2007-10-29 
 

cobra and other snakes

Ouch, I was bitten by a COBRA today for several hundred dollars that I can't help but think would be better spent going towards a few nice new dress shirts to interview in.

That said, if the interviews don't pan out, then I'll need the insurance for the inevitable stress induced medical emergency I'll suffer sometime in December. (Heart attack? Hopefully not, but an ulcer is a definite possibility.) Not to mention that medical mysteries like myself like to know that the doctor is an option at any given moment.

Then again, what if the only reason that the interviews fail are my lack of a nice new dress shirt? The kind I could've bought if it weren't for the need to feed the cobra?

Okay, I'm really not that stressed about this yet. Truth is that I've had the phrase "feed the cobra" stuck in my head ever since going over the 12 page, yawn inducing medical benefits statement this morning, and this was my chance to exorcise it.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 7:12 PM

(2) comments



2007-03-10 
 

mother's day comes early

If you know my Mom, you already realize what a wonderful and strong woman she is. She is definitely one of the blessings I have in my life.

If you don't, you can now find out at her new website! In it, she tells of her two decade struggle with Inclusion Body Myositis, a disease for which there is no cure and relatively little treatment. There's still many little tweaks we'd like to make, but I think it's safe to consider this a Beta launch. Check it out!

MYOMUSINGS

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, looking eastward, medical mystery, shout out

* posted by me at 5:59 PM

(0) comments



2006-11-09 
 

clean pipes

Feeling loopy right now, and probably will for most of this afternoon thanks to aftereffects of anesthesia and my good friend codeine, but wanted everyone to know I'm back from the procedure and my lower pipes are free from any new growth. They even snapped some snazzy color pictures for me, but I'll spare you those. (One of them shows a scar where the last polyp sprouted from. Interesting for me, probably pretty gross for anyone else.)

So I'm fine, but he reiterated that it's still very unusual that someone my age would've had such a large polyp in the first place. This means I do need to go back for another followup. Good news is that I can wait three years this time. Still, I'll have had about 4 of these procedures before most men my age will have even had one.

I always did pride myself on being ahead of my peer group.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 4:51 PM

(0) comments



2006-11-02 
 

twitches

The title for the day references the odd movements my legs have been making this eve, not the Disney Halloween Movie that aired the other night starring Tia and Tamera.

You see Father, it's been four days since my last cigarette. STUPID carcinogenic sticks, WHY do you enthrall me so?!

The other day, as we watched a TiVoed episode of Ghost Whisperer...No, I'm not a 15 year old female, why would you ask that? Shut up. It is true that Melinda's husband is required to be shirtless at least once an episode and that he's quite easy on the eyes. Even with this season's new haircut- the one that's trying a bit too hard- he's still worth two drinks.

I'm also a sucker for any supernatural fare that keeps the gore level low. Hence my ready knowledge of Twitches...hmmm...maybe there is an inner 15 year old girl struggling to be heard.

Seriously though, I shouldn't perpetuate that particular stereotype. It would be easy enough to digress at this point into a gender studies discussion about the arbitrary entertainment boundaries set by society. (and those marketers seeking to pigeonhole us all into certain demographics)

Yes, it's true, I have met the enemy and he is me...well not really, isn't the goal for most of us to have more consumers instead of less? That would explain why for every shirtless Jim shot, there's a shot of Melinda in a revealing nighty or lingerie-inspired dress, right? Maybe marketing folk just want us all to get along and like the same things. You know, be equal, homogeneous, safe, boring...oh dear, no matter how you slice it, it's still B-O-L-A-G-N-A.

Where was I? BOUNDRIES. Boundaries that determine that certain programs can be considered quite proper entertainment for one subset of the population, yet decidedly eccentric for another. Sadly, the need to even type these paragraphs in proves that those boundaries are still much too firmly in place, and it'll be many a day before The Hulk and My Pretty Pony share screen time. (Robot Chicken aside.)

