8 November 2023
As I go through a day, I get certain ideas that I think might be interesting on the blog but when I start to write the blog, the good idea is lost and I forget to include it. Such was the conversation with the first Uber driver the other day.
He was a talker. Most Uber drivers take the hint from the passenger as to whether or not enter into a conversation. Not this one. He jumped right in. He assumed I was retired and asked what I used to do. When I informed him I was an ex-professor of biology, that threw him into high gear. When I mentioned, as I always do, that I taught a few years too long, he wanted to know why. I mentioned students and administrators both became problematic.
He offered the opinion that it was due to unions. I then informed him I was a past president of the college union and he quickly let me know he didn’t mean me, of course. I ventured the opinion that one of the big problems were helicopter parents who often pestered faculty at the college about their kids grades. He was taken aback this was even an issue at the college level.
He offered up he had an MBA. It was then he said that only a few MBA programs in the U.S. were of any quality and that companies preferred those programs. I said “Like the Ivy Leagues like Harvard, Yale and Penn?” and he said exactly. I then opined that I had met several Harvard people in my profession and was not impressed with a Harvard degree. Dead silence. I suspect Alfred had his MBA from Harvard.
To his credit, his silence didn’t last long after I changed the topic. In contrast, the second Uber driver didn’t care to hold a conversation until I pointed out he was taking the wrong exit to the house. I’m usually easy. I’ll talk if someone wants to talk and stay silent if that’s their preference. The first Uber driver was the first person I’ve run into that really puts his opinions out there.
I only got about 4 hours sleep last night. By 4 am I was making coffee and getting my breakfast ready. By 6 am, I was ready for a nap. I set the alarm for 8 am thinking it would give me plenty of time to shower and get ready for my 10 am appointment. I did sleep for an hour but got out of bed the second time at 7.
I don’t know how to describe how I feel. I feel OK but because of the numbness in my feet and toes, I have balance problems and real problems walking. However, I decided I was good enough to drive to today’s appointment.
The Holy Cross Orthopedic Center was busy. Usually, they take me in pretty close to the time I am scheduled. Not today. It was about a 35 minute wait. Put it down to my 3 bathroom breaks. Of course, most of the people in the waiting room were either recovering from surgery or needing surgery so were much worse off than I.
They called me back around 10:40. The nurse was new and didn’t quite understand why I was coming to the doctor. I finally got him to check my Holy Cross records and at least I didn’t have to give him a list of my medications (which is growing daily). He could have pulled height, weight, etc. from my online chart.
Dr. Fingado came into the room limping. I asked him about it and he said his MS was acting up. Apparently he’s lived with it for over 20 years. We got into a conversation about my mastectomy and chemotherapy. He wanted to know my hematologist and I told him Dr. Velez. He agreed he was an excellent physician. We then talked about the talented nursing staff at the infusion center. He’s apparently had chemo there also. We both singled out Pat and Kathy for praise. I told him Kathy had left the infusion center and now was Nurse Navigator for the surgical team.
He injected me with steroids in both thumb joints and the middle finger joint of the right hand. As far as my pinky fingers, he prescribed 3% Declofenac gel but only on the top of the arthritic part of the pinky fingers. He gave me a coupon for a discount at my local Publix. One problem after the injection was my middle finger went completely numb. It’s really hard to pick things up and handle them with a “dead” middle finger, much less expressing personal opinions.
On the way home, I stopped at Walgreens for the prescription Dr. Velez sent in for Tamoxifen. I’m still confused as to when he wants me to take it. In my chem confusion, I thought he said wait until I feel better from the effects of the Taxol (no where near there). I sent him a text to clarify.
The side effects of Tamoxifen are scary. Dr. Velez mentioned blood clots, and aching lower extremities. The information sheet includes liver cancer and possible death. Oh well. Worse living through chemistry.
From there, I headed to Publix. The prescription for Declofenac will be ready this afternoon but I’ll probably pick it up tomorrow after the blood draw at 8 am. By this time I was wasted. I came home and took a nap.
It’s now time to stagger to the kitchen and think about dinner.
Stay tuned!