Medicine in ther Hood

Its hot outside. Its over 90 degrees and I have jus come in from being out in the community. I was n so much pain last night from my sore throat I had to call into work, again, sick and I had to get myself taken care of. Of course when I called into the office Bonnie told me not come in the rest of the week and I am almost ready to take her up on the offer, but feel I must get in atleast to return calls.

I was shocked when I called my doc at the university, my physiatrist, who I was given to believe was going to act as my general practioner, but I found would not do regular medical stuff like colds and sniffles. One of the reasons I decided to change my medical provider in the first place was the physiatrist would provide all of my support. So much for that idea, Anyway, I wanted to find a doc in rolling distance from my home. So Dianne went to work and found me a couple I want to consider plus she found me “Insta-Care” who would get me into day. The “insta-care” was not far from my home where I can easily get to the office in my powerchair and then to the pharmacy there after.

The “Insta-care” experience was OK: the usually filling out forms proving who I was and showing I had insurance. I did not even have to wait too long had I gone to my old practioner I would be waiting for at least an hour. I had a P.A. who seemed to know what she was doing and was very attentive. I was kind of impressed at how well I was treated at place. Yes, I would go back. The P.A. noted I had some liquid in my right lobe. She came out of the corner swinging and decided to aggressively attack the problem—indicating in most situations she would have waited a week before starting me on anti-biotic and wrote me a script for the “Z-pack” of the big guns in her arsenal. The P.A. also wrote me a concoction for a oral pain killer which should help me get some sleep.` Cool. Then she asked me if I needed a note for work, which I don’t think I did but got one anyway. I was loaded for bear.

I headed straight the Shopko pharmacy, the same I went to last week and I have come to believe, this particular pharmacy is staffed by aliens. Don’t ask me how I know this I just do. All of the pharmacists heads are slightly misshapen—you have to look closely but if one does you can tell. It took them atlast twenty minutes to fill my scripts so I did recon on the store…again. Made some sill purchases and hung out in the “Electronics “ department watching movies until I thought the aliens had filled my scripts. They hadn’t so I waited in line with all the other Tuesday Medicaid , seniors.

So I am almost well. /Dianne slammed the drugs into me as soon as I got home. I can feel then doing their stuff. I will feel better soon… I can hardly wait.

Please Read Me the Chart

Except for a few hours I went into work Tuesday I have been gone from my office and phones for nearly a week. Today I am off because I am taking today off for the forth of July, since holiday falls on Sunday this year. Even though I am feeling much better today, I don’t feel stellar, so, I am enjoying my holiday in “sick mode”.

More good news. I was sick of the pink eye I had that had quiet developed on Saturday and as I suffered through the night I realized there was an Eye World just up the street from house, and I knew they kept some kind of doc on sight. And sure enough when I called the girl who answered informed me there was a doc and he could write a script pink eye= conjunctivitis but I would have to make it in before 3:30 because when the doc was splitting. So I jumped in my chair and was gone.

Places like Eye World have always intrigued me—they are like the car dealerships of the eyes; everything is a little make believe from the girls on staff, to the frames and slick deals the staff tries to foist on you when all you want is a screw for the temple of your frames. When I roll in the door I am greeting my a little Hispanic chick, who reminds me of a skinny, short “Ugly Betty” but she is on the phone so it is difficult to tell if she is talking to me—so I did the whole “ are you talking to me thing” pointing at my self. But as I do this another “eye” person who is helping a mother daughter duo screams, “just a moment and I’ll help you!!” I could see Ugly Betty was pissed so I smiled at both and backed my chair to the far end of the waiting area and vainly searched for something to read.

Ugly Betty must have been new on staff because she had to keep asking the women who screamed at me technical questions about entering things into the computer cash register. Each time Ugly Betty had to ask one of these questions got a just a little more pissed. All I needed was a doc to look at my eyes and write me script and I had been to this place before to when I bought my last pair of glasses. But Ugly Betty shoved a clip board into my hands and handed me a dull pencil and asked I fill out the history and she headed back to wake up the doc or what ever.

The experience with the doc was as weird if not weirder then my experience with Ugly Betty. The guy presented himself in a set of wrinkled scrubs from the local medical school. He yawned , scratched his head and walked up to me and asked if I could get out of the chair. I thought he was interested in the extend of my disability but in a second ity dawned on me he wanted to know if I could get from my chair to a exam chair. I told the guy all I needed was a script to get the conjunctivitis gone from my eyes. Could he just not look at my eyes and give me what I needed but no, he was going to do the whole thing and we did. I almost slid of the chair twice and it took all of my strength to hold myself in the exam chair. We eventually got the exam finished and gratefully slid back into my powerchair and I got my script. This charade cost me $45.00 and of course , Ugly Betty did not know how to code my insurance I into the computer to bill the insurance people the other women with the beehive hair do was not going to assist. But I had my script and beat it over to Shop Ko next door and got the script filled $4.00.

