Health update

 

Since my last health update, there's been a lot of "hurry up and wait" and several frustrating disagreements among medical professionals who can't agree on what they want to do to me.  I'm beginning to feel like a laboratory guinea-pig.

All the doctors agree that "Something Must Be Done!" - but they can't seem to agree what that Something should be.  The main point of contention appears to be whether I need three more vertebrae to be fused, adding on to my present fusion site, or whether the existing fusion should be removed and a sort of reinforcing tube or grid built around all the vertebrae in my lumbar spine.  The latter is agreed to be the strongest option, and the least likely to give further problems in future, but it's also the most invasive and potentially harmful if something goes wrong.  (Doctors:  "Nothing Will Go Wrong!"  Their nurses, talking to me when the doctor has gone out for a moment:  "Don't You Believe It!"  I think some of the doctors want to do it purely so they can say they've had experience with the procedure, but I'd rather have a doctor who's done it before, as many times as possible, so he's not graded low on the learning curve.)

I've just about finished with the tests that were required to get this far.  (Believe it or not, it's taken over six months to go through them all!)  The file of test results is pretty thick by now, but it still hasn't provided enough evidence for the doctors to decide on the best approach.  I'm going to give them until the end of February, then, if there's still no decision, I'm going to take the entire file and CD's of all the imaging and go to a completely different hospital network in the DFW area for a second opinion.  That will delay proceedings, but I hope will provide greater clarity.  Besides that, the doctors in the other network appear to be considerably more experienced than those in the local one, so I hope I'll be dealing with specialists who've faced this combination of issues before and treated it/them successfully.

Meanwhile, thanks to your generosity, dear readers, the bills are paid up to date, and so far (cross fingers, touch wood, etc.) things look manageable in terms of future planning.  I remain very grateful to you all.  I'd hate to have financial worries hanging over the physical ones!  Thanks to you, I haven't got that added complication.  Pain remains a daily problem, but I've added another medication targeting peripheral neuropathy issues, which has helped reduce the dosage of painkillers I've been popping.  That makes me feel less zombie-fied, if you know what I mean, and is yet another reason for gratitude towards God, the doctors and all of you.

So far, so good.  I'll provide another update in a couple of months.

Peter

Still up to my ears in administrivia

 

Yesterday's rough and tumble will continue today, with all sorts of loose ends to be tied up and put out of the way.  Nothing earth-shattering (at least, I hope not!) but enough to keep me from blogging as per usual.

Regular blogging will recommence with next Sunday's musical miscellany.  Please amuse yourself with the bloggers in the sidebar until then.  They write good, too!

Peter

Life is getting in the way of blogging

 

I'm being bombarded with various bits and pieces of life, the universe and everything.  I'm arguing with doctors, trying to sort out a tax question, cleaning up and throwing out a bunch of "stuff" in the garage, doing normal domestic chores, and trying to research a particular issue for inclusion in the book I'm currently working on (the second volume of a US Civil War naval trilogy).

Basically, I have to take a day off blogging to catch up with myself and some of these issues.  I'll try to make time to put up a proper blog post tomorrow.

Have fun, y'all!

Peter

A quick storm update from northern Texas

 

So far, so good.  The major roads in our area are skating rinks, and a light sleet is falling (more like ice dust at present).  We're told that snow will arrive later today, extending through the evening.  The birds are thick in the branches of our backyard tree, and complaining bitterly that their water dish is frozen and their food is buried under a layer of ice.  Our cats want us to let them indoors, so they can "assist them by warming them up by chasing them".  Er . . . no!

We have an abundance of food and warm layers to wear.  If the power goes out, we have a camping cookstove and plenty of fuel for it, a few decent-size power banks, a couple of kerosene heaters and fuel for them (not to be used in the house, but they'll keep the garage from freezing), a generator, and plenty of gasoline for it.  I think we're as prepared as we can be on a limited budget.

Most of our group of co-conspirators partners in crime friends appear to be doing OK.  Our usual Saturday supper together isn't happening this weekend, because most of us would end up in the ditch or hitting something expensive if we tried to drive.  We'll make up for it next week.

I hope all is well with you, dear readers.  Let us know in Comments how you're faring.

