Song: “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford
Mood: 7
Nightmares: 0
Ghosts: Several
Today was a very busy day. I spent a bunch of time yesterday getting a new collection of silly videos ready for texting, but I didn’t get a chance to send them until well into the evening today.
My parents were already on the highway to come over and help J and me with some landscaping and replacing the supports around the fireplace, when the phone rang. It was a clinic calling, saying that they’d just had a cancellation and asking if I could come in this afternoon to get a nerve conduction study done on both of my arms. The timing wasn’t great – J and my family and I had already figured out our plans – but when it comes to getting tests or treatments, I think I’ll always say yes. The big problem was what kind of wrench was it going to throw into the works… my folks were due to arrive in 90 minutes, and it would be kind of unfair if both J and I disappeared, leaving them to haul dirt and stone.
J texted her aunt (the one I had the cribbage and Carcassone afternoon with a month or two ago), and she said she could help… plus, she knew where the place I was going was (neither J nor myself had any clue). Bless her heart!
When my parents arrived, we had a quick lunch and talked, and then got things ready to go. I then got all prettied up and waited for J’s aunt to arrive. She got here right on time – it was very nice that she finally met my parents! After a couple of minutes of chatting and gazing at the big pile of stone and the torn-up front flower beds, we got into her car and took off. With everything going on I thought it was smart to take PRNs, and between them and the fact that J’s aunt is a very nice lady, we had a pretty decent chat all the way to the health centre.
We got there a little early, which gave us time to find the right building and desk. The very friendly person at the desk handed me a clipboard and pencil to fill out a sheet to bring in when the doctor called me. It took me a little while to fill it out (some days I can remember everything about my medications, other days I can’t even remember what they look like), and just after I finished, the doctor came out and called my name. She was a very interesting doctor. You know how sometimes you sit in a room with someone and nobody has to say anything but you realize that that other person is two or five or twenty times smarter than you are? That’s how I felt.
She was very pleasant and friendly, though, and described exactly what she was doing – namely, running electrical currents through the nerves in my arms, making everything from my finger to my elbow jump. She did both arms, and when she was done doing that, she inserted needles into my muscles and had me partially exert the muscles to get the electrical signal from the muscle. It was only mildly uncomfortable (and I’ve been shocked much, MUCH worse over the course of many adventures).
About a half-hour later we were finished, and she gave me the results. I have severe “something” (I can’t remember the word she used) in my right arm at the elbow. I have slight to moderate “something” in my left arm at the elbow. In neither arm do I have any signs of carpal tunnel syndrome, which is great considering how many years I’ve been tied to a keyboard! Anyway, looks like I’m in yet another surgery queue now.
My experience with the doctor was excellent, and when I left, J’s aunt was sitting in the waiting room right where she’d been, reading her book.
I have to say that I really appreciate her help today. It was on very short notice, the place I went to was NOT close to home, and I’m comfortable hanging out with her – she’s such an unassuming person but is very fun to talk to, and she helps me relax just by being herself. I really value and appreciate that.
Our drive back was uneventful – I didn’t talk quite as much as I could on the way there, but we still had a decent conversation. I was hoping that as we pulled up the street, I would see that the front landscaping had been completed, but alas, it had not. J’s aunt and I got out of the car, had another short chat with everyone, and then she hopped back in her car and went home.
The rest of the afternoon (and into the evening) was a team effort by J, Mom, Dad, and me. We dug out the flower beds, sloped them properly, levelled and pounded in the edging with rebar posts (some of which I had to cut), put down landscaping fabric, and then shovelled about 3/4 of a cubic yard of rocks on top of them. They’d started at around 1:30PM, I got back from my test at 3:30PM, and we worked like fiends until the front was done at 6:30PM.
We got fried chicken delivered and we went in to eat after stowing all the tools and equipment. I think everyone enjoyed the food. I sure did. After we’d eaten until we were all quite full, we spent time gabbing some more, talking about what’s on the list for tomorrow, and doing all kinds of stuff. Dad was wondering about some more garden pegs and whether we could make them any larger, so I fired up Fusion and the two of us puzzled out the measurements. I plan to start the print early tomorrow morning; hopefully it’ll be done before my folks hit the road again.
Tomorrow, we work on the fireplace. I’ve suspected that one of the braces has been getting too hot, and now that it’s been removed there are signs of scorching. This is a bummer because it was installed professionally, but I’d rather do it this way than wait for my house to burn down. Lots of steel studding, relocating some other stuff, then some drywall. Shouldn’t take too long, I don’t think.
Well, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m going to be very sore in the morning, so I think I’m going to end this here. Thanks so much to Mom and Dad and J for all the work today (THANK YOU!!!!), and thank you to J’s aunt for all of her time and help and patience today hauling me around town (THANK YOU!!!!)!
Stay safe.