I crashed last night and slept for twelve hours. Yikes! As usual when I get lots of sleep I feel tired the next day. Maybe this is a start of a new thing for me! The nights sure go by faster when you sleep all night.
Went to Emporia to go to my physical this afternoon. The office was running a bit behind today. I didn’t get called back until almost 25 minutes after my scheduled time. I had a new nurse take my information – she wasn’t used to the computer so it took her what felt like a long time to get all the information in the computer.
The experienced nurse came in and speed things up. My blood pressure was extremely high today and my heart rate was really fast too.
The doctor didn’t seem too concerned about my blood pressure. He told me to double my blood pressure meds but didn’t think I would see much improvement for a week or so. He is going to schedule an echocardiogram and stress test to make sure things are OK. Kathy and I are betting that won’t happen until mid September.
Physicals are a joke these days. He listened to my heart and lungs, pressed on my gut and looked at my ankles. That was all he did. No one has done a skin check on me for years. Guess that isn’t part of the physical anymore.
I didn’t get out of his office until 2:45. Drove to Olpe and had lunch at the Chicken House and then went to pick up the beef. Came home and Kathy helped me sort the half into thirds. I used clothes baskets to put it in as they are easy to carry. I put Nicole’s third on one shelf in the freezer and put her hamburger in a big bag and stuffed it in the freezer. Found room for my third and then took the other third to a friend’s house and put it in her freezer. I always feel rich when my freezer is full – especially at the price of beef these days. I have more hamburger than I need so if anyone wants some I will be glad to share.
I had forgotten to take the dog food out of the back of my car before I left this morning. When I got to Olpe and opened the back of my car I was surprised to see it was gone. Kathy had remembered to take it out this morning. Maybe the wrong one of us has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
I had called yesterday to get my annual appointment with my Cardiologist. They called this afternoon and my appointment is for the middle of October. Things that make me go WTF. I told them I was having high blood pressure and heart rates upon exertion but that didn’t change anything. Guess you have to collapse and go to ER to see them after something happens. Our medical system is so broken!
My doctor’s office called later this afternoon to tell me my blood work results came back and everything looked good except for my high cholesterol. He wanted to prescribe an injectable medication that I would take every other week. I had to remind the nurse that we already tried that and it didn’t work. Sure wish they would check my chart before they call. They did the same thing last year and the year before that.
Tomorrow we are leaving for KC around 9:30. We are going to Nicole’s house to take her some beef and then we are going to lunch with her. Kathy has an appointment at the Memory Care Clinic at 1:15 with a neurologist. We might stopped at Costco afterwards but we may be too tired to do so.
My birthday is tomorrow so will celebrate with lunch with Nicole. My friends are taking me out for lunch next Tuesday. No plans for the weekend. This has felt like a busy week and it will be good to have a couple quiet days at home.
Next Monday I go back to KC to see the lady plumber about my prolapse. It will be good to know if I have to have surgery to fix that.
I have been thinking today about ten years ago when I was nervously doing my last minute packing for my trip to Spain. I flew into Paris and stayed there for two days before taking the train to the starting point to walk the Camino de Santiago. What an adventure that was.
Wondering about the state of our medical systems. Seems like you have to completely fall apart before any action is taken. Waiting two to three to four months for an appointment seems to be common these days. Preventing disaster doesn’t seem to be a priority. Give a pill and call me if you are not better seems to be the rule of the day. There has to be a better way!
Birthdays always make me a bit reflective about my life. I have been blessed in so many ways and have had so many grand adventures. Looking forward to my next grand adventure in November when Nicole and I are going to India. I always wonder what is ahead for me and never can quite imagine what might lay ahead. Trust it will be as fun as the last 71 years have been.
Grateful for fresh beef in my freezer, grateful for lots of sleep last night, and grateful for all the adventures I have experienced over the last 71 years.