, not sure about issues with diabetes since it has one russet potato in it. 

Debating on whether I want to take a nap or not. I didn't sleep well and got up at 7 thinking I wanted to take a shower this morning but then decided not to. Food coma I think is setting in as well but I'm full and Rocky is once again settled under the cover on my side of the bed. He's taken to 'hibernating' now that the weather is cooling down. 

 No appointments tomorrow but Jon has one on Friday at Grossmont so will check finances again and see what our options are. As things go, doing okay. Hope everyone else is doing good as well. 

 

Good feeling gone, the other shoe drops

 But first, the weather.  We got some good rain and it's still cloudy so really nice weather that may last an other day or two. I went and checked on the garden and my main raised bed, only wet about a ½ inch down. Kind of figured that but can't do any serious garden work yet.

Caught Rocky in the window perfectly just wish the background was better. Something caught his attention for a good half minute during a break in the rain yesterday. I was able to take him out on his leash today and snap some pictures of the cloudy sky and the garden.

Because of the crumbling eaves (despite them repairing the gutters last year) the water still drips off at the railing and puddles right in front of our door. Had to put a towel down to keep the water from splashing inside too badly but then in the evening the wind came up and the rain pelted down even more so had to close the door. It's wonderful really without any worry about flooding in our areas.

Now then about that shoe drop. We both got a letter from Sharp about the change in Medicare coverage. Since we were going directly through them (private company) coverage changes (see previous post about loud rant) so now we have until December 31 to set up a new medicare coverage like an HMO if we were working. United Health Care accepts Sharp thankfully and initial checking shows both hospitals and a doctor are in the network. So far so good, the drug coverage on the other hand is separate and we have to do a lot of work to make sure that all our meds are covered. I already got the letter saying I'm covered in Medicare but not sure how that dovetails with the new system coming up.

Some plans have a zero copay for doctors and specialists, others it's anywhere from 25-35 for specialist visit. I'm not sure if GI, Oncology and Cardiac are specialists so have to check on that then there's that OTC benefits card. Our current card is $140 quarterly and I rarely use it all, new system it drops to anywhere from no benefits to $40 quarterly. We use that card for things like rubbing alcohol, toothpaste, mouthwash, bandages, Jon's nose spray and other things. Leave it to say we are stocking up for the next three months as much as we can and won't be shopping at CVS to make the money stretch.

So yeah, that sent Jon into a depression due to him not knowing how to properly search things he thought he wasn't covered because he has Medicaid (MediCal). I told him, I'll do all the computer work and let you know, we'll get through this.  I am SO glad I got my surgery and treatment done before all this! The only thing left is getting my cataracts taken care of and I can bet that isn't covered 100% any longer either.

 Yay for cloudy skies and actual weather! Only issue is the only pants I have are either sweatpants or shorts. Time for sweatpants it is, since my jeans are in the laundry and the soonest we can wash is Friday. By next weekend it'll be back up to 90+ then dropping down again so welcome to the roller coaster fall weather season!

You know the weather has been hot when even a tough as nails succulent like the Jade looks totally thrashed and toasted. It's a mess and honestly not surprised but still kind of sad, though I know by spring it'll be looking better after all the leaves recover. It's so dense I doubt any water got through to the roots.

So there it is, more updates and not the kind I like to have. Angry, frustrated, anxious and stressed but putting those aside have to keep moving forward and make sure things get done we we have what we need for the future. 

It's actually raining!

 Woke up to cloudy skies (as I figured would happen) and the definite smell of rain in the air. We got out the door to do some quick groceries and by the time we finished it started to pitter patter on the car as we left the store parking lot. That was around 11:30 or so and the temperatures are in the 70's. Feels like late spring in Seattle last time we were there.

We forgot it was Saturday and the store was more crowded than patience tolerated but we made it out without being too rude to people. Typical annoying types; older lady with rolling cart and small wire haired dog that clearly was not an assistance dog, a trio of one male and two females in middle eastern/Pakistani robes (absolutely no prejudice here but it is rather cliche) who seemed to think this as a grand market including the parking lot and walked in the middle of everywhere. Harried moms with three kids (been there done that), totally unaware other ethnic types who stand right where you need to get something (the green onions finally!) I said excuse me and he stepped back but shimmied his cart up against the display.....I had to repeat, excuse me then 'you're standing right in front of what I need' and I just leaned forward and grabbed two bunches over his cart.

