proba tive org archives

I'm up already. Woo hoo indeed. Not too foggy either. It's the drugs that make me foggy and the pain that eats my energy, I've deduced (and what I eat has nothing to do with it - I've eaten that same suspect meal the past few days as an experiment and found out it wasn't the culprit).

There's some stuff I really have to do today so I didn't take all the drugs I usually do last night. It's okay - tomorrow I'll do less.

My cute little daffodils started blooming the day after they were indoors and have a few more buds to go. A hint of spring here in my small and very chaotic abode.

I've heard that I'm about to have a new neighbour - to the side of my place. At the moment only two of the four apartments are occupied - mine and the one above me. The landlord is being picky about potential tenants he told me. He doesn't want new ones who are likely to disturb the ones that are here. Nice change. Yeah, yeah. He's getting points for that, too.

Nothing else has happened. Except it's April now, so counting the days until Fusion Day is easier: 18 to go!

The highlights today turned out to be getting a phone call from someone who was stuck in an elevator (Nice talking with you, Mike. I assume they let you out shortly after we chatted.) and then getting the go ahead to access the db application on the server so I can continue the Great Blogging Software Survey of 2005 (Thanks Deb. Now go back to partying!)

HOWEVER, sometimes I think I should just stay home until my head is running on all cylinders again. I went to pay the storage fee for the trailer and decided to remove a couple of items I think I could use here. And when I finished fiddling with the trailer and the tarp...the Jeep wouldn't start. Yeah, I left the damn lights on, but really, it couldn't have been more than half an hour.

The nice people across the road (Gifford Automotive) helped me out. From whence I drove to Costco to get my Rx's and some groceries (Yum!).

Two other little errands involving doctor-types had to be put off because they weren't working today. Tomorrow one of them will be available - poor guy.

Now for some eating and organizing of those lists I made the other day. Oh, and watching of L&O Trial by Jury - the hits just keep on coming.

I'm tired of being tired. Tired of being in pain. Tired of taking drugs to stay (somewhat) sane. Tired of not remembering things. Tired of having nothing worthwhile to do with the bits of brain I do have. Tired of being isolated by unemployment and my headspace. Just now my odd brain connections have treated me to a scene in Blazing Saddles - Madeline Kahn singing "I'm Tired" Ha ha. Yep, that's how I feel!

To top it off it is raining. Nice for the flowers, I guess. Now that the snow is mostly melted the true nature of the backyard has revealed itself and it is pretty darn ugly right now. Picture a lake of mud and unidentifiable artifacts with a sprinkling of construction materials. To one side some grass is trying to cover about one quarter of the muck. In the middle stands a dangerous wooden stairway (on stilts) leading to the apartment above me. A wooden structure that has little to no support from the ground up. There are no serviceable footings boys and girls and in the sea of mud (I exaggerate, sorry - the pond of mud) the underpinnings have shifted and lost contact with the stringer in a couple of places. This is on the list of things that need fixing before the next Fire Inspection I believe.

I'm off to sit in my GP's waiting room to tell him he's 'it' in the game of medical support, my talk therapists having cut me loose - not because I am ready, but because there's a limit to how many visits are available through urgent care access to psych support. Rules is rules. In my final visit I was advised that I should find alternative support for myself because "it helps to have someone to talk things through with you". Nice to know that it's helpful...

I'll be back. Maybe with a better attitude. Maybe not.

Ha! Told you winter wasn't over. I don't care what the official calendar folks have to say about it being Spring now; as far as I'm concerned if it snows, it's winter.

I managed to get a few of the things on my little list done despite everything. Visited the GP and have in hand multiple Rx's to get me through the time that I won't be very mobile. Told him he's "it", too - at least until he gets me a referral to a top-notch psychiatrist respect for whom he and I share. Left a payment for the trailer parking rental.

Gathered supplies for the imminent spurt of organizational activity that's gaining momentum here in the Wee Messy Space. Forgot to get cat food, though. Tomorrow. I promise.

