Does the Bible say anything about Job's teeth?
In many respects the last few years just haven't gone very well for me. Lots of good things have happened, and I've made new friends and been led to some great resources, but -- honestly -- I'd rather not have needed an oncologist, or a physiatrist, or The Wellness Community.
Today was another mixed day. I've been horribly tired -- still! -- and seriously considered staying home from my Mindfulness class. I went anyway, and I'm glad I did. As I left I saw a poster for another local resource for cancer patients that seems perfect for me. (http://www.cancerworkoutcenter.org/)
Then I came home and broke a tooth. It had already been drilled and filled until just a shell was left, and now the front half is gone. I do not currently have a dentist, and a root canal and crown are not in the budget. At least it doesn't hurt. Yet.
While my sister was here I mentioned to a friend that I seemed to be experiencing a series of plagues. I was thinking Pharaoh; she was thinking Job.
Was there any mention of Job's teeth?
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Two weeks?!!
How could I have not posted for two weeks?
Actually, I have a pretty good idea. I mentioned the auto accident a month ago. I mentioned the plumbing issues two weeks ago. I didn't mention that dealing with the plumbing reminded my body that it wasn't happy after the accident. The day that I last posted my left arm was starting to get sore. By Sunday it was extemely painful. Instead of going to the opening of the Tempe Center for the Arts, which was why my sister visited when she did, I took painkillers and went to bed. I wrapped a large heating pad around my upper arm. It made things much worse, but at least I was then able to identify the focus of the problem. I switched to ice.
By Monday it was basically unusable. Moving my upper arm away from my body caused excrutiating pain, which made dressing lots of fun. Also Monday the industrial strength fans were removed. (see Splish Splash) That seemed to be a turning point in dealing with my arm. I hadn't realized how much stress I was putting on my left arm clamboring over the fan each time I wanted to use the bathroom.
My arm improved very gradually over the next few days. Driving really aggravated the pain, so my sister spent her vacation driving me around, doing my housework and watching me sleep. I didn't spend much time on the computer.
My sister left early Saturday morning, Sept. 15. I had a very busy day on Monday, culminating in my first Mindfulness Meditation class. That deserves its own entry. Since then I've pretty much spent my time eating, sleeping and reading.
Two weeks.
Actually, I have a pretty good idea. I mentioned the auto accident a month ago. I mentioned the plumbing issues two weeks ago. I didn't mention that dealing with the plumbing reminded my body that it wasn't happy after the accident. The day that I last posted my left arm was starting to get sore. By Sunday it was extemely painful. Instead of going to the opening of the Tempe Center for the Arts, which was why my sister visited when she did, I took painkillers and went to bed. I wrapped a large heating pad around my upper arm. It made things much worse, but at least I was then able to identify the focus of the problem. I switched to ice.
By Monday it was basically unusable. Moving my upper arm away from my body caused excrutiating pain, which made dressing lots of fun. Also Monday the industrial strength fans were removed. (see Splish Splash) That seemed to be a turning point in dealing with my arm. I hadn't realized how much stress I was putting on my left arm clamboring over the fan each time I wanted to use the bathroom.
My arm improved very gradually over the next few days. Driving really aggravated the pain, so my sister spent her vacation driving me around, doing my housework and watching me sleep. I didn't spend much time on the computer.
My sister left early Saturday morning, Sept. 15. I had a very busy day on Monday, culminating in my first Mindfulness Meditation class. That deserves its own entry. Since then I've pretty much spent my time eating, sleeping and reading.
Two weeks.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Report from the oncology appointment
Have I mentioned that I really like my oncologist?
I had my camera with me today, and was able to get photos of two staff members who didn't help me last month. They came out well.
When the doctor came into the room she knew that Marie was my sister. I explained that I had changed my appointment in order to allow Marie to meet her, and that Marie would be reporting back to our other sister. The doctor started from scratch, explaining the disease, what my status is and why we made the treatment choices we did. She gave us each an opportunity to ask questions. She repeated her support and encouragement for the complementary therapies I'm pursuing.
The objective results were exactly what I expected. The lab work was a little worse, but not much. The lymph nodes in my neck were a little more swollen, but not much.
The increase was small enough that the doctor still considers my condition stable. If it's still stable when I see her next month I'll "graduate" to seeing her every three months.
All in all, a very positive visit.
I had my camera with me today, and was able to get photos of two staff members who didn't help me last month. They came out well.
When the doctor came into the room she knew that Marie was my sister. I explained that I had changed my appointment in order to allow Marie to meet her, and that Marie would be reporting back to our other sister. The doctor started from scratch, explaining the disease, what my status is and why we made the treatment choices we did. She gave us each an opportunity to ask questions. She repeated her support and encouragement for the complementary therapies I'm pursuing.
The objective results were exactly what I expected. The lab work was a little worse, but not much. The lymph nodes in my neck were a little more swollen, but not much.