By 9:00 PM most of the red had left my eyes and I was on my way to recovery. I am still coughing but I AM going to work tomorrow!

Time to see the Doc

I am still deathly ill. I have pushing liquids,staying in bed and being good but I am not getting any better--my eyes are red and itchy I have a persistent headache and sore throat and I cough all night. I need to see a doc now, I suppose but now it is Saturday and I guess the only option I have is the ER and I always feel such a fool when I show up at the ER. I had better hurry, I have to be back to work on Tuesday.

Life Goes On

Some folks say it’s because of the death of my mom and all the funeral stuff, family and general mourning but I have come down with some sort of cold of flu, hopefully not THAT flu. I just hate being sick in the summer especially now weather has finally decided to cooperate with the season and we are finally experiencing some hot weather at least for a little while.

I am home today the staff at the office sent me home after I became symptomatic yesterday at the office. I did feel feverish, I was coughing more and I apparently appeared flushed. I showed up mainly to send Tory—yesterday was Tory’s last day. Tory took today off( all the more reason for me to be at the office.) I was supposed to have a broadcast this week and I really did not want to cancel. We sent out to the Red Iguana for lunch and I started thinking what kind of dope am I? Staff is partially demanding I leave, go home and rest and not to come back until I am healthy so why not? So I called Dr Nakao, my scheduled guest for this week, who was more then happy to reschedule and I was out the door on my way to a glorious five day weekend.

So today, I am hacking round the house, sniffing but actually feel pretty good considering all things . I am really sick but it is also summer and I thing being sick in the summer, in some ways, is much better then being ill in the winter. It’s going to be 90 plus degrees so I am going to go out in my power chair and recline out on the deck and let the sun bake the poisons out of me.

Three Days

So it ends and so it begins. With mom’s passing there is the gathering of family coming together to pay the respects to the ‘senior’ family member. The family, who remains in Boise, who has done the lion’s share of care for mom since her relocation to Boise and final days of the cancer will be having a get together at the funeral home, there in Boise, probably Relyea’s. It’s will not be a funeral, just a viewing and a remembrance then the group will excuse themselves to the closest Chuck-a-rama. One of mom’s favorite places to go, where the illusion of more is better still applies. Sisters from out of state are going to Boise a and then I suppose coming to Utah for the service which will be more of a real funeral.


when I spoke with Carl, my brother who is sort of ramrodding this whole thing,he asked if I had access to a volume of poetry and thing my mom wrote years ago but I cannot find the poem anywhere. I also need to put a few thoughts together of what I remember about mom, I suppose. Carl said he needed the information for the life sketch but then I spoke with him yesterday afternoon it sounded like he was not going to talk with me again until Monday which would be to late for anything I might put together but I'll still throw something together.


We have been cleaning the house, folding clothes and getting ready for family, just incase. I have to admit i am getting a little excited at the prospect of seeing some of the family. This morning i actually woke feeling that if I thought I could trust my van to Boise I would have driven to Boise for today's events. There are many of the brothe's and sisters I will not see--and I will miss not seeing them at this time. But reality sucks.

A storm has blown in today, another storm--yesterday was great almost like June should be, better weather is expected next week. I started this post three days ago. Its been one of those slow motion weeks.

Mom Died Today

My mom died today. It was a long time coming and a relief to all especially mom. The last couple of years has been difficult on the woman with pain, relocation several times and being s Senior Citizen in America. I have written mom every week for the past couple of years, ever Wednesday, I have been able to get a letter, usually 250 words at least , double spaced, size 14 font. I am including the last letter I wrote today. I did not send it.

June 17, 2009

Dear Mom—The rain seems to be relentless this year; thankfully the over all temperature is cool but not cold and I have been lucky enough not to be caught out in a down pour. I have been sprinkled on but not drenched.

Well, Mom, looks like we are getting toward the end of this life. I am sorry to see you go but I think you are tired and hurting and need a rest and some quality time with Dad and grandfather and the others we know and love. The last couple of times I have called I don’t think you have been able to talk or understand that it was me on the phone.

Mom, I just want to say thanks for everything, for adopting me when no one else would and loving me and caring for me all these years. Sorry I have been such a hand full especially the wreck-I know we all could have done without the wreck. But, we did get along anyway. But we have a lot of good times though, birthdays, Christmases, family reunions Thanksgivings and New Years Eve celebration, but not many of those. We just did not do much New Year’s stuff. Thanks for ALLTHE MEALS, washed clothes and school lunches.

