Surgery on my mom's arm

Originally, when we went into emergency, the orthopedic surgeon thought that having my mom in a cast to heal her arm on its own was good enough.

I was surprised to hear from the fracture clinic at the hospital the following day, which was a Monday. The woman wanted us to come back to the hospital on Tuesday for a 7:30 am appointment for x-rays and more.

It was a super early appointment. Surgeons tend to operate during regular morning hours, so these appointments happen before and after surgery. We got the before.

At the in-person check-in area at the hospital, we got there at 7 am. I went up to one of the desks and got yelled at. Apparently, there is a lineup before approaching one of them. We were the only ones there at this hour.

The sign is roughly eight feet high. Although I am tall at nearly six feet, I don't look up eight feet to read signs. They should be at a normal eye level.

I said that it was confusing. I disliked when the woman at the desk said that it wasn't. First, it's how I feel. It's my first time navigating your hospital. You work here. You are used to where things are. I didn't appreciate this woman challenging my feelings.

I write user documentation for a living. I put myself into the target audience's shoes. Did you, know-it-all woman? Nope. If I find it confusing, and I'm fairly intuitive, I'm sure I'm not the only one, which includes my parents.

Second, give me a break. It's 7 am. My parents are old. We are the only ones there at this ridiculous hour. You are going to have us to go through your regular process of lining up when we are the ONLY people there? Ludicrous. 

We got x-rays on my mom's arm. The break was just above her elbow. The surgeon recommended that she get operated on -- that she get a metal rod and plates to have her arm heal.

My mom's surgery was the following day, the Wednesday, in the morning. Even getting that time was so confusing between the man who takes off stitches and the surgeon.

Thankfully, the not-so-cheerful experiences at the hospital on this day were the only ones that we had encountered. Maybe Tuesdays are simply days to avoid getting appointments here.

We have a follow-up appointment tomorrow. It's not so early. We'll see how things go.

Compression socks and foot pain

Last week, I bought a pair of compression socks. They are open-toe socks that go past my ankles. I wear one on my right foot before I go to bed because my foot pain happens with that foot only.

Last Saturday, I did a lot of walking downtown. The following day, I could feel my foot pain starting. I put on my compression sock immediately. Between one to two hours later, the pain went away.

It seems to be a great purchase. I'll need to test out my theory some more to determine whether it truly works or if this first experience was a coincidence. I'm hoping that it's the former.

Letting go of a colleague

A person that I trained back in April hasn't worked out. He hasn't taken his work seriously, so he is being let go from his contract.

It's a bit sad that a bunch of us have invested so much time to help him out. I trained him for 1.5 hours, starting at 8 am each day for half the day. My friend and colleague, and another colleague, were his co-team leads, and basically handheld him.

This person was being monitored for two weeks, which coincided with my two-week vacation. I got the news officially today that he was being let go when I was asked to take a look at potential candidates to fill this person's position.

It is bittersweet, but it's the right call given how unproductive he has been.

Happy 2021! Hello, shoulder pain... ugh!

Happy 2021, everyone! Here's to a better year filled with joy, health, optimism, and happiness.

For a few weeks, I have had a nagging pain in my right shoulder. It escalated two days ago. It feels like I have a pinched nerve.

I decided to make circles with my right arm. It felt knotted. After several rotations, my shoulder was sore, but felt better.

Today, my shoulder is doing much better. I can extend my arm up to the ceiling and not feel a ton of discomfort.

I have a feeling that lifting a 15-pound turkey, moving my stationary exercise bike every day, and playing games on my phone have contributed to this pain. I have stopped lifting heavy items with my right hand and take breaks when I am using my phone. I am also doing shoulder and neck rotations. So far, my shoulder is doing well.

It's interesting starting a new year with an ailment.

Foot pain and sleep

I have muscle pain in my right foot now and again. It was pretty bad a few hours ago. I find that Ibuprofen works. It does take a few doses to completely get rid of the pain.

It's painful when I'm trying to drive and I feel this sharp, surging pain happening in my foot. Luckily, it has subsided. I was exhausted from the pain that, when it finally died, I took a nap for a couple of hours ago.

Here's hoping that I can sleep well tonight. Luckily, I am working from home today.

Soreness in right hand

For just under a week, I have noticed soreness in the webbing between my index finger and my thumb on my right hand. I have had two bouts of soreness so far this year.

I don't know what caused it the first time. I basically took it easy and the pain went away.

Last Friday, I was doing a lot of mouse-clicking work with my index finger. I have a feeling that it may have triggered the soreness.

I am also thinking that I tend to grasp things tightly with my right hand. Perhaps the tendons in my right hand have seized up.

To alleviate the pain, I try not to use my mouse all that much. I also try not to grasp items so tightly. Instead, I open and close my hand periodically, which seems to help and relax my hand.

It's strange just how many odd things happen to me. It was completely unexpected!