Forthwith, I declare that no demographic divider, be it gender, age or other, should force anyone into a certain block of entertainment...but I drift further away from the point of this entry and having already, rather desperately, used up my daily allotment of "forthwith", I'd best get on with it.

DAMN! I want a cigarette.

POINT BEING. Four days. No cigarettes. A few nights back, first night with no smoke, a character on Ghost Whisperer went outside with a cigarette at a traumatic moment and just went through the motions of smoking without lighting it. I thought to myself...hmmm, I kinda get that.

That was then. Tonight I fully understand the urge to go through the motions, but fear the relative ease of lighting the sucker should I try to play a game of chicken with him. After all, my pride's at a low ebb and I'd be more likely to swerve first.

I can't even slurp on a beer or sip slowly on a glass of wine to chill me out. Drinks and the satisfying smoke are as magnets ever pulling towards each other. Neither feeling quite complete without the other there to hold its hand.

So, I'm off to chomp on pretzel sticks and day old Halloween Candy (another magnetic duo.) BUT before I go, let me state quite firmly that the first non-smoking person to encourage me on my quest will be summarily dismissed...and I then promise to light one up in that persons' honor. And if I should succumb and smoke again, I dare you nonsmoking lot to say something. I'll blow rings right into your face.

It may sound unkind, but only the truly initiated can understand what I'm missing. The rest of you, zip it.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery, random review, sharketing

* posted by me at 12:19 AM

(2) comments



2006-10-25 
 

another day, another doctor

Ah, the medical mystery that is mike.

So, met two new doctors today over at the UCSF Clinic I was referred to. They were both quite nice, but gave a different spin to the whole Mikey's Mouth growth thing than I got from the ENT. These new folk say it needs to be watched, but there's no sense in lasering it out unless it's bothering me. I'm going to give a call to the ENT and see what he says to that, but I think I'll let it wait until Monday...after I see the new Dermatologist.

After all, I am supposed to be on vacation this week and I'm tired of the red tape used by the insurance company. It has a particularly nasty stickiness that attaches to ones frontal lobes and acts as a temporary lobotomy if you don't remove it quickly. None of the administrative staff in any of these offices wants to deal with it, so it's mostly left up to me and my brains been feeling numb. Time to let it recover a bit before getting wrapped up again.

Thanks Aetna! Love you too! (and your imprecise In-Network system)

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 4:13 PM

(0) comments



2006-10-14 
 

it's not a tumah!

Haven't posted this week due to much craziness at work and a lot of trying not to think about getting back my biopsy results from last week.

So, found out from the doctor yesterday that the freaky thing in my mouth isn't cancerous, or even life threatening at all. Frustrating thing is that I had to be the one to hunt him down for the test results on Friday instead of them calling me to let me know they'd actually come in Thursday. I'm due for a followup, because even though it's not life threatening, it's gotta get lasered away. Ouch.

I hope they give me some good drugs to recover on.

Labels: medical mystery

* posted by me at 7:43 PM

(1) comments



2006-05-04 
 

summer vacation

Left work a bit early today for a doctor's appointment. We determined that whatever ails me is not what the original doctors were all excited about. For the most part they tried not to show it, but I did feel at times like a rare bug surrounded by overly excited entomologists. Yes, I'm still a mystery to modern medicine, but a relatively healthy one...just an average bug with oddly colored wings.

On the way to the doctor, I realized that what I need right now isn't just a week away from work, but an actual summer vacation. I've managed to have quite a few in my life, but haven't managed more than two weeks off at a stretch since 1998.

The realization made me want to catalog them all. I know! That idea's got to have you more curious than a cat on Sunday! So strap yourself in and hold on for an exciting review of...

THE SUMMERS OF MIKEY
You must be THIS bored to continue on the ride.

1-4 Every day was summer vacation! It started with nipples and nappies and ended when Mom dropped me off in that strange school place for the first time.

5-15 Standard school summers off, and they always seemed to start shortly before my birthday. Bonus!

