PERSONAL NEWS #166

Tuesday, July 21st, I had a foot doctor appt for therapy and an ultra-sound on my left foot. The therapy was helping out only so much, and next plan of action was for minor surgery to rid it of the Neuroma. A date was set for July 31st at 11am, which I would take as a “sick day” from work. I also thought how ironic, as August 1st marked the one-year anniversary of my going to NY Methodist hospital emergency room. Afterwards I took the subway to the NYDoP “working” meeting at a new location, and it was quite productive, plus great seeing other members of the team. Later that evening I chatted with TJ on the phone and we talked about my upcoming surgery.

[Duchess Note: What is a Neuroma? A neuroma is a painful growth of nerve tissue in the foot, most often between the third and fourth toe bones. It forms when bones in the feet press together and irritate a nerve. This may be caused by wearing tight or poorly fitting shoes, or by repeated stress on the foot. Neuroma’s often form in women who wear high heels frequently. Injury or a foot deformity can also cause a neuroma. As a neuroma gets worse, it can cause a lot of pain and keep you from activities you enjoy, like volunteering for two acquaintances City Council campaigns. Fortunately, there are many treatments that provide relief, as well as minor surgery.]

Wednesday evening, July 22nd, I lent my skills as a Notary to the Skaller campaign in Park Slope.

Saturday afternoon, July 25th, I attended the annual Share International event at FIT on West 27th Street to hear Benjamin Crème give a lecture on Maitreya, world issues, etc. Always an interesting event and lecture by Mr. Crème, but what I enjoy most is hanging out with my friends Linda, Cielito, Max and Parimal. Afterwards Linda, Parimal and I went to dinner at a nice sushi place on 7th Avenue and talk was on the event, as well as politics. Overall a good day J

Next day, July 26th, I took the LIRR from Penn Station out to Port Jefferson for the Long Island Peace Fair and event, which was being held at Heritage Park. The LIDoP is an offshoot of the NYDoP and this event was headed by Pat Liano, who did a lovely job of organizing. Two of the main speakers at the event were Miranda Fisher from the Student Peace Alliance and Liz Gannon-Graydon of LIDoP/NYDoP. Miranda mostly spoke of her involvement with SPA and the Youth PROMISE Act bill in Congress at this time. The Youth PROMISE Act currently has over 250 co-sponsors, and this news was well received by those who attended the event. Many brought their children, who were busy making peace flags and other drawings with peace as the main topic. Liz touched on many topics, but mostly showed us the tremendous cost of domestic violence; we might realize it’s not that we can’t afford a Dept of Peace [HR808], but that we can’t afford NOT to have one. Our child and grandchildren’s lives depend on bringing about peace. The cost of continuous war puts our children’s live more and more into debt, hurts our national security, as well as destroying many lives of our brave USA soldiers.

Thursday evening, July 30th, I joined other volunteers from the Josh Skaller city council campaign in canvassing the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn. I also got to meet with Major Owens son Chris at Skaller HQ, as he is assisting the campaign with his experience and skills. His father used to be a Congressional representative in Brooklyn for many years, and was a co-sponsor of the Dept of Peace legislation.

