Studio Ruthe

Back to normal

Five week and two days later I am finally feeling as well as before I fell. No fooling, it takes a long time to heal. I've been to a nurse practitioner at my primary care office and two different eye doctors. I was beginning to think I would never get back to normal, so I'm very pleased with this day. I've also been involved with a lot of financial nonsense. Just when I most needed everything to function without my intervention, it was not to be. The pharmacy department of my health insurance decided I was expired. I don't know if that meant dead, or that I was no longer covered by the policy. The hassle with the pharmacy and then the several calls with the company was annoying in the extreme. I cringe inside every time I have to call a company. That's just one example. So I cleaned up the kitchen, started a crockpot with soup, and got a haircut. Now, if those dark circles under my right eye would go away, everything would be wonderful.

Failure, of sorts

Obviously, I can't blog every day. It doesn't work for me. This time I have an excuse: I began to really feel the effects of that fall (or possibly something else is wrong) when I wrote the last post. You know I would never wear that purple outfit, not even to bed. Finally, yesterday, I went to the doctor nurse practitioner, who ordered several blood tests and a CT scan of my head. They post results online, and I read them, but maybe I missed something. Nothing seems to show a reason for my headache and sleepiness. I'm waiting for her to call me. Maybe I missed something. She had already assured me there was nothing to be done, except what I've been doing, if it was a concussion. Why do I hesitate about going to doctors? Most of the time they don't have answers, anyway.

Here's a picture of my backyard today. It's a dismal day, but those yellow and red leaves are really cheery.

 

How I feel today

I need that purple outfit and someone to hug me.

Election robocalls

I am so disgusted with those calls I am ready to promise I will not vote for anyone who calls me with a recorded message. "Friends of Rich" this year's Democratic bozo running for Allegheny County Executive, called me at least six times on Sunday. I went to their website and sent an email telling them one more call and I wouldn't vote for him. They called at least twice on Monday. This evening, half an hour after the polls closed, they called again. I didn't vote for Rich. I voted straight Democratic then unchecked his name. I will do it again, I promise. I think we should all get together and promise not to vote for anyone who insults us with robocalls.

Picture, phase 2

It was a newspaper box, vandalized and burned. I want to use it for my next book. Do you think it's less recognizable now?

I missed yesterday

I sat in front of the computer at least three times and couldn't think of anything to write. I'm still not doing very well. I went to a jazz concert on Saturday night, but I have nothing to report about it. Today was the fourth Osher history class about Washington, Adams, Jefferson. Today was Jefferson; lots of things I never knew. 

My black eye is almost normal looking, but part of my face is still numb. Very annoying but it seems to be getting better. Maybe tomorrow I'll have something more interesting.

What do you think of this picture?

This is not about Andy Rooney

but his death has raised a lot of questions for me. The obituaries say simply "serious complications after minor surgery." One story said his family requested privacy. I can understand, but this is something we should all be concerned with.

How many of us private citizens suffer from or die from serious complications after minor surgery? Hospitals don't want us to think about it.

Why is a man of 92 having minor surgery? Did he really need it if it was really minor? Did anyone stop to think about how much of his life he would lose to recovery?

This certainly touches on our healthcare systems and our attitudes toward life and death. Too bad he's not around to tell us what he thinks about it.

Just in time

Here it is only November 4 and I almost forgot to post. It's 11pm and I just got back from a lovely Shabat dinner. It's been a difficult day, the result of a night of not sleeping. Thursday evening I tutor two ESL students. We meet at a Panera where I usually buy a decaf to justify my use of a table. I didn't want coffee last night so I ordered tea and chose something I thought was herbal. I can't drink real tea at 8pm and expect to sleep. I read, I played solitaire on the netbook, I answered emails. I think I finally fell asleep about 5 and slept to 9:30. It wasn't enough. With my eyes only partially open I went to look at an apartment at noon, came back and took a nap, did a little work on my latest book, finally went out to dinner. Now I'm going to sleep. Good night! 

Fear

I'm not usually a fearful person. It only occurs to me after I've gone somewhere or been involved in something I shouldn't that I ought to be afraid. So it took me a long time, ten days to be exact, to realize I was afraid of going out for a walk again. The first week after I fell the weather was so unpleasant I never gave it a thought. This week has been much better and yesterday was a beautiful day. I finally took out my walking stick, swallowed my fear and went out; I am happy to report, without incident. My face looks much better. The remaining discoloration is under the frame of my glasses and hardly noticeable.

I'm not sure about the walking stick. I have no trouble walking and I'm having trouble envisioning how it might help me if I tripped again. In fact, I can only think it might create more damage. Steve wants me to use two of them. I suppose that might be better, but I don't like the idea. It seems cumbersome.

No free lunch

Monday night, after I got in bed but before I turned out the light, I got a text message offering me a free iPad3 for testing. Just call or go to a certain website. I turned off the phone. In the morning I Googled iPad3 and found a lot of sad people who bit on the offer, their contact lists co-opted to send out more spam or worse. There's a scammer born every minute. I just figure if it's too good to be true, it isn't.

This is how much snow we had last weekend.