Gosh, there's been so much going on that it's amazing!
Last Tuesday, in the midst of yet another western NY snowstorm, I slipped on a down-sloping sidewalk and fell straight on my tookas. I fell with such force that it stunned me momentarily and it took me a few moments to realize that I'd fallen and was still flat on my back in the snow. The pain brought reality rushing in. I'd fallen fully on the bone that flares out from the bottom of the spine (the bottom of the pelvis) and that bone just jammed right into the fleshy, muscular part of my fat tookas. The pain was excruciating and the momentary thought that I might have broken something crossed my mind. As I was trying to muster the ability to get up, a couple of students walked right on by on the sidewalk that runs parallel to where I was. Decent human beings, taught nothing but the best values by their parents I'd imagine.
I managed to get up on my own, with tremendous difficulty and quite a bit of pain. I contacted Public Safety and got an injury report done, saw the nurses in Health Services when they opened, and then headed directly to my chiropractor's office. It was determined that nothing was broken but it was pretty evident that I was going to have a lot of pain and discomfort for a while. Yesterday was the first day I didn't have shooting pain or even mild pain -- just mild discomfort if I rolled onto that bone the right way. Thankfully, I think I'm getting over this latest humiliation.
The very next day, I had an appointment for a sonohystiogram (ultrasound) of the cervix and uterus. Imagine trying to get your feet into those stirrups when you've got a majorly busted tookas! LOL! Anyway, the test showed a cervical polyp and a small fibroid tumor in the uterus -- which explains why my periods have been so ferocious lately. I had a follow-up with the GYN yesterday to review the results of the test and formulate a plan for treatment. Someone from her office will be contacting me within the next week or so to set up a polypectomy and a D&C. Lisa will have to take the day off when this happens.
Let's talk about Lisa taking time off for just a few moments. I adore her employer (Ginny).
Five years ago, Lisa had a seizure at work. It scared everyone pretty good, and she subsequently missed around 3 weeks of work. After she was finally able to get back to work, she noted that she'd not been charged sick or vacation time for her absence and, when she inquired of Ginny why, Ginny's response was simple: "I couldn't kick you while you were down."
Lisa asked Ginny recently, just for grins, if she'd allow Lisa to put me on her health insurance, if it were necessary. Ginny never hesitated with her response of "Yes." Her reasoning? "You're legally married, aren't you?"
Lisa's mother is in poor health (details to follow). We decided that we should go to Pennsylvania to see her mother this weekend (she's in the hospital). Lisa asked Ginny if it would be okay if she took her lunch break for today at 4:00 instead of noon, so that we could get on the road to make the 4 hour trip that much earlier. Ginny's reply? "You'll leave here at noon so you can get down there before dark."
Ginny has some warts, to be sure, but it's her HUMANITY that makes it very easy to overlook her managerial warts. That we could all work for someone like this, eh?
Now, on to Lisa's mother...
RuthAnn is an insulin dependent diabetic (as is her own mother). Some years back, some blockages in her carotid arteries were found and they were "roto-rootered" out. It seems that, once again, she has blockages. Very early last week she was sent all the way to Philadelphia where it was determined that the right side was 100% blocked and the left 70% blocked. However, it was also decided that they were going to do nothing with the 100% blocked one (although, why, I have no idea) and they sent her home with follow-ups in the immediate future. This past Monday, she had a bit of chest pain and went and got her husband, who immediately took her to the ER. By Wednesday it was determined that, not only are her carotid arteries blocked, but she has blockages in 3 arteries going to the heart, and two in the heart. She'll need bypass surgery and it now looks like that will occur on Monday. This is why we're going to PA this weekend.
I feel so bad for Lisa -- so much on her plate these past few days. But she remains good-natured and upbeat, albeit a bit more clingy (which I love anyway). How she manages to do so is always a mystery to me. We had a conversation a couple of nights ago where she was fretting, saying that she has her mother to worry about, and me too. I tried to assure her that the polypectomy and D&C are absolutely nothing to be worried about. Polyps are normal in menopausal women and D&C procedures are so routine as to be done on a same-day discharge basis. I promised her that I wasn't just pumping sunshine up her behind and asked her to take her worry for me off her plate.
Going to PA today will do her a lot of good too, I think. I also think it will do her mother a lot of good. They've got a pretty close-knit family, for the most part. When one hurts, they all hurt.
We've packed our Vagina Monologues CD for the 4 hour trip, as well as some of our favorite music. We're taking her truck (it has 4WD) in the event of snow through the mountainous regions in the norther part of PA, and we're hoping to get out of here around 2:00 or so, to get down there around the dinner hour.
Wish us luck!
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