Bosom Buddies

Shirley · October 17, 2021, 09:17:06 PM

By the way, MaryPage, I'm another with NO interest in nursing, doctoring or anything related. I still don't want to deal with it so in self defense, I ignore the terms. Cas kind of gave up when he was told he had congestive heart failure. I was also shocked when the term came up for me a year or so ago. I may be sticking my head in the sand but for now just going to call the shots by the way I feel. I'm very short winded but nothing they've done so far changed that. For right now I am content to go day by day without doing anything but living my way. I'll keep watching to see how you do, it's a challenge to keep going but I'm with you for having that 100th party with all the smiles!

MaryPage · October 18, 2021, 11:42:56 AM

Oh, Shirley! We are cut from the same cloth. It is so lovely to know that!

My admiration for those who can work the miracles of being medically inclined reaches to the limits of this universe; but I get a little nauseated over every pill or palliative, and don't really yearn to know how they came about or what they will do for me. We fixiate here in my household on things I have said for years, actually eons. When Chip asks me what he can do for me, I answer: "New body, big check." It, along with many other family idioms, is ingrained in our immediate culture.

Now I have to shuffle along through this day, checking off each item on my to do list. Today it includes putting some pills back in their original bottles from my little daily boxes, as I am not to take Eliquis, and some others, between now and checking into the hospital early Wednesday morning. Hi Ho, Hi ho!

jane · October 18, 2021, 12:24:57 PM

Morning, Friends...

Slow day here...not sick, but just don't feel any energy...whole body aches. So, me, a cup of tea and my heating pad.

I hope you all are having a much better day.

Jane

Marilyn · October 18, 2021, 02:18:21 PM

Wednesday I too am going to the hospital early in the morning. Onl for me it it will be a stress tesxt them an Echo cardiogram. No worries from me as I walk every day and the treadmills doesn't scare me. I used it every time I went to the gym.[/b]

SharonE · October 18, 2021, 03:41:30 PM

Today's my birthday, such as it is, so I'm writing in red! This is not a red-letter birthday though. Thank goodness we celebrated in France, because we can't now. John woke up weak and dizzy and cold Sunday AM. His temp was really low, so I called the Dr and she said it sounded like the start of Covid, in spite of all our vaccinations. He still doesn't feel well today and the Brookdale nurse is going to come over and test us both for it. I slept on the couch last night, but I'm sure if he has it, I will get it too. If he has it we will have to be in quarantine of course and have our dinners delivered.

Just to add to the mess, on Saturday, I went to play bridge with a group and when I left the club house, I tripped on uneven pavement and fell smack down on it. I now have a black eye, cheek, lower jaw, bruised rib, scraped knee and hand. I'm a beautiful shade of blue and violet. Fortunately, it was bumps and bruises and nothing serious.

Other than that, we got our flu shot, mailed back my 2 prs of Zappos shoes that didn't fit right, looked for a balcony rail planter, but Walmart was out, so I ordered it from Amazon. I want to fill it with pansies for the winter. I have also packaged up all the French gifts for the great grands and the kids which John was supposed to mail tomorrow, but now won't be able to, so don't know when they will go out.

So that's why I haven't been posting. Marilyn, I commented on your picture on FB and just saw it here. The perfect avatar. Your jams sound delicious. Like Jane, I've never done that, though my mom

All of your heart surgeries scare me to death. I'm so glad you all came through them well and pray that Mary Page will too. My CHF has never caused me any major problems, some fatigue and shortness of breath, but that is all. I take Coreg which is specifically for CHF and consider it my magic pill. I do have some valve leakage but minor. I just got a call from my cardio's office to call and make my annual appt.

Jane, I've put away my capris but need to get out my cords. It's chilly today, around 69 and supposed to be in low 70's all week.

Mary, the riverboat cruise sounded really nice. Did you get off and sight see much?

Darlene, I'm glad you enjoyed my trip tales. And yes, MP, the first chance I get to the library I will look for John Baxter.

The nurse came and gave us our tests while ago. We should hear in 1-3 days. Till then, we have to stay put.

