Jan 12 2016
Possibilities
We are solidly in the part of the year where no cold water is required in the unheated shower. Just turn the hot water as far as it goes and hope for the best! Sometimes the floor is so cold that it feels wet to my bare feet, though it’s perfectly dry. Well, more or less. I usually remove a mushroom or two from the corners when I clean the bathroom. Doesn’t everyone?
But I shouldn’t complain compared to my sister, who took a week off to ferry Rob to various medical appointments. They drove to San Francisco and back in one day – around eight hours of driving and not a feat I would ever willingly attempt – to consult with a neurosurgeon about Rob’s ever crumbling spine and the side effects of its decline. Rob has had two surgeries to shore it up over the past few years. One was on an emergency basis – you know you’re in bad shape when they operate on you on Super Bowl Sunday – and the other wasn’t, but you can’t keep cutting a guy open and shoving his esophagus aside to root around in there indefinitely.
This was the surgeon’s verdict, though he added that if Rob found himself in an emergency situation, as he did the first time, surgery could be done. But it’s a last resort. He recommended, as the last surgeon did, that Rob quit smoking, which will be a challenge for someone who would smoke in his sleep if he could.
Later that week, they consulted a pain specialist in the county seat (a mere three hours of driving) and he had several ideas, including medication and possibly steroid injections, and Megan is confident that they will come up with a plan which will help. She speaks fluent Medical, but I can’t understand half of it, but it’s good to know that Rob isn’t facing immediate surgery and that there are options out there to help him deal with his pain. He’s so stoic. I would love it if he could at least be more comfortable.
A YEAR AGO: The many joys of Erica and Jessica, including Jessica’s plan for world domination. Don’t worry: she’ll be a benevolent ruler. And the world will be a sparklier place.