I've been processing some news rather than writing about it

For years I have been concerned that my bloodwork always shows my liver enzymes as very slightly elevated, because my mother had the same thing happen to her. It eventually progressed to fatty liver disease secondary to diabetes, then NASH Syndrome (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), then cirrhosis, then to liver cancer, and then to liver failure, and it finally killed her.  It was terrible. 

I'd expressed this concern for some time with my PCP, but it was only a very little elevated, and so we took a wait-and-see tack, but I finally said something about my concerns to my endocrinologist. She ordered labs and sure enough, the values were higher than they should be. So Tuesday before last I had two liver tests: a regular liver ultrasound and an elastography, the latter of which measures the elasticity or rigidity of the liver. It wasn't a particularly painful test, it's just an ultrasound that I had to fast for, but it was difficult in that you had to (for the elastography) let out all your breath and then not breathe for awhile before letting in some air again. I was a little dizzy afterwards.

The next day, the results showed up on my patient portal and I read them. A couple of things were easy to understand. My liver was enlarged and I had asymptomatic gallstones. There was a mention of the wave result being correlated to a Metavir score of F4. That I knew nothing about, so being a former librarian, I looked it up, being congnizant that you shouldn't panic based on Google results. But the Metavir Scale goes from F0-F4. F0 is a normal liver. F1-F3 are various degrees of fibrosis in the liver. F4 is consistent with cirrhosis. That was a bit to make me think about panicking. I've had diabetes for aver 20 years with obesity and other risk factors. I thought there might be some damage. But cirrhosis is not good. Not at all. Fibrosis can be reversed in some cases, particularly in the early stages, as the liver has a great deal of resilency, but cirrhosis is another matter entirely, and can lead to liver cancer and liver failure.

I called my doctor's office to speak to her. Her nurse wasn't there that day, but they'd said they'd give her the message. The next day I hadn't heard anything, so I called back and spoke with the nurse. I explained what the score was supposed to mean and the nurse was like, oh, I didn't know that, let me get the doctor to call you right back, which she did. The F4 score is certainly concerning. She said she wanted to refer me to a specialist at the University of Kentucky, as they were the best ones in the area for this and if I went somewhere else, I'd probably wind up there anyway (I think she meant if it came to a transplant, as they're the ones who do that). So that was definitely hard news.

Fast forward to this Thursday and I hadn't heard anything about the appointment. I have the Informed Delivery from the US Postal Service that emails you scans of the mail you're getting that day and saw that I was getting something from my endocrinologist's office. I asked my roommate to open it in case it was the referral. It was just a copy of the results plus the intent to refer, so I went ahead and called her office and the referral clerk called me back. I do have an appointment with the University of Kentucky's Gastroenterology office (apparently that's where Hepatology goes under), but after reviewing my records the first available appointment was October 8th, when I'll be seeing a doctorate-level nurse practitioner. So maybe they didn't think I was as urgent as my endocrinologist's office thought. Or maybe, being a major univeristy teaching hospital, they just don't have the availability. I don't really want to make any assumptions. So it looks like I won't really know anything about my condition until then.  I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed and more than a little scared.

I know that it often takes big things to scare us into making even small changes.  The best thing for fatty liver is to lose about 30% of your body weight.  For me, that's about 100 lbs.  Yeah, that's a lot.  I saw my rheumatologist the next day and told him about what was going on.  He asked me what I planned to do.  I told him I was cutting out the processed food in the vending machines.  I was trying to find ways to walk a bit each day beyond going to and from work (I get about 6200 steps in on average.  I'd like to slowly increase that to 8000.)  As far as losing weight, 100 lbs is too much to tackle.  My plan is to try for 15-20 lb. weight loss and then add another goal after that, taking it smaller bites.  He thought that was good, and he offered to get me to a nutritionist if my endocrinologist didn't.  I appreciate it.