Take care all of you. Sharon
[b\]

Cottoncandy · October 18, 2021, 04:37:10 PM

Sharon...HAPPY Birthday....sorry to hear of your fall and that your hubby isn't feeling well...will add you both to my prayers....reading about John Baxter....that is my Dads name...been gone several years now strange occurrence....Marlyin good luck on your test....the treadmill goes pretty fast at end of test....Hi to all reading.

MaryPage · October 18, 2021, 08:56:51 PM

Hope you have enjoyed a very Happy Birthday, Sharon. It was a lovely day here.

Hope each of you enjoys Sweet Dreams tonight.

maryz · October 18, 2021, 09:31:51 PM

Sharon, you are certainly having an early birthday - very eventful! I hope your Covid tests are negative - fingers definitely crossed there! We loved the river trips. The boats dock every night, and usually local folks take passengers on tours or for programs. Many times the towns have revived their riverfronts, so there is lots to see and do just walking around the area. The accommodations are probably not as elegant as on Viking, etc., in Europe, but plenty comfortable and the food is always good. I've just gotten a flyer from a new-to-me group - Victory Cruise Lines. The trips look interesting - not really river cruises, but East Coast coastal cruises.

I've been having trouble with my left eye the last few days. I asked the nurse to check it, and she says I have a stye. Amazing, in that in my 85 years, I've never had one before, and none of my girls ever did. I'm using some OTC drops and warm compresses, and hope that forestalls a trip to the eye doc.

Let's hang in there, Buddies!

jane · October 19, 2021, 08:54:26 AM

Morning, Buddies.

Tomorrow will be a big day for MaryPage and Marilyn.

Sharon...hope your tests are negative. Ouch on the fall. We bruise so easily, at least I do.

Darlene...our weather to change again tomorrow...to highs in the 50s.

Mary...hope that stye pops and you get relief. I've never had one either. They look like they hurt...a lot.

I think I'll go tomorrow for my Covid booster. Today is pedicure at 3:00. Still not feeling much energy. These roller coaster weather changes do that to me.

Stay safe and healthy!

Jane

MaryPage · October 19, 2021, 01:53:27 PM

General Powell is the perfect example of an older person who should have been on complete shutdown, as I have chosen to be.

He had his Covid shots, but had at least two biggie ailments that we know about. One was Parkinson's. The other was metastasized Melanoma, and I have not heard where it had gone to. My Bob was a golf player, and he had just about every skin cancer you may have heard of. Melanoma is the most dangerous, and yes, it can metastasize. Bob's went to his lungs, and both lungs were full of twirling tumors. The doctors wanted him to take a new drug that was not yet on the approved list. So we requested approval, and it took weeks, but it DID get approved by our insurance! We were so very happy. It cost $15,000.00 a month! All paid for! By the time Bod died two months later of Congestive Heart Disease, those tumors were considerably less in number. The new med was working!

But back to General Powell, it was the two other ailments that kept the vaccine shots from giving him enough immunity. So he got the newer, more dangerous variant of Covid despite the shots. Exactly what COULD happen to me. Two ailments on my list of more than two are C.O.P.D. and Diabetes. It is doubtful my shots are fully protecting me. I'm going to get that booster shot of Moderna, but still keep to myself until enough folks get vaccinated to give the nation herd immunity.

I look forward to getting tomorrow & Thursday behind me. And I am full of hopes they will decide they can fix me up. Good luck to you, Marilyn, and all good wishes to each and every one of you. I'll be reporting in later.

jane · October 19, 2021, 01:58:24 PM

MaryPage...you'll be in our special LIGHT tomorrow and Thursday, as will Marilyn.

The news seems determined not to mention that the General had both Parkinson's and the Melanoma and chemo. Those of us who've been through cancer and chemo KNOW how our bodies are compromised.

jane

SharonE · October 19, 2021, 03:46:05 PM

They went into quite a lot of detail about the cancer and chemo compromising his vaccines on CBS. It's a shame. He was a great man.

