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chelidonDonnie Darko moment
Other vignettes--
Today I've got a small bunch of electricians here (as opposed to a bunch of small electricians...), and probably the drywall guy who's been popping in for a brief visit every evening for the last few days to do the taping and sanding of the blueboard walls prior to laying on the plaster skim coat. Watching him work, that's another piece of it that in hindsight I wish I'd just done myself, but on the other hand, there's only so much I can do, especially with everything else that's been happening here. The exciting thing is that by the end of today or tomorrow, the house addition should be totally done except for all of the work I'm doing myself -- wood floors, pine shiplap on the back wall, all of the interior and exterior staining and painting, building the sleeping loft, window seats, and built-in bookshelves, building a screen/storm door for the new mudroom, building the basement stairs, some wine racks, staining and hanging the double French doors, etc. Hmm, plenty to do, but all of the stuff absolutely necessary for me to move my office in there should be finished by the end of this coming weekend. Woo hoo, an office with a door...ah, bliss. And the corner of the house I've been using as an office can now, with some built-in bookshelves, a pull-out futon and a fold-out Japanese screen, become an extension of the upstairs library and a temporary guest/sleeping space when we've got a full house. I'll take and post some more pictures when I get a chance.
A couple of weeks ago I pitched a story idea to one of my regular editors, something I could sense was going to be hot soon. The editor was dubious at first, and I had to fight for it, but I eventually convinced her to let me run it. This week, the story broke big, propelled by some related news nobody knew was coming, and I've got people standing in line to get follow-up pieces. Not a lot of money yet, because these have all been short pieces, but I will never sneeze at $.75-$1/word rates, nosiree.
My partner's been going to work the last couple of days, and she's doing really well, and pacing herself well also. Yesterday she was working with an elderly woman who'd had her thyroid out, and who was complaining about having some swallowing pain, the woman's surgeon was arguing with the patient, trying to tell her it was all in her head. My partner explained that in fact, having some swallowing pain and difficulty was not at all abnormal post-thyroid surgery. The doc started to argue with my partner, who just pulled down the neck of her turtleneck, flashed him her incision, and said, in a matter-of-fact way, "no, both from my professional experience, and from my personal experience of having a thyroidectomy last week, this is a normal reaction." The full-of-himself hotshot young surgeon just about dropped his teeth. Heh.
Today she takes my son to see a pediatric surgeon, and to get some cardiopulminary baseline measurements done. We'd noticed that he's got a somewhat sunken sternum, in part from just growing so damn fast (he is way in the 99th percentile). It's not just a cosmetic issue -- while he's okay now, if we don't do anything about it, he'll almost certainly have chest capacity issues as he grows into an adolescent and adult, impacting his breathing capacity and endurance, and in the worst-case, leading to cardiac issues. To deal with this, they make small incisions and put what are essentially braces, kind of like corset stays, inside the chest for about two years, and everything is fine thereafter. There are about five places in the U.S. where they do this work, and this is one of those places -- one of the surgeons here was the protégé of the person who invented the procedure, so we're once again in the right place at the right time. And it's statistically very safe, and from some pretty exhaustive research I know this is something we need to do for his sake, and while the bones are all still so flexible is the right time to do it, but...hell's bells, this is turning out to be a year for scary medical things for my loved ones. We're trying to schedule my partner's medical treatment so that she's as strong as possible when my son goes in, so we can both be there with him as much as we possibly can.
Next year I would like a year where none of us has to be admitted to the hospital for any reason. That would be just damn fine.
Other vignettes--
Today I've got a small bunch of electricians here (as opposed to a bunch of small electricians...), and probably the drywall guy who's been popping in for a brief visit every evening for the last few days to do the taping and sanding of the blueboard walls prior to laying on the plaster skim coat. Watching him work, that's another piece of it that in hindsight I wish I'd just done myself, but on the other hand, there's only so much I can do, especially with everything else that's been happening here. The exciting thing is that by the end of today or tomorrow, the house addition should be totally done except for all of the work I'm doing myself -- wood floors, pine shiplap on the back wall, all of the interior and exterior staining and painting, building the sleeping loft, window seats, and built-in bookshelves, building a screen/storm door for the new mudroom, building the basement stairs, some wine racks, staining and hanging the double French doors, etc. Hmm, plenty to do, but all of the stuff absolutely necessary for me to move my office in there should be finished by the end of this coming weekend. Woo hoo, an office with a door...ah, bliss. And the corner of the house I've been using as an office can now, with some built-in bookshelves, a pull-out futon and a fold-out Japanese screen, become an extension of the upstairs library and a temporary guest/sleeping space when we've got a full house. I'll take and post some more pictures when I get a chance.
