A brief one tonight because I’m tired and sore. I saw my infectious disease doctor today. There are no breakthroughs on offer. One strong possibility is that I go back in hospital to get stronger doses of I/V antibiotics. That will also allow my surgeon a chance to see what has developed since I saw him last. If it’s to the private hospital I was in last time it’s not horrible except I will miss being at home with J and the cats. The doctor says the damn Pasturella is hiding in my knee prosthesis and if they can’t get a reaction with a different antibiotic mix, removing the knee and replacing it is the only option. Not happy but somewhat resigned. Of course, the knee was on its best behaviour, swollen and red but not hot or very painful. It saved that till I got home.
We ate Indian takeaway (saag paneer for me with naan) and watched Moneyball which J had never seen. Having seen statistics on every aspect of baseball for the past few weeks, it seemed a bit archaic to view the days when none of that really mattered.
Tomorrow make sure my hospital go-bag is stocked and wait for a phone call.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Gosh! This daily posting can be a grind! Just kidding. If I stop getting hits, I’ll stop. Or if you tell me I am not writing what you want to read. Want me to rant against the entity that sometimes resides in the White House? Be glad to oblige, but my close friends have already heard it, and most Australians I have met can’t understand either technically or rationally how we put him in office. These are the days when I’m very glad to be a long way away and I don’t read/listen/watch news because of the drivel it contains.
On that note I just finished watching season 2 of “The Good Fight” and thought it was terrific. Great legal cases, mostly relevant to our time, a great cast. I get it on Stan. I have no idea where it is broadcast elsewhere. And speaking of Chicago (because that’s where the series takes place), I listened to Michelle Obama narrate her own autobiography. This was my first experience in a long time in listening rather than reading. I found the experience somewhat annoying in that you have a person talking at you for (in this case) 14 hours and it lost its appeal along the line. She has a slight speech problem which as a linguist grated. Her book was absolutely great and I highly recommend it. She is a great woman aside from putting up with being First Lady. I thought it interesting that she accounted in detail Laura Bush welcoming her to the White House and showing her around, but not a mention about her successor. Hmmm. It was illuminating to hear about how the couple got together and worked their way up. Also the behind the scenes at the White House including how much the Obamas had to pay out of their own pockets for daily living. Of course a billionaire like the Donald will have no problem with that or will get somebody else to pay for it. I always had mixed feelings about Chicago. I visited very frequently for business and rarely had any time to explore. I am also a New Yorker born and bred and Chicago will always be the Second City. Also it was usually freezing when I went for library conventions and I hated plowing through snow drifts. I enjoyed shopping and eating out. There is/was a great German restaurant I think in what’s called the Loop that brewed its own beer and served game on the menu. I had several memorable meals there.
Today I got out and did a few things. I had another blood test done and while we were in the small shopping centre, J spotted a hairdresser who didn’t look busy. He asked if he would do a quickie haircut. Yes! I got a very basic cut which cost all of $33. The hairdresser knew all about Pasturella because he raises meat rabbits and they carry it and are susceptible to it. We also drove around a bit because it was a beautiful day. Then I came home and had excruciating pain in my leg. I wanted to watch the first World Series game and I managed to sit in the lounge room for 5 innings where the Nats beak the Astros which was very comforting. If they can do that in Houston, maybe they can do this. Go Nats! Then (after dinner) I went back to bed in great pain. Crying and swearing were involved. I tried watching tv on my iPad, but it was pretty bad. Copious amounts of wine helped and it’s now quiet so maybe I can sleep tonight. I regret to admit that I have been drinking when I can’t sleep and sometimes for the pain. Sometimes it’s wine, sometimes tequila or scotch. Unfortunately I’ve discovered that for me the only spirits (liquor to Americans) I can drink straight up are expensive ones. So I have great single malts, and lovely tequila. It’s not a habit I like to indulge in but it does dull the noise in my brain.
Sleep well.
On that note I just finished watching season 2 of “The Good Fight” and thought it was terrific. Great legal cases, mostly relevant to our time, a great cast. I get it on Stan. I have no idea where it is broadcast elsewhere. And speaking of Chicago (because that’s where the series takes place), I listened to Michelle Obama narrate her own autobiography. This was my first experience in a long time in listening rather than reading. I found the experience somewhat annoying in that you have a person talking at you for (in this case) 14 hours and it lost its appeal along the line. She has a slight speech problem which as a linguist grated. Her book was absolutely great and I highly recommend it. She is a great woman aside from putting up with being First Lady. I thought it interesting that she accounted in detail Laura Bush welcoming her to the White House and showing her around, but not a mention about her successor. Hmmm. It was illuminating to hear about how the couple got together and worked their way up. Also the behind the scenes at the White House including how much the Obamas had to pay out of their own pockets for daily living. Of course a billionaire like the Donald will have no problem with that or will get somebody else to pay for it. I always had mixed feelings about Chicago. I visited very frequently for business and rarely had any time to explore. I am also a New Yorker born and bred and Chicago will always be the Second City. Also it was usually freezing when I went for library conventions and I hated plowing through snow drifts. I enjoyed shopping and eating out. There is/was a great German restaurant I think in what’s called the Loop that brewed its own beer and served game on the menu. I had several memorable meals there.