Mary Page, I will be saying special prayers for you tomorrow & Thursday. Good luck.

Marilyn, good luck on your stress test too. They aren't much fun.

John is feeling normal now and now the Dr thinks it may have been dehydration due to his flu shot. She says they are seeing some of that now. Anyway, we are still waiting for results on the test. I tried sleeping on the couch again last night, but wasn't having much luck, so at 2 AM, I went into the bedroom, put a small pillow upright between our pillows and slept in bed, falling asleep immediately. I think I have probably been exposed regardless if he does have Covid.

They didn't deliver our dinner till 7 last night and the ice cream was naturally soup. But I heard from all 3 kids and had a glass of wine, so it wasn't too bad.

Enjoy your pedicure, Jane. It's supposed to be up to 80 tomorrow! What a roller coaster. Not good.

Mary, I've never had a sty, but I hope it heals quickly. The river cruise sounds like fun. Was there much motion? Being the Mississippi, I would expect it to. I don't know whether I could handle it or not. I have such a problem with motion sickness. That's why we don't take Cruises anymore. We tried 3--Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Alaska inter waterway. Even with Dramamine, and patches and a bracelet, I felt it and felt so drugged up to boot.

Not much happening around here. Stay well everyone. Sharon

maryz · October 19, 2021, 05:18:14 PM

Sharon, I don't remember noticing any motion on the river cruises, but I'm not particuarly sensitive to that. I'd think any salt-water trips would definitely be subject to motion. When we were quarantined, I recommended that they not ever plan to have an ice cream product for dessert. There was no way it wasn't going to melt.

jane, sorry about your creakies. Weather is so changeable at this time. I'll be getting my booster shot as soon as Moderna is approved, or mix-and-match is approved. They'll be giving them here at Morning Pointe as soon as there is official approval.

Thinking of Marilyn and MaryPage with their tests tomorrow. I have my fasting labs and pacemaker tweaking on Thursday.

alpiner1 · October 19, 2021, 11:35:38 PM

I get to meet a newly discovered nephew on Thursday ! My brother fathered him when he was a teenager & I don't think he knew of him . My brother isn't living , so we will never know . The nephew did a search on ancestry & our family name was a link ! He contacted the link to my brother's granddaughter . I was contacted by an aunt of the granddaughter & she asked me if I knew of my nephew's mother's name . Yes ! My sister & I both knew of her from church ! He has been in contact with the family on facebook & he told me it was so nice to call me " Auntie", The family have all welcomed him in !!

maryz · October 20, 2021, 08:58:58 AM

alpiner, how great to find a new family member. The ancestry/DNA searches have really turned up some surprises, haven't they.

jane · October 20, 2021, 10:09:16 AM

Alpiner...hurrah on your nephew finding your family!

Sharon...glad John is doing better, too. Kathy, on the river cruise, can't do ocean cruises either, but seems ok with river ones. As long as she can see the shore on both sides, she's ok.

Mary...DNA has indeed turned up surprises....like the local murderer that was found by DNA 39 years after he killed a 17 yr old girl in Cedar Rapids. A VERY distant "cousin" had submitted hers in Oregon, and they narrowed it down and narrowed it down until ol' Jerry and his 2 brothers were the targets. The two brothers checked out ok. Ol' Jerry didn't and so he's now in prison for life.

Thinking of MaryPage this morning and Marilyn tomorrow morning, I think it is.

{My memory sure isn't what it used to be.}

Rain was on the radar map for here this morning, but I don't think it ever reached the ground. It's a cool 53, and sunny. I go a little after 2:00 for my booster and then think I'll drive to a nearby town for their WalMart to see if they have a frozen dinner I like from Lean Cuisine...Sticky chicken...my local store is out and the other grocery story doesn't carry it. They are in the process of remodeling and shopping there is a mess.