I haven't eaten anything from the vending machines in over a week. I ordered and tried out some walking poles to help with my balance so I can walk around the neighbourhood, and some walking shoes are being delivered today (my New Balance work shoes, which look like black trainers, are actually steel-toed, and not flexible enough).  I went and spent $100 on things like large bags of nuts, raisins, craisins, jars of sunflower seeds, cheese I can cube, baked crackers, yoghurt, etc., so I have snacks and breakfast at work.  Here's hoping this helps.

UPDATE: My appointment has been pushed back to November 5th! Arrrgghhhh!

Grrr...

Warning: I am about to vent mightily.

I am Southern, which means I tend to bury anger and try not to show my emotions. As a result, things sometimes boil over.

I am very proud that I kept it together going through Kroger's five-deep lines for my one item today because while I was justified at being angry, it wasn't anything that had to do with the place or people I was dealing with, and I really just wanted to scream at somebody...anybody.

So what got me so riled? I went to the pharmacy Saturday because I was almost out of my insulin and they told me that the endocrinologist's office had sent back a denial for a refill request they'd made, saying I never had been on the medication, even though I have been on long-acting insulin for years, mostly through this office. I had a little left of my pen, albeit less than I estimated, so I was calm and said I would call the doctor's office on Monday, which I did. I spoke to someone and the doctor is out this week, as is her nurse. She said she would route it to another nurse and they would call me back, but I didn't get any sort of phone call. At 2:30 I called the pharmacy to see if they'd heard anything. I took my last dose this morning (only because I skipped last night, otherwise I'd have had none today), and they told me that they'd sent over another request and it, too, had been denied. They suggested I ask my PCP, so I called and spoke with his nurse, gave her the dosage (he'd prescribed the same dosage years ago, so it's not like he wasn't aware of the condition or anything), and she said there shouldn't be any problem. I left work at 5 and called the pharmacy to see if the medicine was there, and they hadn't heard anything from his office, so I went home (stopping at the aforementioned Kroger), as there wasn't much point in going and the pharmacy was going to close at 6 pm.

After I got home and explained things to my roommate, the pharmacy called and said the prescription had finally come through as an e-script about 5 minutes to 6 and they didn't have it in stock but would order it and it would be in tomorrow afternoon. So on the one hand, I will have it tomorrow after work, but on the other hand, I'm going to miss three doses total.

I really want to know why my endo's office keeps denying the request as I have been on that medicine for years, with them having a prescription that lasted all the way through last month. I see the doctor in three weeks and I am definitely going to discuss it with her. Also, while I'm glad my PCP apparently came through, waiting till the end of the day, when I'd specifically said I was out of the medicine was not the best, especially as they know my pharmacy is a small, independent outfit which closes early. Finally, while I love my pharmacy, I'm irked that 1) the original denial was 9/10/19--almost a month ago--and they didn't say anything while I still had pens left and if they had, I could have taken care of this weeks ago. 2) They knew I was going to call today yet didn't put in an order for the insulin until they had the prescription, rather than putting it in when I came in on Saturday.

So anyway, I'm feeling better now that I know I can get it tomorrow, but I don't like this cluster of circumstances that is mucking with my health. If it were something like a cholesterol pill, that's one thing. This is insulin we're talking about here.

Okay, thanks for letting me vent!

It's so weird

not going to work tomorrow.  But that should be my last day, per doctor's orders, and I've been taking my antibiotic faithfully and feel much better.  I need to call tomorrow and make the two-week follow-up appointment they wanted.  When I spoke to the receptionist Friday, they were getting ready to close (they leave by 1 pm on Fridays).  Maybe I can figure out what's going on.  Also, it occurred to me to look up my lab results through their portal.  Looking at them, the following were all high: White Blood Cell Count, Red Blood Cell Count, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Platelet Count, Absolute Neutrophils, Absolute Monocytes.  Also, there are two things that are always just off, and I think they have to do with the liver, which scares me sometimes, as my mother's liver disease started like that.  They are Alkaline Phosphatase and ALT.  There used to be a reference guide in my health library that gave some indication of what these values mean.  That went to India, of course, with the other materials.  So I'll have to have Dr Nesbitt explain it to me.  The white blood cell count was the worse; most of the others are slight elevations.  So I guess it's an indication of infection and he wanted me on the antibiotic.  Not quite sure why he wanted me off another four days, though, unless he felt that 1) I needed more time to build up my strength in the face of infection or 2) maybe I was infectious.  I guess there's no way to figure out what was wrong with me.  But he wouldn't have put me on an antibiotic for a viral issue.  So, who knows?  I'll talk with him in a couple of weeks, by which time I'm hoping I feel normal (I have still tired out a bit, I must admit).