16-18 Technically working during those summers, but only part time and at Friendlys to boot. I often look back at that job and count it as one of the best I ever had. No real pressure other than the compressed gas inside the whip cream dispenser.

19 Took an internship (thanks to Dad) that involved filing medical documents and/or pretending to file medical documents while actually reading my latest book. (My first real job in corporate america and I learned quite quickly that being a temp who is too good at something causes resentment amongst the permanent folk.)

I should also mention that there were four of us in the file room doing a job that truly only required one and a half people. Yes, I got a lot of reading done...oh and some sleeping. At some point that summer I realized that taking short naps while "filing" had nothing to do with the dullness of the job and everything to do with the fact that I'd contracted mononucleouses. This meant several weeks off during which Mom actually expected me to lie on the couch and watch TV! When God invented mono, he gave a gift to teenagers everywhere.

20 Another internship during which I actually worked for most of the summer and rediscovered my love of computers. (Thanks again Dad!)

21 One week as a parking attendant in a job my grandfather got me. I was fired several hours before the job ended allowing me to mark off that particular box on the "things to do before I die" list. Dad actually told me not too worry too much about the joblessness since I was entering my senior year and would never have a true summer off again, Mom seemed complicit in this simply because she didn't mention my jobless state once. (In case you haven't put two and two together, my parents are so much cooler than yours.)

22 Graduated in May and didn't start working at my first post college job until late August. I admit to dragging my feet a bit because I feared it truly would be my last long break. Most of my memories of this summer are bathed in a golden light, like a cheesey flashback in a WB drama.

23 No actual summer months off, but I did intentionally take October and half of November off during a job transition. I used the time off to fully remove the closet door I'd been peeking out of and burned it up in a celebratory bonfire of gayness. The light of the bonfire showed me a side of Boston I hadn't realized existed.

24 Happy to be gay and working in Boston, life was a party. Who needed summer vacation?

25 Left work the week of Labor Day and used September to drive across the country. Didn't find my first SF job until October. My second Indian Summer Vacation.

26 Happy to be living and working in San Francisco, life was a party. Who needed summer vacation?

27 Asked for a raise in May. Didn't get it. Left first week of June. Took a few weeks off and then temped sporadically until the old job called back offering more money. Told 'em I had some stuff to finish up and went back last week of July. (Cleverly avoiding a month long gap in my resume. Pretty sneaky, Sis!)

28 The week before my birthday in June, having finally paid off the credit card debt incurred by moving and living in San Francisco, I decided to leave corporate office work behind. Yes, I would finally become the bohemian revolutionary I'd originally come to San Francisco to be!

Translation: I racked up some new credit card debt while working part time as an advertising manager for a (now defunct) local gay rag called Creampuff. This involved many afternoons spent in area gay bars trying to track down the owners and convince them that they ought to advertise with us. The bartenders usually did their job and claimed no knowledge of the owners whereabouts, but they often gave me a free beer for my troubles. I also had access to free movie passes, event tickets, museum exhibits etc. because various PR firms hoped we'd help promote them. (Sure, I had to write a review or two, but this blog shows what an awful time I have giving my opinion out.) Oh, and no cover or waiting in line at many of my favorite bars and clubs. Very fun, but not conducive to a growing bank account.

In November of that year, after 5 1/2 months, I ended my longest summer vacation since the age of four and returned to the world of cubes and copy machines.

Seven years later I'm really craving one, but society tends to frown on adults indulging in such a youthful activity.

Hmmmm....maybe if I call it a sabbatical?

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery, memory lane

* posted by me at 10:34 PM

(2) comments



2006-04-07 
 

lovely

Received a postcard in the mail today. Calming picture of a Colorado mountain on the front with a beautiful stream and trees in the foreground. Bob Ross couldn't have painted happier little trees.

On the reverse:

Because we care about your continued good health, we'd like to remind you that it's time for your colonoscopy.