No more plans for driving today, so pain relief has been injested. Haven't eaten much at all, though so I should do that before I crash of drugs and/or boredom. There's a good movie on TVO tonight, but I'm probably not going to be up that late (Wait Until Dark) so I'll watch the one that's on earlier (The Collector).

I'm really getting irritated by commercials lately. Why DO they insist on being so annoyingly loud anyway? It must work for them else they wouldn't keep on doing it, but it surprises me anyway. LCD I guess.

Don't know where it went or when it's coming back but my constant companion, pain, has taken a short vacation. First there was a pain party on Saturday evening and now? Maybe he's gone to Florida for a break.

So I took the day off Sunday (hard to tell from the outside these days, I know - but you didn't get any phone calls from me did you? Or email? See?) Numerous times during that day I was stopped by the realization that I really wasn't feeling pain. I think the day off was kind of a way of not breaking the 'spell' by irritating anything but also a bit of a vacation from everything.

I caught some good stuff on TVO. Public television is awesome sometimes. I watched a couple of thought provoking shows: Big Ideas and Allan Gregg. Big Ideas was about a couple of authors one of which wrote Blink and The Tipping Point (you can Google it if you want). He's from Ontario and the talk was taped at UofT (his alma mater). Extremely interesting discussion of his newest book about how important snap judgements are in our lives and how to better engineer our decision making environment so they aren't polluted by extraneous details (conscious or unconscious) or our stress levels. I can't wait to read it. It'll be a while, though - I have a pile of books that are actually on the shelf waiting to be read. Books are one of my vices.

I am still tired and taking another stab at cutting down on the levels of chemicals in my system. If I get through the week without upping things again I will consider that a sign of progress of a sort. Not that having to up things will be considered a bad sign, but not as good a sign.

I started reconfiguring my PC trolley (the one I built in Kingston from spare lumber as a precaution re: threat of flooding). It was just a smidge high for complete freedom of movement under my desk due to the height of the taller PC and the depth of the keyboard tray. Only started, but almost finished. I completely disassembled it and was about to pound it back together (at least the parts that were nailed) when I realized it was going to create quite a bit of noise.

I decided to be a considerate neighbour and wait until the guy upstairs went to work at 4 pm or so. I needed a brief rest to recharge anyway so I lay down. I didn't intend to sleep, but sleep I did. And he didn't go to work or even out tonight. So much for that. Tomorrow I shall pound. If it's not raining, I can pound outside on the walk, even.

[Technically 13 days left till Fusion now.]

In the suburbs known as drowsy... Figured something out about this pain thing, namely Doing Nothing = Little or No Pain. The reverse is true as well, so Doing Something = Medium to Extreme Pain. Since I did something(s) yesterday, today the pain is visiting. (Come to think of it, neck problems are like that... you don't find out until the next day if you've overdone things.)

Lots of moving of things so the place makes better sense. Don't go thinking heavy lifting or anything. The heaviest thing I moved was a file box with books in it. Some of this was in response to information I gleaned from a long chat with a friend of a friend who had, it turns out, exactly the same discs removed and her neck fused a little while back. Put me in a funk for the rest of that day and sent me back to the web where I found a forum for spine surgery patients to share their trials and tribulations and advice and support.

As with all such forums it's dominated by postings from people with the most problems and I understood that while reading a lengthy thread about the ongoing experience of a doctor who had a single level disc removal and fusion.

I've managed to sift some useful pragmatic information out of it all which is good. And it is better to have the understanding of some of the potential hurdles than being surprised by them. At least it is for me. For instance, something I hadn't been warned about by anyone at the hospital is that sometimes the swelling in the esophageal area is severe enough that injesting solids is out of the question for a few days. While understandable and not definite, it's something I'll keep in mind when I stock up on quick and easy food.

Oh, and just before I was to go in last time, the pre-admissions nurse informed me that if I wanted to read, I would have to have something to hold the book. This put a whole new perspective on the weeks of severely restricted activity I was facing. I'd thought this would be the perfect time to tackle the pile of books I've been wanting to get read.

Planning for the worst and hoping for the best, I took a new look at where things were in my kitchen area and decided to try out a different arrangement. (I was having trouble accessing some food supplies from where they'd been hastily stashed when I moved in a few weeks ago - and it was going to be harder post-surgery - at least for a while.)

