Something's Missing

When you’re dealing with recurring medical issues you get used to missing things, for example, vacations and parties. (Hopefully, we haven’t missed any opportunities. Opportunities for what I’m not sure, but I just hope we haven’t missed them.)

For Renee, rather recently, something has been missing. It has only been a few days but the noticeable absence of something that has been so prevalent in her life has got her feeling some separation anxiety. Where did it go? Why has it left? It has hung around for years like an adult child that just won’t leave the house and then one day you wake up and the familiar voice is gone, shhhhh – quiet. Is this an empty feeling inside or elation? Is it for real? Will there be a mid-morning return, “Jeez, I just went for a walk. What’s for lunch?” or is it gone for good? I’m talking about Renee’s parasitic friend, pain.

Required listening
Andy Williams – Can’t Get Used To Losing You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUeaqHHq2II

Renee said yesterday that the pain she’s been carrying around in her mid-section, like a baby on the hip, just disappeared. Do we issue an Amber Alert, print up some new milk containers? Do we celebrate and throw something similar to a mortgage burning party? Is this another one of those false positives?

We’re still scheduled for our trip to Cleveland on Friday. Renee asked if the trip is worth it now that the pain is gone. My medical training in this regard is pretty rusty. I am up on all the current Renee trends of excruciating behavior. It has been a long while since I’ve had to deal with a pain free Renee. I’m just a general blog-titionor and not a specialist in this area. I’m going to have to defer to the surgeon on this one, so we’re going north.

With Renee, you never know if the skies are clearing or if you’re in the eye of the storm, but I do know that we’ve fed, clothed and housed her little friend for too long now. It is time for the pain to move on and wither away like last Autumn’s leaves. It is time for Renee to embrace this new empty-nester lifestyle and break free of the cocoon that has enveloped her. It is time for the Monarch to emerge and take flight, fluttering again in the wild, windy, open pastures, not just on the rebound but once again unbound.

It is time for Renee to get used to missing the pain.

Northern Exposure

Our excursion to Cleveland this week was postponed due to the doctor booking a surgery when he was already booked for an office visit. This is the second time Renee has been bumped by this surgeon. And I’m not talking in a dance floor kind of way. We just received a cold message on our answering machine that your appointment has been cancelled, please call to reschedule. We try to explain to these folks that we are coming from 350 miles away and that logistical planning for this is the equivalent of reuniting the original 5th Dimension members for a five part harmonic regeneration of Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In, pretty hard considering at least one member has already ascended to the heavens they were singing about.

On or about February 5th, will the Moon be in the seventh house and Jupiter align with Mars? I don’t know, but Saturn and Pluto will be in alignment, appropriately enough, with Uranus. I’m not sure if peace will guide the planets but I-71 will guide us back to Cleveand. Unless, of course, we get another chilly voice message disrupting the whole planetary alignment process we put in place to make it happen.

Renee’s discomfort in her mid-section is not decreasing and at least one of her local physicians has used the A-word. Around hear that naughty little word is adhesions. Adhesions are internal scar tissue. Everyone who has had surgery has some adhesions, usually no big deal, but some people scar worse than others and some scar tissue continues to grow beyond the normal area of incision.

Renee has experienced this before. Her adhesions got out of hand following her kidney removal surgery six years ago leading to further more invasive surgery. We don’t want that. She’s already been opened up more times than a refrigerator in a busy kitchen. More surgery, more adhesions, it’s a vicious cycle. We are hoping we don’t need to go there.

We are also hoping for some better weather. The winter doldrums have set in. Can you tell from the tone of this post? We went from three weeks of sub-freezing temperatures to two weeks of dark, dreary, foggy, misty, sinus clogging, head stuffing, pneumonia inducing cold rain. I can’t remember where I left my shades because I haven’t needed to even squint when going outdoors. We've gone from a Canadian cold front to a Seattle soaking, we need a January jolt of light.

So put your hands together, if we sing real loud, in harmony, maybe it will chase the clouds from the sky. And maybe ….

Let the sun shine in …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LANwIgpha7k&feature=related

Knock, Knock

Knock on frozen wood people – we’re nine days into the new year and not one hospital visit, woohoo!

It’s the third straight day of snow and a full week’s worth of sub-freezing temperatures. When the heck did I move to Canada? Crazy, but I think I’m getting used to it, the cold that is. I’ve got an arctic pup who doesn’t get phased in the least by the low temperatures and asks to go out every time she raises her lazy bones up from one spot to move to another, so I’m getting my share of time out in the elements.

Cassidy wants to go snowboarding down the big hill today and wants me to go too. We’ll try to make it through without any broken bones. Even at this stage of the game moving swiftly down a big hill on a board is still exciting and fun. Paying for it later isn’t as fun but the pain lets you know you’re alive - yeah right, that’s Hollywood talk. Keep your dang pain. Recovery’s a killer but it still won’t hold me back from playing on the big icy slide. MEDIC!

All’s quiet on the Renee front. She survived her first week back to work with the help of a snow day. A week and a half and we’ll be back up to the Double C to check out some lingering issues from the last surgery but she hasn’t been complaining lately. Did you hear that? Renee has not been complaining! Shocking isn’t it? Let me be clear here. Renee is not complaining about her medical condition, her complaining about me continues incessantly. If that stopped I’d know she was really sick. You’ve got to be aware of the indicators folks.

So everybody set your speed dials to 911, we’re throwing ourselves headfirst down the big 2010 hill right now. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!