Lovely.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 12:21 AM

(0) comments



2005-09-25 
 

good and bad

Got some good news and some bad news last week that forced me to deal with the guy inside instead of concentrating on the very real problems facing our country this week. (Not that I usually blog politics or current events, but between hurricanes, the delicate dance of the supreme court, and the recent reversals of the Gubenator I've almost felt an obligation to rage against it all.)

Instead I will be selfish and shout, "Why me?" The good news is that the foot pain I've been having wasn't caused by a misstep on my part at the gym. It's an arthritic symptom that pretty much validates the Doctors' diagnosis of Reactive Arthritis. The bad news is that the diagnosis of Reactive Arthritis has been validated.

I'll live and I'll deal, but I can tell you I got very drunk Thursday night after finding out. Partially in celebration of the confirmation and partially out of denial.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 3:47 PM

(0) comments



2005-08-31 
 

midday muni

There's a lot I'd like to type in right now, but it's all too fresh so I'll tell you about riding Muni instead.

Not my typical Muni ride, this one occured shortly before noon on the way back from the eye doctor.

Muni's different in the middle of the day. The crush and rush of the commute hours gives way to people who don't look frantic or tired. There's a willingness to say excuse me...and because of the saner conditions, less of a need to do so.

OK, so I just reread this whole entry and wanted to make two things clear:

1. Overall, having a mysterious medical malady still sucks, but I'm fine....and doing much better than most who've had the syndrome. (I've heard some not so grand tales lately.)

2. Yes, I originally typed in eye doctor because I couldn't figure out how to spell ophthalmologist. For long words, spell check is only as good as your first three letters and I had lost the first H somewhere along the way. (Not to mention the first L, but that's another story for another time.)

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery, san francisco

* posted by me at 12:27 AM

(0) comments



2005-08-29 
 

can i whine?

Oh yes, this is my blog, I can whine. Should you be someone who doesn't want to hear me whine when I'm doing much better than most the population on this planet, then go away and stop reading now...I'm about to start.

So, I got a rather large bill from the center that removed the lovely lollipop polyp from my inner person earlier this year. A large bill because I was an idiot and expected the doctors and insurance system to work for me. Instead of confirming that the docotor and center I'd been refered to actually was IN network, I just assumed that they would be fully covered. After all, nobody told me otherwise or even mentioned that I should bother to look. So why should I worry?

Bastards.

And stupid patient too, I know, but I'm out 700 bucks now and I feel like whining about it and blaming someone else. So there.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 11:11 PM

(0) comments



2005-08-15 
 

medical mystery

So, the visit to the rheumatologist today didn't confirm or deny the original diagnosis, although it did confirm that Reiter's Syndrome is no longer the PC terminology. Now it's termed Reactive Arthritis.

I like that better because it actually describes something about it that a lay person might understand. Besides, Reiter was a Nazi doctor. Since folks like myself tended to be subjected to nasty experimentaion before being killed off by those same doctors, I'm going to agree with the PC police on this one and just refer to it as R.A. from know on. (I could just go back and edit my entry from the other day, but then this whole paragraph would be rather confusing, and I don't believe in self censorship without valid explanation.)

Before you get all up in arms, please note that I said self censorship. I still don't believe anyone has the right to censor materials other than the individual who's writing, reading or viewing them.

And yes, I realize that I've blogged about every but the actual visit and that's because I don't want to think about it right now. I will say that I rather liked Dr. Dobrow and look forward to seeing him again in six weeks, just not the reason for the visit.

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, medical mystery

* posted by me at 8:53 PM

(0) comments



2005-08-12 
 

try the other arm

Spent the first day of my long weekend shuttling between various doctors. Had blood drawn and the eyes dilated. I've had some odd symptoms lately, the most annoying of which is severe watering and itching of the eyes. Noncontagious Conjunctivitis. I didn't even know they made a non contagious version, but I got some drops and it should fade soon.