Farewell, and go with my love and tell everyone hi!…love eternally Mark

Amazement!

Mark A, Bridget and Gabe were planning on coming over this weekend, Saturday to mow the lawn and work on the yard. I have never had all three of them there working on and round the house at the same time. But as my luck seems to be there was a huge downpour on Saturday making doing anything in the yard without fins near to impossible.

Mark and Jasmine did come over to the house, just the same just as the clouds burst weeping copious amounts of cloud over the area. Mark was trying to get some work on my yard done before he was scheduled to attend his 10 year class reunion. Mark noticed his car acting weird, stopping due to dead battery. Mark was hoping that the problem was a issue with the battery itself (but the battery is less then a year old, or maybe the terminals just needed a good cleansing. Mark pulled the hood up and pulled off the terminals and jumped hid little red car with my gigantic white fan. He and Jasmine loaded but ended up calling from my local Maverick station needing a jump and maybe more Would I come out and help?

I of course responded that I would, after all I have been suffering a bit of guilt over the past two summers from mark being so diligent in cutting our grass as he has. He was not far from our local Smith’s When I got to were he and his van were parked he asked if I could or would take him over to AutoZone (AZ). Now, I know about AZ but I have never rally gone to the store because I never work on my own vehicles…or any one else’s for that matter. Autozone—there place where I noticed all the guys in Industrial(auto) Science ended up selling or working in some other capacity. The place where the parking lot is full folks working desperately on their vehicles with parts they had just purchased. Mark had deduced that since his terminals had just been cleaned and the batter still was not charging that the problem had to be a faulty alternator. And it was.

It was about two or a little later in the afternoon but felt much later since the thick carpet of black and gray clouds overhead made the time feel much later then the time actually was. Mark went in and minutes later returned with a shiny new alternator rebuild. I ferried him back to his vehicle on the side of the road and parked my car just be hind his so Mark would not be hit by right turning vehicles. Mark changed out the new for the old alternator in the next hour. I was amazed. I would not have attempted such a task, even if I had my hand and was able bodied. I just do not do well with this kind of stuff. I always end up with my screws then I should have and then the item still will not work. I can barely get by on USB technology, and Mark can whip something like this out and still make his class reunion. I wish I could somehow take credit but I can’t. I was doing all I could by watching Jasmine and keeping traffic at bay and away.

Time Flows

Yesterday was a good day, I was kept busy all day long. I don’t know if the window being wide open all night and the cool air flooding over my heavily blanked body with only my nose sticking out or maybe actually stayed up until midnight the night before but I slept heavy and deeply and woke very few times and got some great sleep. I woke feeling great.

Anakah had come over to send the evening and we spent the evening watching video’s following her swimming with Dianne at the Murray Pool, where Ani swam 44 laps or something, a first! I had only been up a hour or so when I heard Anakah calling my name as I puttered round the kitchen getting ready for the day. I was toying with the idea of cooking breakfast, bacon and eggs but Anakah has moved on from Bacon and eggs and I know likes to go out.

I had made arrangements earlier in the week to drop by Magic Rest Medical and see about getting a cushion for my manual wheelchair which would treat my butt better then what I have now. So I figured I would offer asking Anakah out for breakfast as a time killer until Magic Rest Opened, and Anakah bit and we went to our local Village Inn. Anakah had wanted togo to a Pancake house but I knew a pancake house would be crowded and over priced. But Village Inn (VI)was just cross the street up on the main drag.

Village Inn is a chain restaurant and, I suppose as corporate as, the Pancake house where Anakah wanted to go, but it seemed to meet my needs and I was driving so we went to VI. But the VI was OK, not as pathetic as Denny’s gen pop or truck drivers, bachelor and weekend Saturday dads, the only similarity I noticed was the amount of seniors. We finally got seated after the “seating person” tried seat us with the people standing behind us—figuring an old guy in a wheelchair and his granddaughter could not be out by themselves. I got breakfast of huevos rancheros and Ani got pasta, it’s what she wanted and they serve pasta any time. We did some people watching ate, our meal and just hung out and enjoyed each others company.