Things are working out well. I'm not quite finished but the strategy has been proven to be sound. One of the things I did that probably caused some irritation to my nerves was building Great Cubes. That's what they were called when I bought them years ago. They are just large holed wire squares with plastic connectors. (They kind of remind me of the Tinker Toys I played with as a kid, except there are no long sticks, just squares.) Believe me, they are not difficult to assemble. And they are very very handy.

Since I have pretty well cornered the market on them, I am using them liberally. For a while some of them will be used to raise the cat litter and food dishes to a height that is neck brace friendly. I got some things hung on the wall, too. Another good day of this and I'll be as ready as ready can be.

I got so into the beauty that is a plan coming together that it was very very late when I finally put myself to bed. I'm putting a bit of the blame on the mother-daughter connection that had both of us sleepless last night, though as well. It's hell being an out of town Mom when your baby is facing scary medical appointments. She got some good/bad news and shared that with me this afternoon.

The fire inspector was to come today, so I had to be up and decent by 10. Sheesh. The real world is so inconsiderate sometimes. [grin] I thought I could grab some ZZZ's after that, but no, the locksmith was coming a couple of hours later to change the locks. Okay... so maybe after that? No. I talked to my girl after that.

There were technical difficulties so the locksmith is coming back at 9 am tomorrow. Yikes. I am so tired I can barely think. I've been staying up so I don't end up up half the night again. (Yeah, that sentence made sense.)

So, progress of a sort is being made. Honest. (Oh, and if you think this blog has been whiny lately - you should have read that forum last night...)

Pain and its remedy do a funhouse make. Went to get cat food. Got into reading all the labels (lots of them have the primary ingredient listed as a 'meal' of some kind: corn, chicken, etc.) After comparing them all I decided on one that has a real meat as the first ingredient (actually I bought two bags, chicken and lamb, since I won't be out shopping for a while). This one has lots of real veggies and kelp and organic things. My poor little kitty has been outside only briefly in her almost 7 years of living with me. (You don't want to hear it all right now, so I won't go there, but there are some good reasons.) This food will bring her some of the stuff she'd be eating outside.

Grabbed some cat litter and a toy and left. And the Jeep wouldn't start because I'd managed to leave the lights on again. (Yep! I'm not driving as much as I used to and my automatic habits aren't so automated anymore it seems. Bummer.)

My guardian angel was watching this time, though. I'd just put the hood up and was about to head back to the store to call a tow truck when a very nice gentleman drove up and asked if I had cables --- he'd seen that my lights were on. Turned out my trusty heavy duty ones were in the back.

Lucky he was there. And that I had cables.

Wonder how many times the battery will forgive me?

The door to the place is now idiot proof. I cannot lock myself out of my apartment anymore. Yay! I could lock myself out of the laundry room though, so I need to be careful there.

The pain cycle has gotten to the point that I'm too tired (and foggy) to do much but too tensed up to sleep. I hate it when it gets like this. Especially when I have things to do.

I see a nice hot bath in my future.

[10 more days to go. 9 if you're a pedant]

Screaming pain woke me an hour or so ago. Really bad. Badder than it's been in years. Decades even. I couldn't keep liquids down (with which I hopefully ingested those time release pain bombs). Could not get comfortable in any position - sitting, standing, lying on the couch. I even tried the floor.

Post baptizing both sinks, sitting on the steps outside in the lovely but painful to look at spring sun and soaking up some warmth from mother nature has, perhaps coincidentally settled my system. My hypothesis is that I didn't toss up the medications, just the coffee chaser.

So, uh, now what? Not the huge list of relatively minor bits of errands. Maybe a few of them later, but only after I've managed to eat and keep it down. Just a little bit of food. And continued supression of pain ninja's.

They ambushed me today - attacking on many fronts all at once. Tricky little devils.