Hopefully the other symptoms will also resolve themselves shortly. Either way, I'm scheduled for a couple more appointments early next week to see if one of the other doctors can confirm the diagnosis of my PCP: Reiter's Syndrome. I'm guessing this isn't really what I have. I'm also hoping that one of the several buckets of blood they gathered today will help prove that and put them on the right track.

I am bummed about missing the mini vacation I had planned for us, but G and I will make it up by going to our little chalet over Glen Canyon for the weekend.

Labels: g, linkage, medical mystery

* posted by me at 2:51 AM

(0) comments



2005-03-29 
 

lollipop polyp

Got the pathology back today on my little operation from Friday and I'm happy to report a benign diagnosis. On the slightly more scary side is the fact that he did let me know that the polyp was quite large and could've changed for the worse had I waited a few more months to have myself checked out.

Moral of this story? GO TO THE DOCTOR! You know who you are. Stop dawdling and making up excuses. Just go.

But enough about you. Back to me.

The doctor let me know that I'll have to have another colonoscopy in a year because it's unusual for someone my age to have developed something like this. I started to slump a bit, but he made up for it by describing my pedunculated polyp as a lollipop. Maybe it was the relief of finding out that I'm cancer free, but I couldn't stop giggling to myself after hearing that.

I remember when going to the doctors meant that I came home with a lollipop. Must be a sign of age to go in and have one removed.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:10 AM

(1) comments



2005-03-26 
 

silver lining

Spent most of Thursday in the bathroom thanks to a new acquaintance named Visicol. (and later in the afternoon, his lady friend Dulcolax) Perhaps not quite so healthy a method of cleansing as the more traditional three day fast followed by a salt water wash out, but effective none-the-less.

At the beginning of the month, I'd been dreading this whole two day ordeal, but decided that it wasn't doing me any good to wallow in worry. After remembering that The Davinci Code had been sitting next to my bed for several weeks, patiently waiting for an open window of time in which I could read it cover to cover, I began to look forward to spending a day tied to the bathroom.

So, I joined the list of folks who've read The Code, and my insides were cleaner than they've been in quite some time. Making it easy for the doctor to excise the problematic polyp from inside me.

polyps, to me, seem to be something more likely found at the bottom of the sea rather than inside the large intestine

I even got to see the little oceanic creature, though my haze of sedation makes it hard to remember whether it was the size of a grape or a grapefruit. Both common sense and healthy hopes lead me toward grape. It's only my artistic need for hyperbole that prefers the latter.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery, reading

* posted by me at 4:14 PM

(1) comments



2005-02-26 
 

ass-o-mine

Gonna warn you up front that this entry is probably TMI for most folks, so maybe you ought to scroll on past or just check out one of the links to the left.

Went to the colon-rectal specialist today. (Heard enough? Turn back now or read on...you voyeuristic freak!) First off, the doctor is a very nice guy with kind doe eyes, and he managed to put me a bit at ease during our initial interview. That aside, it only takes a few minutes of waiting alone in the examining room to get the heart back up into overdrive. The staff leaves a variety of puzzling metallic instruments laying about in preparedness for whatever might ail you down below, and these things look like they'd be more at home in a medieval torture chamber than in a modern doctor's office. Rather large plunger devices that splay open at the touch of a button, various electronic probes, and very oddly shaped tubes to do...I don't want to know what with. Needless to say when the doctor and his assistant perform the procedure my back is to them, but my vivid imagination doesn't help very much at that point. I have to just lie still breathing deeply and repeating, "This too shall pass."

The end result - no pun intended - is that I get to go in for a full colonoscopy in a few weeks. When Mr. Doctor first told me this fun fact, I must've looked like a bunny in the headlights because he quickly let me know that I'd be fully sedated during that whole procedure. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there were tears of relief in my eyes when I said thank you to him for passing on that information.

Labels: medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:37 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-04 
 

ups and downs

I left work today in a bit of a funk. Plugged into music for the commute home and went from funk to a rather pleasant dazed feeling. Felt a bit like I'd gotten stoned, but without the drymouth and munchies.

Got home and took a brief nap before walking to my doctor's appointment.

