Monday, July 6
Today I woke up with a severe pain in my right shoulder and arm, very much like the neck pain I had in all of 2017 when Dr. Chan wouldn’t give me a muscle relaxant. Nothing helped! None of the pain management exercises or meditation and mindful breathing. Not even taking an extra Flexeril!
Then I found out that stepson Will had had a stroke last Friday and is in the hospital. Was my body anticipating this? To repeat my symptoms after Linda’s mini-strokes in December 2016? Who knows?!? I took an extra Tramadol at bedtime.
Tuesday, July 7
I took another Tramadol in the morning, something I haven’t done since 2018. Plus I had a THC almond, followed immediately by hot coffee!
I was especially anxious to have the Pain Management online session today, looking forward to more Tai Chi with Francis. The host was Angela Anderson, who started out with a meditation but the volume on her audio was so low I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Same for her 20-minute “discussion” session. Even though I sent a chat message telling her I couldn’t hear her, she either didn’t see my message or couldn’t figure out how to increase her volume.
When Francis came on at 4:30 for the “movement” part, there was no problem with his volume. What I did figure out this week is that all of the practitioners (like all of the attendees) are at home! That’s why I couldn’t place where exactly in his office Francis was sitting. So I’m sure that Angela’s audio problem is in her own system (at home).
Francis did not do Tai Chi today, but said the exercises were going to focus on pain on the right side of the body. Who knew?!? Just exactly what I needed today!
Thursday, July 9
My first in-person visit to my Kaiser medical facility was to get a blood draw from the laboratory. I had to call to make an appointment and I tried to ask which hospital entrance I would need to go to but the bozo on the other end of the line was reading a script and wouldn’t even stop talking long enough for me to ask a question! However, I presumed (correctly) that it would be the front entrance and everything was clearing marked (stations for hand washing which had plenty of soap and paper towels but not enough water), with distance markings inside.
We were still required to take a number from the machine; but as soon as I pulled out the ticket, the automated voice called my number! The cashier stations have installed self-swiping devices (like the Pain Clinic has) so they did not have to handle my Kaiser card. He gave me the urine specimen contained in a bag then handed me a label with instructions to clip my Kaiser card and photo ID to it to give to the phlebotomist. So I sat down to do that and that automated voice came on again, instructing me to go to Station No. 3. They did not have plexiglass between the phlebotomist and patient, but I was instructed to sit facing the side of the station. And I kept my purse, still over my shoulder, on my lap. The needle hurt more than it should have, so I knew I would have a blood blister afterward. She drew 4 or 5 vials of blood and I hoped it would be enough for all the tests. I also hoped I had been able to not take biotin for 48 hours and that whatever I needed for that “Non-fasting Lipid Panel” would be sufficient. When I went into the bathroom to get the urine sample, there were no extra instructions for COVID protections, just the usual toilet seat cover and BioHazard wastebasket. But I was glad that I had not gone to the bathroom before I left home and that I had been drinking as much water as I could!
On my way out, I thought I would stop at the Medical Financial Assistance office which, not surprisingly, was closed. However, they had a bunch of application forms outside the door—which was what I would have asked for—so I picked one up and went on out, properly escorted to the exit door.
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