I may have spoken too soon. Last night my arm started turning a purplish shade of black and blue. And… this morning my pain was reaching new levels.
Dan drove me to the Pasqua Hospital Emergency. Contrary to everything we have heard and read lately, the care was timely and efficient AND if the staff was exhausted and stressed, they were way too professional, caring, and kind to show it.
We were in and out in three and a half hours (which included a trip to radiology for several x-rays). The bottom line is I broke the surgical neck of my humorous. Fortunately, it remained in place, so no operation was required. My arm is supported by a foam sling and I will have to see a surgeon to ensure healing is going as planned.
And… The doctor told me that not only could I, but I should maintain my physical workouts – while avoiding engaging my left arm for the time being, obviously. 🤗
On the way home, Dan swung by A & W to pick us up hamburgers, onion rings, and gravy. 😊
So that was my update for today. Take care and have a great rest of the day! 💞🌞
The post that I chose to update today was short and to the point. My husband and I were battling a severe flu with the less than enthusiastic support of our little dog, Kat.
This innocuous post from early 2020 marked the early days of the Covid pandemic. While it was before the advent of Covid testing and treatment, I have no doubt that it was Covid and not the typical, or even atypical winter flu that we experienced.
Update on the winter flu of 2020
Personally, the ‘flu’ of 2020 continues to affect my health and physical well-being.
Nationally and globally, it has had detrimental effects on the lives of countless.
It has highlighted the heroic efforts of countless – from healthcare workers who continue to fight losing battles, to retail workers who have kept basic necessities on shelves and in our home throughout, to truckers and couriers who have operated under difficult, dehumanizing conditions, especially when hotels, motels, and restaurants were shuttered, to teachers who have struggled to educate and protect their students, to politicians who have worked to juggle healthcare, the economy, education, and social well being – with the support of few and the contempt of many. It has brought out all of the heroic among us who worked to serve others, while struggling themselves and caring for their own loved ones.
Saddest of all (in my mind), it has brought out the worst among us – those who have used this crisis to take advantage of others – the hoarders who have been the cause of most shortages, the greedy who have capitalized on shortages and the needs of others, the heartless who have written off the suffering and deaths of others as inconsequential, and finally those who continue to fight for their ‘rights’ regardless of the rights and needs of which they are depriving others.
There is no way for any of us to know how or when this will all end. Seeing the direction many have taken in Canada during the past few days, I cannot see it ending peacefully and with a genuine attitude of co-operation or consideration, without which I do not see an end. 🤷
Covid began so innocently for all of us. I wonder how this time will be remembered and judged going forward. I wonder how current and future generations will be changed – for better or worse.
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great rest of the day. 💞
The title of my blog today might be a bit of an exaggeration but this Grandma is feeling rough this week and definitely not much in a mood to ‘celebrate’.
I had my hernia procedure on Tuesday morning. It was, as hospital experiences go, a great experience. Before I had time to stress about it, I was done and gone. Yay!
Then things started to slide. I left the hospital with a small patch over a tiny incision – a small patch to which I am obviously very allergic to. I also, left with prescriptions for three medications – none of which agree with me. I tossed the painkillers and anti-inflammatory. The third medication I will try to deal with for the time being. I can handle nausea and sleepiness. If I lose my breath, blood pressure or pulse, I may have to rethink this one as well.
That is it for today, folks. I am ready for a serious nap. Take care and have a great day!
I wrote a blog last night that I was going to post this morning. After this morning, I decided to cycle around to a different ‘piece ofmy mind’ that needs sharing.
I am waiting for surgery for a hernia(s). My surgeon wants to get this done ASAP but his office arranged for me to have a catscan because the ultrasound I had in May was inconclusive about some problem areas. I have my catscan booked for next week but I needed to get a routine blood test done before I could have the catscan – or the surgery.
My surgeon’s office sent a requisition over to our local lab for the blood test. All I had to do was go to have it done. Which I did, this morning.
I have no idea how the seriously ill or aged survive ‘health’ care. It is not a place or process for wimps. None of it!
My first step was to make an appointment for my test at the lab. Good freaking luck with that. Dan and I used to have an account with our lab to book appointments. After their system was hacked a couple of years ago we were locked out. There is no option for a reset unless one calls to speak to a real person. Hahahaha… After spending an hour on hold at 1-800-welcome to hell, I figure no such person exists. I decide to call the local clinic to make sure that they had received my requisition before heading down to stand in the walk-in line. The local clinic phone number is a recording advising you to call 1-800-welcome to hell.