In better news, the cat loves me again since I went out and hunted down food for her. It's kind of cute, actually, in the shapes of stars and moons. Small enough bits that she no longer seems compelled to remove them from the bowl before chewing on them. I gave her the Kong toy I bought for her amusement. Yeah, it's a dog toy but she doesn't know or care. It moves oddly when she smacks it and it has some heft to it. There's a spot to hide treats or catnip inside.

Pretty boring stuff, I know, but it keeps me sane for now. A feat all in itself.
Presuming relief from excrutiating pain can be continued, it's much too beautiful outside for staying in. Some strolling in the sun is mandated. See you outside!

So far today has yesterday beat by a mile. No migraine or other extreme pain. Some minor stuff but nothing that will keep me from doing what I have planned. The coffee stayed down. That was test number one. Yesterday I managed to keep tea and toast down after the tossing incident, but haven't tried anything with substance - yet.

No outdoor activity was had yesterday, either. Once the pain killers kicked in, I was resigned to resting. Too shaky for much else. The landlord stopped by and I got to meet the other landlord, too. Nice guys, both of them. The visit was to check on the industrial strength door closing device. The contractors have located a residential strength one and were to come by sometime soon to swap mine out. Not done yet, but I have a promise it will be done early next week. (Yay!)

In even more good tenant news: the newly constructed laundry room will have machines sometime next week as well. Wonderful luck for this soon-not-driving tenant.

Today is another bright and fairly mild day. It's a low traffic day too, so I'll be heading over to the storage place. It's right at the end of the Bronson off ramp for the west bound 417. If you're familiar with downtown Ottawa and traffic around there you'll understand why off-hours are attractive for this kind of errand.

I'll eat when I get back, just in case it is problematic.

I'm pretty sure I did something yesterday. Oh, yeah, it was a small thing. Going back to the trailer to extract more Great Cubes. Noticed the trailer has a flat. Same tire as before. It's a slow leak thing that went unattended during the Frozen Season. If (big IF) I end up with some extra time at the end of this week I'll see if I can reinflate it.

Didn't wake up until 1pm yesterday for goodness sake. The bod was still complaining and it took a while to get the brain in gear, so that little tiny thing was just about it as far as productive use of time and energy.

The laundry machines have been installed and await their inaugural spin. Ha ha. I'll probably be the first to try them out, since I'm here all day most days. The door closer exchange is to take place later this afternoon.

And, in even more exciting news: I've got a good deed to take care of today! Yep, I'm going down to Lisgar's place, gonna give my kid a helping hand, gonna seek out office staff and pay their damn fee.

[7 days 'till surgery...]

I went to the school mentioned in the earlier post today but the office was closed! The nerve... I'll go much earlier tomorrow because I'm just going to that's all.

Tomorrow my sister heads in for surgery, too. Not for her neck though. That would be too freaky even for us Halligans. Just as, um, sensitive a procedure though. Actually, maybe a bit more sensitive. When you're back at the web browsing, you'll have to fill us in kiddo.

The operation Linda is having has things to do with sinus cavities and the reason I said it may be "more sensitive" than the pending spine surgery is that while I am restricted from lifting over 5 pounds post-op, she'll be restricted from lifting anything at all. She told me a while back that a membrane that separates a cavity from the brain is the reason but I openly admit I don't recall the details at the moment

I have thought about her most of the day but made the fatal mistake of laying down about 5 hours ago for a short (ha ha) rest. Here it is almost another day and I've just woke up and I think it's very likely too late to be calling to wish her the best of luck. Not to mention she'll be busy stuffing her face before the midnight deadline for consumption of food.

On the pain side of things, a not as awful as the past couple of days was had today. I still have tons of things to do, but the number of things out of the apartment is dwindling comfortingly.

I'm really tired and I absolutely must get my sleep schedule to fit the "real" world's expectations asap. So here's a short (I hope) little recap of information gained and activities executed during the day.

Started by waking at about 10 am. This is a big deal for me, if you've been reading this blog lately. If not, you'll just think I'm a big slug. Oh well...

The usual routine: coffee, etc. A call from the landlord saying the door closer thing would be done tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. One of the reasons I must get back in synch.