Peter

Batten down the hatches!

 

It looks like the first Snowmageddon and Icemageddon of the year are about to hit us (well, maybe the second Icemageddon, if you count the first as being what ICE is up to in Minnesota, Maine and elsewhere).  The stores around here are pretty much sold out of anything that looks like ice scrapers, snow brushes, windshield de-icing fluid, and so on.  Firewood is at a premium, propane gas cylinders are being refilled until the suppliers run out, and appliances using propane, white fuel or kerosene are in short supply.

I haven't had to buy much, as we're pretty well supplied most of the time.  I just have to bring into the house enough firewood for a couple of days, a propane cookstove and small heater in case the power goes out, and charge up our battery power banks, which should give us two days or so of portable electric power if needed.  Our generator decided not to start when I tested it, so I picked up the necessary bits and pieces to service it tomorrow.  It shouldn't be too hard to get it going.

It does look as if this is going to be a very big, very widespread storm.  Those of you in the path of the heaviest predicted ice and snow, which looks to be from southern Oklahoma and north-eastern Texas through to Washington D.C. and surrounding area, please be careful.  Ice beneath heavy snow is a really nasty thing to encounter - particularly when the snow turns to slush, but the ice beneath is still frozen.  Skid city!

(One of my favorite memories of my time in Louisiana was the New Year of 2000 - or was it 2001?  At any rate, I had to drive from Winnfield to Monroe to attend a medical examination for my green card (permanent resident permit), which I couldn't miss because it would knock me out of the process until another could be scheduled.  There was an ice storm the day and night before.  When I got up next morning, the world was white and sparkly, and the roads were pretty frozen.  I had no choice but to drive, so I left two hours early in my rear-wheel-drive pickup and drove the whole way, very gingerly, at about 20-25 mph.  The whole way up, I passed four-wheel-drive pickups in the ditch, one every few hundred yards.  Louisiana state police were in attendance at many of them, and I learned some new words from some of them about rednecks and Cajuns - or worse, Cajun rednecks! - who thought they could drive on ice as they normally did, so long as they did so in four-wheel-drive.  Of course, all that got them was a four-wheel skid!  I made it safely to Monroe, albeit with a few scares and slides, and made it back the same way.  Not fun!)

Anyway, I hope and pray all of you are (and will continue to be) safe and well, and warmly bundled up against the snow and ice.  Power failures are forecast to be widespread, so if this blog doesn't come up for a few days, that'll probably be the reason.  (I may have emergency power at home, but the Internet service will probably be down.)  I'll see you when I see you.

Peter

A thought occurs to me...

 

Idle stream of consciousness:

1. Venezuelan ex-president Maduro is being held in MDC Brooklyn prison in New York City.
2. MDC Brooklyn is where Jeffrey Epstein was incarcerated, and where he allegedly "committed suicide" in his prison cell.
3. I wonder if Maduro has been placed in Epstein's old cell?
4. And if so, I wonder if the significance of that cell has been explained to him?

Do I have nasty, twisted thoughts sometimes, or what?

Peter

I feel like a laboratory specimen

 

Most of my readers are doubtless aware of my ongoing medical issues, including the removal of a kidney back in September, and your generous response to my appeal for funds to help pay for previous expenses plus what lies ahead.  I'm very grateful to you all for your ongoing support.

I'm in the middle of a series of follow-up consultations on what the various tests have discovered.  Briefly, my lower spine has deteriorated rather more than anticipated, partly due to the injury I suffered in 2004 and its treatment at that time, and partly due to my advancing age.  There's no doubt that further surgery will be needed.  One "side" of the medical fraternity thinks that it will be best to extend my existing spinal fusion to take in two adjacent vertebrae.  The other "side" says that won't be enough, and instead wants to remove the existing fusion altogether and encase my lower (lumbar) spine in a sort of cage or mesh, supporting the whole thing in all directions.  Both sides agree that surgery is necessary, but not what surgery, or how to go about it.  Me, I'm the "piggy-in-the-middle", a playing-ground for neurosurgeons who are having a fine old time arguing with each other about what they (rather than I!) want to do next.  It's . . . frustrating - and while all the arguing is going on, I'm paying for their discussions.  That's even more frustrating!