My CPAP machine went flying off the bedside table

which is actually a set of plastic drawers on wheels, when I turned over this morning, giving me a rude awakening. Fortunately, and probably partly because of, the humidifier portion isn't on it at the moment, so while it's lighter than normal, and easier to tip, there won't be water anymore. I finally found my distilled water, so I can use the humidifier again, although I don't use much of it in the summer, usually just on the lowest setting. I'm also waking up because of a slight kink in the hosing that sometimes cuts off the air, and I found my backup hose, so I think I'll switch it out. It's not quite time for a new hose, I don't think, as I can get new supplies every six months, and I saw my doctor in April.

Ouch, that's eleven. Someone asked me the other day how many doctors I go to, and counting the dentist (and now the sleep doctor), but not the dental hygienist, it's eleven. Most I see once a year, though, like my podiatrist, or as needed, like the orthopaedist. I did see an ENT doctor earlier this year, as well, but that was a one-time thing. But still, wow...

1. Internist
2. Gynaecologist
3. Allergist
4. Opthalmologist
5. Podiatrist
6. Endocrinologist
7. Psychiatrist
8. Psychologist
9. Sleep Specialist
10. Orthopaedist
11. Dentist

Thank God for health care, insurance, and flexible spending cards.

I shouldn't be eating naan this late at night

but it is very nummy, and I haven't had much bread of late, other than the stuff that's 88 cents at the grocery, for peanut butter sandwiches. But I did have some frozen naan, and so I thawed it and I'm having some of it. I've been over at my friends' helping with a project, and I was getting a bit peckish.

Today I made an appointment with an allergist who was recommended by the otolaryngologist, and I have to go off my Claritin (which doesn't seem to be doing enough anymore) for five days and then next week we'll test my allergies. I had it done about fifteen years ago, but they said it had been enough time that I should do so again. I already know they'll find I'm allergic to practically everything, although maybe there's been some improvement since I did take allergy shots for about three years. Among other things, I am allergic to horses and most grasses, including bluegrass. Why do I live in Kentucky again? It is allergy central, after all. If I were a doctor in this area, allergy and immunology would be the way to go, I tell you. :)

Okay, I'm going to keep things short tonight, as I'm going to attempt to get up early so I can make a deposit at the bank ATM (I thought it best not to do so late at night) and then head into work early. I left early today because it's the local school spring break, so we had a low census day today. Thursday, my birthday, is as well, so I'm going to take off then. I haven't decided what to do yet, but the plan is to have some fun, even if it just means opening the windows and watching DVDs all day. It's supposed to be warm, about 72 degrees, that day. Or I may take some free passes I have and go see a movie, maybe Home. We'll see. Good night.

A lady of science, at a time women were discouraged from going to school

Her discoveries earned her the Nobel Prize and also paved the way for studying dementia and other brain disorders as well as cancer.

Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini, a Revolutionary in the Study of the Brain, Dies at 103

One of four children, Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin on April 22, 1909, to Adamo Levi, an engineer, and Adele Montalcini, a painter, both Italian Jews who traced their roots to the Roman Empire. In keeping with the Victorian customs of the time, Mr. Levi discouraged his three daughters from entering college, fearing that it would interfere with their lives as wives and mothers.

It was not a future that Rita wanted. She had decided to become a doctor and told her father so. “He listened, looking at me with that serious and penetrating gaze of his that caused me such trepidation,” she wrote in her autobiography, “In Praise of Imperfection” (1988). He also agreed to support her.

She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Turin medical school in 1936, the same year that Mussolini issued a manifesto barring non-Aryan Italians from having professional careers. She began her research anyway, setting up a small laboratory in her home to study chick embryos, inspired by the work of Dr. Hamburger, a prominent researcher in St. Louis who also worked with the embryos.

