Fall Club

The first rule of Fall Club: Call the ambulance.

I fell twice this week. The first time was because I let go of the walker, stumbled backwards, tripped over my own feet, and fell sideways. Number One Son helped me get up. We didn’t call the ambulance. The second time, I passed out on my chair, which is broken and doesn’t have a functioning right armrest. I was doing work, then the next thing I knew I was on the floor and I hit my head. Now we called the ambulance.

I spent Friday in Miriam Hospital’s ER from 11-4. It wasn’t any more unusual than going to dialysis. I had my phone and headphones, and listened to the radio, so the time passed okay. CAT scan and Chest X-ray didn’t show any fractures, bleeds, or other damage. Just a bump and swelling that makes my right eye look half closed.

Number One Son needs to be with me all the time when I move, it seems. The nurse will call me tomorrow and probably suggest rehab again. That’s a no, NO, hell no.

The other thing is that my kidney has totally failed. No urinating for three days. Could be because I’m being very cautious with my fluids, but when I went to the hospital, they gave me half a bag of saline, and I had nothing to drink until I got home, which caused me to gain 3 liters of fluid. They did it because my BP was low, like 84/45. They wouldn’t let me go until the BP was at least 100 for the top number.

I’m home now. Being extra cautious. And waiting on Number One Son to babysit me. So glad he’s around. Don would be doing the same thing. We’re getting close to our anniversary. I miss him.

Animal Shelters are picky and expensive.

I have decided to adopt, as there are no stray cats around here anymore. For the past two weeks, I’ve been looking for a female black cat.

OMG, these shelters. Scruffy Paws, my favorite in the area, won’t accept me because I have no vet on call. Ten Lives Cat Rescue won’t return my calls and I’ve filled out a lot of applications with them. Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL), adult cats cost $175. RISPCA has no black females.

I talked to Number One Son, and he wants a dog. That would be fine, a medium sized one, as we have no pets in the house anymore. I looked at some of those. Hotel for Homeless Dogs had a few, but they charge $600 to adopt. Pawtucket Animal Shelter, up to $190.

I understand you have to pay for spay/neuter. The Hotel transfers puppies from the south (as if we don’t have enough up here????) so you’re paying for the transport, vet visits, food and shots and other upkeep.

Animal Rescue Rhode Island is the only one who contacted me with an approval, and they have 2 black females. Unfortunately, it’s another $60 one way trip with Uber because it is at the bottom of the state. Cats are $175, dogs are $325.

Like I can come up with this money in an instant. I think we should just feed the birds.

Boomer play list

Okay, so I listen to too much radio.

This is my playlist from the Sirius XM app on my computer. My favorites are on the top row. I listen to CNN in the afternoon because too much Fox gets repetitive.

The past year I’ve been hanging on 70’s music. It reminds me of my childhood, because I could remember the records and 8-tracks my mom used to buy. She let me pick the music to listen to while cleaning. I felt like an adult when I plugged in the 8-track of ABBA’s Greatest Hits and turned it way up.

Lithium and 1st Wave are my go to’s. After college and during college respectively. Lots of memories with Nirvana and R.E.M.

60’s Gold is a little far back for me, but mom used to listen to a lot of Motown and Elvis. Good thing my father didn’t notice, or didn’t care. (He listened to country and Ray Stevens.) 60’s music is coming back, or at least sampling it.

I discovered Happy Oldies and it’s one of my favorite stations. If you have the Sirius XM app, give it a try. You’ll say to yourself, “Oh, I haven’t heard this song in ages!” and crank it up.

I also discovered Turbo because they played Rage Against the Machine (I wasn’t much of a fan in college, but I liked them when I was older). Then I discovered Soundgarden and Godsmack and I was addicted to this station while I wrote the Grimaulkin and War Mage series. They’re a little angsty for that reason.

The others on the second row are only on the app, and I go to them if the top row sucks at that moment in time. The app will show you the song they’re playing, and even if I get in the middle of a song when I change stations, that’s okay.

So now you know my secret sauce when I write.

Buy Stock in Band-Aids and Uber

So. I have had more needles stuck in me for the past few weeks than I’d like.

My right middle finger kept sticking closed. (Into my palm. Not open or I’d have a lot of explaining to do.) Tried cortizol shots. No dice. Surgery was the other option. So okay, why not? I had to get clearance from my cardiologist because of heart issues, cleared by my endocrinologist, nephrologist, and PCP. This is what happens when you have co-morbidities–everyone has to put their two cents in.

Had the surgery two weeks ago. My hand was wrapped up in a soft cast, and I had it taken off on the 27th. Surgery is successful, although it messed up my head line with an additional scar.

My left middle finger is now doing the same thing. I can’t do anything about it, unfortunately, because that is the side my dialysis graft is on. According to the nephrologist, “It’ll never heal.” And, not to mention, blow up my graft if you put a tourniquet anywhere on my arm. I’ll live with it.

Meanwhile, I’ve been Ubering places. Even though I don’t have to worry anymore about maintenance and upkeep of my own vehicle, we get to ride in all kinds of nice cars and SUV’s (Tesla FTW, but could barely fit the transport wheelchair in its trunk), It’s expensive. There’s a couple of shelters I’d like to go to for cats–or a small-to-medium dog–but it’ll take me at least $25 on a one way trip to get to the local animal shelter. And I’d have to use the “pet option” which charges an extra $5-$10.

Hopefully, that will be the end of medical issues for me.

Review: Starter Villain

Okay, I’ll admit–this was a great book. A four star because I didn’t like the end. and the main character was way too smart.

This is the first book this year that I read without looking to see how much longer I had to read. I read John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War and it’s one of my favorites. He’s a prolific writer. I might pick up a few others of his.

The main character’s uncle leaves him with the family business. We learn about what it is and who is in charge (the cats, as they should be). The dolphins have read Marx and don’t want to be controlled. I was not going to be surprised if he had kamikaze dolphins. I’m sure Scalzi thought of it and said, “Nobody would believe that.” If he only knew.

This is in my read and liked pile.