Then, a call from the surgeon's office letting me know that yes, the doctor thought having my liver function tests done again would be a good idea. I'd suggested this while he was on vacation, since it will have been about 6 weeks between the original set of tests and this upcoming operation. This meant I had to make it to the ortho clinic and then to the vampires at the blood lab all before 4pm. Oh, and I had to get over to Lisgar before 3pm to pay that fee. All done I'm happy to report.

The doctor's (receptionist? nurse? whatever she is) also said that she'd asked about the stuff I was to wash with twice (night before and day of surgery). It is hard to find she said, so I was to ask a pharmacist about an equivalent alternative. Done, too.

Then I was told that my surgery would likely require me to be at the hospital at 6 am on Monday. There, another reason to get back on the ROW's schedule.

But I won't really know until I call on Friday to confirm the time. Between 2 and 4 pm. What with doing this "wash" to disinfect the surgery sites and getting information by calling a number between specific hours, it's starting to feel like a bit of DIY health care. Nope, I'm not going to complain, I'm just reporting what it feels like.

Speaking of which, I received a phone call from my sister a short while ago. She's doing pretty well (morphine rocks!) and wanted to let me know that things went well and she's resting in an upright position for a couple of days. So I'm just letting everyone else know - she's back at home and being waited on by her hubby, Ben.

Me, I'm going to bed soon. So I can be awake before the workers come tomorrow morning. Eight-thirty... they'd better not be late!

I'm up, coffee in hand (well, on the desk while I type). Those guys better not be late. I'm not sure how long I can maintain this pretending to be 'normal' thing.

I did have a slightly disturbed rest last night. An odd dream at one point. And then the guy upstairs came into his apartment. Sounded like his cat went AWOL from the incredible number of times he called her name inside and out. I hope she comes home today...

[4 more days until Fusion Day]

Not the repair guys. They came pretty well on time and the new door closer is much more user friendly - no body check required!

No, the bummer part is that the surgery I have been eagerly anticipating may have run into another glitch. This time it's the liver tests that were done yesterday. The surgeon's office was pretty concerned. The other specialists will be consulted but apparently the numbers have departed quite a bit from 6 weeks ago.

So now I'm awaiting more news on that front. Way to ruin a pretty good day.

Everyone but the anaesthesiologist has okayed the surgery. Won't know any more until tomorrow. Hoping for the best.

Oh, and my delightful Nokia 8260 has been damaged. Not fatally, just annoyingly. Tomorrow I'll take it to the repair place and see if they can disable the problematic button. It's the volume control, which I never use but which has cracked and is now in two pieces (still in the appropriate place). If this little thing is touched unintentionally it sets the volume to somewhere much past the maximum and the beeping goes on and on and on. Sometimes it can be stopped by playing with the volume control and sometimes only a hard reset will work.

Today it misbehaved (I must have hit the button) while I was in a conversation and the other person was unable to hear me. Not good. Any bets on whether the repair place on Carling will help me? For like really cheap? All I want is the button disabled.

There are too many things up in the air now surrounding my surgery. It has stressed me out considerably this afternoon. You see, both of my children have made time in their schedules to come in from out of town to be here to make sure I'm ready and that I'm okay post procedure.

The way things are right now, there's still a possibility (pretty slight by all accounts) that my surgery will be put off until my liver's happier. Also, the earliest I can get confirmation of the time I'm to be at the hospital on Monday using the surgery protocol for the hospital is tomorrow at 2pm (at which time I will be redialing the designated phone number until I get through).

While I was reacting to the first indication that there may be one, I thought it prudent to alert both of my offspring to the potential change in schedule. I called my son first and, being ignorant of the plans he and my daughter had made to arrive together on Saturday, mentioned that it may be enough to have them at the hospital when I am finished surgery (again, that time not known until tomorrow). He made some good arguments about the fact that I should have someone there, if not him, while I was going through the pre-op part. I said I thought my daughter would be here. He said that would be good enough for him and he'd plan to be there sometime on Monday.

Then I spoke to my daughter and found out about the plans she understood had been agreed upon between the two of them. So somehow I have now messed up a plan I didn't even know existed. Great.