In 1941, the family fled Turin for the countryside during heavy bombing by Allied forces, and in 1943 the invasion by Germany forced them to Florence. The family returned at the close of the war, in 1945, and Dr. Hamburger soon invited Dr. Levi-Montalcini to work for a year in his lab at Washington University.

I am not surprised

Survey shows best, worst paid doctors -- and many regrets

The lowest paid are the ones that regularly treat most patients--paediatricians, family practice doctors, internists, even endocrinologists (in a rising tide of diabetes) and psychiatrists (because mental illness always gets the shaft when it comes to health care).

I spent a total of 16 years in college, have enough student loans to have bought a very nice house, and have largely been underemployed during my career, meaning the debt has loomed over me and so forth. Do I regret my schooling? No. Would I have gotten in and gotten out more quickly if I'd been wiser in my youth? Yes. But you know what...I love what I do, and my stress levels as a librarian are nothing compared with people whose decisions regularly determine the possible life and death of their patients. My stress comes from my other job, where I deal with insurance companies' phone systems and things like that--and I deal with them only a bit compared to a doctor and his staff. You could not pay me to be a doctor, to invest that much time and money and debt into a job where all day I dealt with red tape, not in our current health care environment. In my opinion, our health care system is broken, and I don't think it's going to be fixed any time soon. I have great respect for many men and women who continue to go in and put that white coat on in a personal mission of making things better for others.

I stopped at the library on the way home from work

And got these gems:

Small Favor by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, book 10)
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (the complete Sookie Stackhouse short stories)
The Trinity Cat and Other Mysteries by Ellis Peters

With all the sleeping I did last week, I didn't get any more books read, although I did read several stories from Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm. I must confess I've played several games of Monopoly instead of reading. That's what I did at the doctor's office while I was waiting.

I know I said I would try not to write about my foot for awhile. This is only tangential to that. The worst thing about the boot is even though I pad it with my pants, the padding that surrounds the foot, and a hand towel, it rubs on both sides of my leg. It's very red. This is the first day. That's not good for someone who's diabetic. On the other hand the podiatrist only tends to have the taller boots now, and my calves don't fit. I'm going to check with the office to see if they know of any solution, because after 32 days I'm not going to have any skin left. I don't know if it's the design, my body, or I'm doing something wrong. I'll have to find out. As it is for the moment, those areas are hurting about as much as my foot is.

Wednesday I have my regular doctor's appointment. I'm going to talk with him about two things: the need for a bone density scan since I seem to be breaking them so easily and I'm only 43 (and theoretically should have stronger bones because of the weight I bear, although I suspect that isn't the case). Also, there's the Abilify issue and higher blood sugars.

I eat a goodly amount of milk products. Today I had 3 of those half-pints of 2% milk, 2 things of yoghurt, and some cottage cheese. I don't think I'm particularly calcium deficient. I do have some supplements, but they're horse pills, although they can be broken in half (they're still hard to swallow that way, chalky). I understand from talking with a couple of women that they make petite forms of calcium pills, now. I'll ask Dr Nesbitt what he thinks.

It was a good day. It was a little slower in my capacity of librarian than last week, but I had a lot to do with the data entry, including catching up on some filing and statistics. I don't feel particularly sleepy, either, so I'm going to try to go catch up on some things now. I'll probably write some more, but just in case, have a good night.

PS We're supposed to get 2-4" of snow tonight. Joy. It already feels like February around here. It's also been colder than average. Maybe I'm getting old and grouchy. I used to love snow. I still think it's pretty, but I don't get off school and get to play in it much these days. :)