Today I got out and did a few things. I had another blood test done and while we were in the small shopping centre, J spotted a hairdresser who didn’t look busy. He asked if he would do a quickie haircut. Yes! I got a very basic cut which cost all of $33. The hairdresser knew all about Pasturella because he raises meat rabbits and they carry it and are susceptible to it. We also drove around a bit because it was a beautiful day. Then I came home and had excruciating pain in my leg. I wanted to watch the first World Series game and I managed to sit in the lounge room for 5 innings where the Nats beak the Astros which was very comforting. If they can do that in Houston, maybe they can do this. Go Nats! Then (after dinner) I went back to bed in great pain. Crying and swearing were involved. I tried watching tv on my iPad, but it was pretty bad. Copious amounts of wine helped and it’s now quiet so maybe I can sleep tonight. I regret to admit that I have been drinking when I can’t sleep and sometimes for the pain. Sometimes it’s wine, sometimes tequila or scotch. Unfortunately I’ve discovered that for me the only spirits (liquor to Americans) I can drink straight up are expensive ones. So I have great single malts, and lovely tequila. It’s not a habit I like to indulge in but it does dull the noise in my brain.
Sleep well.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
I promised regular posts so I had better fulfill my end of the deal. Little sleep last night again. This is getting beyond boring. I tried reading but I have to be so careful. Now I know I have a cataract in my right eye I don’t want to strain trying to read. Horrible headaches ensue. I hadn’t even thought about the implications of my infection on other parts of me, but my GP cautioned consulting my infectious disease doctor about the advisability of having a minor skin cancer removed and I think I will add cataract surgery to that. My immune system is in slow down mode and maybe adding other healing to the situation is not a good idea. I will ask on Friday.
It’s lovely having J here. Now that I’m playing hospital in my bedroom, he comes in for a chat in the evenings. Let me clarify that I sleep most of the mornings and he often goes out in the afternoons. Evenings he reads while I watch tv. Of course, tomorrow the World Series starts so I will have to rouse myself for that. I’m not all that interesting to visit. At least this time I’m not actually in hospital, unlike his last two visits. I was hoping we could go down to the coast for a few days while he’s here, but I also thought I would be healthy by now. I can’t sit in the car comfortably for over an hour and it takes a little over two to get to the ocean from here.
Spring is here and it’s gotten quite warm for a while. Canberra’s weather is erratic in spring and fall and you have to expect sudden ups and downs. My fruit trees have blossomed but the birds will probably get all the fruit. I’m hoping I can save some apples from the rosellas. I almost missed the annual spectacle of my wisteria in bloom but I did see it before a wind storm blew all the blossoms off. I was also going to try and grow some veggies in pots on the back deck but I’m not up to tending them. Besides, I think this is going to be a dry year. I really miss gardening but that’s how it goes.
We are both distressed over the rampant development going on around our area of the ACT. New suburbs popping up like mushrooms and we can’t figure out where all these potential home owners are coming from and why. All I see is a lot more traffic and precious little being done to the roads or parking areas to accommodate it. Ginninderry supposedly will have 11,000 new homes and who knows how big Whitlam will be. They’ve been planning to redevelop my local shopping centre for years but no progress has been made. Those 11,000 homes will need to buy groceries somewhere.
Well, it’s 1AM so I had better at least try to sleep. Hope to get a few hours; I have to go out for a blood test tomorrow.
It’s lovely having J here. Now that I’m playing hospital in my bedroom, he comes in for a chat in the evenings. Let me clarify that I sleep most of the mornings and he often goes out in the afternoons. Evenings he reads while I watch tv. Of course, tomorrow the World Series starts so I will have to rouse myself for that. I’m not all that interesting to visit. At least this time I’m not actually in hospital, unlike his last two visits. I was hoping we could go down to the coast for a few days while he’s here, but I also thought I would be healthy by now. I can’t sit in the car comfortably for over an hour and it takes a little over two to get to the ocean from here.
Spring is here and it’s gotten quite warm for a while. Canberra’s weather is erratic in spring and fall and you have to expect sudden ups and downs. My fruit trees have blossomed but the birds will probably get all the fruit. I’m hoping I can save some apples from the rosellas. I almost missed the annual spectacle of my wisteria in bloom but I did see it before a wind storm blew all the blossoms off. I was also going to try and grow some veggies in pots on the back deck but I’m not up to tending them. Besides, I think this is going to be a dry year. I really miss gardening but that’s how it goes.
We are both distressed over the rampant development going on around our area of the ACT. New suburbs popping up like mushrooms and we can’t figure out where all these potential home owners are coming from and why. All I see is a lot more traffic and precious little being done to the roads or parking areas to accommodate it. Ginninderry supposedly will have 11,000 new homes and who knows how big Whitlam will be. They’ve been planning to redevelop my local shopping centre for years but no progress has been made. Those 11,000 homes will need to buy groceries somewhere.
