You aught tp be in pictures. OUCH!

 

Now, I know what's likely wrong with my legs, and it has nothing to do with my legs, save for the nerves that lead to them and signal pain.

But first...

Today, I woke up early (and with pain in my legs) to get dressed and go to the x-ray location of my health care network.  Getting there around 11 am, I had to wait a little bit, and got up when the x-ray technician called for another person with my same first name.  Then, a few minutes later, I was called, and I was hurting.  Once the x-rays were taken, I was told (not officially) that I will likely need surgery on my back.  AARGH.  I'll have to suffer for at least another month before a surgery date can be scheduled, and then be out of commission for another 6 weeks or so.  

Once out of the radiology area, I called RQS to tell her the news.  I didn't want to say to her that I might have to ask her to go on the cruise alone.  But I'll make up my mind on this within the next week.  Then I went home to rest.  Later on, I ended up chatting with Vicki for a couple of hours, and then decided to go to dinner at the local diner.  Initially, she wanted to go into problem solving mode, when all I needed was an ear.

Around 7 pm, I met Vicki at the diner and we continued the conversation we started over the phone. From what I said, she has a low opinion of my doctor, and recommended a different doctor to try out after work on my back is done.  Hopefully, all necessary procedures will be complete by year end, so that I can start cruising again in the spring.

 

My legs didn't hurt when I got up, but....

 

OK, I'm not talking about pantyhose today.  But I figured my readers would want to look at something more interesting than my aching legs.

- - - - - -

When I got up today, my legs didn't hurt much getting out of bed.  But they did remind me that I couldn't count on them too much.  Yet, they gave me an idea - if I keep getting up and moving around, the muscles that support me will stop degrading, and start building up strength.  Let's see what happens....

The key task I had on my docket for today was to start packing my suitcase for my upcoming trip.  Somehow, I have misplaced many of the items I depend on for long distance travel, and I've had to reorder some from Amazon.  Even with that being done, I still have to pack my bag and get ready for my trip.  And that's where I have the problem.  It's no longer something I can automatically do, the way I did last year.  I need to have the kind of "go kit"  with a dedicated place to store stuff, so that I can load a suitcase, and unload it as needed.  Clothing is easy.  It's the other stuff that can be a problem, as I'll always need travel adapters for electricity, chargers for my phone and tablets, etc. to leave the house for a week or two away from home.

I didn't bother bother rushing to pack my suitcase, as I have tomorrow to finish this task.  But I got a lot of little things done, and that's the important thing for me.  So, around 5 pm, I showered, made up my face, got dressed, and headed out the door for game night.  After a brief stop for dinner in a trusted diner, I was off to game night.  And then, I was in for a surprise - I was the only guest there!  Everyone else bailed out for various reasons, and I was caught by surprise.  Well, I ended up playing a couple of games (lost both) with the host, hostess, and their son.    It was a nice evening, and even "Murder Mouth" (their dog) was taking a liking to me.

All too soon, the evening had to end.  I called RQS on the phone and chatted for a while.  When I got home, I put a 25-pack? in a shopping bag and carried it upstairs.  It was at the upper end of what I could do.  But it gave me home for when I have to bring my bag to RQS's place prior to our trip. 

 

 

 

The day started slowly and in a little pain, but....

 

There's a part of me that feels like I should have been in a hospital bed this morning.  The walking I did yesterday, coupled with transiting my staircase several times did me in.  My legs didn't want to support me when I got up, and I made sure that I was going to call for appointments to go to the foot doctor and get the X-Ray done.

- - - - - -

With the above being said, I decided to stay in bed much of the day, not snacking, eating or drinking.  That wasn't because I didn't want to do these things, but because my legs didn't want to do them.  Yet, by the time I decided to get up in the afternoon, things had changed a little.  So, I made my appointments and decided to cook something before taking a shower.  (As I thought about things, I realized that my weekend will be spent presenting as Mario.  But that's another story for another post.)

I exchanged a couple of emails with my doctor about the name of a drug that my pharmacy isn't filling.  All the doctor would do would have me contact the pharmacy to find out why.  I may do this, but I'm concerned that he's passing the buck on tasks he (or his office) doesn't want to tackle.  But I was able to set up a post-trip appointment with the foot doctor, and found out when I could go into the radiology practice to get my spine X-Rayed.