Next morning, July 31st, I woke up at 6am, and from 7am to 10am I completed many errands in the hood, as well as things around my humble abode. Then took car service to my doctors office in lower Manhattan, were I was scheduled to have minor foot surgery at 11am for Neuroma. I brought my cellphone with me to make calls before and after the surgery. TJ cleared his calendar that day and would arrive at the office around 12:30pm to be with me. Before my surgery I had to fill out paperwork, and then went into the operating room for the prep work. I was being put out for an hour even though the surgery lasts all of 15 minutes. I did NOT want a local … no way! Put me out; as I don’t want to know, hear, see or feel a darn thing. They even asked when my last period was and I told them … Thanksgiving weekend 2008. They asked again and I repeated my reply. They asked if I was preggers … to which I replied “Do I look pregnant?!?” The two doctors were clueless and couldn’t figure out how it could be otherwise, so I told them I’ve been in menopause for 2 ½ years. Duh!! Maybe I should feel flattered that they didn’t think I was old enough to be going through the “change”. Whatever … the last thing I remember before zonking out was looking at the clock and it said 11:25am. When I come out of it the nurse was adjusting the “bootie” on my foot. I asked what time it was, as I was feeling abit fuzzy to even contemplate opening my eyeballs, and she [ie: Joanne] said 12:20pm. I asked if TJ had shown up yet and she went to check. He came in 5 minutes later and held my hand, plus asked how I felt. [I felt very comforted having him there.] I replied my foot was numb, my head abit fuzzy and other than that I was okay. Dr Glass said the surgery went very well and was glad to hear it. When I did open my eyes TJ was sitting down, and I called Mom on my cellphone to let her know all was okay. I’d forgotten I had my hair down with a cushy neck roll for support during the surgery. Both TJ and Joanne remarked on how nice they liked my hair that way. A short time later TJ and Joanne assisted me into a wheelchair, and then brought me to another room to fully recover. I hadn’t eaten anything since 10:30pm the night before and was feeling very hungry. Around 1:30pm my doctor said I could sip some water and eat a few crackers. This I did and it helped to curb the hunger pains abit. TJ and I left the doctor’s office around 2pm and rode in car service back to my place in Brooklyn. Throughout all this TJ was so kind, helpful and supportive. I’m an independent gal and can be stubborn, but having a gent help out can be quite nice. Once settled into my abode TJ called for Chinese take-out and we happily noshed on it around 3pm. My stomach was finally appeased and I felt much better. Sigh! TJ helped with the dishes and a wee bit of grocery shopping for me. Then we relaxed in my living room, chatted about many things and indulged in tasty ice cream. Yum! Around 6pm he had to head home, via two subways and a bus, to his own abode in NJ. We shared a tender moment and then I was on my own for the rest of the weekend. I spent most of that time in the living room with my foot elevated and reading, crocheting, watching DVDs, talking with friends on cellphone, napping, nibbling on food, etc.

Tuesday after work, August 4th, I had an appt with my foot doctor. They changed the bandages on my foot, cleaned it with peroxide, examined it and applied fresh bandage. Said it was progressing nicely and I had to continue with the bootie.

August 6th / 7th – I had to take two “sick days” from work due to serious inflammation in my left foot. I spent most of that time sitting on my butt with my foot elevated. Icing it twice a day and taking Aleve. I finished reading “The Kite Runner”, worked on crocheting/knitting projects, chat with friends on cellphone, napped, nibble on food, plus watched several DVDs [ie: Chariots of Fire, National Treasure, LOTRs trilogy, and The Aviator].

Monday, August 10th, I had another foot doctor appt and they took out 3 of the 6 stitches, plus cleaned the foot and re-bandaged it. Dr Glass is pleased with the recovery progress and said I can start wearing sneakers or Crocs on August 15th. The rest of the stitches come out on August 17th. Hurray!

Thursday evening, August 13th, I attended the annual “yarn swap” at the Park Slope Knitters meetup, which was held at Sweet Melissa’s. I brought several skeins of yarn I did not want and received 5 points for it all. Everyone else brings in their yarn and gets points for it. When the skeins are tagged and bagged on several tables, we go up in small groups for viewings. When your name is called you go to the tables and pick up skeins of yarn you like, and since I only had 5 points, I could only obtain 5 points worth of yarn. While all this is going on we sit around tables in the back area eating and socializing, plus admire latest knit projects. It’s an enjoyable evening and I took car service home to give my foot a rest.

[Duchess Note: Speaking of recent healthcare, and the troubles that many experience in this country, due to lack of it. Here is an interesting article called "The Brutal Truth About America’s Healthcare" by Guy Adams in the UK. Click onto http://www.truthout.org/081609A?n to read more ... "They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury. Some of these Americans had walked miles simply to have their blood pressure checked, some had slept in their cars in the hope of getting an eye-test or a mammogram, others had brought their children for immunisations that could end up saving their life. In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an 'evil and Orwellian' example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California yesterday provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system."]