This Year is Our Year for Success!
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Maryanne, I”ll let you know how our PT goes. We start next week. The first visit is probably mostly evaluation. I hope they’re as good as my previous facility. I wanted to go back there but couldn’t get an appointment because of short staffing. The therapist I had last time left to start a business. It’s not PT but something related. The other problem is they have 2 locations which works well when they have enough staff. But now it must be tough to staff 2 places.
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
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Helene, I get Prolia injections twice a year for my osteoporosis. In fact, I had labs drawn Friday and will see my endocrinologist next Friday to get my next injection ordered.
My birthday is Wednesday. I haven’t even thought about how I want to celebrate it, but most likely DH and I will go out to dinner somewhere.
I went to a party last night with 2 friends and former coworkers. Once a year one of our former coworkers hosts a gathering for any who formerly worked at the same office. I’ve missed most of them over the years but decided at the last minute to go this year, and I’m really glad I did. I’ve avoided going some years because some of the people who had confirmed their attendance were people I really disliked from my time working with them. This year I had no idea who would be there, but decided to go anyway. It worked out great because all of the attendees turned out to be people I genuinely liked. I was surprised that after retiring from this workplace 20 years ago, I still remembered so many people and they remembered me, lol! Everyone has moved on and those who are still working work for other companies now, with the exception of the event organizer.I can’t wait to get the stitches out of my foot on Tuesday! It will have been 2 weeks and a day since the surgery, and long past time for them to come out. They are itchy and pulling at this point.
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Had my first PT yesterday. It was an evaluation. We talked about my 2 falls and my overwhelming fear of falling again. He had me stand on a flat platform with eyes open, then closed. I repeated it standing on a thick spongy pad. He showed me a bar graph comparing my results to normal. I wasn’t way off but there were differences. I noticed I swayed with my eyes closed. That reminded me of the vertigo I had last winter. He said the crystals in my ear may have moved from the fall. I go back Thursday and I have at home exercises to do. I liked him and the facility.
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Yesterday I celebrated my 72nd birthday. It was a pretty low-key celebration since DH forgot it, but it was nice hearing from lots of other family and friends. We did go out to dinner at the restaurant I chose last night. Further evidence of DH’s entail decline, I guess. He’s never forgotten my birthday before.
I got the stitches out of my foot on Tuesday. I’m still wearing the flat orthopedic shoe, but it’s mostly pain free except for an occasional twinge. I’m still supposed to keep it covered and dry when I shower, but I failed miserably at that yesterday. I’m not sure why it matters at this point since the wound is closed, but I’ll keep trying to find a method to keep it dry. My go-to method has always been several layers of Glad PressnSeal wrap, which has worked well in the past. Not so much this time, lol! I can wear a regular shoe starting Tuesday, and I’m looking forward to that!
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we’re expecting a Nor’easter today. Fingers crossed we don’t lose power. Or it least that it’s not a long outage. I downloaded some movies and got and audiobook to listen to on a battery operated player. I think the wind will be the worst thing for us. We’re high enough and far enough from the beach that flooding should affect us.
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Helene - overall I wasn't thrilled with p/t but judging by that balancing on the foam pad thing, my balance has improved. I hope p/t can help you!!!
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Pam— here's hoping you come up with a great birthday celebration!!! Enjoy!
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Yesterday I dealt with 2 weeks of CROM mail. Today I finished up the holiday newsletter. I still have to do our state filing (YECH!)
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We’ve been busy between PT and other medical appointments. In addition, we’re finally getting around to writing new wills. Ed’s brother was the executor and he died last May. Our mothers and my sister were beneficiaries and all have passed away. So it’s time to update our wills. Leaving them as is will create headaches for whichever one of survives the other. We’ve been gathering information for tomorrow’s meeting with the lawyer.
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Helene - We definitely need to do that too. I pacify myself by reminding myself that at the first death everything goes to the other so as long as we don't die together we're good. Isn't it fun being old(er)?
This morning I filed CROM's last government form for 2024. WHEW! You'd think I'd hire someone to be our accountant but no, I have to do it myself. It was easy in the early days. Not so much any more when everything is (badly) computerized.
Our Smokie is finally home but still caged. The surgeon wants us to confine her one last week. We can't wait. This has been a LONG (expensive) slog.