To straighten things out in the short time that remains, I have tentatively arranged a time for a conference call between the three of us. Tomorrow - right after I find out the real time of surgery. Ah, if surgery is still taking place. Sheesh.

Being a seasoned telecom and software geek, I trust nothing, so I just tested the 3-way calling feature to make sure we understood one another. No, it doesn't work the same everywhere. Trust me. But the instructions on the help site worked just find and that's good enough for today.

Just 3 days to go (to the neck surgery) and I'm getting anxious. Not about the surgery itself, but about what I'll be UNABLE to do for the first weeks while the bone is healing. That, and waiting to hear WHETHER I'm still scheduled for Monday or whether my liver will make me wait even longer. (There is an upside to that, too, of course --- at least for terminal optimists like me: waiting may allow me to access the disc replacements that will be going on in London soon.)

Prioritizing what's left to do now includes getting anything requiring lifting or driving done by Sunday afternoon. There's another category of "things only I can do" vs "things just about anybody can do for/with me". And then the "things I'll need some dough to do" (this category somewhat overlaps the first priority list as well).

Woke fairly early (7:30 am) and in mega pain again. Thought I was in for another day like that nasty one last weekend but the codeine, coffee and decongestants have done the trick.

There's a little voice in my head. A devilish one that says my pain isn't all that bad... I can do without this ordeal. But that's the codeine talking. Once I start paying real attention when I'm doing simple things (like washing my hair, lifiting that jug of filtered water) I remind myself that these things shouldn't cause pain. And it's not all about pain. This operation is hopefully going to restore some lost strength and coordination in my right arm and hand and allow me to do some things I haven't in many years due to the irritation that results. Things like kayaking, running, swimming, building things (yeah, with hammer and nails and such!)

My outlook may change without notice post-surgery, but right now I am thankful that I have been confirmed for the neck repair/fusion. Bright and early on Monday.

Now I just have to finish getting my stuff organized here. Excellent.

Hey! One more day to go. Woohoo!!! I've made a list and have been puttering and gathering assistance and miscellaneous things to aid in my convalescence. More help than I'll need is awaiting my call.

Many thanks go out to Linden, Ceyhan, Jeff, Deb, Rob and John. If I manage to keep you all busy, things will be worse than I'd anticipated. A huge thanks to my kids, too. This is my Mother's Day present according to Steph (who arrived yesterday). Fine by me. Best gift I could ask for at this point is their moral support.

Off in a bit to do some time sensitive things at stores around town then I'll be back.

Note to my sister: I hope you're stilll resting up. Don't overdo things...you can remind me of that next week - deal?

Just a quick note to let people know that Mom's surgery did, in fact, start as planned at 8AM. She is scheduled to be finished at 1PM, and then will spend a few hours in the recovery room before we're allowed to visit. I'll be calling people for whom I have numbers once we hear that she's out, but the impatient (or those who are rightly concerned that I might have forgotten someone) should feel free to call my cell at 647.296.1922, after 1 or so.

(Mike)

That's what Mom's surgeon, the esteemed Dr. Garth Johnson, told me when he called a few hours ago. And now she's out of the recovery room, so Steph and I are on our way to visit with her.

If I may be permitted: woo!

(Mike)

Hello Everyone.

I'm out of the hospital! I am blown away by how much progress I've made in just a few days: from flat on my back on the orthopaedic ward to home in my cosy little den. More than geographic changes are the (so far) complete retreat of my old acquaintances Arm Pain and Weakness. Granted they've been temporarily replaced by severely reduced head mobility, a couple of incisions and a really weak hip. But those are very temporary.

Once I'm warmed up and my muscles aren't too stiff, I'm dangerous with this walker. That's one thing I'll need a bit of help with: getting this heavy (given my current lift restrictions) out to the walkway so I can get some exercise at least once a day.

There's a nurse-type person coming on Monday to change dressings and help me with showering (which I did for the first time all by myself yesterday - talk about your giant baby steps!).

I am going to be doing what my doctor says (mostly), so I will be conserving and optimizing my time on the computer by using this blog to keep you all updated. Seems you are all web connected one way or another so that'll do for normal progress stuff - okay? As I have time and energy I'll call everyone, too (oh, no, too late to get off the list now - sorry!)