There are trade-offs to be considered as well.  It seems that whatever surgical solution is adopted, my lumbar vertebrae are likely to end up pretty solidly fixed together.  That's going to make bending and twisting a lot harder than it already is (even though pain levels should improve).  The mesh solution will be more restrictive than extending the fusion, but will offer greater long-term support.  Which to choose, and why?  I'm a layman.  I can't answer that - but the doctors won't give me a single, straightforward answer.  They simply tell me the alternatives, then say "It's up to you which one you want to choose."  Since I'm not an expert, and I can't predict the future or its challenges, how am I supposed to know which to choose?  I may as well glue some gears on my spine and call it steampunk!

So, here's what's going to happen over the next six months to a year.

• I'm going to work with a pain management specialist, a neurosurgeon (possibly more than one) and a neurologist, to try to pin down the best approach to solving my spinal problems and getting into the best shape I can for whatever lies ahead.  In the short term, I may get a Spinal Cord Stimulation unit implanted in my back;  that's currently (you should pardon the expression) under consideration.
• I'm going to try to get a lot fitter and lose a lot of weight.  I'm going to find that very difficult, because my pain levels increase drastically when I exercise (even walking a short distance);  hence the SCS unit and/or increased doses of analgesics (to be determined).  It's a high priority.  I'll probably follow Dr. Jason Fung's fasting protocol (adjusted to suit my needs) for several days each week, in an effort to speed up the weight loss, but that will have to be carefully monitored to see whether or not my medication doses need to be amended to compensate.  If it's not one thing, it's another . . .
• I'll continue physical therapy and other exercises, so as to be in the best possible condition (which isn't saying much!) for whatever the surgeons may determine is the way forward.

This means the surgery I expected to have during the first quarter of 2026 will be postponed, certainly until the second half of the year and perhaps longer.  I don't like that - I'd much rather get it over right now! - but the specialists are unanimous that I need to "make haste slowly" and not rush it.  I'll be guided by their expertise, if only because they won't operate until they're more sure themselves!  I'm in their hands and at their mercy.

Ongoing care at this level will continue to be a drain on the funds I've saved up (and you've donated) for hospital treatment, but it's unavoidable right now.  As I recover from the loss of a kidney, I find I'm able to write more easily, so I'll try to get a new book (perhaps a new series?) out during 2026.  God willing, that will help to fund more medical misadventures.

Thank you all for your prayers, support and understanding.  I'll continue to "fight the good fight" as long and as hard as I can.

Peter

I'm taking Black Friday off

 

My wife has the crud, and I'm fighting it off.  I'm going to have a quiet Friday, and leave this blog and everything else to the vagaries of chance.  See y'all on Sunday morning.

Peter

Health update

 

I figured it was time to give you all an update on how my health situation is progressing (particularly those generous souls who donated to my fund-raising appeal).

My right kidney was removed on September 26.  It's been a long, slow recovery since then, with stringent restrictions on how much I can lift and what I can do.  The incisions (multiple) have been healing a lot more slowly than I'd like, and are still not fully covered with skin, but then they were very deep.  Also, as my surgeon has repeatedly pointed out, in one's late 60's one's body doesn't recover as fast as it did in one's late 20's!  Fortunately, the progress is all in the right direction, albeit a lot too slow for my impatient self.  With luck, I hope everything will be "skinned over" (if I can put it that way) by the beginning of December, when my other restrictions are scheduled to be eased.  That means I can get on with rehab and rebuilding my strength.

I've had a first consultation with a highly-rated local rehab facility, planning for post-operative reconditioning and extended work on strengthening my core and (hopefully) getting the muscles around my lower spine in better condition to support the surgery that's planned for that area.  It's going to take time to build up to three sessions a week, but I'm going to work at it.  Hopefully I'll combine stretching and conditioning (under supervision) with swimming and exercise bicycle/elliptical workouts.  I hope to start that in December, and plan to work on it for up to (and if necessary more than) a year, depending on what happens next.

