Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Day 2918: When do you look forward to a doctor's appointment?




"All of this." : acrylics, ink, collage, digital transfer, journal page.






Want music?




Click here for Tom Misch, It Runs Through Me.
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?





Possibly TMI?


It's been a little rough the past few weeks, as the last traces 
of cortisone had evacuated my needy right shoulder.  
I couldn't brush my hair, which is a scary sight. 
I could drive carefully, letting the left side do most 
of the work. Getting an appointment takes a while, 
so when it is here I am excited about the upcoming relief.



 
                        When do you look forward to a doctor's appointment?
Not often maybe, but today ... yes indeed.




My 78-year-old shoulders are worn out, bone on bone + spurs.
I have been having cortisone shots to ease the pain.
The shots used to last 6 months, now it is down to two.
Today was shot day, and WW went with me as we had 
a slew of questions as replacement is becoming a reality.




I am blessed to have Kaiser's top shoulder specialist, 
and I not only like him but I trust him. Still, it is up to me.
I have to be cortisone-free for six months prior to surgery.



WW got to tag along as my caretaker, which made me 
feel really old, but when I thought of it, it fits her perfectly.
  She wanted to be in on all the surgery details. 
On the right is the ultrasound that Dr. Sodl uses to pinpoint
where my cortisone shot will be injected. Precision.



WW was playing with filters to help me look better than 
I can accomplish on my own. Can you believe that Snapchat
has filters to add make-up where it thinks it is needed?
Now, 10 hours later, the shoulder is 50% better.
On the way home, WW called in a lunch order at  
Fried Green Tomato Grill & picked it up ready when we arrived.
I had mentioned needing some flowers, so we stopped at
Home Depot and I got three plants and detergent. Win-win.


Not even noon, and a day of terrific improvements.





Throwback Thursday  ...


Jordan 6, Jake 5, Zack 4.

Young Grandhunks #1, 2 & 3, Maui, 2005.









•  A charming 4-minute video, cat @ concert, here.
• An amusing 2-minute video, unusual massage, here. 
• A hilarious, sadly true 3-min video, here.





Smiles for Thursday ...

























Friday, July 3, 2020

Day 2898: 60 year die-hard fan.





"LA78": junk mail collage, photo & digital.





Want music?

 




Click here for Jacob Collier, Rest Your Weary Head,
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?










Being a 60 year die-hard fan of artist Corita Kent, 
I jumped at the chance to download a copy of this poster for free.
You can too, if you hurry, for a limited time, 
it's as simple as ordering it for free!

#GetWithTheAction – download and print this poster 
featuring a piece by Corita from 1976. 
In Corita's spirit of love, hope, and justice, 
use this poster to champion change: 
carry it to a demonstration, display it in your window, 
or share via social media!
...
Download from the link below. Available for a limited time. 
Tag Corita Art Center and share how you use the poster!

https://bit.ly/3fRh6vd






the tough truth of it ...




For people who don't understand what it means 
to be on a ventilator but want to take the chance to find out:
For starters, it is NOT an oxygen mask that is put over the mouth while the patient comfortably lies down and reads journals.
Ventilation for Covid-19 is painful intubation that goes 
down your throat and stays there until you live or you die.
It is done during anesthesia for 2 to 3 weeks without moving, 
often upside down, with a tube deposited from your mouth up to the air pipe and allows you to breathe to the rhythm of the lung machine.
The patient can't talk or eat or do anything natural - 
the machine keeps you alive. Discomfort and pain they feel from this will mean that medical experts must administer sedatives 
and pain meds to ensure pipe tolerance as long as the machine is needed. It's like being in an artificial coma. After 20 days from this treatment, a young patient loses 40% muscle mass and gets trauma in the mouth or voice cords, as well as possible lung or heart complications. It is for this reason that old or already weak people can't stand treatment and die. Many of us are in this boat ... 
so stay safe if you don't want to take the chance to end up here. 
This is NOT the flu! They put a tube in your stomach, either through your nose or skin for liquid food, a sticky bag around your butt to collect diarrhea, one to collect urine, an IV for liquids and meds... an A-line to monitor your BP it is completely dependent on finely calculated with doses, teams of nurses, CRNA and MA 
to move your limbs every two hours and lie on a carpet 
circulating ice-cold liquid to help reduce your 104° degree temp.
All of this while your loved ones cannot even come to visit. 
You will be alone in a room with your machine. Not your mother, your father, your son, daughter, wife or husband allowed in.
But... wearing a mask is uncomfortable and humiliating.










• A 4 min. video, Strandbeest Evolution, here.


 
• A 4-1/2 min. video, marble machine, here.


• A 5 min. video, "Nuggets", here.

• A 2 min. video on home-stay birds, here. 











Smiles for Friday ...