Even though I was feeling better later in the day, did I go out?  No.  Instead, I took it easy, and planned to work on packing my suitcase for the trip.  Did I even do that?  No.  I didn't want to be uncomfortable.

 

A visit to the doctor

 

A cruise ship's doctor - one of the few people I never want to meet professionally.  Both RQS and I have done so on separate cruises, and it's no fun.  In my case, I was lucky - I was prescribed an antibiotic to deal with my issue.  In RQS's case, she hobbled around for weeks after someone on the ship fell and injured her ankle.

Recently, I visited my doctor's office to discuss the problems I've been having with my leg, causing any attempt to walk to be painful.  I arrived before noon, and it took over 45 minutes for him to see me - he was backed up with other elderly patients.  When he finally got to see me, I discussed the problem I was having and told him how painful it was for me to walk this past weekend.  He instructed me to walk around, hit my legs with a medical hammer, tested my sensitivity to light touch in each leg, and examined my feet.  As a result of all of this, he wants me to see a foot doctor and get some x-rays.  (I have flat feet, and he wants to check out an issue I have with my spine.  Too bad that he wouldn't understand the joke which references American slang:With these flat feet, I should have been a policeman walking a beat.)

While in his office, he asked me about the GLP-1 process.  I was a little annoyed at him, as I said that the onus was on him to start the process of qualifying me for the Medicare "Bridge" program, not me.  He has to contact the pharmacy, get the Medicare form, fill it in, and hope that my GLP-1 drugs can be subsidized by the program.  Luckily for me, a couple of his staff were in the room, and they understood what had to be done.  (You can imagine what was running in my mind.  I had told him that HE had to take the next step, and he didn't - for reasons unknown to me.  How dare he hector me about weight loss and GLP-1 drugs, when he doesn't want to do his share of the paperwork needed for affordable drugs.)

Once done with the doctor's office, I went home to rest. Soon, I'll start getting my luggage ready to go to RQS's place, staged for our upcoming trip.

- - - - - - 

Later in the evening, I decided to do a light load of laundry - Mario's underwear.  Given how rarely I present as a male these days, I don't know for how long the earliest items of dirty laundry have been sitting in my hamper.  So it's going to be "fun" folding and storing what's been around for a while.

When I returned to my apartment, I found an email ostensibly sent from the daughter of a friend. It looked authentic until I saw the email address of the sender.  I was lucky NOT to go any further into the process of opening invite.  Instead, I sent an email to my friend's daughter, asking her if she sent anything to me.  (I'm also glad that this woman is a distant enough acquaintance to know that the only communication I can expect from her is when her mom dies.)  Hopefully, she can undo any damage a scammer has done to her computer.

 

Snacking with a friend in the LGBT community

Today, I almost forgot that I had arranged to have coffee with one of my friends from the LGBT community.  This friend (who I will not name) is in financial trouble and wanted some advice.

But first....

I'm glad that I'll be seeing my doctor tomorrow morning.  Although my leg pain wasn't as bad as it's been for the past few days, I know I have to talk to the doctor about it, as well as whether I can get into the GLP-1 Bridge program that I likely qualify for.

RQS got up late, and yet, we made it to the train station on time, without any rush.  Things were working my way for a change.  Once RQS was safely on the train, I drove to Trader Joe's to pick up some food for the week.  On the way there, my friend called to confirm our meeting.  Luckily, I had the time to both shop at TJ's and to get to the diner on time.

Once I was done with my shopping mission, I dropped my TJ's haul off at home, then proceeded to the diner to meet with my friend.  We talked about many things, including some issues she had with her residence.  I made a suggestion that could help her, and paid the bill for our snack. We spent 2 hours in the diner, and I was glad that it was quiet time for the place, as I'd have hated to only order a couple of cups of coffee instead of the plate of nachos we devoured.