So, I head down to the local clinic. I get into line (outside the clinic) behind maybe five people. A lab assistant came and asks the routine Covid questions. I ask if she could check to see if they have my requisition. That was a hard no. It would be in contravention of our healthcare ‘privacy act’. PHFTT!
So I stand in line – for an hour. While the line grows much longer behind me – growing past the lab and wrapping around Giant Tiger. Oddly enough, I am like the pick of the litter in this line. There are at least two women old enough to be my grandmother, one elderly man who was there to pick up a sample container for his wife, several people who are obviously seriously ill, one woman who is suffering from a possible miscarriage, and one very pregnant woman who is probably still in line and no longer pregnant. In the shade of the strip mall it is miserably cold and we are obviously in the company of a colony of wasps. I myself am not that uncomfortable, but I am seriously concerned that some of us are not going to make it through this sh*t show.
After hearing the lab assistant tell several people, that things are abnormally backed up because this is the first day after a long weekend, I watch as a number of lab techs drift in – hours after the lab was scheduled to open. 😒 Finally, I am at the front of the line and I am called in. I feel horrid taking my turn when there are so many who obviously need the relief of getting this over and done with more than I did. But, I need this blood test and will obviously throw the entire system into a tizzy if I let anyone step in front of me, so in I go. To stand in line inside. 🤦
I get to the counter and find that they have never received, or quite possibly have lost, my requisition. I am advised that I should call my doctor’s office and get it sent over. I ask if I should sit down in the office to make the call. I assume the receptionist says yes. Her head sort of nods. If she is speaking English, I did not recognize it as such. I sit down under the ‘No Cell Phones Allowed’ sign and pull out my cell phone, while the receptionist guns me down with dirty looks. What?? I am pretty sure she didn’t expect me to use their 🤣🤣🤣 phone.
I call my surgeon’s office and the requisition is sent over immediately. I hear the fax. I sit and wait while half a dozen other people are directed off to the various lab booths as they open up. The receptionist shoots me dirty looks until I step up to the counter and ask if they have my requisition. She asks for my health card. I hand it over. She hands it back and has me write my name on a paper so she can check the requisitions they have on hand. My name is on the health card she was just holding. The clerk next to her advises that he has my requisition.
Within a couple of minutes, I am directed to booth number one. It takes 30 seconds for the lab tech to verify my identity, draw my blood, and put a bandaid on my arm.
I am out of there! I stop at Petrocan to grab a coffee and a lottery ticket (because this is obviously my lucky day).
I am now home and one step closer to surgery.
I cannot imagine how our health system can possibly make things more difficult and uncomfortable for those who need their services. This is not a third world country. This is Canada. Surely to God we can afford to do a more humane job of taking care of the sick and elderly amongst us. It just boggles my mind every time I experience our health system.
That’s my ‘piece of mind’ for the day. 😁
Take care! Have a nice rest of the day and see you tomorrow.💞
This is Day 26 of my ‘Accentuate the Positive’ challenge. Today I am going to put the accent on the electronic tools and toys in our lives.
Back in the days when my boss traded in our adding machine for a calculator, when another boss added a fax machine to our office equipment, and even when my (then) two year old grandson swiped my new iPod Touch to watch You Tube cartoons under his blanket, I knew I was on a steep learning curve. I had no idea how steep the curve could get – or how much our lives would be altered by electronic innovations.
Electronic toolsthat keep us feeling well – and confident that we are indeed so!And some to take care of us from fingers to toes. There is nothing manual onour Jeep. We didn’t even know we had a key for it until Jen showed me there was one hidden in the keyfob. Electronics to keep us in touch and informed.This is one of the older examples of electronic equipment in our kitchen but it has a special place in my heart. Everytime I use it, I am reminded of the morning that I taught my Dad how tomake easy peasy real oatmeal. What’s a home without television, satellite, and an electronic fire (which gets surprisingly warm).Nothing escapes electronic innovation, not even our garden. From tools to turtle riding gnomes, they are there for us to use and enjoy.
Today, electronics in business have advanced even further than those in our homes. What started off with a calculator for me, morphed into computers, scanners, accounting packages, electronic planrooms, and the rest – not to mention all of the electronic tools that have made there way into the production department.
Our lives in business and at home have been irrevocably changed by electronic innovations. Sometime the challenges they present can be a little daunting or frustrating, but all in all, the good outweighs the bad. When it comes to electronics, we have a lot to appreciate and enjoy. 😉
That is it for today! Twenty-six days down and only four more to go!
I hope you enjoy your electronically enhanced day today! See you tomorrow.
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 