I'm still undergoing tests to help the neurosurgeon decide what surgery would be most effective to address my spinal issues.  Unfortunately, the tests are uncovering complications that we hadn't expected.  On Monday this week I went to a neurologist for an electromyograph, both surface (using electrodes) and subcutaneous (using needles).  If I understood the technicians correctly, this is supposed to reveal current drop through the nerves and muscles, showing precisely which muscles are most affected by problems.  From that information, the neurosurgeon can deduce which part(s) of the spine are most affected, because it'll be the nerves flowing from it to the muscle(s) concerned that are the ones needing attention.  It's a bit complicated for a simple man like me (ahem), but I think that's the gist of it.  The test revealed definite deterioration since the last one I had, twenty years ago, but in different areas of the legs - which is not very helpful!

The test also revealed an additional nerve problem, peripheral neuropathy, which must now be tracked down to its source and taken into account when planning surgery.  I wasn't aware of that problem, but the neurologist explained it was because the level of pain from my already-damaged nerves was high enough to "mask" the lower-level pain and discomfort caused by the neuropathy.  What next?  Your guess is as good as mine.

(Oh - and further thanks to those of you who donated to my fund-raiser.  Monday's test billed at a cool $6,300 for a couple of hours being poked and prodded by two technicians and a neurosurgeon.  Thanks to you, that's no longer the financial headache it might otherwise have been.)

My next step, probably in early December, will be another consultation with my neurosurgeon, bringing together the results of all the tests I've been through over the last four months or so.  He'll tell me what he's diagnosed as a result, and the surgery he recommends to fix the problem(s).  At that point I'm going to put matters on hold locally, get full copies of all the tests and their results, and go see another neurosurgeon in DFW to get a second opinion.  Given the cost of this exercise and the potential for things to go wrong, I want to be very sure of my options before I move forward.  That will probably happen during the first quarter of 2026, after which we'll see what happens.

Thanks again for your help and support, and particularly for your prayers.  They're greatly appreciated.

Peter

Happy (or horrible) Halloween, depending on your taste!

 

Peter

A thoughtful gesture, but...

 

I had to laugh at this report.

Animal rescuers in California shared security camera stills capturing the moment a foster kitten spiced up her human family's dinner with a special ingredient: a dead mouse.

. . .

"Wendy is a foster failure that was caught on the kitchen cam -- or kitten cam -- adding 'spice' to her mom's dinner," the post said. "We should all be as thoughtful as Miss Wendy!"

Wendy's foster owner said she was out feeding her dogs when the kitchen camera recorded the cat's attempt at cooking. She said the feline's suspicious behavior when she returned to the kitchen led her to check the camera footage and discover the surprise Wendy had left in the pot.

"As you can guess, it was takeout for dinner that night," Wendy's foster mom told KMPH-TV.

There's more at the link.

Our two cats don't try to feed us.  Instead, they're on a lifelong mission to persuade us that human food is really precisely what a cat needs.  Furthermore, there are some foods so cat-worthy that they deserve extra feline attention.  Just drop a small flat tin of tuna on the metal surface of our prep table, and seventeen-odd pounds of black Maine Coon will arrive at near-supersonic speeds, followed closely (and more arthritically) by an older, creakier lady.  Don't bother with seasonings, mayonnaise or anything else - just drain the tuna into cat-size bowls and put it down on the floor.  Kitty nirvana!

Peter

OK, another car question

 

Thank you to everyone who responded to my car question yesterday.  It looks like, thanks to tariffs and other issues, repairs may cost north of $3K, and given that the value of the car is probably not much greater than that, the calculus is leaning in the direction of replacement.

Online research shows that there's virtually nothing worth having under $10K in the used car market.  Either the mileage is as great or greater than our present vehicle, or there are persistent reliability issues, or availability is haphazard.  Moving up to $15K doesn't improve things very much, although there is a greater selection.  At $20K upward, there's plenty of availability, but low-mileage vehicles remain hard to find in good condition:  most are in the 80-140K mile range, with some notable exceptions.  That means, if we want a reliable replacement to use for the medium to long term, we have to look at new vehicles as well.

