Takin' Care of Business....

To say that I have been engaged and busy is kind of an understatement. Though, it mostly has been positive.

We had two nice warm and sunny days before the weather changed. I caught this under our Hickory tree when I sat in the grass with my canine pals.

I finally got in for my annual 'Medicare' checkup. It has been a year and a half since I've been to one.

I walked into the clinic and ran into a lady pushing a cart of treats and coffee for a meeting downstairs. I held the elevator door for her and  gasped at the treats she had.  I told her that I'd steal her tray and take it with me upstairs to munch on after my fasting lab. She laughed and offered me a cookie.

The lab gal and I go wayyyy back to when I did an internship at the clinic. We saw each other at 7:30am and had time to catch up. We agreed, getting a cookie was awesome for after the blood letting.

I know there are a lot of complaints about Medical care all over the place at this time. But I have to say kudos to the PA I've seen for 30 years. I got her as my doc when I moved to the area and she was fresh out of school. 

The nurse I saw first took her time in doing her part of the assessment. She was attentive, empathetic, and put me at ease. I took their survey and explained my 'stress related' answers. The Medicare questionnaire asks how often a person is stressed. 

Mine were related to the loss of Rich and of course the events that follow a spousal death.  Paige, was kind and not condescending. We went through my med list. She sat back and stared at me. 

"Tylenol as needed? That's is IT?"

Then she looked at my age and repeated her question. I said I took a multivitamin and that was it.

Anne was pleased to see me. She hadn't known about Rich, but it wasn't in my file either. She did comment that my *numbers* were good. In fact, my numbers were better than the past two years.

Anne must have notes in her file to remember to ask about photography, hiking, and my critters. Either that, or she knows me as the crazy lady.

The physical exam was fine and I had no issues other than 'grief insomnia'. Basically, it means I have trouble getting to sleep many nights because my brain is working on the next thing I need to get taken care of at our farm and of course missing my pal. Today marks 6 months.

When I got home I met up with Pat, an electrician who had done jobs here for us before. He has expanded to Excavating, pasture mowing, forest mulching, and other work. We walked around in the snowfall and I pointed out things I had hoped to accomplish. He made suggestions and he said he'd get his estimate worked up and emailed to me.

He stopped when we got by one of Rich's scrap piles. "I know a guy," he said. "A lot of what you have right now is pretty sought after with the war. I am pretty sure that my friend would be interested in dealing with you. You could make some money."

I had to chuckle out loud. I replied, "You know, I was always peeved when Rich brought home junk and piles of stuff. But he always said that when he died, I'd make money of from his junk piles." 

Pat laughed. "He wasn't far off. This stuff is worth money."

Funny, Rich's method of saving for the future with scrap and junk might have been crazy, but also might work for paying for all the work I have planned for our place.

Pat and I chatted in the falling snow and shook hands. I've always liked that about him. He doesn't talk down to me. Respectful. Plus he knows I'll pass out his cards and refer him to others.

I'll mark my calendar as a really good day.

And if you need a dose of cuteness, here you go.

Cypto-hondriac

 That is not a real word but I thought it fun enough to use as a title. Hubby has some severe aphasia from his stroke so sometimes words come out backwards and sometimes they come out the opposite from what he intended.

He will say 'she' when referring to 'he', often when referring to someone or to a pet. This has been ongoing since 2018 so I am pretty used to it. Since we've been a pretty close couple for many years, I pretty much know exactly what he wants to say or what he is trying to communicate.

However, I often let him work it out for himself which is what he prefers. Once in a while he will give me a glance [during a doctor's visit for example]. That glance is HELP! I can complete his words for him then.

We were talking with the nurse on his 6 month follow up when he came to this word. The nurse was reviewing his long list of medications when he piped up that this list made him look like a 'Cypto-hondriac'. 

He meant Hypochondriac. Funny enough, the nurse never blinked as he struggled through the word and she smiled and said, "We know you are not a Hypochondriac!"

When the doctor came in she did her thing and then asked if there was anything else she could do for him today.

Hubby asked for a shop...he kept struggling for a second and then got it out: A body shop for me? A new body?

She smiled of course.

Hubby hinted that he thought he'd gained weight. She looked at her file and said that he had remained stable for the past year or so. 

Then I saw something that I rarely see doctors do. She reached over and patted his leg and told him.

"Rich, you will be 76 this soon and you've earned the right to eat exactly what you want to and what you like."

I thought that was very kind of her to say.

I will note that my husband is in Palliative Care. Palliative Care aims to treat a patient with a serious illness for the Quality of Life until their death ... with attention to the care partner also. This will usually also involve a social worker to assist with questions and issues.

It is not hospice which is quite different. 

I feel that it is a kinder and more gentle type of care for elderly patients with a serious illness.