Take care and stay healthy,

jane

patricia19 · October 20, 2021, 11:45:33 AM

Good morning, those DNA searches can sure find some surprising results! My surprise from Ancestory was that everything my family had related through the generations was a fact! Yes, we were Celtic, mainly Irish with Welsh and Scot with two percent Swede and four percent Norwegian to account for those Vikings who often raided the Irish coast. Even the story of being caught up in the land clearances and transported to Charleston Harbor in 1744 was checked out by the DNA trail. So, my surprise was that I already knew.

SharonE · October 20, 2021, 03:04:54 PM

I, too, am thinking of Mary Page and Marilyn. Hope everything has gone well. Hope Mary's tweaking will tomorrow also.

We got back negative results from the Covid tests, so we are free! John was able to go get his new lenses for his glasses this morning and mail all my pkgs of souvenirs. The cleaning lady came back to ck on us and see if we were ok and she could clean, bless her heart! So the house is nice and clean. She is much more thorough than the previous girl I had and more dependable.

I'm going to try to cover up all my bruises with makeup and go to the dining room tonight. I hope I don't scare anyone.

Not much else going on. Hope all is well. Sharon

Cottoncandy · October 20, 2021, 03:56:30 PM

Talking about cruises...I went on a Caribbean cruise 2 years ago....My Dr gave me script for a patch...and I didn't get sick at all....had lovely time with daughter..DIL and granddaughters.....I couldn't even tell we were on a. Ship...great memories...Sharon glad yall tested negative...thinking of Mary and Marlyin...Jane wished Texas had your weather...warming up again here

jane · October 21, 2021, 11:05:28 AM

I, too, am hoping all is going well for MaryPage and Marilyn and Mary.

Sharon...hurrah on negative Covid...and great to have a good cleaning lady. My place would be a mess without my Lorie! And hurrah, today is her day to come.

Darlene...hope your weather cools, soon.

It's a typical fall day here...49 degrees, overcast, and foggy with a bit of a drizzle! Perfect for reading the day away.

Only effects from 3rd Pfizer is a sore arm. Muscle aches are due to the rollercoaster weather...79 yesterday...49 now.

Still lots of Covid here.

Stay safe and healthy,

Jane

Marilyn · October 21, 2021, 01:35:12 PM

I didn't do all that well on the stress test. When they raised the elevation and the speed I only made it for a minute and a half before I couldn't breathe due to the COPD. I was told that I have several leaky valves as well. I don;t know if they will do anything about that or not

Speaking of DNA results, I already knew about having, Russian, English some Scandinavian but what I didn't know was the amount of Inuit was in my DNA. I truly believe that is because of the closeness of Russia and Alaska.I knew that my grandparents and most of their children left Russia in 1917, My father was born in Odessa Ukraine.( My maternal family ancestors came of the ship after the Mayflower.I have that family history in a book kept by my Grandmother.

maryz · October 21, 2021, 03:09:12 PM

I've only had one stress test - and couldn't do enough of it to be diagnostic, so they did a "chemical" one. I don't even remember what the results were. It was years ago. What did the results of yours mean,, Marilyn?

My INR today was 3.1, so don't have to go back for another stick for two weeks. The pacemaker reading/adjustment was uneventful and quick. But we had a good big breakfast between the two appointments.

Hope all goes well for MaryPage.

MaryPage · October 21, 2021, 09:08:04 PM

I am home, and worn to a nub. So fatigued I can hardly think. They tell me that is my heart.

I think, on the whole, the visit was a success. I simply lack the strength to write about it now. So later, and thanks for all the good wishes.

MaryPage · October 22, 2021, 02:05:25 PM

The hospital overnight for the Evaluation went well. It is an amazing campus, and a huge one. Acres and acres of land full of medical buildings. Washington Hospital Center. The place has a huge staff, is immaculately clean, and even serves great food!

Their pot roast was to die for! Seriously!

I passed the major test! I DO have a clear vein from my groin to my heart. That was the chief concern. Pheq!

So I go back on November 3 for my Pre-Op and the procedure will take place on November 10. What I have is:

Aortic stenosis severe and Persistent atrial fibrillation. The woman who is the staff link between my cardiologist's office here in Annapolis and the hospital in Washington, D.C. was greatly taken with the noise my heart is making, and she called several different people into my room just to have a listen. She would tell each that what they were hearing was classic perfection for my diagnosis.

