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| My new cane |
I anxiously awaited the glucose and A1C results and they came in on Tuesday with a diagnosis of "mild diabetes" and a recommendation to "limit simple carbs and sweets" and drink more water. I eat very few simple carbs but I do succumb to sweets and I certainly could drink more water. I felt I was given another six month reprieve to try to do better and am so glad I don't have to take any more drugs with unpleasant side effects. (We hear too many ads on TV!)
So then there was the hassle of getting a disk which had to be ordered from Medical Records at the hospital where I had the x-ray. I went through an interminable phone chain without success and finally talked to a real person who put me on to another real person. I ordered the disk and said I would pick it up that afternoon. It was pouring rain but we made the trip to the hospital. I asked for directions to Medical Records and hoped it wouldn't be a great distance as I walked along with my cane. "Take a left and then another left" I was told. I had to ask for help twice while walking the long corridors with multiple places to take a left. But I succeeded and when the clerk saw me pull out my reading glasses to fill out the permission form, she asked me for my driver's license and did it for me. I thanked her, left with my disk, and hoped to be able to take a right and then another right to reverse my directions and find the entrance. Happily there were exit signs and I came close enough to the right place to text Jim who picked me up after a very short wait in the rain.
So, progress and relief and maybe next week I will get some help for the arthritis--not hip replacement surgery which I have vetoed but maybe a cortisone shot or some temporary relief. I felt weary at times this week of advocating for myself but also grateful for kind medical help and really quite prompt results for tests and xrays via voice mail messages. And I am very grateful for my husband who was my chauffeur and has had to listen to my laments.
---------------------An update on March 9: I saw Dr. Culp at Princeton Orthopedics this morning at 8:40. He showed me my x-rays which were not reassuring. Because there are cysts on the bone, he cannot do a cortisone shot. He said I would probably need a hip replacement but for now he gave me a script for physical therapy. I was happy to be able to schedule that evaluation for tomorrow already. My primary care doctor suggested Tylenol Arthritis instead of more Aleve. So I have a plan--not the plan I hoped for but I feel cared for at least. And I really have not had as much pain yesterday and today so that makes me more optimistic! I just have a sense of my body betraying me-- a look inside at those x-rays which showed damage that cannot be undone. But it is not life-threatening just a recognition of aging and deterioration.
---------------------March 12 I went to Physical Therapy yesterday where a very kind Jennifer did some stretching of my left hip, taught me an exercise and then put me on a bike. All good except for the bike and I have been in more pain since then. She stressed that they did not want to cause more pain so we will have to figure this out tomorrow on my next visit. I am discouraged! They may send me to a hip replacement yet. Apart from my own issues, I was quite interested in the whole business model of a very busy large room with two therapists working with multiple patients and various aides helping. Jennifer did not appear to be rushed and certainly seemed to be focused on me. I was a bit taken back when she suggested a walker instead of the cane. That seemed to be a step back and a blow to my pride when it was hard enough to accept a cane! I said not for now --but I will listen to her reasoning tomorrow!
---------------March 13 Another PT appointment. Jennifer is really lovely and I am thankful to work with her. She said she would like to drive me to a hip replacement surgery-- it will only get harder to do it as I wait. I tried the walker and ordered one from Amazon for only $34. Not worth bothering to get a scrip and Medicare for that. I can use it at home--and walks--and for my pride's sake, stick with the cane for church, etc. And I am not in the pain that I was on Tuesday evening. I turned down the offer to do the bike again! It was a torture machine for me!
Laura ordered out and two big bags of food arrived making everyone happy with sushi for some and teriyaki chicken for others. Plus chicken nuggets and fries for some of the younger, less adventuresome eaters. Contrary to the puzzled looks on these two eaters, they liked their meals!
We enjoyed catching up on some Conway news and then it is so good that it is just an hour's ride home to sleep in our own beds. In many ways, it was good to move cross country to be closer to children and grandchildren.
It was six years ago that we put our Granger house on the market, sold it to the first family that looked at it, spent months down-sizing and packing, moved into temporary housing in South Bend and then in Princeton, and then finally in mid-July 2019 settled into our apartment. It's almost time to sign the lease again which we will do.