Six years - reminiscing

It has been six years since my guy and I started chatting on Skype. We started with texts, followed by Skype calls. We then became an item roughly a month later.

I did some reminiscing by looking at some of the things that we said to each other. He still loves my smile. I still love his sense of humour.

As far as personalities go, we haven't changed. We have grown into strong, whole people. Our love has blossomed and we continue to learn from each other.

Time certainly flies, especially when things feel right.

K is for kneading my butt #AtoZchallenge

I couldn't think of a better word. My guy groping my butt is the usual way that I would describe what he does. However, I am at the letter k. So, knead, it is!

On Saturday, as we were standing in line at Starbucks, my guy was groping my left buttock. I love when he does it. It shows how affectionate he is. It also turns me on. I immediately get wet.

My guy went to grope my right buttock.

"You're phone is in your right pocket," my guy observed.
"Yes, after you let me know that you had arrived, I slipped my phone in my right back pocket," I reasoned.

I took my phone out of my right pocket. He proceeded to grope my right buttock. It was nice.

I stands for injections #AtoZchallenge

My blog post's title sound eerie and perhaps negative, but I don't feel this way. It's all good.

On Friday, I went to see my ophthalmologist. The clinic looks like a place where you would go select your frames for a spiffy pair of eyeglasses. It's in a fairly modern, new building. I actually had to ask if I had the correct unit number, for it wasn't displayed at the front.

The receptionist wasn't exactly the most friendly person to deal with. Everything coming out of her mouth felt like a rapid interrogation:

• May I help you?
• Can I get your health card?
• Can you confirm your birthdate?
• What's your family doctor's name? Do you know her first name? Address?

After she had all the answers that she needed, I sat in the waiting area. There must have been thirty people sitting there at 10:00 am. Naturally, you can't get too comfortable.

Moments later, you hear one technician call out your name. The problem is that you don't know which room the woman is in. For some reason, she chooses to sit in the room and yell out names. So, I followed the voice and had some scans done on both eyes.

I went back into the waiting room. Another technician yelled out my name. This time, if felt like a maze. I had to ask where she was. I followed her voice again. It's an odd setup.

I had more vision tests done. My eyes were dilated. I am getting used to this procedure where everything close up ends up being fuzzy.

During my second hour there, I got to meet my ophthalmologist. He has a calm tone to his voice. I felt reassured and in good hands.

He took a look at my eyes. He confirmed what my optometrist has concluded the other week. This time, I got a better diagnosis and a thorough explanation. I had a stroke in my right eye, which caused a vessel to explode. The blood is blocking my central vision. It explains why some of my vision is blurred.

He recommended injecting a drug in my eye, which will provide oxygen and nutrients. The idea is to break the blood clot and see how much of my vision can be restored. The uncertainty doesn't shock me. My mom had a serious stroke that has left her right side of her body rather weak. However, she has made good progress under the circumstances.

I realize that making a full recovery is difficult. However, if I can get most of my vision back in my right eye, I'll be happy. 

So, I have six injections with this drug. I had the first one on Friday. I am thankful that I have a decent drug plan. Otherwise, I would have to pay $2000 for all six injections out of my own pocket.

I go monthly for each injection. We'll see how things go.

My manager pinged me on our instant messaging application a few hours after my appointment. He told me of some news that made me happy. I will save that for a future blog post.

He asked me about my appointment, so I told him. He told me never to get injections in my eye. My mood changed. I could feel some stress moving in.

My ophthalmologist advised that injections are safe. I risk infection, but the odds are slim. As long as I don't rub my right eye or have water seep into it during the first 24 hours, I'm good. I did get a bottle of sterile artificial tears, which made a world of difference.

In my case, using drops containing medicine in my eye won't get down to the blood clot. My manager is a worry wart. He has an eye condition and is adamant to not have anyone pry into his eye. In his case, he has a pupil that will not close. He simply puts prescription eye drops in his affected eye.

I frankly think that our eye problems aren't similar. He wants a face-to-face discussion about my eye situation. I really don't.

I changed the topic and said that I need my workload reduced. He tried to be jokey, but it turned out worse. He first suggested to get Portuguese egg tarts, which I love. However, he wasn't willing to buy any. Instead, he suggested that I do and that he would eat them. Again, I didn't find it funny.

I basically told him that our instant messaging tool causes me stress. I get distracted when folks want information from me immediately. I told him for a long time that I have been thinking about not logging on to it. My mentioning it on Friday wasn't a first. 

I told him that his remark about never having injections doesn't make me feel good, as I have already had one. He apologized. I also said that I was logging off the instant messaging application. We were done.

I have no regrets. My health is more important than hearing nonsense that was making my blood boil. Again, I need to reduce my stress and this online conversation did not help.

My ophthalmologist has asked that I see my family doctor. So, I have an appointment on Tuesday. I need to talk to her about whether I need to be on high blood pressure medication or if there are techniques that I can employ to destress. 

I am trying meditation. I exercise daily. I need something else.