Anakah is on the verge of pre-adolescence she has a couple of years to go until before she actually enters real teenage-hood. I have recently realized this and have been doing ore and more with the girl. Soon I will be too old for Saturday morning breakfasts—I will not even see this little person who is becoming more and more social—maybe as traditional holiday family functions. – but I feel even these family celebrations she will be on the run, or the go, that is life and the nature of things. Know your place old man. Be thankful for these moment you have they may be all you get

New Projects

I had lunch today with my buddy Stan C. Stan is a young para, who just happens, I found out over lunch, to be my son’s age, 33. I really got to know Stan during the 2002 two Olympics when they were held here in Salt Lake City. Stan and I were both working out of Olympic headquarters—I was doing information and referral and I don’t know what the heck Stan was doing but he was usually mulling round the floor when ever I was up on phones. Stan now is working as video-ographer and doe some teaching at the University level here in Salt Lake. I have been trying to get hold of Stan for a couple of months now and finally we got a meal scheduled over at the Rio Grande Restaurant. I wanted to talk with Stan about video and his ideas since he actually gets paid to do this kind of stuff.

We had a great meal at the Rio Grand the famous Mexican restaurant with life size paper Mache of the women in a taco which hovers above the bar and I really think we are going to come way with a doe able, project. Here is a guy whom actually knows how to film and edit and best of all contacts in the field. I have a record of broadcasts, I can find the people, set up the broadcast and bring the broadcast off. So what we briefly spoke about of doing something like 13 or so episodes of people with disabilities along the Wasatch Front. We have decided that we will keep away from the ‘super crips’ and focus regular everyday crips and most likely ‘spinal cord’ folks who were once able bodied and hen through trauma or disease process has become disabled. We figured the other disabilities have already been pretty well covered: blind, CPs, autistics but people with physical disabilities have sort of fallen between the cracks.

So this could be a fun new project. I think getting funding for this project might be do able and if that could happen could we actually a company doing this kind of work. I really think there is a need for this kind of thing and who know it might be fun and might be the new invention of myself.

Buttermilk Please

It is getting more and more difficult living with myself! I am finding I am having difficulty being round certain classes of people which greatly offends me and I don’t know quite what to do about it and this feeling is not that I think I am any better then these folk it’s just am having problems just being round them.

This weekend was Anakah’s dance recital and I sort of went off on class the class thing there but the recital was nothing compared to going out to eat afterwards. The recital was at 10:00 and the kids had not got any breakfast nor had Dianne and I ate around 8:00 a.m.. So after the recital we decided to celebrate by dropping by the local Denny’s for breakfast or any of their other anytime meals.

Perhaps it is because when Dianne and I usually go to Denny’s it’s for breakfast at a breakfast time, anytime before 10:00 a.m. People are , for the most part cheerful, cordial and even if waiting is encountered the waiting is OK. And again, maybe it’s just me but after time the people I run into at my local Denny’s are folks who for one reason or another could not rise early to have breakfast when the good folk have breakfast. Thee folk look gruffer and just a little bit frightening. There is always a line by then sometimes a long line with kids screaming and crawling round my wheelchair touching this and asking that and making me just want to scream. The Denny’s we go to has very little waiting area which means I am always in somebody’s way usually a waitress. This Denny’s does not have an accessible bathroom which is complete blog posting all by itself. I bet we frequent this Denny at least once a month but each time I seem to cause chaos among the staff as what to o with the guy I the power wheelchair. Well, this table do, or would that table be better how bout a booth? Just sit me.!! Even after all of that we end up pushing two smaller tables together and every time this solution seem to work just fine. Then I always ask for buttermilk—just to drive them crazy. No one knows, if the waitress get this terrified look on her face and runs back to the kitchen to check only to return to report “no, we don’t have butter milk.” My game is that one time management will realize that maybe we should keep a quart of buttermilk round for that old guy in the power chair. I figure if I ask long enough one day they will smile and bring out a class of the white sludge.

Why do I keep doing this to myself? Like I said if I can be there before the dreaded 10:00 hour it’s not so bad just me/we and the other working guys and Seniors and truth be-told if I show up there later it’s because my early Alzheimer’s has conveniently erased and or how bad the last experience was and the promise of yet another delightful calorie and cholesterol infested offering code named “grand slam “ something or other., overides my common sense as I scoot up to the table as far as I can and cheerfull ask the waitress…” I’ll start off witha buttermilk please.”

Recital Saturday

Anakah had her ballet recital this morning at 10:00 a.m. This is Ani’s first venture in to ‘dance’, today was her second recital and there was improvement. Sad but this was this little dance company’s last recital. Seems the teacher is moving out of the city. And that is that.

The teacher of this little company is a stay at home mom with a degree in fine arts and with an emphasis in ballet and dance. The teacher is also Anakah’s almost next door neighbor. The teacher has a huge recreation room which turned into a dance studio once a week, a few neighbors, a couple of girls from the ward and her own three daughters and poof you have a troop of dancing princesses.