  It really came down with big drops by the time we got home and hustled inside. Such a great feeling and then one rolling thunder going up the stairs so it was really awesome. Jon kept saying 'take your time' and meantime I wanted to dance in the rain.

I don't have a good picture of the rain out my window but it stopped for about an hour and now has started up again. I can smell the wild grass and bushes on the distant hills and reminds me of so many rainy days when I was growing up and then camping later on as an adult. It's one of my comfort smells if you want to put it that way. Hardly any breeze now just the rain dripping down the tree and eaves. Happy sigh. The only thing that would really complete this is a nice deep covered porch to sit and knit and watch the rain come down.

Didn't sleep as well as I wanted but doing okay now and don't feel the need for a nap but it's 'early'. But my stomach skin on either side is ITCHING!!!! That's to be expected when your skin is no longer stretched. I wasn't balloon tight fat before but the skin has been stretched for years and now it's relaxing a bit. Not to mention the nerves that were damaged in the 'fat grafting' are starting to regenerate so just.... uncomfortable and not sure if I can use lotion on the areas. Won't do any good to message doctor because I won't get a message back until next week and my next appointment is Tuesday. Wednesday is my follow up with GI doctor 'post op' so to speak, get to tell him that my system has leveled out finally but that could be from meds and surgery. Annoying thing about this 'support girdle' is it keeps folding up at the bottom when I'm sitting down mostly on the sides and back of course. Same with the sides on my bra as well, just minor annoying that almost constant and compared to the alternative, I'll put up with it.
As for further Birthday Gastro-shenanigans, will decide whether to go to Habit or Rubio's on Thursday when we're in the neighborhood of both establishments for Jon's appointment. Will see how long the food celebration will go but still have get that chocolate cake in somewhere.

Going to go work on some knitting and enjoy the damp dribbles outside from the inside of my bedroom. 

Semi-unbound for birthday 'shenanigans'

 Not feeling free and flouncy quite yet (like I was even there at any time) but definitely can lay on my back to sleep and not wearing as tight a girdle with no extra padding. YAY! Then my internal system said, 'oh yay the straight is open again!' 'nuf said on that. Still can't take a full on shower just yet but at least can keep my back to the water and do my hair and scrub the rest of me. Washed my hair in the kitchen sink today with Jon's help and washed face and neck. Just that little bit helped my mood. 

So doctor visit to check everything went well, now have two bras that will fit for free and might have to actually think about an actual girdle. Because you see, they sucked some fat out of my belly and a little on the sides which makes for a very saggy tummy. I remember mom wearing a girdle and finally gave up on it in frustration because it didn't seem to make a difference in her appearance (I think?). 

 The shorts I'm currently wearing are another find from the table and fit somewhat large even with the extra padding before. Well even less padding now and I may have to put them back on the table because they really don't fit anymore. They're men's cargo shorts and every pocket but the front two have velcro, the back pockets aren't big enough for phone and inconvenient to put wallet there.  Will try shopping for shorts again sometime.

The weather is still warm so the AC spending still goes on and have to wait another four or five days to see what this month's bill is like. Hoping I can split it again because the projected bill was frightening. It's only been in the 90's today and yesterday but that is still waaayyy too warm for comfort. Despite the weather, we persist.

We did our civic duty because the world is depending on us to do the right thing. I can only hope and pray that this and the next election isn't mucked up like the last primary that put us in this situation. I don't make much comment on political stuff here but it is so, very, important that people start paying attention and fix this. It's already too late for short term fix, the damage has been done so deeply that the entire world will spend decades fixing what has happened. It is no longer a matter of resisting it is a matter of actions. 

Okay that's done. I got more birthday monies so YARN and ICE CREAM is on the list and a few other things (or might have to toss some of it at the SDGE bill SIGH). Although the ice cream will probably come out of the food money because we still have a chunk of that in the account. Since I can drive a bit more comfortable will make sure to get those green onions! I made pork carnitas in the crock pot today, tossed it all together in the morning and it was finished by the time I woke up from my nap. Jon's doing dishes and cleaning that up at the moment but I think I'll have another pot pie for my evening food. We got to the pharmacy today as well so he got his meds and nose spray yay!