Sorry I didn't post yesterday

I got home after 1 am and went straight to bed. I'd felt yucky for most of the afternoon, because I'd forgotten to take my diabetes medicine, ate a baked potato and cottage cheese for lunch, and my blood sugar shot up to 407, making me extremely tired, thirsty, and my vision a little blurred, which was ironic as yesterday was also my second trip to the ophthalmologist for a field of vision test. According to Dr Kielar, although my ocular pressure is elevated, there's no indication of damage to my vision and it's not severe enough to warrant medication. He told me I do not have glaucoma, but a cousin, ocular hypertension. We'll check the pressure again in 6 months. I'll probably have to do that a couple of times a year just to be on the safe side. My mother apparently also has high ocular pressure, and shortly before his death my grandfather was diagnosed with glaucoma. Both my grandmother and mother have macular degeneration as well, so I made sure I told the doctor that. He said the vitamins they prescribe for the disease works well for those who have it, but they are useless as a preventative if you don't already have it, and they are quite expensive. So I'll just stick with my Flintstones vitamins for now.

When I was in the waiting room they had a TV going (they've removed the reading material due to the flu pandemic). It was on the Hallmark channel, and the first episode of 'Little House on the Prairie: A New Beginning' was on. Two things struck me: one, I actually relaxed as I watched it, as it took me back to my childhood, where I read all of the books and watched both series and all the made-for-TV movies that followed. 'Little House on the Prairie' was probably my favourite series of my childhood after M*A*S*H. Third was 'Battlestar Galactica', by the way. But the other thing was that the show was pure treacle, and a friend is right, not only is it sickeningly sweet, there's always some tragedy and melodrama involved. The locusts eat the wheat, people get horrible diseases, etc. He was horrified when I told him that in 'Little House in the Big Woods' the girls play with a blown-up pig's bladder. And the men are always hugging and everyone emotes. Still, I have to admit, I had a great deal of nostalgia watching it.

Today was pretty nice, although long. I'm only working two days a week at the hospital next week though. The plan for Thanksgiving is to be picked up by my stepfather early in the morning on Thursday, since my mother will be cooking and she has to work at 2:30 pm (sometimes it sucks being a nurse). Then I'll stay overnight at my grandmother's, something I haven't done in years because I had the animals to take care of, but since they've all gone to the Great Beyond, I'm free to spend some time with her, which is good, as she is 85 years old, severely diabetic, and apparently bleeding from her kidneys, so she's not doing so well. I haven't been to Danville since--well, I'm not sure--February, maybe? May? Anyway, it's been several months. I'll probably be working Friday night, so they'll take me back Friday morning.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I think I'll check the news and see if there's anything blogworthy. If not, have a good night.

Hopefully that will help

My gas tank was nearly empty so I put some fuel injection cleaning solution into the tank and then filled up. It's supposed to take the whole tank of gas to clean the injectors, but already it seems to be helping, at least when the speedometer is on. When it's at zero, the car still jerks, but that's not a power issue, it's where the transmission doesn't know how to shift because it doesn't know how fast the car is going. It's a little disconcerting, though.

I went to the doctor today as part of a six-month follow-up. I gave urine and blood samples and told him about the cough from Hell that's been so bad a friend called the office and told them to fix me. I have a sinus infection and he's put me on Cipro, Tessalon Perles (the things that if you bite down on them they can numb your mouth and cause choking or a bad allergic reaction that makes breathing difficult, but they really help with coughing), nasal spray, and told me to continue using the codeine/phenergan syrup. To be honest I've done nothing good to help my diabetes or even tested myself daily, and I told him that, so he wants to see me back in a couple of months. I'm going to try to improve how I eat and get back to testing.

I was off work at the library because my appointments generally run three hours since he's the only doctor in the practice, but I did work at the store this evening. It was truck night but with my gimpy foot I mostly ran register and the other two people put away the order.

Okay, time to go to bed. Tomorrow I hope to get back into the swing of things with work; I was only there a couple of hours Monday and none today. I still need to finish a book review, too.

Every year I have a TB skin test

because I work in a hospital. But like any other test, it is apparently not 100% accurate, as evident in this case:

Doctor Possibly Exposed Hundreds to TB: Babies, Children May Be Among Those Exposed; No Other Confirmed Cases Yet

The doctor worked in three Chicago hospitals for 10 months before she was diagnosed. She probably was exposed at an AIDS clinic in Africa. But she was screened for tuberculosis--it was just negative. Procedures seem to have been followed, but nothing is foolproof, and as a result hundreds of people, including babies, may have been exposed to a serious disease.