A couple of weeks ago I pitched a story idea to one of my regular editors, something I could sense was going to be hot soon. The editor was dubious at first, and I had to fight for it, but I eventually convinced her to let me run it. This week, the story broke big, propelled by some related news nobody knew was coming, and I've got people standing in line to get follow-up pieces. Not a lot of money yet, because these have all been short pieces, but I will never sneeze at $.75-$1/word rates, nosiree.
My partner's been going to work the last couple of days, and she's doing really well, and pacing herself well also. Yesterday she was working with an elderly woman who'd had her thyroid out, and who was complaining about having some swallowing pain, the woman's surgeon was arguing with the patient, trying to tell her it was all in her head. My partner explained that in fact, having some swallowing pain and difficulty was not at all abnormal post-thyroid surgery. The doc started to argue with my partner, who just pulled down the neck of her turtleneck, flashed him her incision, and said, in a matter-of-fact way, "no, both from my professional experience, and from my personal experience of having a thyroidectomy last week, this is a normal reaction." The full-of-himself hotshot young surgeon just about dropped his teeth. Heh.
Today she takes my son to see a pediatric surgeon, and to get some cardiopulminary baseline measurements done. We'd noticed that he's got a somewhat sunken sternum, in part from just growing so damn fast (he is way in the 99th percentile). It's not just a cosmetic issue -- while he's okay now, if we don't do anything about it, he'll almost certainly have chest capacity issues as he grows into an adolescent and adult, impacting his breathing capacity and endurance, and in the worst-case, leading to cardiac issues. To deal with this, they make small incisions and put what are essentially braces, kind of like corset stays, inside the chest for about two years, and everything is fine thereafter. There are about five places in the U.S. where they do this work, and this is one of those places -- one of the surgeons here was the protégé of the person who invented the procedure, so we're once again in the right place at the right time. And it's statistically very safe, and from some pretty exhaustive research I know this is something we need to do for his sake, and while the bones are all still so flexible is the right time to do it, but...hell's bells, this is turning out to be a year for scary medical things for my loved ones. We're trying to schedule my partner's medical treatment so that she's as strong as possible when my son goes in, so we can both be there with him as much as we possibly can.
Next year I would like a year where none of us has to be admitted to the hospital for any reason. That would be just damn fine.
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 02:19 pm (UTC)Isn't pain pretty much all in the head anyway? If I think something hurts, it does. I had to stop myself from telling C the other night that the little tiny pinprick red dot on her leg didn't hurt. It may not have a physical reason for hurting, but that doesn't reduce the pain.
Best of luck for F. It's gotta be scary for all of you, but it sounds like you've got yourselves in the best place for it.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 02:33 pm (UTC)It can be, but also the answer to that question in my experience is No, Actually.
To be clear, the place where I'm coming from is that several years ago my mother had terrible muscle pain, and her internist told her it was all in her head and sent her home. Not too long after that she was admitted to the hospital with 3% use of her muscles and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. So I have very strong feelings about doctors who tell their patients that pain or any other symptom is all in their head.
So in the case of doctors, I believe hearing those words is a sign to Run, Don't Walk.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 02:47 pm (UTC)is that if I believe it hurts, it does . . .
Much true.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 04:10 pm (UTC)Yeah, pain is pain, whatever the cause. We humans have two different pain systems as well -- immediate nerve response, and a separate system which deals with anticipatory pain -- no less real. It does no good to tell someone they "shouldn't" feel what they feel. What you can do is try to help people manage their pain.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-06 02:29 pm (UTC)Please keep us posted on your son's treatment. And, yes, may next year be one of no hospital admission.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 03:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 05:35 pm (UTC)