The increase was small enough that the doctor still considers my condition stable. If it's still stable when I see her next month I'll "graduate" to seeing her every three months.
All in all, a very positive visit.
Splish Splash!
My sister arrived from New York today, right after the first session of my Nutrition/Cooking class at The Wellness Community, near Good Sam. I had scheduled a mystery shop to complete while I was at the airport. I originally had an appointment with my oncologist which would have prevented my going to the cooking class, but I was able to reschedule it until tomorrow.
I had my first indication that all was not well while making up the living room / guest room for my sister. I live in a two bedroom / 2 bath apartment only because I wanted the open plan kitchen / dining room / living room, which I use for my business. I use the master bedroom as my "real" living room, and the master bath pretty much as a closet, except when I have a guest. For the first couple of years I only put things on the floor of the shower that wouldn't be damaged by water, but nothing ever happened, so.... Until today the bedding for the guest bed was in the shower, two pillows in one large plastic zippered bag, an electric blanket in another.
When I took the pillows out and set them aside I got a little water on my arm. I was concerned, but pressed for time. I had more work to do in the apartment, and I had to get ready to leave for my class. In an attempt to see where the water had come from I started to lift the bag containing the blanket. My first thought was, "Why is this so heavy?" Then I realized that the bottom few inches were soaking wet. I checked the shower head; it was dry. I checked the wall that was damaged by a leak three years ago; it was dry. I decided that I didn't have time to deal with it without skipping the class, and decided to deal with it when I got home.
I cleaned the front bathroom, since my sister would be using it, cleaned up and left. I reached my class right on time, enjoyed myself, enjoyed the food, shared a recipe. I had to leave early in order to meet my sister's plane. I had not turned my cell phone on at that point; I turned it on and left a message telling my sister that I was on my way.
I reached the airport, opened my cell phone and saw that I had a message. The details were sketchy, but the gist was that my sister had not left Albuquerque on time, and would not arrive for another 50 minutes, on a different flight than anticipated. I could have stayed at the class. Oh well.
I went into the airport. I decided to complete the mystery shop while I waited, but due to a timing requirement I couldn't complete the transaction until 10 minutes before my sister's new arrival time. I left a message telling her that I was leaving but would be right back, and finished the shop. I returned to the terminal and found my sister, but her luggage was nowhere in sight. It had left Albuquerque on a different flight, and wouldn't arrive for another half hour. I was glad I had completed the shop.
We walked around, we looked at photos, we looked at the art in the gallery. We returned to Baggage Claim; her luggage did not show up on the carousel. We eventually found it at the baggage office. By then it was 7:30 p.m. She had been traveling since 9:30 Eastern Daylight Time, a total of 13 hours. It was more than two hours after her original arrival time; we were tired and hungry. We decided to go to Sweet Tomatoes and enjoy Greek week.
Two hours later we finally went home. I headed for the back bathroom to investigate the water while she headed for the front one. They both had standing water on the floor, as did the kitchen. The carpet padding in the hall, the linen closet, the master bedroom closet and the dining room was soaked. The carpet didn't look wet, but when we stepped on it the water wicked up from the padding. So much for my decision to deal with it tomorrow!
I called maintenance. When Francisco came he discovered that the shower was full of water to overflowing. He left to call a water extraction company and a plumber while my sister and I started moving things off the affected carpet. Eventually I started bailing out the shower and discovered that it was greasy kitchen waste water, including food scraps; apparently the sewer line backed up through the shower drain. I called to give Francisco the additional information and to suggest that someone tell my upstairs neighbors not to use their kitchen sink.
Besides the things I had stored in the back bathroom, everything on the floor of the linen closet and much of what was in the master bedroom closet was wet. I spent the next hour discarding, cleaning and bailing.
The plumber and the carpet guy showed up at about the same time. By the time they left it was after midnight. There is now an industrial strength fan in each bathroom, blowing between the carpet and the padding in the adjacent room. I've mopped the bathroom and kitchen floors, but only enough to get rid of the water; they will have to be done again, and disinfected. The waterproof stuff in the shower -- my camping kitchen, my Hydro-Bells, some of my water storage -- has to be cleaned and disinfected. I've decided to discard the bedding. It was all soaked in dirty kitchen water; I'd never feel confident that it was really clean, and with my immune system compromised I'm unwilling to take any chances.
The office and living room are littered -- more than usual -- with everything we moved to clear the carpet and make room to bring the equipment in. The tub is full of towels that we used to soak up as much water as possible before I realized that they had arranged for extraction.
I have twelve cases of food storage from the cannery in the back closet. I am very grateful that it didn't get wet. The carpet is wet just a few inches in front of them, but the food storage is not wet.
My life is never dull.
