Uhhh...so it's been nearly 2 months since I last put random musings to...paper...?
Oh, hey, the cheeto freak is getting evicted from the White House in <6 weeks (and I was glued to MSNBC for the better part of a week as the mail-in ballots gradually were counted and it became increasingly clear that there's a legit at the end of our nation's tunnel). Though he's still fundraising, because he owes many millions of dollars to
unknown debtors. And, also, he's going to have a shit-ton of legal expenses dogging him from the moment he's out of our house.
Tomorrow starts 11 days of gnawing my nails. Not the 12 days of Christmas, but the 11 days of having to remind myself to stop holding my breath (except when someone in my vicinity coughs or sneezes or simply looks at me wrong).
Tomorrow I go in for a routine infusion port flush and blood work, then I'll run to the pharmacy at the medical building where I will have my CT scan later on the week to pick up 2 bottles of Readi-Cat "smoothie" contrast drink. It only resembles a smoothie in appearance. That's pretty much where the similarities end. Pro-tip: I add a squirt or two of sugar-free water-flavoring concentrate because this shit does NOT taste like citrus or berries or any other claimed flavor. It tastes like chalk mixed with white finger paints.
At some point in the week I will also pick up an allergy cocktail from my regular pharamacy that I have to take starting 13 hours before my CT scan. Because iodine and I apparently are incompatible. Though I have not found that this prednisone/benadryl recipe does much. I still get the exact same 2 predictable hives on my forehead...EVERY time.
On Thurs. I will see my colorectal surgeon for a yearly follow-up. I hope we just chat. I'm even fine with a lecture about my noticeable weight gain (in the neighborhood of 30# since he last saw me). I just don't want a digital exam. But I'm sure that will happen, because he's a colorectal surgeon and I had a tumor in my ass...so....
Friday, CT scan. Aside from drinking sludge, that's not a horrible procedure. It's mostly the constipation that invariably follows that really sucks. Some people get diarrhea. I think I'd almost rather have that issue. I need to be better about chugging a lot of liquid to move things through, faster. Nasty stuff to have lingering in my guts for longer than necessary.
And...then a 6 day wait for those results. Fuckery.
Covid is really bad, here. Hospitals within about 2 hours are all at capacity. We're still unscathed. For now. I get some serious anxiety about my essential worker kid working in the thick of risk during the holiday shopping season.
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| Nest Bedding Hybrid Latex |
On the bright side, we got a
new bed and I am sleeping better than I have in years. Maybe in my entire life. It's a
Nest Hybrid Latex bed. My brother's SIL recommended it. Theirs is all firm. Ours is half firm, half med. It's kinda nifty. The top zips off to reveal 2 3" thick slabs of natural latex (the yellow layer, at right). Below that are traditional pocketed coils. It's a king sized bed for about half what we paid for our ridiculous 18" deep queen mattress that didn't really last us more than probably 6 years (at most) before I started having neck and shoulder issues. And now we won't be limited by only extra deep pocket bedding. AND I no longer need a step to get in an out of the bed. I'd taken to using an old aerobic step for the purpose. It was especially miserable after cancer-related surgeries and on mornings when I will wake with vertigo (thanks, chronic allergies!).
And DH finally admits that we should have had a king sized bed, all along. Part of my sleeping so much better is that I don't feel crowded. He's broad-shouldered and barrel-chested + we have a 18-20# cat that likes to sleep with us. Now there is room for him to sleep between us without nearly pushing me out of the bed. Happy wife, happy life!
Bonus: when the latex layers wear out, we can simply buy new layers. The layers that get tossed are completely biodegradeable. Less to land in a landfill. And I'm emotionally handling all the scary shit in the world and recovering better from my workouts. My runs are still sad and include walk breaks, but that's mostly because I'm pretty much the fattest I've ever been as a runner AND I'm down at least 20% in my lung capacity (thanks, Cancer!).
On a related note -- 2 potential Covid vaccines are on the way! It may be another month or two before I might have a shot at one. Now we just have to get through the holidays with people making really terrible, selfish, willfully ignorant choices that lead to harming others....