On the way I saw an orange tree...of sorts.



Read an interesting piece in a back issue of the New Yorker: Ice, by Thomas McGuane.

The doctor kept getting called out of the examining room to discuss a patient he'd just admitted to the hospital for some scary brain problem. I stared at the wall.



He's the first doctor I've felt comfortable with in a long time, but my blood pressure was still a little high, and the interview process to record my medical history brought me down again as I was reminded that I need to quit smoking, eat less, excercise more, etc. (That etcetera covers quite a bit that I'd rather keep to myself right now.)

Now I'm home again. Posting these pictures and telling a little story of my day perked me up a bit, but I'm still haunted by the theme from Growing Pains.

Show me that smile again, (Oh, show me that smile)
Don't waste another minute on your cryin',
We're nowhere near the end (We're nowhere near)
The best is ready to begin.

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, medical mystery, memory lane, reading

* posted by me at 5:24 PM

(1) comments



2003-12-24 
 

eve

In an ironic twist, the antibiotics they gave me to combat the yuck on my back seem to have lowered my resistance to the head cold that's been going around. I'm sick. To top it off the antibiotics are making me feel queasy. I don't know how G does it, having to take 7 different meds each day...and one of those is a shot! He's much more of a trooper than I am.

It's times like this, when I'm getting all pitiful because my heads stuffed up, that I look over at him taking care of me and listening to my whines and know that he's truly in love with me. Who else would put up with my cranky self?

(That being said, kudos to mom, dad and dude who put up with me for the first two decades of my life and still do.)

Labels: dose of mikey, g, medical mystery

* posted by me at 7:48 PM

(0) comments



2003-12-20 
 

mike almighty

Stayed relatively immobile last night due to shoulder sickness. Got nicely stoned and watched Bruce Almighty....a little preachy, but amusing none-the-less.

The double antibiotics are making me a bit queasier than I'd like, but the hole in my back seems to have lost its angry red edges and the swelling's gone down.

More news at 11.

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 3:52 PM

(0) comments



2003-12-19 
 

hole in me

Had the doctor lop off an infected yuck from my shoulder and I'm in PAIN. OK, not pain so much as persistant soreness. I want drugs to make it go away.

Whine, Whine, Whine and Happy Holidays! :)

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery

* posted by me at 11:02 PM

(0) comments



2003-10-14 
 

waiting

Had a pleasant weekend in Sacremento with G's parents. Ended up taking the train there since Zip (my car) overheated on Friday and needed to go to car hospital. Amtrack may not be as glam as it was back in the day, but it's still a rather nice way to travel.

Tomorrow I have a doc appointment first thing in the morning and then have to rush into work for a 10 am meeting to see whether or not I have a job still in our reorganized company....either one of these events might alter my life, but it's all going to be ok. I've got G as a wonderful constant. Love you Honk!

Labels: dose of mikey, g, local getaway, medical mystery, sharketing

* posted by me at 1:15 AM

(0) comments



2003-09-19 
 

thursday's child

Final day of antibiotics for G and we're both super relieved. As I mentioned the other day, they have not been playing nicely with the other meds and have caused more than a little discomfort for him. We're both very happy to see that last blue pill go away. The wound itself is almost to the point where the bandage can come off, and overall we're in a pretty good space, but if I ever get my hands on that spider....I'll...I'll...

Well in all honesty, if I ever got my hands on it I'd probably scream like a little girl, throw it onto the floor and stomp on it.

I just don't like spiders.

I do love G and I'm glad he's mine...experiences like this tend to give a bit of perspective to things. I'm glad he came into my life three years ago.

Sometimes I cried my heart to sleep
Shuffling days and lonesome nights
Sometimes my courage fell to my feet

Lucky old sun is in my sky
Nothing prepared me for your smile
Lighting the darkness of my soul
Innocence in your arms
David Bowie - Thursday's Child - 1999

PS I know I missed a chance to quote Tori Amos yesterday and write a nice blog about the current state of affairs in the US, but maybe next week.

