It was exactly 4 months after this cleaning was originally scheduled (May 21) that Golden State Smiles was able to reschedule the appointment. I arrived 10 minutes early because I didn’t know exactly what to expect, other than being instructed to wear a mask. There were 6 chairs in the waiting room that normally held…
Category: meditation
Kaiser Pain Management Group online, Session 12
Tuesday, September 1, 2020 We had a rather uneventful shopping day in Alameda–post office, Walgreen’s, Safeway. I put Linda’s buttermilk in grocery bags that zip, and she also took the corners very carefully and slowly so nothing could have spilled. I was glad to see Julie Whitehead facilitating the meditation and discussion. The topic was…
Kaiser Pain Management Group online, Session 9
Today started at 0-dark thirty to get to Alameda by 8 o’clock and into Trader Joe’s senior line, which was the shortest today that I’ve ever seen it, only back to the South Shore administrative offices. My shopping went fairly quickly and they had everything on my grocery list. Except for what I knew I…
Kaiser Pain Management Group online, Session 7
Today was a busy day! It started at 0’dark-thirty when we got up early to get to Trader Joe’s by 8 o’clock for the seniors line, which actually went pretty fast today. Safeway took longer, only because I was looking at low-carb ice cream and verified that all three brands—Rebel, Halo Top, and Enlightened—have monkfruit…
Kaiser Pain Management Group online, Session 6
Tuesday, July 21, 2020 We went to Alameda this morning, mainly for the purpose of mailing my re-application for Medical Financial Assistance. I wish I could have done this online, but online is an option only if you are within 2 weeks of your current award expiring. So postal mail was my only choice. Before…
Kaiser Pain Management Group online, Session 5
Grocery shopping in Alameda We had another successful trip to Trader Joe’s in Alameda this morning. We didn’t leave the house until 7:43 so it was just past 8:00 when I got in the Seniors’ Line. I’m beginning to feel a lot more at ease, especially knowing that I can come back in 2 weeks…
Level 3 Pain Group Follow up #2
May 23, 2018, 10:00 a.m. May 23, 1883, was the birthdate of my maternal grandfather who lived to be 81. Today is another Level 3 Pain Group follow-up session. There were only five of us: two from my January/February group and three others from a more recent group. Dr. Whitehead began with a long, slow…
Individual Acupuncture Therapy #2
May 17, 2018, 2:50 p.m. Everything is very familiar now in Building B of the Union City Kaiser, where I first went for my appointment with Dr. Sumetanon to begin my Pain Management journey. I am ushered into Paul Simon’s treatment room by an assistant. She asked if I used the table or the massage…
Pain Clinic Drop-in Group
April 24, 2018 This appointment seemed so familiar (from all the weeks of the Pain Management Program), yet a little strange. I checked in and the girl at the desk took my Kaiser card and ran it through the card reader. She couldn’t seem to find anything for a drop-in Pain Clinic group. She had…
Individual Acupuncture Therapy #1
April 23, 2018, 10:10 a.m. Today is the long-awaited appointment with an individual acupuncturist (not a group of a dozen or more patients!). The assistant took me into a regular doctor’s office, small, with chairs and a patient table. Paul Simon had already looked at my medical records so he already knew everything I told…