When we were finished at the diner, we went our separate ways, and I proceeded to get the mail out of my mailbox and go into my apartment.  I didn't realize it when I opened the envelope that it wasn't addressed to me.  So I resealed it, and marked the envelope "Return to Sender".  (The intended recipient does not live in my complex, and may not have lived here in years.)

My day was over - I was tired, and didn't feel like doing any laundry. All I wanted to do was take a nap, and I did just that.

A painful day at home (a short post)

 

It's the day after our drive to Hudson, and I ache. That's not an accurate description of what's going on with my body.  I'm not aching when I sit or lie down.  I'm simply in pain when I try to stand up or walk.  The muscles in the back of my calves simply do not want to support me.  There may be a set of pinched nerves in my back causing my problems, or it may be something else.  But I know that the doctor is going to ask me why I'm using a cane when I visit him soon.

Getting out of bed and taking care of myself lately has been troublesome at best.  I've put off doing a load of laundry for several days, simply because I'd hurt too much while going up and down the stairs. This weekend, RQS has been doing much more than I could ask of her to keep me out of pain.  And I'm grateful for that.  She has done all of the cooking, and a bit of the cleanup after meals - and more.

For the most part, for me to get around in my apartment, I need my arms for 3-point support.  At least, one of my arms needs to support my body in addition to the 2 legs that normally do so.  So, it hasn't been much fun for me to get around.  This is why I'm a little bit afraid.  I have a trip coming up, and I need to be mobile for that trip.  

But enough of my venting for now....

This morning, I received a delayed reply from my Canadian pen pal.  She's doing well, but is very busy.  She doesn't live with her wife yet, but visits her every so often.  When her parents die, she and her wife will find a way to live together - either in one city or the other,  Until then, my pen pal will be taking care of her parents.  And that's the sign of a good adult offspring.

My brother is likely going to be out of a job soon, and has started interviewing for a new one again.  He works in a place which is in receivership, and doesn't think that the banks will bail the firm out a second time.  This makes me glad that we've sold the family homestead, as my brother has a small financial cushion to tide him over until finding a new position.  It won't be an easy time for him - he suffers the from the discrimination our society has against older workers.

I'm still waiting on New York City to send me a copy of my grandmother's marriage licence.  That's the hardest thing for me to get to complete the requirements for the foreign birth registry.  I'm still going to see if I really need this document.  But, I need to get on an online chat to do so, and I haven't found the time for this task.

As a wise person said in four short words:

"This too, shall pass." 

Antiquing on a dismal day.

 

Today was a day we planned to drive up to Hudson, NY and do some antiquing.  The big problem was with my legs - I couldn't walk far, and I was grateful to have my cane with me.  Thankfully, I'll be seeing my doctor in a couple of days, and hopefully he'll able to help me walk properly before my cruise.

But first...

We got up at our usual time today, and got out of the house around 2 pm.  I knew it was going to be a long drive to get to the Antique Warehouse in Hudson, NY - 80 miles away.  For the most part, we made good time getting to Hudson, stopping only for gas and a bio-break.  By the time we got to the warehouse, the heavens had started opening up, and we rushed inside to get out of the rain and explore the place.

Once inside, we were overwhelmed by the size of the place.  Half of the building was occupied by the warehouse, with a smaller section occupied by smaller, independent shops, and a small section occupied by an Amtrak maintenance department.  I could barely walk, and was glad I could sit on any chair I could find in the place.  However, our stay in the warehouse was short, as it was warm and humid inside.  I couldn't wait to leave the place, so I could get comfortable.

Our next stop was a restaurant that Vicki and I went to when we returned from our trip to the Flax barn sale.   Savona's is part of a 4 restaurant group operating in the Hudson Valley.  I have wanted to go back with RQS in tow, and today was our opportunity to try this place together.  However, we had to pay for 15 minutes of parking, and it took some time for me to use the app to pay for those minutes.  Once I paid for those minutes, we went inside and ordered our meals.  RQS said that I made a better Caesar Salad than the restaurant, but that's because I make the dressing from scratch.  When the main course came, neither of us could finish our food.  RQS loved the place and would go back in a heartbeat.

We got home around 8, and I was aching - my legs could barely support me.  But I was safe, and I was at home.  And that's the important thing.