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This week was full of medical appointments and a meeting with our financial advisor, then trips to the bank. I had my final nerve ablation on my back and it seems to be working well for me. DH has another procedure on his back a week from tomorrow. I’m hoping this one provides more relief than the previous ones. In the words of the spine doctors we’ve been seeing “His back is a mess”!
We met with our financial advisor to begin the process of transferring the funds from the sale of our house, the sale of DH’s mom’s house, and the financial settlement from my car crash. All together it’s a substantial sum, so we wanted to make sure we were making the right moves with it. He recommended that we go to the bank and request a wire transfer to send the money into our account with him. Sounded easy, but when we got to the bank, they were holding a staff meeting with all of their personal bankers and it wasn’t something a teller could help us with. There were at least 6 or more people ahead of us, waiting for the meeting to be over, so we elected not to wait. That was on Thursday afternoon, so on Friday I went to a different branch, and this time I was told that they only had one person available who could help me, but she had an appointment coming in and wouldn’t have time to complete my transaction before her appointment was due. Understandable, but frustrating. I was back in my car preparing to find another branch to go to when the branch manager tapped on my window and offered to help me. This woman was very nice, but Good Lord, the hoops they make you jump through! I know she was trying to make sure I wasn’t being scammed but it is rather frustrating to have to prove that you’re in possession of your mental faculties and actually know what you’re doing with your own money! Eventually we got it done and the money is in our investment account in time for tomorrow’s trading day, which was my goal, but it was an annoying process.This week is pretty light on appointments for a change. I’m looking forward to not having to get up early every day to be somewhere. I’m retired - I’m supposed to be able to sleep late when I want to!
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At least 4 of 5 days this week are medical appointments. I have my urologist, chiropractor and two PT sessions. I also have a tele visit with my primary care tomorrow night. I had labs done last week and she wants to discuss them with me. I’ve never done Zoom before so I hope I can log in and join her as planned.
We called our nephew yesterday and asked if he’d be successor to the trust we’re setting up. That only kicks in after we’re both gone. Then it reverts to the will and he’s agreed to be executor. He has a law degree but never practiced. He works in the insurance industry. He’s agreed tone the back up healthcare proxy person. He agreed right away. We thought he might need to think it over but he said he’d be honored. Having that settled is a big relief.
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Helene, our nephew will be our executor as well. When you are child-free, it is a little more challenging deciding who to ask to take on these responsibilities, isn’t it? Luckily, our nephew also readily agreed when we asked. Of course, he also will inherit a large portion of our estate, assuming there is anything left at that point, lol!
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I had my urology appointment today and it went well with a bit of a glitch though. Last year, the PA sent my insurance company a request to cover the cost of a name brand medication. I tried the generic for 10 months and it didn’t work. They agreed to cover the brand name for a year. I asked her to do the same this year. The RX went to CVS instead of Walgreens. I got a text saying it was too soon to fill and they used the the initials of the generic. I called and left a message for the PA saying CVS wants to fill the generic version. I have two weeks of pills left so hopefully the request ends up at Walgreens and I get approval for the brand name.
I had a Zoom call with my primary care to review recent lab work. I have a couple issues to work on (more exercise and better nutrition) but the labs generally looked good. I’d never done a telemedicine call before. It went smoother than I expected.
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We had a relatively quiet week, with only a couple of medical appointments for a change. Next week also looks pretty quiet. DH is having a steroid epidural injection in his back on Monday, then I think no other medical appointments. That’s becoming pretty rare for us to have a week with only 1 or 2 medical appointments.
I am taking a friend to a medical appointment on Tuesday. She is recovering from breast cancer treatment and isn’t driving for now. Her friend group has been taking turns taking her to her various appointments and treatments, as well as helping her run errands and shop, etc. She has not disclosed her prognosis, so I have no idea how much longer she will be needing help. I know she has completed chemo and radiation and is now receiving infusion treatments that are scheduled to go on until at least February. Her red blood cell count has been very low recently and I know that is being closely monitored and was treated with 2 blood transfusions a couple of weeks ago. She was hoping that would give her some energy, but doesn’t seem to have had much effect so far. She naps a lot and works jigsaw puzzles when she’s awake. I took her a cute one I found on Amazon last week, along with some biscotti I had made and then I drove her to a couple of stores she needed to go to. That outing exhausted her, so she doesn’t have much stamina at this point.
