I was blessed with another good day today. It was a day without the need for pain pills; a day full of sunshine. I saw my cardiologist who was delighted with my progress, including sitting in his office without having to wear oxygen the entire time – a good sign that I should be able to wean off eventually. My[…]
On Very Good Days…
Today was a very good day. After an eight hour long migraine (my insurance company decided I didn’t need my preventative anymore) finally let me loose, I felt great. I had breakfast and lunch and dinner, and didn’t have to force them down. Marci’s mums are all open and happy. I felt well enough to clean the kitchen – including[…]
On One Day At A Time …
We are terribly unhappy with our service for my oxygen. While we await approval for a portable condenser, I am attached by a long line to a refrigerator-sized one. I walk through a doorway the line catches and jerks me back, or one of the dogs step on it. Always there is a reminder that I am not free to[…]
On Laughter As Medicine and More Markers
I was speaking to my counselor this week and said something that amused her. “So sick,” she said, “but still able to make people laugh.” “Yeah, I guess if I can keep my sense of humor then I’ll be okay,” I replied. She looked at me seriously for a few moments. “But, who is making you laugh? You need to[…]
On More Markers…
On More Markers.. Scary moment, my oxygen machine / refrigerator / tank malfunctioned and quit working in the middle of the night. My hero Charles managed to do a work around with a stand alone tank so I lived to fight another day. The company replaced the hulk this afternoon. I got ambitious this morning – determined to accomplish more[…]
On Markers…
I lost most of August in the hospital, during which time I had a procedure called a pleurodesis. It is far and away the most pain I have ever felt. I had no idea the level of pain I was capable of enduring. Not to say the doctors didn’t try to prepare me with their warnings of “you will experience[…]
On Puzzles…
I like to work jigsaw puzzles when the weather prohibits being outside. From November through at least January, there is one on a card table by the fireplace waiting for my attention. Charles and I stop from time to time to add a piece, or we will spend hours bent over it trying to finish. Our grandson, Marcos, loves to[…]
On Hope…
I once had a boss who loved to use the phrase “Hope is not a strategy” to shut down coworkers during status meetings. If a team member used the word “hope,” as in “we hope this new campaign will…” or “we hope the new pricing will…,” he would interrupt with, “Hope is not a strategy.” While I never contradicted him[…]
On a Six Months Report…
It is April 14, 2025. In addition to being my baby brother’s 58th birthday, it is the six month anniversary of my Mitral Clip procedure. I get to celebrate by taking one less pill after today. This morning I took the final pill in my bottle of blood thinners. To commemorate the day, I got a nasty paper cut getting[…]
On What ALSO Is…
The Cozumel sky is this blue; the Cozumel water ALSO is this blue.