Labels: dose of mikey, g, medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:32 AM

(0) comments



2003-09-13 
 

feels like sunday everyday

I have this odd feeling that I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow, but it's only Saturday. (and all the people said AMEN!) I've probably been working too hard. Since we missed our mini-break last week, I'm moving on two parallel paths. Trying to plan a new mini-break sometime in the near future and firming up plans for a maxi-break later in October.....and a true tropical vacation sometime around the holidays. This is all subject to change without notice. The latest hiccup at work may cause me to be pounding the pavement with resume in hand, and saving every penny I can.

Then again, as Annie Lennox once sang:

I could be anywhere else but here
But the rain won't let me go.
There's a photograph
Hanging on my wall
Of a place I've never been to...
I'll never make the grade
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
And I can't stop the rain
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
What do the papers say?
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
Get up and go now!

In this town - something's gotta change.
In this town - something's gotta change.

Chatted online with M yesterday and had the new camera on. YAY! Next weekend little e will be home and I'll get to wave to her across the miles. Why did it take me so long to hop onto this bandwagon? After all, as a gay man I'm supposed to be an early adopter.

In leg news: Getting much better after Thursday's little setback. Got one of the angels as a nurse on Friday's follow-up, and she has made our lives quite a bit easier by talking to us instead of just at us. We still have to change the bandage once a day and it does still cause G quite a bit of pain when we do so, but the inbetween times are much easier to bear and the overall pain of changing is lessening with each time. I'm very glad about this. It's been a bit tense for me to have to be the one who swabs out the wound and causes him to yelp in pain with each push, but it's been three years together, and I'm not going to let some stupid arachnid ruin our good time together.

(continued from above)
I'm looking at the world -
Looking for a scene -
Waiting for a day -
Filling in time like I'm digging
My own grave...
I'll never make the grade
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
And I can't stop the rain
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
What do the papers say?
(Feels like Sunday everyday)
Get up and go now!

In this town - something's gotta change.
In this town - something's gotta change.

In This Town - Eurythmics - 1986

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, medical mystery

* posted by me at 3:42 PM

(0) comments



2003-09-12 
 

downs n' ups

G's leg was doing better, but this morning's visit to the Dr. showed slight swelling and we need to go back tomorrow am for a followup. UGH! Been working more OT than usual to make up for the lost hours and it's making me a bit tired. At the same time, I wouldn't want anyone else but me in that little room with him when they're trying to take care of him. (they almost gave him a topical drug today which his chart clearly states could put him into anaphylactic shock...lovely) At least he's not in as much pain as he was earlier this week and the weekend should be rather restful. Full moon though...and a party on the top floor tomorrow night...might get a little crazy.

And now for super happy news: the new computer is here! Yay yay yay! G got it all set up for me, and now I'm typing away on it. SOOOO much quicker and more happy making than the old one...can't even begin to express. This weekend I plan to search for the FTP software which will allow me to finally get the back pages of the site updated. Problem being that it's about fifty bucks and I'm being very good and not spending money I don't have. Patience all around seems to be the word for the week.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g, medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:22 AM

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2003-09-10 
 

hurting the ones you love

Got to sleep in a bit for the second day in a row...had originally planned to be up in Harbin Hot Springs for a mini break, but G's hole in his leg would've made that more agony then restful so we cancelled and spent the time here letting him recoop and doing this and that around home and very locally. (It's good to get him walking around a bit, but we don't want to push it until hearing more from the doctor on Thursday.) Want to say a hearty thanks to Nurse C since he not only gave us wound care tips, but assisted and talked me through it yesterday when I had to change the dressing and clean out the hole. It's on the back of G's leg, so he can't really get a good look at it to do anything himself. This leaves me to take care of it...not a happy task, but I'd rather do it and have him get better than any other option.