The cheapest new vehicle I can find is the Kia Soul (which I've driven before, and is OK as an urban runabout), or the Ford Maverick mini-pickup.  The Maverick's ride quality isn't great, but it's a truck, not a car, and can't be expected to be as soft-riding and comfortable as the Soul.  It does have the advantage of reasonably good utility, with a small loadbed and a back seat that can accommodate a fair amount of baggage or household debris.  Both the Soul and the Maverick (in base model configuration) are in the mid-$20K base price range, plus tax, title, license, etc.  If we move up to the $30-$35K range, there are a lot more options, but then, that's a lot more money.

There's also the big disadvantage that some manufacturers are now demanding monthly subscription payments to use even the most basic in-car services (Toyota, I'm looking at you!).  I'm simply not prepared to do this.  There are also dealers who advertise "no-haggle" prices (that always seem higher than those who will negotiate), and others who low-ball trade-in offers.  There are also too many dealers who add gimmicks pre-sale (e.g. windows engraved with an "anti-theft" serial number, nitrogen tire fills, etc.), and want to charge hundreds of dollars for them, and won't sell you a vehicle without them.  There are an awful lot of shysters out there, it seems to me . . .  Any advice on tell-tale signs that a particular dealer may be more trouble than he's worth?  Obvious red flags?

Therefore, I turn to knowledgeable readers again, to ask for your input.  The need is for local transport of one or two older people, with occasional longer-distance excursions (e.g. 300-400 mile round trip in a day).  Economy is important, as is reliability, and the vehicle should not cost an arm and a leg to insure.

1. If you were looking for a lower-cost vehicle for that mission, what would you recommend?  New or used?
2. Has anyone had experience with the Ford Maverick mini-pickup models?  I'd be very interested to hear what they're like to own, particularly reliability, ride quality, etc.  Their overall utility is appealing.
3. Is there any vehicle that you absolutely would not recommend, due to issues, problems, or whatever?

Thanks in advance for your input.  I'm grateful for your help.

Peter

Post-surgery update and car info request

 

As regular readers will know, one of my kidneys was removed in late September.  Close to a month later, things are on the mend, but painfully slowly (emphasis on the "painfully" sometimes!).

Some of the surgery scars are healing nicely, to the point that they're almost closed with minimal scab left.  Others - including the largest one - are unfortunately taking rather longer to close up.  I'm told that's inevitable, due to natural movement of my body as I walk around or turn over in my sleep, but it's nevertheless irritating me with the slowness of the process.  To add to the fun (?), those bigger scars are itching intensely as the skin grows over the areas where it had been cut open.  I'm constantly having to fight the urge to scratch them.  Keeping them covered helps, and keeps out the dirt, but then they don't dry out, either, which appears to prolong the healing process.  Catch-22, anyone?

The internal injuries caused by taking out the kidney appear to be well on the mend.  The initial pain and "hollowness" I felt have largely ended, and the hollow left in my abdomen by the sudden absence of a kidney is "balancing out" with the rest of my belly.  I'm on a lifting restriction of not more than ten pounds for another six weeks at least, and I have to be careful to observe that;  I've slipped up a couple of times, and the sliced muscles let me know very sharply that I shouldn't do that again.  Apparently I'll be allowed to lift up to 20-25 pounds by mid- to late November, which will help me get back to normal in helping around the house.  All being well, the recovery process should be complete early next year.

Thank you, yet again, to all of you who've helped with the costs of this operation, and with your good wishes and prayers.  It's become a cliche to say "I couldn't do this without you", but that's the plain and simple truth of the matter.  I don't have family in the USA, but I have a support network of readers and online friends and acquaintances, and you've all helped me to get over this particular hump.  I remain very grateful to you all.

Now, if I may, a quick question to the car aficionados among us.  Our 2014 Nissan Pathfinder SUV has just begun to show front suspension problems, which I'll have checked out today.  The irritating thing is that this will be the third time that we've had problems in that area (most recently just over a year ago), and fixing them is not cheap (including labor, over $2K in the past, and with tariffs and other increases, perhaps over $3K today).  The vehicle is about to turn over 180K miles, and is running well apart from the suspension issues.  My dilemma is this:  is it worth sinking another $3K+ into a known issue that may well recur in 1-2 years time, and keep the vehicle running, or is it better to trade it in whilst the rest of it is in very good condition, and find a newer and more reliable ride?  I can see pro's and con's either way.  Based on your knowledge and experience of the car market, what would you recommend?  Please let us know in Comments.  (And, just to reassure anyone who's worrying, no, we won't use any funds donated for surgical costs to pay for the vehicle!)