I had my first indication that all was not well while making up the living room / guest room for my sister. I live in a two bedroom / 2 bath apartment only because I wanted the open plan kitchen / dining room / living room, which I use for my business. I use the master bedroom as my "real" living room, and the master bath pretty much as a closet, except when I have a guest. For the first couple of years I only put things on the floor of the shower that wouldn't be damaged by water, but nothing ever happened, so.... Until today the bedding for the guest bed was in the shower, two pillows in one large plastic zippered bag, an electric blanket in another.
When I took the pillows out and set them aside I got a little water on my arm. I was concerned, but pressed for time. I had more work to do in the apartment, and I had to get ready to leave for my class. In an attempt to see where the water had come from I started to lift the bag containing the blanket. My first thought was, "Why is this so heavy?" Then I realized that the bottom few inches were soaking wet. I checked the shower head; it was dry. I checked the wall that was damaged by a leak three years ago; it was dry. I decided that I didn't have time to deal with it without skipping the class, and decided to deal with it when I got home.
I cleaned the front bathroom, since my sister would be using it, cleaned up and left. I reached my class right on time, enjoyed myself, enjoyed the food, shared a recipe. I had to leave early in order to meet my sister's plane. I had not turned my cell phone on at that point; I turned it on and left a message telling my sister that I was on my way.
I reached the airport, opened my cell phone and saw that I had a message. The details were sketchy, but the gist was that my sister had not left Albuquerque on time, and would not arrive for another 50 minutes, on a different flight than anticipated. I could have stayed at the class. Oh well.
I went into the airport. I decided to complete the mystery shop while I waited, but due to a timing requirement I couldn't complete the transaction until 10 minutes before my sister's new arrival time. I left a message telling her that I was leaving but would be right back, and finished the shop. I returned to the terminal and found my sister, but her luggage was nowhere in sight. It had left Albuquerque on a different flight, and wouldn't arrive for another half hour. I was glad I had completed the shop.
We walked around, we looked at photos, we looked at the art in the gallery. We returned to Baggage Claim; her luggage did not show up on the carousel. We eventually found it at the baggage office. By then it was 7:30 p.m. She had been traveling since 9:30 Eastern Daylight Time, a total of 13 hours. It was more than two hours after her original arrival time; we were tired and hungry. We decided to go to Sweet Tomatoes and enjoy Greek week.
Two hours later we finally went home. I headed for the back bathroom to investigate the water while she headed for the front one. They both had standing water on the floor, as did the kitchen. The carpet padding in the hall, the linen closet, the master bedroom closet and the dining room was soaked. The carpet didn't look wet, but when we stepped on it the water wicked up from the padding. So much for my decision to deal with it tomorrow!
I called maintenance. When Francisco came he discovered that the shower was full of water to overflowing. He left to call a water extraction company and a plumber while my sister and I started moving things off the affected carpet. Eventually I started bailing out the shower and discovered that it was greasy kitchen waste water, including food scraps; apparently the sewer line backed up through the shower drain. I called to give Francisco the additional information and to suggest that someone tell my upstairs neighbors not to use their kitchen sink.
Besides the things I had stored in the back bathroom, everything on the floor of the linen closet and much of what was in the master bedroom closet was wet. I spent the next hour discarding, cleaning and bailing.
The plumber and the carpet guy showed up at about the same time. By the time they left it was after midnight. There is now an industrial strength fan in each bathroom, blowing between the carpet and the padding in the adjacent room. I've mopped the bathroom and kitchen floors, but only enough to get rid of the water; they will have to be done again, and disinfected. The waterproof stuff in the shower -- my camping kitchen, my Hydro-Bells, some of my water storage -- has to be cleaned and disinfected. I've decided to discard the bedding. It was all soaked in dirty kitchen water; I'd never feel confident that it was really clean, and with my immune system compromised I'm unwilling to take any chances.
The office and living room are littered -- more than usual -- with everything we moved to clear the carpet and make room to bring the equipment in. The tub is full of towels that we used to soak up as much water as possible before I realized that they had arranged for extraction.
I have twelve cases of food storage from the cannery in the back closet. I am very grateful that it didn't get wet. The carpet is wet just a few inches in front of them, but the food storage is not wet.
My life is never dull.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Food for Life (class)
I just discovered more information about the cooking class that I'm taking at The Wellness Community starting Thursday.
When I signed up for the class I asked about the philosophical foundation. The person I spoke with didn't have that information. I'm very happy to discover that they seem to be using a program developed by a group that I support, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
http://support.cancerproject.com/
I say, "seem to be" only because the course is not listed on the PCRM / Cancer Project schedule of upcoming classes.
When I signed up for the class I asked about the philosophical foundation. The person I spoke with didn't have that information. I'm very happy to discover that they seem to be using a program developed by a group that I support, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
http://support.cancerproject.com/
I say, "seem to be" only because the course is not listed on the PCRM / Cancer Project schedule of upcoming classes.
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