proba tive org archives

Just hope it's a good one for everyone, near and far.

I love old things. Which is good, because one day I will qualify as old myself - not quite yet, thank you very much. Old houses. Old friends. Old forests.

I own an old sewing machine. It was a momentous acquisition 25 years ago. I spent more than I could have conscienced otherwise because it was also a way to remember my grandmother. It was her bequest to me that financed the purchase. In all those years it has been in for maintenance or repair only once.

Yesterday my reliable machine stopped stitching. Not just not stitching properly; not stitching at all. I have been finishing up a Christmas gift for my son and daughter-in-law and, with only a teeny bit left, Murphy has struck. Or rather a critical plastic gear has broken down.

I had thought the poor thing needed some dusting out and oiling. It was in the process of doing this today that I discovered the part that is preventing the successful completion of a stitch. While I am happy to have figured it out and happy, too, that the part is fairly smallish, I am not so about the fact that getting parts for this particular Old Thing will probably take some time.

I wonder if I can rent one for a day? Hmmm...

I'm back in Ottawa after a gruelling drive to London and less gruelling drive back punctuated by brief but enjoyable visits with my children Tyla and Mike, my sister Linda and good friend Judy.

Still recovering from all that and more information I have gleaned from this, the latest and hopefully last opinion of an orthopaedic surgeon regarding my poor neck. Gaining his insight was the primary reason for the trip. Visiting was incidental and strategic at the same time. It gave me a rest from the driving and I was able to spend some time with people whom I don't see enough of on a regular basis.

Today is the day to drag out that book your Mom gave you for your birthday entitled Words That Shook The World to read and reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's most famous speech: "I Have A Dream." (PS: It's on the bookshelf in the stairwell.)

Should you happen not to be my son, a very likely situation, you can read or listen to the complete speech online at the American Rhetoric site.

If democracy needed to prove itself, the fact that non-violent protest and dogged perseverence can effect change within the system is a unique and superior characteristic it holds over the alternatives in practice today.

Not that I think it's perfect. The application of the theory and the machinery behind the scenes bear scrutiny still. But the fact that change can be effected without unhingeing the whole thing bodes well for the evolution and survival of democracies in a chaotic world.

At least it does in my opinion. Which is what you came here for - right?

(Mangled I know, but the best I could do today!)

I trekked to London a week or so ago to consult an orthopaedic surgeon about the possibility of replacing one or more of the troublesome discs in my neck instead of fusing 4 (of 8) vertebrae. This multiple fusion was the recommendation of the surgeon I saw here in Ottawa in October.

A compromise solution was arrived upon after I learned more about the state of this technology and the pros and cons of replacement at this point in time. As an ortho surgeon he has not yet done any disc replacements because he was not happy with the materials used in the devices available in Canada until recently.

While I was glad to hear quality is job one in his books, I was also a bit disappointed to be told that my now multiple site disc problems may have been an excluding condition anyway. It seems persistence in the face of neck problems doesn't gain you any points when the time comes for intervention - a lesson learned a bit late in the game by myself but hopefully one others will benefit from hearing.

So, if your neck has problems, get them fixed sooner rather than later, okay?

We all three debated the various options - myself, the surgeon and his assistant. The condition of my neck with the historical injury at my age is not uncommon in their experience. The surgeon has successfully treated folks like me by removing only the one most symptomatic disc and fusing the adjacent vertebrae. He would have considered disc arthroplasty in my case except for the fact that my inquiry came just a bit early.

Quality conscious consumer that I am, I asked about waiting six months. "If it was my neck, I wouldn't wait." Okay.

The recommendation is being sent to the doctor here in Ottawa to perform a single discectomy with fusion. By the time the other two discs become problematic disc replacement will be more available. Whether they are contributing to my problems is unclear at the moment, so they may not require attention at all.

Next is the scheduling of surgery. Can't wait to get it over with.

The Liver Lady weighed in last week as well. The time shift in posting is a result of my "work" world taking a walk on the wild side.

Back to the Liver Lady (my gastroenterologist, not a meat vendor). The liver readings, particularly the AST have not changed one iota since September. Not as we were hoping. The sporadic appearance of a particular symptom the week before I saw her has prompted an investigation into the probablility that a gall stone is now part of the picture.

Yes, I am now in the MRI wait queue again. The joys of Ontario's Universal Health Scare Plan. The good news is that the current status of my liver will not have any bearing on the scheduling of surgery for my neck.

When I explained why I'd asked about the possible interaction with planned surgery and told her the name of the surgeon I expected would be operating, she asked "Why him?" to which I thought for a moment, then asked "Why not him?". She only meant why an ortho guy instead of a neuro. The answer to that is that it's bone surgery and the neuro guy wasn't interested in doing it.

I have done a teeny bit of research into gall bladders and gall stones and this development makes sense given my year of living with liver damage.

The weather is a minor contributing factor for this current grumpiness. News of a dear friend's second round with breast cancer has saddened me. She's at home now according to reports from NC. Wishing I could be there to do more than send warm thoughts her way. She is a wonderful person whose beautiful and fiesty spirit is an inspiration to all of her friends. Keep up the good fight, Merci, we're all pulling for you!

I've got some life logistics that have been tumbling around in my head as well. My roommate is trying to terminate her lease here due to the disturbances that the landlord has been unable or unwilling to control. It's a long story involving the upstairs neighbours.

So, I'll be looking for another place for March 1st. Then there's the neck surgery to fit in. I don't want to be moving while I'm recuperating from that, so it seems moving is the first priority.

The principals involved in this startup adventure will be meeting in one place for the first time this weekend. At least for the first time since I have been involved. Should be interesting. I've been meditating on being diplomatic about some issues I've been having recently. Wish me luck.