Mike and Tyla just left after taking me for my first non-hospital meal. They're really great kids, I gotta say. I've spoken to my sister (She may be on the list or may not - who can remember?), and to my daughter today by phone. Had a nice visit with Linden, before all that - she helped spring me from the joint.

Ceyhan - no, you're not out of the loop, the loop's just been rather quiet until I got back home. Sorry to hear you're afraid of my little Dixie, not to worry, we'll figure something out.

Thanks to Jeff for bringing some Tetley tea bags to the joint. And visiting a couple of times.

I have enough energy to return a couple more phone calls and then I'm back to "taking it easy" (per Doctor's orders!)

Oh, many many thanks will be showered on Dr. Johnson when next I see him. In my books he's the best.

Take care everyone. Now's the tedious part... healing - slow and steady.

Susan, an old friend and former running coach, dropped in this afternoon and we went for a walk. It was wonderful to visit with her whilst we trundled, albeit much more slowly than we used to, around the neighbourhood enjoying the spring weather. We covered a 1 by 2 block residential area. I had a nap afterward but felt great.

I haven't taken any pain killers yet today, either. Trying to see if I really need the latest Rx the surgeon sent me home with. So far, so good.

Monday the visiting nurse came by to change the dressings on my incisions and said I was very close to not needing dressings at all. Tomorrow will be the test. I couldn't have a shower until I knew she was on her way so most of the day I was in a holding pattern. After the shower (which gets the pads for the neck brace soaking wet of course), she changed dressings and then I changed the neck brace pads. This took place late in the afternoon and I was pretty well exhausted last night.

Sunday I had visits from Ceyhan (one of my oldest friends) and ROBERT! (That's how he answers his phone - anyone who knows him will know of whom I am speaking.) They missed each other by a couple of hours during which time I napped a bit.

Tonight Ceyhan dropped by again to bring me some dinner and stayed for a chat while I ate. I forgot all about the cat problem and Dixie was well-mannered enough to be not a problem after all.

Tomorrow the home care person is coming in to clean the bathroom and 'let' me out for a walk. At least that's what I'm hoping if it's not pouring rain when she gets here.

Posting time's up. Trying to be a good patient. Talk to you all later. Thanks for dropping by.

Well, more frequent than emails anyway. I'm trying to be a good (if bored) patient at this point by refraining from spending more than a few minutes a day at a keyboard. (I have yet to try the piano keyboard - now how's that for self-control?)

In general I am still very amazed at the lack of pain I have. My neck and hip look perfect for Halloween yet the only pain is from somewhere in my hip and is aggravated by two opposite things: laying still for a long time and walking for over about 30 minutes.

Yesterday my friend Jeff took me to the hospital for my liver to be MRI'd (if that's a verb?). This test involved a dye being injected into my bloodstream for the last half of the time in the machine so the images taken could track where it went. Kind of cool, even if it did take longer than estimated. Here's why: I was doing too well at relaxing. Really. During this imaging, the machine triggers on your respiration (first time I've been told this and first time I've been asked to breathe more deeply during an MRI). Anyway, I wasn't triggering the thing. To make deep breathing just a bit more of a challenge, there was a fairly weighty "pad" placed over my abdomen. Sheesh.

While Jeff performed his good deed beyond expectations (he stayed for the whole thing rather than dropping me off and picking me up - what a nice guy, huh?), my good deed was to allow another patient who'd been flown in to jump the queue and take my place so the helicopter folks would wait and take her back immediately. It's the little things - right?

This week I have run into several people who've asked what happened to me. Strangely the sympathetic responses I receive and my assurances to them that the surgery has actually been less painful than the condition it addressed are a kind of deja vu. Of the time that I was divorced. Got the same kind of "poor thing" responses and gave the same assurance that this was really an improvement, nothing to be sorry about at all.

Could be I'm odd. (Probably more than just odd actually.)

Friends continue to drop by and break the monotony, thanks very much. Thanks for the emails as well. I can't yet respond to all of you which is why you're reading this, I hope.