Curious

about where my ortho doctor was from, I noticed someone had made a bobble head of him that was displayed in the office with a flag I didn't recognise. Now, if you don't know where a flag is from, it can be a little hard to find, but I put in light blue and flag into Google and got the right one. The result? Argentina. I think their flag is lovely.

He didn't like the band the physical therapist gave me. It works, he says, but it has to be so tight that it can irritate the medial nerve that runs parallel to the lateral one that is already irritated. Also he doesn't want them to do e-stim on me; it can apparently tear muscle. Instead, he wants them to focus on postural exercises and for me to find some gentle exercise that I'll like and do. I do love yoga, actually, although water aerobics is another option. Walking is also fine. My elbow is doing somewhat better; he says that most of my problem is coming from the core as well as my neck, shoulders, and spine, with my posture and general lack of fitness. He'd like me to slowly work on changing how I move and my posture, even if it takes years, just making small changes at a time.

Skeletons, indeed

A Nazi Past Casts a Pall on Name of a Disease

As someone who has to look up syndromes and disorders fairly often for patrons, I dislike the confusion that happens when names of discovering doctors are given to the disease--or possibly more than one disease, names that vary from country to country and change over time. It's not really precise or scientific, after all.

But what do you do when you discover the disease is the namesake of someone with a previously unknown sordid past? Medicine has grappled with the legacy of Nazism for decades now--whether to accept research that may have merit even though it was done in the most appalling matter, whether to accept publications such as anatomy atlases created through 'Nazi medicine', etc. This article looks at the issue of disease names and a Nazi past and what happens when they meet.

Interesting, ethically and medically

Face-Transplant Patient 'Satisfied': Some Who Criticized Procedure Are Impressed With Results

One of the US centres that is mentioned in the story as being interested in doing face transplants is Kleinert Kutz and Associates, who did the first US hand transplant. The Lexington office branch of that practice did my carpal tunnel surgery. I feel a bit like I'm playing six degrees of separation. My surgeon's in a different practice now, but I'd recommend either Kleinert Kutz or Dr William O'Neill of Bluegrass Orthopaedics if you ever need hand surgery.

It's funny, I'm very lucky that I live in a very medically- and specialist-dense town, and since I live within a couple of blocks of a major hospital (St Joseph East), there are a plethora of physicians and specialists whose offices are nearly in my backyard. Not to mention the fact that I have top-notch insurance through UnitedHealthcare. They paid every penny of my surgery, which ran about $10,000 altogether. I had no idea how crippled I'd become. Now I can use my hands freely. I've heard horrible stories of how much nerve conduction studies hurt since I had mine. I had no idea. My carpal tunnel was so bad I didn't really feel any of it. So I'm glad to have my mobility back, to be able to feel my hands, and to have them not draw up in pain at night. Plus, if I were ever to have children (let's face it, it's not bloody likely), it would cost me $10. Period--just the co-payment of the first office visit. Wow.

Of course, I went for years without insurance, so I really appreciate it more. I probably had a broken foot years ago, for example, when Bill fell on me. I just hobbled around in pain for months. Not to mention the various blows to the head I've had that I never went to see about. Hmm...maybe that really is part of my problem.

I'm not out of the woods in terms of medical expenditures, though. I have a flexible account that helps with any of my co-payments. But I'm on a slew of medications that are in the upper tier of what the insurance will pay for, so my co-payments are mostly $45 a pop. My flexible spending account ran out at the end of November (so at least I used it all--you lose the money if you don't--and it was much better than last year, when it lasted until May); but for December I really am struggling with enough bills that I simply can't get all my medicines. There are 2-3 absolutely vital ones; the rest I'm not filling until January. I normally take 7-9 depending on time of year (I take Lasix and potassium in the summer, when my ankles swell). I'm taking the opportunity to chuck Avandia entirely. I haven't felt any difference than when I took it, and there are just too many studies stacked against it. If my blood sugar tests show my sugar still up, I'll see about going on Actos. Otherwise I'll keep with just the Janumet, if Dr Nesbitt concurs. I found some samples of one of my drugs 'my smart medicine' as one friend puts it, so I'm using those for now. And of course, there's one I take that can cause a horrible skin-sloughing rash if you stop and go back on it, so I'm staying on that one as a priority. :) Plus I have plenty of metformin, so I'm temporarily on that instead of the combined Januvia/metformin Janumet. And I found some extra strips so I can check my sugar levels.

