Don't Look Back in Everyday Ramblings

  • May 12, 2023, 1:58 p.m.
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  • Public

I know it is only May, but this shot is saying oh yeah, summer. Bumblebees and croquet. Playing cards clothes-pinned to the wheels of our bikes. Warmth. Long days where one can go out and play after dinner.

We are headed for a whole week of weather in the high 80’s. This is unheard of here in May. Maybe, if we are lucky, one or two days warm enough to be out in shirtsleeves so this is different.

Carlo has figured out the movement of the sun in Alice and is in the front room sprawled in a patch of it currently. He gets it in “his” room in the afternoon.

The things we take for granted. Someone handed me some paperwork yesterday afternoon and I brought it home and… oh, my stapler and paperclips are back in Fred. Do I get them? Do I wait? At least over the weekend I have unlimited access to Fred. On weekdays I can only go over before or after contractor hours.

Back in 2019 when I had the heart scare my cardiologist gave me the option of having an angiogram or a heart CT scan, (my second). I went for the CT scan. And while there was some disease progression, he was cool with treating things with meds, regular cardio exercise and the basics of a heathy diet.

Well, I made in to 2023. I saw him yesterday and he wants me to have the angiogram with the possibility of a stent depending on what he sees in there in the next couple of weeks. My cardiologist is a bit of a jerk, but he is really good with hearts. He is changing up my meds a bit and adding a beta blocker.

I only have to take that until the procedure. I took one back in the day for the migraines I so gratefully do not have any more and I felt a depression, a flatness that was not helpful, and the drug didn’t help my migraines anyway. He says this is a low dose.

He also told me I can’t exercise until the procedure…

I am like, umm, you mean cardio, right? He said right. What I didn’t tell him was No Way Jose, am I not teaching until we get this thing scheduled. But that is what I was thinking. I can teach without modeling the moves and I will do that for a couple of days after as needed. I won’t be able to lift any weight with one of my arms for a week or so.

Overall, emotionally, I am dealing with the displacement as well as can be expected, but apparently my body is keeping score. I am also having a minor sciatica flare up. It isn’t too bad but still needs to be managed.

Late in the performance of Fire in the Meth Lab. I had the second episode of chest pain of the day. I took nitro right there and then went out in the lobby by myself trying to decide if I needed to call the paramedics.

The chest pain earlier had come after Carlo had managed to get himself into (I thought) a hole under the kitchen sink into a crawl space between the floor and the garage below. There were a few moments of sheer panic. It turns out there was also a hole in the side wall next to the disposall into the neighboring cabinet.

He had hopped in there. All innocent.

After barricading the area with my kitchen trash can I got some child proof locks and cardboard and the dangerous hole in the cabinet has been covered, the locks installed and a complete cardboard barrier outside enabled. He really wants in there though. Sigh.

Mrs. Sherlock brought me home afterwards. Somewhat dubious about my well-being. She wanted to take me to Emergency but I, (Miss Stubborn Independent person) said no and ended up having an anxious night after committing to checking with my cardiologist on Monday. This time it was the right decision, but it might not have been.

Don’t be a stubborn independent person like me, okay? Just sayin’. The doctor said about three times he was glad I came in. It must be hard to follow patients for years and then have them have a heart attack when you are pretty darn sure it is preventable. At least for a time.

In the meantime, the weather is gorgeous and although I do not currently have paperclips or my stapler, I have everything else I need.

As Bob Dylan has been known to say…” She’s got everything she needs, she’s an artist, she don’t look back”.


Last updated May 12, 2023


Deleted user May 12, 2023

Please don't mess around with your heart and chest pain. Re beta blockers, I was one one when I was first diagnosed with hypertension and I couldn't walk up a flight of steps without feeling like I was drowning, so I switched to an ARB II. The first was irbesartan/Avapro, but it was not on the formulary and it was expensive at the time, so I was switched to olmesartan/Benicar, which was great until last October when all the erratic BP measurements started.

And I am so, so sorry about the sciatica, no matter how mild. Ugh.

mcbee May 12, 2023

Since I always think stress and medical issues have a relationship, I am kind of not surprised to hear about this. I hate it for you, but now you are getting the medical help you need. I know you have had a stressful time with the apartment and losing Carlo's best buddy...along with all the dental work. I hope things settle down and you will be able to breathe easier. There is nothing easy about this time in life, but there will be better times for you and I look forward to hearing about them.

noko mcbee ⋅ May 13, 2023

Thank you for this lovely note.

Zipster May 16, 2023

Gosh you have so much on your plate, not to mention being displaced, a perfect recipe for health flares. Please don't wait, always seek care when you have heart pain, that can be stupidly stubborn not independent! Funny how many doctors are jerks but hold our health in their hands.

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