The recital is weird not “bad weird” but sort of strange weird. The recital was in a church in the gym. Ten o clock on a Saturday morning the families are a mixed bunch. Grandma and grandpas, lots of step dads and weekend dads and boyfriends all mixing with video camera’s and digitals. There’s babies crying, screaming and sisters too young to dance wishing the could dance and wondering onto the stage every once in a while. I was surprised to see the amount of blue jeans and sweat shirts and tennis shoes. Like the recital was the first or second item of business on today’s schedule of things to do. I was worried that my white slacks would be too casual when I saw the other folk there I realized I had come over dressed.

There were two groups of dancers: intermediate class and senior class, intermediate was basically ‘babies in tights’ sort of cavorting to the music blaring from the troops boom box. The ‘senior’ dancers had survived at least one year with the grand dame who might by 30. This group actually had an idea of what dancing in unison was all about. Of course Anakah was one of the three seniors dancers. And as proud grand parents we felt she was right on the mark, she danced to the music and finished the dance with the music. She did not wander; she kept her eyes fixed to her teacher and did no fall of the stage once. She did not look bored once, like some of the other ‘daughter dancers’ did. Anakah actually wanted to be there in fact she was awake at 3:30 a.m. she could not sleep, she was excited for her big day. Get this she even went to s sleep over last night but demanded her father come and get her at 10:30 pm so she would no be late for her recital.

So the neighborhood dame is moving on and the troop is no more. Now, if Anakah is going to go to the next stage of her dance career, chances are, she is going to have to go to a “real” dance class where real money is exchanges and real dance is expected and real premadonas are born. But is now on the back burner now, it summer and Anakah is getting ready for gymnastics .

Fair?

It’s not fair! I work all week and the days are warm, clear and begging that I do anything but be in the office and work. Now as I start my three day weekend, I wake to an overcast and windy day struggling to get into the seventies. What is worse the forecast show the weekend to be more of the same with days warming and clearing beginning Monday. But there maybe some clearing this afternoon long enough to cruise up to the bank. Maybe I’ll write more later.

Happy Birth Day, Mark

Yesterday was my son’s birthday—he turned 33 years old and he spent yesterday, his birthday, which is also his day off, cleaning house, watching his daughter and mowing my lawn—which mark has gotten in to the habit of mowing each Wednesday. Dianne was shocked that no celebration of any kind had been planned—at least that we hear of. When Dianne heard this she threw the left over sloppy joe, we had out about to micro-wave for dinner, back into the fridge and we went out to dinner at our favorite artery clogging Mexican restaurant.

Mark did not seem to mind that nothing was being done to honor his B-DAY and granted he received a bunch of well wishes on his Face Book account but FB is not the same as have the warmth of your family surrounding as you blow the candles out on your very own birth day cake. I have to take my lumps because I am part of the crowd who did nothing. I was going to offer to do something when I was sure that Mark had the time—Mark works a schedule which make it difficult for people to get together on. Still, it sounds like I am making excuses, which I suppose I am. I left messages on his cell—birthday messages, and I wrote on his FB wall, birthday messages and later I did manage to tell Mark over the phone “happy birthday” and I was welling to let it go at that. Dianne would not have any of this Birthday apathy BS—not one bit. She had me call mark again and find out weather he had had dinner or not. When I got hold of the 33 year old, he and Jasmine were on heir way to fin some dinner meaning a drive-thru of one kind or another. We basically demanded that we let us take them to dinner. I wore him down( I knew how) and met Mark and Jasmine over at Restaurant Morelia.

We had a great meal ( this was the second meal for us at Restaurant Morelia in the same week—we have sworn off the place now till at least December) some good conversation and a good time being together. But it was a bi forced. Mark, I could tell wanted to get back to our yard, Jasmine like any five year old wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. I am still intending on getting a small gift for my son just acknowledge our relationship and to thank him or all the work and support he has been to us in the past couple of years. Mark says he does not need anything but still I know how I would feel if my birthday had been completely overlooked by those closest to me.

Mark and Jasmine stopped by the house following dinner and Mark mowed the front and back yard and Jasmine and I made outdoor art with sidewalk chalk.

Extra Extra

Already I am off to a lame start of the month by not posting yesterday, grrrr. There is a movie being shot across the street from my office; brings back memories of when I was an extra in a movie produced my Selma Hayek called the Maldonado Miracle shot way out in Eureka, Utah. About 70 miles South and West of Murray. I was to be on set for a number of days but quite after one day, of heat, poor conditions, water, food and restroom facilities and almost heating a deer on my way home following a very long day. $70.00 and a fairly good story was all I got . I would do it again if the movie being shot was across the street.