For the first of many birthday food stops we went to Greek Chicken and got a BOGO free gyros sandwich since we had to get fries $20 for two gyros and 2 fries is a good price to pay. Might go to Rubio's tomorrow with a similar situation, buy an entree get one free and have to eat it there which means another $20 meal but that's still a good deal for tacos or burritos for two with sodas. It'll be a Saturday so not sure about crowd situation and shopping. 

Chocolate cake will happen as well at some point but single serving. Fridge is a little emptier without the Costco pumpkin pie but still chock full. Fresh salsa was made yesterday as well and I realized we didn't have any chips. I put it on a sourdough bread sandwich with scrambled egg and bacon this morning, it was delicious. 

That is all for now

Despite the nap I am still flagged out due to internal system being whacked again.  

 

 

 

Today was....interesting. Solo in the ED

 Summary: took myself to ED to get my right leg checked for possible blood clots. Mostly clear, minor surface clot back of the knee. Up blood thinner for a week and wear compression socks.

Backstory: I have had restless legs for several weeks and have a med that seemed to be working. Just before going into the hospital my right leg didn't seem to be responding as well. Knee jerks, foot twitches and then recently after surgery my calf was feeling cramped but not painful.

I haven't been able to have a good nights sleep in days because of this and last night was the worst. Couldn't get settled despite laying down and feeling very cozy. Leg would start twingeing and etc so I had to get up and down up and down so I didn't wake Jon (not very successful with that, he came out of the bedroom to use the bathroom a few times). Between 11pm and 5 I may have gotten about an hour of semi conscious sleep. 

I then realized that my right calf and thigh were semi-crampy and then I connected the dots. Possible blood clots? Not wanting to take any chances on this since I've been off the blood thinner for over a week, I decided to call for a Lyft and take myself to the Grossmont ED. Grossmont is much closer and still in the same system. I had to wake up Jon though, let him know what was going on, speaking in slow small words so his sleep fogged brain could understand (not a slight on him at all we've all been there). Ordered up a Lyft for less than $15 (due to time of day and distance) and go to the emergency entrance a little before 6.

First off.. security. I forgot they have a more strict security system and the guard rifled through my small knitting purse and said I couldn't take my project with me because the needles could be used as a weapon. 

SIGH all right. He took my little sock project and bagged it then gave me a receipt to pick it up when I left. I checked in almost exactly at 6 am and let me tell you, I have never seen an emergency lobby that empty.

Yes, it was the dreaded 'Q' they have a superstition about mentioning how quiet it is and then they get slammed so I didn't say anything. The last time I was there was with the vertigo and it was packed. This time it was quiet as a baby nursery to the point I could hear the tv's all the way at the other end of the waiting room that were in a side room with more seating. 

Triage almost immediately, relatively speaking and then being taken back to an actual bed in another fifteen minutes. Like everything, time moves slower in the ED, They did an ultrasound of my leg, thigh joint to calf  and then waited another hour or so for the doctor to actually look at the images.  Uncomfortable, in shorts cotton blankets weren't very warm when the young male nurse brought them to me, then I realized my side was kind of damp.

If I'm going somewhere with an extended wait time I always bring a bottle of water. Well, apparently I didn't close the lid tight enough and then was leaning on my bag. Bag got soaked, shorts and my shirt in the area got soaked and I realized my keys (electronic car key included) were in the bag, as well as charger and cord for phone. Yikes! Everything was okay thankfully but on top of it being cold and me wearing shorts, half my bottom was now damp.

Superficial clot behind the knee not big enough to be scary and it was close to the surface not the deep ones they really pay attention to. The doctor supposedly ordered more of my eliquis because I'm supposed to double up on the dose for a week and she felt I would run out.. Haven 't gotten the message from the pharmacy probably because it looks like an incorrect order. I have enough for the double dose at least and then some.   When I pick that up I will look at compression stockings for my calves as well. She noted there was some serious swelling and the socks will help with that as well. 

Total time in ED almost 6 hours. That's not bad at all. Discharge papers were printed at 11:20 am and I think I walked out around noon. 

Stopped at Trader Joes for some oranges to make carnitas in the crock pot tomorrow because the plan today was going to be scrambled eggs with salsa, cheese, bacon and sour cream for breakfast and then throw the pork into the crock pot with appropriate seasonings and cook that all day. Lunch was shrimp stir fry with extra broccoli and mushrooms. At least lunch got done. It was delicious and now it's time to try and take a nap.

Adventures!