The big move into senior housing is on our minds and in our prayers but we can't seem to make the next step to put down our deposit and wait for our name to come up for the size apartment we would want.
We are mourning with Susan and her family in the sudden death of her mother on Wednesday.
I won't post this blog until Jim is home with me again. Not that I feel unsafe here--I was careful when we lived in Granger not to post when one or both of us were not home and there was an empty house. But in a second floor apartment I feel pretty safe! Nevertheless, I check and double-check to see if the doors are locked and the garage door shut!
Jim went to his conference in NYC alone. After the wedding this weekend, I said I just didn't think I could do the city and needed to be home in my "silent retreat." But it has been lonely. Jim has called me regularly and I talked with a friend on the phone and saw another friend at 1 today.
I did the "Divine Office" on my phone several times and will do so again today--joining in on the words spoken and listening to the hymns. It is lovely and very meditative--with the Catholic church as a sponsor and spoken with a British accent. Doing those prayers has given me a bit of focus to my long days.
I made coffee myself which is usually Jim's gift to me every morning. I forgot to put in the plastic filter and what a mess I made! Even on the floor--and it is hard for me to pick up things from the floor. I did it with difficulty and will get the "Swiffer" out later. My meals have been simple but good enough--chicken soup yesterday and a bit leftover for today.
Jim said this would be his last conference. It is a bother to get somewhere--although he did Uber from home to Washington Square and that was easy and probably didn't cost all that much more than Uber to the train station, the train fare, and then a taxi to the hotel. He is reading his paper today--and he is happy enough to see his many professional colleagues again. But I am relieved that he said this is the last one. Another step in the winding down of his career. And it is not really his last one--he has agreed to be on a panel at one here at Princeton Seminary later this month--but that is just across town and not overnight.
I think it is a good thing to miss one's husband of almost 58 years. I don't take it for granted that we can be together doing ordinary things each day.
------------Jim is home. He could not get an Uber--the app would not work. So he used the hotel's car service and was just glad to have another way to travel--besides the train.
My curiosity is somewhat satisfied. I have heard from a few of my blog readers and that has been very affirming and fun. Two readers came via Laura's blog. Maybe I commented once with my website posted or maybe someone just searched for my name. Another reader was a friend of our son--many years ago--and it was great to hear from him again. Still another was a friend from our former church in South Bend. I read his mother's blog too! And then there were a few folks that I did know about because they have commented or emailed before. I hope a few more will be in touch via comments or email.
One reader said he or she lived in the Netherlands and liked that I made banket and gave out chocolate letters. I smile at that connection over the miles and told him or her that I am ordering a gift package from The Dutch Store in Grand Rapids as a present for a wedding we are going to celebrate tomorrow--a good gift for a couple who are combining households and don't really need much of anything. I think they will enjoy Dutch cheeses, banket, and a tin of Wilhemina peppermints! At least it will be a one of a kind gift for them.
This is unrelated to the musings above but I am thinking how Jim and I share household duties. We brought our income tax forms to the UPS store this morning and mailed them to an accountant in South Bend that we have used for years. Jim did almost all the work of preparing them but I totaled our charitable contributions and sent for a tax receipt from one organization. I fear my ignorance if I am left to do this on my own.
Jim just took the laundry from the washer and put it in the dryer. He started up the dishwasher. I probably instigate the majority of household chores and certainly meal planning but he does more all the time.
Jim has a conference in NYC next week. He has contacted the hotel to make sure they are planning on two of us. He will call the Uber to get us into the city on Sunday afternoon. He made a restaurant reservation for Sunday night because the hotel said the restaurant is small and seating is limited. I haven't decided for certain that I am going with him. I am not mobile enough to do the big city on my own any more--so it's a matter of being alone at home or in our hotel room. Jim wants me to go along. To be determined Sunday afternoon! I'll blog from home alone or from the big city!
Jim heard from two of his siblings and also from Dan and Alex and Laura. We have several friends who have birthdays within a day or two of his so greetings were exchanged with them. I hope and pray that my dear husband has many more birthdays in good health and that I can celebrate them with him.
