Saturday, October 24, 2009

Random Observation

You know things in the auto industry are bad when they're offering a pumpkin with a test drive.

But it can't be all bad--you can get up to two per family.

Monday, October 19, 2009

A Random Act of Kindness

One day last week (Wednesday, if you must know) I left the hospital in somewhat less than a good mood. I'd just had another test in a seemingly endless array precipitated by the recent weight loss. There I was slightly irritated (ok, so that's not far from normal), when I made a right turn into a construction zone I hadn't previously noticed.

"Great. Frickem, frackem. I'm going to be even later. I just want to go home and take a nap. Grumble grumble whine. Effing great."

I noticed a flash of blue and yellow out of the corner of my eye. "Jeezus. Please don't be another symptom."

But, no, Mel. It's not actually all about you today.

The flash I saw was a construction worker who had dropped his equipment* and run to a woman preparing to cross the busy street. I watched as he gently tapped her on the arm and spoke to her. When she turned, I could see the long white cane in her right hand, stretching out to feel for the curb.

She answered him, tucked her hand under his arm and smiled as they crossed the street together, both chatting all the way.

I tend to be a little on the cynical side, but a lot of the time is to hide the fact that stuff like this makes me weepy. Or maybe it makes me weepy because I tend to be cynical. Either way, it was a lovely, touching thing to see and I drove home smiling, with nary a grumble.


* Please. I have no idea what it was. :-)

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Seriously. There's Nothing Wrong With Me!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about being oddly excited to go for my physical. It was, after all, the first time in years I wasn't dreading the first step of the process: the weighing in. I'd gained . . . . well, let's just say a bit of weight since my late 20s. I realize that this is, in general, a normal part of aging (particularly for those of us not really into the gym culture), but that doesn't mean that I have to like it.

Anyway, quick recap: from around the end of July until the beginning of September I'd lost 10 pounds. The doctor wasn't really happy about that--apparently it's not normal--but agreed to let it go as I was happy and healthy. Caveat: I had to agree to come back if I lost 5-10 more in the next month. Three weeks later I was back, down another seven, rib cage on display.

In the past two weeks, I've had a full blood workup, a pelvic ultrasound (as unpleasant as I'd remembered from my two pregnancies), and a chest X-ray. So far, we've ruled out:

  • Gym-rat-itis
  • Leukemia ("WTF? You were looking for that?!")
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Uterine cancer
  • Anything having to do with my lungs
  • Thyroid disease (runs in my family)
Today I "got" to have an abdominal CT scan. Fun! You have to get there an hour and a half before your appointment time so that you can choke down of a delicious mixture of tang and iodine. They gave it to me two cups at a time, with instructions to finish it within half an hour. Then the tech brought two more cups. Half an hour later, praying that I wouldn't vomit, I finished the last drop, putting the cup down as if it were a shot glass on a bar. Done and done.

Not quite.

The tech brought two more cups. I yelped. Involuntarily and not quietly. Part of the reason I was there was because I have no appetite and feel full after just a few bites. 64 ounces of the Tang/Iodine cocktail wasn't going down easy. And while I didn't vomit, I have a sneaking suspicion as to why there are no potted plants in the waiting room.

I won't know anything until tomorrow at least. I'm not worried because I already know what the CT will show. Nothing--same as the rest of the tests. So this may be the one time when it really is all in my head--my body just decided to dump the weight and I'm OK with that.

Really.