Well, it fits. I have always been accused of being a perfectionist!

Lack of good breathing has made me refer my phone calls, other, than the ones I must take for such things as scheduling, over to Debi. Each of you take a good strong breath, and then be grateful as can be that you can! Feeling constantly out of breath is unpleasant, to say the least.

best love to each of you.

maryz · October 22, 2021, 02:30:14 PM

MaryPage, glad your testing went well (and "entertained" the doctors). What is the procedure going to be? Also glad you don't have to wait too long.

MaryPage · October 22, 2021, 02:58:04 PM

Mary, I always ask them not to tell me too much, as I get queasy over medical descriptions. So the basics are a missing heart valve (don't ask me how heart valves turn up missing. Mebbe they just wear out?) and they will go up through a vein in my groin to the heart and put in a manufactured valve. The overnight Evaluation was to go in to that vein and check on whether or not it is "clear" to do that in the least intrusive way. The other option, according to my cardiologist, was that they treat me palliatively and I might have a couple of years. Don't be concerned, as the doctors in this particular clinic really know what they are doing. I am fussed up over the physicality of this ailment and the enormous amount of stuff that needs to be done regarding it, and so forth; but I am certain all will be well and I will be better than new.

You can Google Washington Hospital Center and see what a great reputation they have.

maryz · October 22, 2021, 04:15:49 PM

MaryPage, as I've said, I have two artificial valves, and they seem to be working just fine - at least they have for the past two years. Glad they can go through the vein.

MaryPage · October 22, 2021, 11:32:22 PM

Mary, you cheer me up considerably, deed you do! Thanks.

My daughter Anne sent me an email this afternoon that has had me spewing out unladylike language ever since. I am going to copy & paste her story, rather than put it in my own words. I should tell you that Miles is six and in First Grade in a private school that he just started in on Monday of this week. The school switch was due to his mother, my granddaughter Melissa, being asked to fill the empty slot of Science teacher there, the grade school she herself attended, as did her daughter Bella. But it was a bit over the top to have Will & Miles both there at the same time. Then this offer came out of the blue, and included half tuition for Will and a quarter tuition for Miles. Too good to turn down!

So here is Anne's email. Impossible to believe, but it is real!

"Besides a new job for Melissa and a new school for Willem and Miles, this happened: Miles fell off the monkey bars on Wednesday and was hiding that he was crying in the corner during aftercare. The next morning he couldn't put clothes or his backpack on. Pediatrician then was seen and ordered an x-ray. Broken elbow. The ortho center said they would see him in a WEEK!!!!! (I am very upset with their scheduling people!!!) But their pediatrician called and Miles was seen this afternoon. Hard cast from shoulder to over his hand . . . which has to stay dry.

Poor Melissa . . . and poor Miles, who didn't want his new friends to see him crying."

I have run into such thick schedulers recently, and I am wondering if they are totally clueless about matters medical.

maryz · October 23, 2021, 08:56:53 AM

MaryPage, I hope your little guy is pain-free soon. In the years I worked for orthopedists, this would not have happened in quite that way. He might have been scheduled to come into the office in a week, but only after having been seen and treated in the ER. In fairness to them, fractures do need to be immobilized quickly, but not necessarily casted or surgically treated immediately. Plus, although not in this case obviously, sometimes fractures don't actually show up on x-ray until a week or so after an injury. Case in point, I fell and broke my shoulder/upper arm on a Friday. An ambulance took me to the ERm x-rays were made, the arm immobilized and in a sling. I went home for the weekend, and didn't see the orthopedist until Monday, when he did the initial surgery.

jane · October 23, 2021, 10:23:30 AM

Oh, little man, Miles, was trying to be so brave.

A very crisp 28 here this morning! Weatherguessers say to get all errands done today as tomorrow will be "nasty"..cold, blustery, and rain, rain, rain.

So, I'm in my sweats ..so glamorous... and off to do some errands.

Jane

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