I am decorating some Halloween cookies today that I plan to take to the spine surgery center on Monday for the staff. DH and I have been there so many times over the last 2 months for the various procedures we’ve had and the staff have been wonderful, so I wanted to do something fun for a thank you to them. Hopefully they will enjoy the cookies. I’m also going to give some to my young neighbor, who currently has a broken wrist. He’s about 12 years old and super polite and pleasant (for a kid, lol!), so I thought he might enjoy a few cookies. He lives with his mom and grandmother and I think he may be the only kid in the entire neighborhood.
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Pam, you are such a thoughtful person. Everyone is going to love the cookies. Your friend is lucky to have a group of friends to take her where she needs to go during recovery. I imagine it takes a while to regain stamina after chemo and radiation. Sending prayers for her recovery.
I hope DH does well with the steroid injection. I agree it’s nice not to have so many medical appointments in a week. This week I think we only have two. DH fell the other day in the kitchen. We had a chiropractic appointment yesterday. I wanted to call to get him in sooner but he wanted to wait for his appointment. Dr Bob is someone I’ve seen for twenty years. I go first so I told him about the fall and DH’s insistence on waiting. He said we should have called and he would have worked him in. DH needed a lot of adjustments but he was walking better when we left the office. He goes back Thursday but I go in 2 weeks. I’m doing a lot better so I can go longer between appointments. DH also has PT.When we first scheduled, the staff gave us 5 appointments. After evaluation, we needed more but my therapist’s calendar had filled up. He doesn’t have an opening until 11/3. He gave me a sheet of at home exercise which I’ll do next week to not lose the progress I’ve made.
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Maryanne, Thank you for the Advent calendar. I already went in and made the jigsaw puzzles. I have to wait until December to do the Advent activities.
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Maryanne, thanks so much for the Advent calendar! I enjoy it every year. The graphics are fabulous!
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I'm glad you enjoyed the Advent calendars. I know it's early but I got the email and figured why the heck not!
I added a new CROM volunteer to the list and for some unknown reason I think she's po'd. I can't win for trying.
I'm still dealing with pain from the hip replacement. This has NOT been a fun experience.
This past Monday I had a vocal cord injection. I could still talk but it felt like it was starting to fade, I am NOT ready to actually have the surgery, and I did NOT want to find myself needing the update in the dead of winter so I talked the doc into it. With any luck I'll get into 2027 before I need to go downtown and stay overnight for the surgery.
Work has been somewhat slow but is starting to pick up as we get into fall. It's already on the cold side here. Since we both hate winter we're grumbling. Luckily in Baltimore winter is 4 months tops.
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Helene - I'm happy to hear you are doing better. Stick with those exercises. I'm trying to stay committed to my regimen now that my p/t has ended. Sorry to hear your hubby needed help! I wish I could get mine to get checked out - both his hearing and his hips. But he won't "hear" of it. He'd rather pretend I just talk funny as he turns the TV up to a volume that literally hurts my ears.
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Pam - enjoy your quiet week. I KNOW folks will enjoy the cookies. I don't bake but I send Cheryl's cookies to folks and they always get so excited. How kind of you to offer rides to your friend. I hope her prognosis is positive.
I'm sorry to hear you and your hubby have so many medical appointments. If we get to that point I definitely will have to finally retire.
I sure the neighbor boy will enjoy the cookies also. I broke my first bone when I was 12. Also my wrist. My dad ignored it for 2 weeks even though I TOLD him I HEARD it break. By the time he finally took me to the doctor they had to re-break it.
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I’m very lucky with my DH. He first experienced lightheadedness several years ago. It affected him when he stood up from sitting down. We went to a series of talks on balance issues the hospital network ran. Each week was a different medical professional explaining how parts of the body could affect balance. He went to an ENT doc to check his inner and he ran various tests. His inner ear was okay but he had hearing loss. He was fine seeing the audiologist and getting fitted with hearing aides. They’re so small they’re not noticeable. He sees a dermatologist this week about a spot that may be a skin cancer. He’s good about seeing doctors as well as preventative care. It must be so hard to have a spouse who’s in denial about who’s so resistant.
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