I know, it's not ideal, but it means $45 in drug costs this month rather than the normal $277 I'd spend a month out of pocket (with insurance!) ($291 in summer), with the occasional albuterol ($7) and then any over-the-counter medicines I get. (I'm off the aspirin, for example, now that I'm out of the boot). That flexible spending account is a lifesaver. I opted for the same amount next year since part of the expense this year was my glasses, which I shouldn't need again. That should get me through the year okay. I do have one doctor's appointment this month, too, but I've budgeted for that.

Okay, didn't mean to make this all about me, but I guess the article was just a jumping point for my thoughts. Hopefully January will bring a new debit card (we're going with a new provider this year--I hope they're as good as the last one) and I'll get back on track again.

I have been poked, prodded, and positioned

spending about five hours today seeing to my knee, which I hurt in that fall on Monday. It was complicated by being workman's compensation rather than my normal insurance, so there was a lot of paperwork (and I'm not even counting the calls I made ahead of time.) Dr Nesbitt noticed (I hadn't) that I was bruised along the whole front of my lower leg, too (it was a very light discolouration), so he ordered views of my knee, my tibia, and my fibula. He also gave me a prescription for Darvocet for night-time, since it's been bothering me then, but to be honest I may just be okay with ibuprofen. It's not that painful as long as I stay off it--although I have to admit, after going through the exam and testing the range of motion, it did hurt quite a lot, and then after being given assisted yoga in getting the x-rays and then walking a long trek back to the car around some construction, I was ready to go home and rest for a bit.

That's been my day so far. Now I'm getting ready to go do laundry, do notes, and work on character sheets, so I'll be off both foot and knee for that. Then there's the big grocery run I take a friend on when he's paid, and that's definitely time for the boot. I'd hoped to get some stuff at home taken care of, like the dishes and some of the paper that's lying around, or even watch a DVD that was given to me weeks ago, but I didn't expect the medical stuff to take quite so long (I was figuring maybe three hours. Silly me.) Oh, well.

I've been following this story for awhile and I'm glad it had a good conclusion

Bulgarian Nurses Home After Eight-Year Ordeal

Home at last, after eight years of hell in a foreign prison

For more on the HIV Trial in Libya, check out Wikipedia's article.

Jailed on charges that they had instigated a CIA- and Mossad- (the Israeli equivalent) inspired plot to infect over 400 children at a hospital in Libya (despite the fact that the epidemic started before most of them came to the country, and most were probably singled out because of their country's relations with the US and others that opposed Qaddafi's regime), these nurses and trainee doctor were sentenced to death not once but twice, allegedly tortured including by electrocution, and at least one intimated that rape had been a tactic. The doctor apparently lost an eye, one woman's face is paralysed, and another tried to commit suicide to escape the interrogations that brought false confessions. Now they have been released due to a great deal of diplomacy on the part of the European Union and various countries, pressure from international groups and organisations, and perhaps (it's somewhat controverisal) an intervention by the wife of the French President. Even Qaddafi's own son Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi, played a vital role in the negotiations on behalf of the medics. The nurses are Bulgarian; the Aegyptian-born Palestinian doctor was granted Bulgarian citizenship last month, and all were pardoned by the Bulgarian President shortly after arriving in Sofia. So in a sense it's a happy ending, as they reunite with families. But they've had eight brutal years that have changed their lives forever. I wish them well.

Meanwhile, the devastation from that epidemic, ruled due to bad hygiene such as running needles under the tap, continues to mount. Of the 400 or so children infected, over 50 have died. Part of the negotiations included settlements to the government and to the families for the care of these children. Several are being treated in France and Italy. I wish them all that life has to offer as well.