The Eye Surgeon visit

On Tuesday I took my hubby in to see the regular eye doctor. The tech and everyone took their time with him and were so laid back and chilled out. My hubby actually enjoyed meeting the doctor I use.

Wednesday was my appointment to meet the eye cataract surgeon and see if I qualify for the upscale lens replacement.

I checked in and immediately noticed a different atmosphere in the waiting room. I figured out pretty quickly that it was 'Meet the Surgeon Day' for eye surgeries.

I was about the only person there that didn't use a cane or have white hair. The hustle and bustle seemed much more intense than it was the day before.

Olive drove me there and dropped me off so she could go to the Wonderstate Coffee shop and do her remote work and enjoy a nice break from her basement office. Talk about things working out!

One lady called my name and took me to a room where she started to 'measure' my eyes. She explained a few things to me and seemed to push the regular surgery. I inquired about a special lens option, she noted that and whisked me to another room. 

I met a young man who was the Tech for the Surgeon. He tested my vision and went through my medical chart and then put some nasty stinging dilation drops in my eyes. He was nice and worked swiftly.

In about 10 minutes another young man walked in. He introduced himself as Steve and began to ask more questions. 

He...was the Surgeon. He went through my chart and asked about my 'good' eye and what I was hoping to get out of the cataract surgery. I responded by asking him if inter ocular lenses would improve my vision and possibly get me out of glasses. 

I'll stop here and explain that I was born with an eye issue. My right eye was nearly turned in all of the way. I had Strabismus surgery when I was in second grade. That made my eyes look fairly normal and I didn't get teased for having crooked eyes.

Having my eye turned in caused a condition called Amblyopia. For all the years I had a crooked eye, my brain stopped developing good vision in that eye.  I wore an eye patch on my glasses and did eye exercises -- PT for the eyes.

Dr. Steve explained that he could place an IOL [inter ocular lens] in the 'Good' eye and that would give me incredible distance vision, and I'd probably need just dime store cheaters for close up work.

I was all for that. 

There was a whirlwind of things after that and I was whisked to the surgical scheduler. She gave me 3 dates to go to LaCrosse. Crap. I'd need a driver fro the surgeries. The first date was to measure my left eye for a new lens to improve my vision. The next two were dates for the surgery.

I hadn't planned on going to LaCrosse at all. But with the 'new' high tech surgery, it had to be done at the larger facility. I almost said forget it...

I texted Olive with the surgical dates and asked her IF she'd be interested. I'd have to be in LaCrosse between 6-8AM on those days. Mind you, she has a toddler and she works remotely. Hubby is a stay at home dad and works part time.

As the scheduler and I looked at dates, the text back was: Absolutely! I can do that!

Wham bam, thank you ma'am. I was handed instructions and off I went.

Now. Here is my comparison for the two visits.

With the regular eye doctor: Calm, easy going, extra caring.

A pre surgical visit: Whirlwind. Almost like a production line in a factory.

Olive had picked me up a frothy Moca something or another coffee and I tried to explain what I was going to go through.

When I got home, I signed into MyChart and looked up the notes and details from the visit. I was able to re-read what the surgeon had said and it all made perfect sense. Being able to read the doctor's notes I think, is one of the best things ever invented.

I have what is considered Monocular Vision because of my issue as a kid. 

Of course, with one eye that the brain likes to ignore, making a miracle.... isn't feasible. 
I keep forgetting that I see the world in a different manner than those with two working eyes.

From early childhood on, I've learned to judge distances without depth perception. To me, the world is flat when I look out at it. 

I've gone nearly 67 years seeing the world this way and have gotten along fine. 

I'll be thrilled to see clearly again in any case. 

Weather, Birds, and the Bionic Eyes

 

The big storm is hitting our area. We are experiencing a slew of rain and sleet mixed in together. The winds on the ridge according to my neighbor sounds like heavy machinery sitting outside their house.

Yesterday we had a regular feeding Frenzy at the bird feeders. It was nuts!
I made a short 20 second video with a program called ClipChamp, but since I am not experienced at these things, it isn't very great. I also hate that Windows Movie Maker is no longer free and requires a subscription.

However, you can see the birds as they came and basically chased each other around.

The Downy or Hairy Woodpecker was NOT fazed by the intimidating female blackbird that swooped in and landed on the feeder!

The Titmouse flew in and ran off the Nuthatch...

While I was waiting for my 4th eye appointment this year...due to changes in vision, I took a lot of shots out the window. I use the ProCapture mode which cycles photos in the memory but won't save them until you press the button down. Then it takes up to 10 shots pre push and up to 10 shots when you push the shutter.

That is how I got these action shots. I am not quick enough otherwise to get them.

The Eye Appointment.