Thanks again, everyone.

Peter

Southbound again

 

As you read these words, my wife and I will be heading for the DFW metroplex to have my 33 surgical staples withdrawn.  I'm not looking forward to it one little bit, but the skin around the incisions is already looking increasingly irritated as they prevent further healing, so it's time it was done.  If you hear several high-pitched yelps from that direction, it's only me . . .

Prayers for traveling safety and a safe return will be gratefully received, as always.  I'll try not to bleed too much on the journey homeward.

Peter

Plodding along

 

Recovery continues, slowly but surely.  My wife is being a tower of support, despite the burden that I must represent to her right now:  she has to put aside or delay many of her normal activities in order to care for my wounds, help me move around when my body locks up on me, and generally soothe my fevered brow and make me feel better.  The fact that she does so uncomplainingly is miraculous, in my book.  Yet again, I'm deeply grateful that the good Lord brought us together, and that she said "Yes" when I popped the question.  I'm sure there have been times when she's wondered about that, in retrospect!

I'm definitely noticing a slowdown in my recovery from this surgery.  Previously, I'd have expected to bounce back from it fairly quickly, so that within 2-3 days the pain had largely worn off and it was simply a matter of waiting for the stitches to come out.  Now... not so much.  Five and a half days after the staples were inserted, they hurt more than they did that first day, probably because there are so many of them. We're using an antiseptic on them, to prevent any outbreaks of infection, but there doesn't seem to be any - just a big red ridge of skin and muscle beneath them that'll have to wait until next week for release from the pressure.  Taken with the chest scar from my quadruple bypass surgery some years ago, and I'm going to be zippered pretty much from my collar-bone to my navel.  Add in a few scars from previous injuries and surgeries, and my torso is going to be like a road map.  I may have to leave it to science as a training device for future physicians - although they may not find everything inside that's supposed to be there.

Anyway, so far, so good.  More later.

Peter

Healing continues

 

I was warned prior to this latest surgery that I'd take longer to "bounce back" from it than I had from earlier operations, simply because I'm now in my late 60's and my body doesn't have the resilience and reserves of energy that it had when I was younger.  That said, I was prepared to put up with less rapid healing, but I hadn't thought it would be this much slower than before.  In particular, with 33 surgical steel staples holding closed one major and six minor incisions, any sudden movement is a non-starter.  I have to take it very carefully, one step at a time, and let things fall where they may (you should pardon the expression).  I'm told it'll take several weeks, perhaps two to three months, before I can move as freely as I used to.

That must be a major imposition on my dear wife, who's more than two decades younger than I.  She instinctively moves and does things at her normal pace, but I'm now at half that speed or less, and I can tell she gets frustrated when I can't quite keep up.  I tease her that she can practice growing older on me, because I won't complain at her!

I have to watch my breathing, too.  After about 4 hours under general anesthetic last Friday, my lungs weren't at their brightest and best, and I now have to contend with crackles (what used to be called rales) in both of them.  When any cough pulls at the surgical staples, that can be painful.  I'm told this will ease off over the next couple of months, but I'll need to do breathing exercises to restore my lungs to full function.

Most frustrating of all (and this may fall under the heading of Too Much Information, but I'd like to help others who may find themselves in my situation, so I think it's worth mentioning) is that one's internal garbage disposal systems sure take their time about getting back into working order.  Urination isn't much of an issue, but it's now been six days since anything more solid has moved, so I'm under orders to report to the ER today for an enema.  I'm not looking forward to it at all, but it's apparently a known hang-up (you should pardon the expression) after major surgery as one gets older, to the point that unless one takes steps to restore it, permanent damage can result.  (Yes, of course one can administer an enema to oneself, but with surgical staples scattered all around my abdomen, allow me to assure you that free and easy movement to reach the parts concerned is not, repeat, NOT all that readily achievable!  I'd rather pay a professional to work around that problem for me, and spare myself the pain [and the wriggling].)