For those of you wondering why it's up to me to clean out the wound with some monster cotton swab, swish in some sterile water and then poke it full of seaweed, let me remind you that our healthcare system sucks. I pray you never have to depend upon the system, because, unless you have bundles of cash, the system depends on you to get it done yourself and honestly would probably be glad to have one less person around to bother it if you screw up. Thanks again to Nurse C, and prayers out to those in need that they too have a good friend around to help out.

Today I flew solo on the cleaning/dressing of the much healthier looking hole in G's leg. Other than the pain I was obviously causing him, it went ok. We headed over to Chow for some food to celebrate it being over for today and then to Crossroads for some retail therapy. We ended up trading in some jeans and tops that we never wear for for two cool sweaters and a funky hat. It's the little things in life.

In other news. Back to work tomorrow. Yuck.

Labels: dose of mikey, g, medical mystery, rant, shout out

* posted by me at 12:49 AM

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2003-09-07 
 

heart of gold

Got up super early again....well, for a Sunday it was super early. Spent 8-9:30 sharing the waiting room with the same sort of folks that were there yesterday.

Imagine this, we walk in to sit down and are treated to the musical stylings of a rap artist who's every other word is motherf**er. (This is not an exaggeration for the sake of a more exciting blog entry...the never ending chorus was something along the lines of the old Dr. Pepper tune with the aforementioned MoFo replacing the 'pepper'.) It was blasting from a neo-boombox being held up to a young lads ear. It looked a lot like a miniature version of the tape recorder I used to cherish as a teenager. Remember trying to tape songs of the radio on those things and getting all that amusing back ground noise? "Moran!"*

Anyway. It did make snoozing difficult, but overall a bit easier to block out than the elderly man yesterday who kept informing the room that he really needed to take off the bandages around his leg and put a gram or two of heroin inside his wound. "Cuz that'll keep the bastard from itchin' me!"

After a good twenty minutes of the mofo song (he kept rewinding, it really WAS like my old recorder), he suddenly switched it off and began stomping up and down the hallway muttering the lyrics to himself, kicking chairs and generally getting a bit ugly.

Fortunately, it wasn't very long before we were joined by a hooker wearing a leopard skin skirt and movie star sunglasses. She carried a heavy black pocketbook and a white faux-crocodile case of the sort that an old friend of mine once referred to as a stripper's right hand girl. A place to store a change of outfit, all the makeup and beauty products you'd ever want, and nifty secret compartments for money...or anything else you might not want flashed for the whole dressing room to see. Leopard girl walked in, whipped off her glasses, looked back into the hallway at Mr. Mofo and made a little perturbed moue. Walked out the opposite door and after a minute was back again. She smiled and said, "Well hi everyone!" to no one in particular. Within a minute of her settling herself down a few seats over from me, the young rapmeister, who had mysteriously quieted down about the same time she walked out, sauntered in to chat her up. She graciously accepted his comments on her youthful looks and 'tight' clothes. (Tight was being used here as a synonym for "hip" although the traditional meaning also applied in this case. I felt pretty 'tight' myself figuring this out.) Whether to keep the compliments coming or as a favor to the rest of us, I'm not quite sure, but she took him outside for a 'cigarette' and he came back looking quite pleased with himself and much quieter than before. He was called shortly thereafter and she stretched out and began to snooze.

A little more than an hour later we were called into the room, and I got to watch the nurse change the bandaging on G's leg. This was helpful since I'm going to have to do this myself on Tuesday. Ouch. The wound looks almost like someone took a paring knife and plunged it into G's leg. Judging from the amount of cotton rope/wound packing that the nurse took out, it could've been almost that deep. He was in intense pain since there was no anesthetic, but she seemed to be as gentle as possible. Tuesday I'm making sure he takes a double dose of codeine before I attempt to do the changing. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing, but it's hard to see someone you love in pain when it's yourself who's causing it.

I'm feeling a bit gentler towards humanity than I was yesterday.

*Two snaps up to Margaret Cho who nailed that memory on the head!

Labels: dose of mikey, g, medical mystery

* posted by me at 3:01 PM

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