The tech tested my vision. She asked me: What brings you in today?
My answer in a bullet list form:
Cannot see anything in the distance beyond 10 feet unless it is blurry.
Up close is okay.
Light causes me to squint.
Halos around lights.
Headaches from eyestrain.
No Medication List.
No Change in Health.
Need sunglasses on dark days to dim the snow.

She did the vision test and kept asking...1 or 2? 3 or 4? 

I said none of the above.
She finished her exam and set me in a little waiting room.

Pretty soon the young and handsome Dr. Williamson came to get me [Yeah, he is young, handsome, and married. Gosh, give an old lady a break, right?]

Damn! He asked how my KVR Trail Challenge went! How could he recall that? We did some small talk about photography and after about 10 minutes we got down to it. [Guys! I must live in a very doctor friendly area. The doctors here actually take an interest in YOU!]

My vision has deteriorated in my right eye a lot [I had Strabismus surgery in 1961 -- that surgery will cause cataracts to develop more rapidly. And that eye always sucked anyway]. Doc said he couldn't fix it with a new prescription.

He also said he could only improve it slightly in the left eye...so... it was time to consider the next step.

Surgery. Cataract Surgery. It is a rather Routine Surgery, however with any surgery, things can go sideways.

He explained in detail how they do the surgery. Replacing the cloudy lens -- much like a cloudy lens on an old headlight. He said I should see colors much better.

Then he talked about new technology. Did you know that there is an option for an intra ocular lens replacement that can 'fix' astigmatism? 

I could be a candidate for a Multifocal/Extended Depth of Focus Lens placement in each eye.

Could be.
That means for a pretty hefty price, I could essentially toss my glasses for most of the rest of my life.

It would be like them surgically putting my glasses as replacement to the clouded cataract lenses.

Yeah. I asked him for bionic eyes and he laughed. "We are not quite there yet!"

I talked this over with Rich regarding the expense. Rich and I checked our finances and if I qualify, I am going for the lenses.

I am the CareGiver and the driver and the everything doer here on the farm. 

Basically I want to see, I am a very visual person as you may have guessed.

Here is another surprise. I will see the surgeon in 4 weeks and they  can do the procedure in our little town at the local hospital.

Doctor Doctor

Now that I am OF age, a curious thing happened. I had a complete Wellness Exam. 

I GREW shorter! I'm a half inch shorter than I was at 20 yrs old. Well, no real surprise there. I'm a little people.

Taking care of me is as important as taking care of hubby. 
A couple of things came up. The eyeball thing of course which will be re-evaluated tomorrow, stress from caregiving and dealing with the mental status of the other half.

My doctor Ann, is awesome. I've been with her for 23 years. She said with the stress and anxiety issues I go through she'd like me to go see a counselor. I agreed. [Seeing means by zoom in these times and I am not sure about that. I need human contact. Even if it means conversing outside.] Phone calls are OK. But seeing another face other than my walls is what I need.

Interesting that she said I qualified for meds for this. She rattled off the med list and I shook my head with each one. She smiled and said she did not see me taking those meds either. 

I told her what I currently do to try to keep sane. I will go back to CF with modified exercises until the bay doors are closed for cold weather. Then I will go back to Virtual CF. She prescribed hiking and Yoga. 

So I have a diagnosis code Z63.6 which is Dependent Relative. The hardest part is having to admit it to your provider. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been this comfortable discussing these issues in a Zoom or Virtual Appointment. 

Here is a not so great fact. Most CareGivers do not outlive their dependent if they do not take steps to Care For Themselves.

This is not new information to me. It is just how it is. I hate to admit it, but I do have more times per week that I get irritated with the other half for no real reason. I always am nicer after a nice long hike or workout.

And now I will take time to do a bit of bragging. I passed my exam with flying colors as far as all the vital readings go. I even got a BMI rating! Too funny, I had to look it up. 
Since I am small, I've got to do a bone density test. Hmmm, how do you study for that? One fasting lab and poke and I'm done with my tests. 

I also got the flu shot and am scheduling shots for Shingles. Interestingly enough on a side note. A friend who WILL not get the Covid vaccine did get the Shingles vaccine. 

Ruminate on that for a moment.

My last thoughts for today.
Doctor Ann told me that last week they had to divert patients because our little hospital had NO room in the ER or beds. She did not say why, she just said it happened.
The ambulance had to take patients to another state. There were no available ER's within 100 miles of our tiny town.

It did not make our local news. 

She told me to stay safe and do her prescribed hiking and yoga plan. To follow up with a phone call to get in touch with a counselor if the VA couldn't provide any help.

~~~~~

I'm going to make up a sheet to put on the fridge. 

It will go something like this:

Val must go hiking every week as a prescribed medication. Dr. Ann Said So.

I do like my doctor.