Finally, there are the cats.  Ah, yes.  Dear, sweet, beloved cats . . . who regard my belly as their personal stomping-ground (literally) and see no reason why they shouldn't arrive on it at full speed, paws out, claws extended, whenever they feel like a little kneadin' and lovin'.  I've used a few less than charitable descriptions of felines over the past day or two, and I daresay that'll continue until the surgical staples are removed in a couple of weeks' time.

That's all for now.  I'll post more in due course as I feel more and more human.  Thanks again to everyone who's contributed to help me get to this point.  One major surgery down, at least one (probably two) to go.

Peter

I'm baaaaack...

 

After more medical misadventures than usual, my wife and I are back home.  My right kidney was removed on Friday, and the surgeon fastened me back together with great enthusiasm - my wife has counted 33 surgical staples so far!  I think they set off the TSA scanners at DFW airport as we drove past on Sunday morning!  They'll be in for a couple of weeks.

We spent a couple of days in post-op recovery, then drove home yesterday.  I'm in quite a lot of pain and can't move freely, so activities (including blogging) will be restricted.  I'll post as and when I can on this blog, but I may not feel up to it at times, so please be patient.  There won't be the usual Memes post today, because I didn't have enough time online to accumulate my usual collection last week.  I'll try to have more next week, to make up for it.

I'm going to be very restricted in terms of movement for at least the next couple of months.  I won't be able to attend the annual Blogorado gathering, so I hope all of my readers who go there will hoist a glass and gnaw on a steak on my behalf.  By late November I hope to be fit enough to complete the tests prescribed by a local neurosurgeon, which will allow him and his team to decide on the best solution for my spinal problems.  Given the seriousness of the matter, I'll probably take all the test results and ask for a second opinion from a specialist in DFW, because we'll have one shot at getting this right, and if it doesn't work, there probably won't be enough "wiggle room" (that's a highly scientific term, I'm told) to re-do it or attempt something different.  I'll let you know more as and when we have some certainty about the way forward.

Meanwhile, I'm having to fend off a few well-meaning friends who keep telling me that they know what's going on better than I do, and if only I'd do what they suggest, everything would work out OK.  I have... a few reservations about that... but, as I said, they mean well.  For them (and to entertain the rest of you, dear readers) here's Jethro Tull's approach to that sort of thing.

Peter

Following the medical money (or lack thereof)

 

A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled "From 'Medical Care' to 'Medical Couldn't Care Less'."  In it, speaking about conflicting medical bureaucracies with whom I'm having to deal at present, I said:

Neither bureaucracy cares about me (or any other patient) as a person.  They're just ticking off the boxes on their forms, checking their reams of regulations, and putting their organizations' interests ahead of anything and anyone else.

That's being driven home yet again by the latest medical shenanigans.  I'm in pretty severe pain (all the time) from a deteriorating spinal condition, but no doctor or nurse seems interested in speeding things up to get to a point where that could be alleviated.  Instead it's fill out this form, get that test, make follow-up appointments (which they then cancel because I haven't yet completed all the tests they want - but they don't tell me that until less than 24 hours before my appointment), and so on.  What's worse is that medical insurance is an integral part of the problem, in that they won't discuss further treatment until a series of tests are completed, even if those tests have nothing whatsoever to do, medically speaking, with the specific health issue under discussion.  The forms have to be completed, with all the boxes ticked off, even if some of those boxes apply to other conditions.  If I complain and argue about it, I'll be frozen out of the process until I knuckle under.

The problem is, all of this costs money - and with competing bureaucracies arguing over who is or is not responsible for the bills, I have to pay for everything up front, in the hope of getting at least some of the money back from one or the other agency in due course.  The fact that such costs run into thousands of dollars is irrelevant, as far as the bureaucrats are concerned.  I have to get the tests done;  if I can't afford to have them done, I won't be approved to proceed to further treatment options (for which they still won't pay, at least at present) through their bureaucratic processes.  If I can persuade doctors to offer the treatment(s) I need without medical insurance pre-approval, it'll have to be on a cash basis, in the hope that subsequent discussions with my lawyer might persuade the insurers to contribute something towards them.

