My family

Family Stories Vlog

THUNDER DOWN UNDER

4 April 2017

(I came across that phrase and it fit so perfectly.....)

I learned an important lesson today.  If you are seeing a physical therapist and he decides to assist you to a flat position on a table on your back, and if you haven't been in that position for literally years and because of your size, it's rather awkward getting into that position in the first place, for god's sake don't fart!!!

I didn't, but my 74 year old body, gaseous in the best of times, really really wanted to!  I consider it a major victory that I was able to hold it in.  He was a nice young man, freshly out of grammar school, I guess, judging by his Doogie Howser appearance, and I would have been mortified to fart in front of him, though I suspect I would not have been the first.

It was really a pretty good meeting.  We talked a lot.  He had read my file and my correspondence with my doctor and asked lots of questions about where exactly the pain is, what kind of pain it is, when it comes, what makes it better, etc.  I was impressed.  He asked more questions in 15 minutes than i think my doctor has asked in 15 years. 

He showed me my x-rays and the lovely curvature of my spine which explains the loss of nearly 2" in height over the last 20 years or so.

He showed me how the disks in my spine are flattening due to pressure on them and that he can't cure them, but with some simple exercises along with the cream my doctor gave me, the pain can probably be made better.

He also had a model of a spine that would look like a muppet if it had a face.  But it was a great graphic example of what is going on and made it very easy to see what and where and why the problem is.

We didn't make a return appointment because once he had shown me the exercises (3 simple ones), there didn't seem to be much point in a follow-up, when we have e-mail to communicate and I'm welcome to come back whenever I want.

After the appointment, I had lunch at Denny's and learned, finally, how to take a proper Selfie.  My arms are too short and my fingers too uncoordinated to do a good job the regular way.  But I discovered a timer on the phone, so by setting the timer for 3 seconds, I can take a selfie that looks fairly decent.

I was all excited to go to the store on the way home.  Last week when I was there they had a whole bin of fresh Dungeness crab and after our lunch in Berkeley the other day, when Caroline said she loved crab, I decided we would have crab for dinner tonight.  Crab, salad and French bread.  Nectar of the gods.

But when I got to the meat counter there wasn't a single crab to be had.  I asked when then expected to get them in again (thinking maybe I could get crab for our final dinner before she leaves) and he told me that crab season had ended and they would not have any again for months.  Poo.

So I bought something else to cook, and since it's quite late and she's on call tonight, it's probaby just as well.  But I had my mouth all set for fresh crab! 

My cousin Denise, the cosmetologist, had called to let me know that she was going to come and have lunch with my mother and do her nails, so I didn't feel I had to go to Atria today.  But when I was on the way back from Kaiser, she called to let me know that my mother was almost out of toilet paper, which mystifies me because I bought her 6 rolls last week and this means she is going through a roll a day!

I asked Niecie how the visit had gone and for the first time she said that it was just sad. She's usually so upbeat and eager to let me know how my mother is just FINE for her. She got her singing to familiar tunes, but she zoned out after awhile and it was the same stuff I have with her when I visit  Also, apparently she answered the door wearing only her pajama bottoms.  Usually she's wearing only her pajama tops, but this time it was just the bottoms, which must have been quite a surprise for Niecie!

When I got home, there was a message from a friend of my mother's, who had stopped by to see her before Niecie arrived.  She found her in bed, with no top on, but she was pleased that my mother seemed to recognize her and they had a fairly good visit.  I suspect, however, that she won't be back.

I cooked dinner around 9, figuring I could cook for Caroline when she got home, but she texted that she was going out for burgers with some of the other students. So really good that I didn't buy crab.  She did miss the strawberry shortcake though.