Well, it’s 1AM so I had better at least try to sleep. Hope to get a few hours; I have to go out for a blood test tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Hello, folks. Yes, I am alive but not well. I thought I would write some ramblings and try and keep it up while I’m not sleeping. My infection is going strong and I see my infectious disease doctor on Friday when I plan to beg him for the other antibiotic he’s been keeping in reserve. At this point, it might cure me and I can’t continue as I am. Potential resistance must (IMHO) give precedence to curing the disease it was invented for. At the moment the entire inside half of my knee is very swollen, red, and hot, not to mention painful. I thought when I saw him the last time I had somehow gotten a shin splint. However, one does that during exercise and I haven’t done any of that. The shin is extremely painful and I have come to the conclusion that the infection has spread. Cutting me open has not cured me so far and the blasted Pasturella just comes back from wherever it’s hiding in my body. This is also why I don’t see the point in removing my knee prosthesis. After the last clean out, I was healing quite well when it appeared again. I may be forced into another surgical procedure but I am trying so hard to not go down that road.
Otherwise, I am acting like I’m in hospital, meaning mostly bed rest and ice on my knee when the pain of the ice is bearable. So I lie in bed, read, watch stuff on various streaming services, get slept on by cats, and have had a staggeringly long run of insomnia. Yesterday I didn’t get any sleep until 4PM and then it was all of 2 hours. The knee is painful in so many different ways and sometimes that little niggle in my calf is enough to keep me sliding over the edge into sleep. It’s certainly not doing me any good but it’s not fatal. This lesson I learned in the 1980’s when J and I both battled insomnia and would meet in the family room at 2 or 3AM. That’s one reason why now that he’s here we avoid disturbing each other in the wee hours. He is an excellent nurse, and is developing into being a good cook too.
My accomplishments for today were taking a shower (a major operation), trying to watch some tv but my recliner is not at the right angle for my leg, and retreating to bed to play puzzle games, scroll through FB, and now write to you. I finished “Galleon” by C.W. Williams (on Kindle) which was very fun. I recommend it to any lover of sci-fi. I’m also reading “Wonder Boys” by Michael Chabon (in pbk). His writing style is so off the wall that I deal it out in small doses. My BBBB is “Wilderness and the American Mind” by Roderick Nash. I find it bizarre that the first settlers in America believed that the “wilderness” was not only just scarey, but inhabited be daemons and mythical wild beasts, and that merely by entering the forests you would lose your connection to God and become a godless heathen yourself, like the native people were judged. Today we worship wilderness for, in some cases like my own, its connection to a higher power, but they thought the only good land was that under cultivation.
I was looking forward to the World Series but not so much now that the Yankees are out of it. I can muster support for the Washington Nationals so that’s coming up. I forgot how much I loved baseball until I got access through giving J sports access on my cable package. We would get up in the late morning and watch whatever was playing. I followed baseball through two husbands after growing up with it and really missed it here. J and I will check out what passes for baseball here but the field is at the far side of Canberra and who knows what disabled access is like. I am using my walker all the time but covering distances isn’t fun.
Otherwise, I am acting like I’m in hospital, meaning mostly bed rest and ice on my knee when the pain of the ice is bearable. So I lie in bed, read, watch stuff on various streaming services, get slept on by cats, and have had a staggeringly long run of insomnia. Yesterday I didn’t get any sleep until 4PM and then it was all of 2 hours. The knee is painful in so many different ways and sometimes that little niggle in my calf is enough to keep me sliding over the edge into sleep. It’s certainly not doing me any good but it’s not fatal. This lesson I learned in the 1980’s when J and I both battled insomnia and would meet in the family room at 2 or 3AM. That’s one reason why now that he’s here we avoid disturbing each other in the wee hours. He is an excellent nurse, and is developing into being a good cook too.
My accomplishments for today were taking a shower (a major operation), trying to watch some tv but my recliner is not at the right angle for my leg, and retreating to bed to play puzzle games, scroll through FB, and now write to you. I finished “Galleon” by C.W. Williams (on Kindle) which was very fun. I recommend it to any lover of sci-fi. I’m also reading “Wonder Boys” by Michael Chabon (in pbk). His writing style is so off the wall that I deal it out in small doses. My BBBB is “Wilderness and the American Mind” by Roderick Nash. I find it bizarre that the first settlers in America believed that the “wilderness” was not only just scarey, but inhabited be daemons and mythical wild beasts, and that merely by entering the forests you would lose your connection to God and become a godless heathen yourself, like the native people were judged. Today we worship wilderness for, in some cases like my own, its connection to a higher power, but they thought the only good land was that under cultivation.
I was looking forward to the World Series but not so much now that the Yankees are out of it. I can muster support for the Washington Nationals so that’s coming up. I forgot how much I loved baseball until I got access through giving J sports access on my cable package. We would get up in the late morning and watch whatever was playing. I followed baseball through two husbands after growing up with it and really missed it here. J and I will check out what passes for baseball here but the field is at the far side of Canberra and who knows what disabled access is like. I am using my walker all the time but covering distances isn’t fun.
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