I'm going to have my right kidney removed towards the end of this month (the culmination of the kidney problems I had last year, with four lesser surgeries having failed to correct the situation).  It'll take me a couple of months to get over that, I'm told, so back surgery will have to be on hold until I've fully recovered my strength.  If I can raise the money for that, it should happen late this year or early next year, if I can get my medical ducks in a row.

I'm going to be launching a fundraiser within the next week or so to ask for help in meeting these expenses.  This is a very costly situation for us. We're in the process of taking out a second mortgage on our home, and we've saved what we can to meet initial expenses, but we're still looking at a looming fiscal cliff in the not too distant future.  I know we're far from alone in facing that sort of problem:  I've mentioned others' fundraisers in these pages on occasion.  Thank you to everyone who's already been generous.  We couldn't have made it this far without you.

Peter

Late start today

 

Working on a couple of issues, so no time to blog today.  Check back tomorrow.  Thanks!

Peter

The fun - and pain - of fact-checking and research

 

During our recent perambulations around parts of the Civil War South, my wife and I enjoyed new scenery, new restaurants (hey, gotta sample the local cuisine to get the local "flavor"!), and new people.  We also were reminded - forcibly - that our bodies are older than they were when we last did this sort of thing, and quite a bit more decrepit.  I hadn't expected it to be so painful to spend so much time on foot.  If this goes on, I'll be exploring in a mobility scooter!

Savannah, Georgia was a pleasant surprise in many ways, the first being the weather.  Inland, Georgia was hot and muggy, very unpleasantly so, but on the coast it was a lot cooler and more pleasant.  The Savannah River runs through town, just off the old business and now tourist district, which adds to the cooling.  There are lots of old buildings, some almost as old as the American Revolution and many dating back to the Civil War period.  They've been done up as shops, restaurants and artsy touristy places, leaving the exteriors unchanged but updating the interiors.  Many of the streets are still cobbled rather than tarred, some of them very uncomfortable even in a modern SUV, forcing one to drive at little more than walking pace;  and the traffic through the tourist areas is very heavy, again slowing one down a lot.  On the other hand, the tourist zone is probably no more than a mile or two square, so everything is reasonably accessible.  Those who have land available for parking are doing a land-office business, with everything being run by text messaging or QR codes and visitors' cellphones, so the overhead is minimal.

I was very glad to be able to see the Civil War side of Savannah for myself.  It's all very well to read about what it was like, but to actually see the steps leading up from the river, and the buildings that housed ship chandleries and shops and warehouses dating back that far, and old Civil War forts and jetty pilings, and see old pictures of sailing ships lining the river bank to load and unload . . . it makes it much more real in my mind, and hence I can write about it much more realistically.  It was a very worthwhile visit from that perspective.

The Interstates and regional roads were in pretty decent condition, but traffic was very heavy at times east of the Mississippi River.  I didn't enjoy driving through it, particularly when traffic backed up near cities like Atlanta or Chattanooga.  It confirmed me in my belief that we needed to live west of the Mississippi, where there's room to breathe and space to maneuver.  We acted on that belief when we moved to Texas in 2016, and we were very happy to get back here when the journeying was done.  How all those people will cope - let alone move - if a really bad disaster hits, such as struck North Carolina last year, I hate to think.  (We wanted to visit North Carolina this trip, to see our friends at Killer Bees Honey, but so many of the roads, hotels, etc. in that area are still closed or heavily restricted due to hurricane damage that we gave up on that idea.)

Our cats, of course, were ecstatic to greet us . . . for about ten seconds.  Then the guilt trip started.  "You went away!  Without us!  Where were you?  Why did you abandon us?"  And so on, and so forth, ad nauseam - all while demanding, and getting, treats, petting and attention.  Cats are very good like that.  They forgave us in time to cuddle up with us that night, purring at us to reassure us that even though we didn't deserve it, they still love us.  Sound familiar?

Now we settle back into our normal routine.  I'll be preparing for surgery in a few weeks (of which more later), and must transcribe notes and observations from the trip into a usable format for writing.  My wife went back to work today, and found plenty waiting for her.  She has to get a root canal treatment do-over tomorrow, so she's not real happy about that - and who can blame her!  Me, I'll try to get some more blogging done after I take her in and bring her home.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for traveling safety for us.  Your prayers came in handy a couple of times, I can tell you - and they worked!

Peter