Thursday, February 28, 2019, 9:50 a.m.
Well, this is the last of my individual acupuncture sessions for six months. Maybe forever, I don’t know.
The assistant who came out to get me was another white girl. However, as soon as she spoke, I could tell she was not a United States white girl. Maybe eastern European. But she was cordial and efficient. As usual, I had to ask for the massage chair.
Paul Simon was a full half-hour late and did give me a token apology. However, he did not rush me out at the end. Maybe to make up for getting me started late. Maybe just because it was my last time. I told him I had been having more pain than usual.
He started by saying he was going to “do some cupping.” I felt a solid object on my back and then heard a pumping sound as a vacuum was created on my skin. It didn’t hurt, but it felt tight. He did this in 3 or 4 places on my back and shoulders. Then he left the room for 5 minutes, as he said he would do. There was no music. Nothing except my own thoughts.
He did return in 5 minutes and removed the cups. He inserted the usual needles, then said he was going to turn on the heat lamp, which he did. Before he left the room again, he must have turned on the music, because I heard it, first very faintly, then a bit louder. It was the new-age sounds that I have heard in previous sessions. As usual, he placed the bell between my hands on the arm rests.
I didn’t even try to focus on breathing today, just letting go of stressful thoughts and feeling relaxation throughout my body. There was relief from pain during those moments.
When Paul Simon came back in to check on me again, he told me to just ring the bell whenever I was ready to go. I relaxed again, but started thinking about how I would ring the bell, since I had never rung the bell before. After what I thought was about 10 minutes, I picked up the bell and rang it. Very timidly. I doubt that anyone heard it. Should I ring it again? Or should I wait? I decided to wait. After a few minutes, I picked up the bell again and rang it again. Louder. Twice. Okay, that’s enough now. After a couple minutes, Paul Simon came back.
“Did I hear a bell in here?” he asked, not expecting an answer.
“Mm.”
He removed the needles and I got off the massage chair and retrieved my glasses from the counter. It was then that I asked, “Oh, what exactly was the purpose of the ‘cupping’?”
“It pulls the skin tighter,” he said, “improves circulation and help detox to get rid of the inflammation, which causes pain.”
Okay, that was adequate.
Before he left, he said, “It’s been a pleasure to work with you.” And, “You know, you can join the group acupuncture sessions again.”
“Thank you,” I told him. “This time with individual acupuncture has been very helpful to me.”
So before I left the Acupuncture Department, I stopped at the reception desk and made an appointment for group acupuncture on Friday, March 22, at 3:30 p.m.
Retail Therapy
Because Linda wanted to go to Bath & Body Works to get more refills for her plug-in aroma devices, we parked in a handicap spot near the store. The scent she wanted is only available at Christmas, we found out. So Linda made a selection from what was available.
I kept asking her if she was hungry. Did she want to go to Panda Express or Subway? No, and no. So we let Emily walk down the sidewalk toward Marshall’s. Then Linda carried her into the store. We weren’t looking for anything in particular, but Linda saw a display of dresses that caught her eye.
“That would look nice on you,” she said, pointing to a dress with blue and green flowers on a white background. I sorted through the sizes, beginning with a 4 all the way up to the largest size, a 14. I pulled it off the rack and held it up to my body. It felt like it might fit me! But I would need a dressing room. Linda pointed over toward an awning that said, “Dressing Rooms.” So I complied. I was surprised that the dress fit remarkably well, almost too big around the sleeveless arms and not too snug over my still-too-big belly. I had a hard time zipping and unzipping because I haven’t worn zippered dresses for such a long time! But I put it in my shopping cart.
When I found Linda, she had already picked out a new pink and white blanket for Emily, and then we saw a pink microfiber dog towel with white bones and paw prints on it. Finally, Linda found a small artificial lavender plant that she wanted.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
There was a Church 1.0 potluck today at Scott and Brian’s house. And a Church 1.0 board meeting after lunch. I wore my new size 14 dress from Marshall’s, along with the teal sweater I got at Talbot’s. But I forgot to put in my hearing aids before we left! I didn’t realize it until we were almost there and Linda was tempted to turn around and go back.
There was a general sadness over the group, though people carried on conversations as usual. I did my usual looking at faces and trying to lip read. Linda filled me in later (on the way home) on the details that I missed
Monday, March 4, 2019
When I woke up this morning, I felt a pain in my left foot, on the ball of the foot and extending around to the side of my foot at the place where normally a blister would occur with shoes that didn’t fit well. I felt my left foot with my other foot, and there was a raised place, that I thought was a blister. So when I looked at my foot, it was red and sore and there was a blister on the side. My first thought was, How am I going to walk tomorrow when we go shopping in Alameda?
But I had to get up and take my thyroid pill and then go to the bathroom. I swung my legs out of the bed and put my feet on the floor. Amazingly, I was able to walk! So then, while I was still sitting on the toilet, I pulled my left foot up to my right knee where I could look at my foot in the light. There was nothing wrong with my left foot! It was not red and sore and there was no blister! Apparently, I had dreamed all that. Whew!
Oh, yes, today is two weeks from the date (February 18) that I discovered a large, dark red place on my right wrist. Today it is almost invisible. I’m guessing it is NOT skin cancer!
