I’m hoping you guys are feeling better. I always choose aisle seats and try not to sit in coach, but I’m over 6’.
Mixed weekend for us. Could have been the weekend from hell but it wasn’t. I flew back on Saturday from Germany to JFK and met ShawWife in NY for dinner at a restaurant I really like (Esca – the fish baked in salt is fantastic) and then a play or really a musical, Beautiful. It is the story of Carole King. Good music. I’m less crazy about musicals, though this was pretty good.
Then we went to my 92 yo mother’s house to help her clear things out. She’s been complaining to me for months about how hard it is. Moreover, my brother, who is something of a hoarder has been filling up parts of the house. My sister flew up from Memphis with her youngest D and my cousin came in and we put in a concerted day or so. But, my mother had done way more than we would have guessed. On the first day, she started telling me how difficult it was and in essence blaming me (repeatedly). I said, “Mom. I know this is very difficult. But this isn’t me doing anything to you. I’m just trying to help. You were anxious that you were going to run out of money and we helped you solve the problem. But, we’re just helping. We’re not to blame.” She said, “You are right. This is very hard for me.” And she apologized to everyone the next day for being cranky. She said, “This is just very hard and I can’t pretend that it isn’t.”
ShawD is having a fabulous time in SE Asia (Thailand thus far) and posting a lovely travel blog that captures her normal infectious enthusiasm.
Aw, that’s bittersweet, Shaw. I’m sure I’ll resemble that remark one day when they try to pry my cat food-eating self from the poolside
I managed a full-on day-plus of work yesterday, 2 days out from the cessation of all the devil drugs, including the flagyl. Now I just feel like someone who was in a car accident a few weeks ago…tenderness at the tendon flare points, achiness in wrists and ankles, knee still seizing up, but the acute pain pretty much stayed subsided.
Cautiously optimistic that I’m one of the 75% of those that do react who gets better in a few weeks as opposed to years. Ran across a combo of a mayo paper and an e book by a nurse familiar with the syndrome and each detailed the value of a combo of magnesium, coq10, vit e and tumeric, which together seem to be doing the trick. Each stressed how NSAIDs ironically made it worse. Totally weird.
I honestly would like Bayer to buy my genome sequence to improve this drug for people who react. Sounds crazy.
Speaking of crazy, Friday is our annual pool party. Thankfully I have staff but still I have a fair chunk of organizing to do on top of the catchup work.
Busy week- it’s quarter end so that means long days as well as working this Saturday. I knew that when H invited a few of his college friends and their wives over on Sat night. The cleaning ladies will be here tomorrow, H will do all of the food and I will show up when I get there. Ha. It was the only weekend this works out for everyone.
My brother called me at work yesterday from my parents house - not a good sign. Dad was at his fitness class and fell and broke his kneecap. Short story is that he is now in the hospital awaiting surgery (not scheduled yet). My parent’s house is 3 levels, narrow hallways, etc and there is no way my mom is able to care for him. Was planning to visit in August, but may need to go earlier, right now it’s wait and see.
Is anyone else just heartsick over where our country is right now? This morning on the way to work I listened to Spanish language radio just so I wouldn’t understand what they were saying.
BTW, my mother says she’s not strong enough to make a trip to see her siblings. She has a large lump at the side of her throat and quite a few others…she has gone to an ENT who is pretty sure it is lymphoma. He wants to biopsy and she doesn’t want to risk side effects because she would refuse treatment anyway. Here’s my question and the reason for TMI. Does a person need a formal diagnosis to receive appropriate palliative care? If symptoms are treated in palliative care, does a formal diagnosis help? I keep telling her that at some point she may need very strong drugs and that it will be difficult to get them if she doesn’t have a formal diagnosis.
I really don’t know what I’m talking about, however. I fear that because folks are becoming more aware of opioid dependency, they will just tell her to take OTC painkillers without a diagnosis but would give her stronger meds if she was “terminal.”
mp, I asked H and he said no. If she does not get a formal diagnosis she will still receive appropriate palliative care
(comfort care). He did say that it would be easy to get a diagnosis and it is possible that it is curable. The procedure
would be in the office and there would be a little bit of pain only.
Still, if those are her wishes then she needs to have a good plan with her doctor and get a plan lined up. Staying ahead of the pain and discomfort is important.
So sorry you are having this situation.
Of course my mother wanted every single med/doc/surgery even when bed bound at 93.
Thanks so much, Oregon. Mom doesn’t have the best of relationships with her doctors…she is very long winded and has a tendency to become … witchy. I don’t think she has ever learned that little trick about being nice and likeable so people will be nice to you. That skill could sure be useful to an elderly person.
I know I’ve been the voice of gloom today. If you have a minute, google “a box of kittens stat” and look at the 30 clip on You Tube from Scrubs.
My post from 9:30 last night sounds so flippant and self absorbed. At that time the news was just “shots fired.” The death toll is now 5. Difficult to process all this.
Joking aside, the beauty of this thread on this forum and others is that it helps me remember that there really are wonderful people out there going about their business working to make their worlds and our world a better place. It helps us to remember that strangers aren’t necessarily strange, and that there are dollops of people in every city and town throughout this country who aren’t bat-Sh-t crazy and bent on perpetuating hate, terror or destruction, or worse, ignorance
So thank y’all for existing!
Hugs, Missy, for both your mom and your city. I’m a stand for peace and reason and will send/share all the mojo I can. I know you are too and that its probably hard and a little lonely at the epicenter of sensational events so I’m also mentally sending you a giant pitcher of Beergarita to get you through.
Speaking of which, party planning mode awaits. Its a diverse crowd tonight so here’s hoping its not microcosmic of the polarized political strata. Hi ho.
Can there be such a thing as a pervasive sense of doom, because if so, that was yesterday. I came home from work feeling so heartsick about our country that I talked H and Son (who was at our house writing thank you notes) into going to our favorite Mexican restaurant and drinking margaritas. Got home at about the same time shots were fired.
Our firm’s evening word processor was finally allowed to leave the building at around 6 am. It must have been so scary for her.
Our building - and that whole end of town- is blocked off today as a crime scene. I can work remotely if I can get my head together enough to do so.
Snipers where I walk every day. Sniper where I’ve parked my car for 30 years.
And of course, it’s Dallas. Another thing to be remembered for.
I don’t know what to do with myself. Under normal circumstances I long for time at home but today nothing feels right. Eventually I guess I will log on and work remotely but my head’s not there yet.
I found a nice yoga class to go to this morning. Covered the gray this afternoon. Cooking veggie-loaded pasta primavera now.
I read on Twitter that some areas will remain closed through Wednesday. No word if we will be able to access the building. That area was ground zero. Good thing we can all log on remotely.
Peace be to you all.
