Confusion/frustration

Monday, January 26 started out as a beautiful morning. I had appointments for a PETscan and mammogram at 12:15 and an oncologist visit at 2:45. That should have worked well. I went first to the bank for some cash, then stopped at city hall to take some paperwork to Teresa from the Nazarene church. Medicare wants the church's insurance information, since I broke my ankle there.

Teresa asked me where one can buy the Weave-It looms I had shown her when she brought my floor loom back. She has had the same thought I have - to weave a bunch of small squares to be given/'sold' at this year's Walk through Bethlehem. She is thinking it will make a good youth group project. I have several of the looms they can borrow and lots of yran they can have.

As I left city hall, a city worker was spreading salt. I asked if he was expecting a lot, He said he had talked to his brother in Tulsa that morning, and they were getting the storm then. The storms always moove this way.

Then I went to the Senior Center and visited and knitted until time to go for the tests. They did the mammogram right away, and then sent me back out to the Radiology waiting room to wait to be called for the PETscan. I don't know what people do with knitting or a book when they have to wait somewhere. About 2:15 I told the Radiologist receptionist that I had the appointment upstairs with Dr Winkler at 2:45. She said that the delay was caused by someone parking in the wrong place and then disappearing. The PETscanner is a mobile unit and they had been unable to move it into place. I went upatairs and had blood drawn, blood pressure taken, etc. I decided that it was too late for them to do the scan, so I ate a granola bar. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, Radiology called to say that the machine was ready for me. I didn't know whether to go down for the scan or stay put for the medication, but Dr W said to go for the scan. On the way down in the elevator, I remembered the granola bar, so I told them about it in Radiology. They wouldn't do the scan because of it!

So I went back upstairs for medication. Of course they had taken me out of the line-up and had to work me back in. The nurse practioner explained that for the scan they inject a sugar and the test shows how much of it is absorbed by the cancer cells. Eating the granola bar changed the amout of sugar, and therefore the test results would be bogus. So I got my Velcade and went home.

Ice storms are not good for trees!

I'll have some pictures to post when I can get back on my own computer - I'm at the Graves County Library now.

On Tuesday, January 27, I was up before daylight for some reason. I made my coffee and toast and sat in my knitting spot. I heard noises on the front porch that sounded like an animal, but didn't see one when I looked out. When it got light enough to see, I realized that it was the branches of the holly tree rubbing the porch as they drooped because of ice-load.

My neighbor's huge, beautiful maple tree will no longer be beautiful. I think I've lost my lilac, but with they way lilacs like to send up suckers, I may be ablt to rejuvenate it. All day Tuesday and Tuesday night, I listened to tree limbs falling all around tiny town - some of them sounded like gunshots.

The power went out about 8 am. My furnace is gas, but it requires electricity to circulate the warm air. As the temperature dropped, I regretted not replacing the gas logs in the fireplace. They've been out of order for several years, and the heating guy had said it would probably be cheaper to replace them than fix the bad valve. Since I get my phone sevice through Galaxy Cablevision, electricity is required for it as well.

I had plenty of things that can be eaten cold - cheese, bread, cereal, milk, fruit, nuts, etc, so I wasn't going to starve, but no way to cook anything.

By 5:30 it was too dark to knit, so I threw a second down comforter on the bed and crawled in with a book and clip-on book light. I was nice and warm. I read for a while and then slept. It was cold when I got up to use the bathroom, but I warmed back up as soon as I was under the covers. I stayed there until daylight, which meant about fourteen hours in bed. I did that for three nights and would up with a sore upper back. That's too much time to spend in bed!

Wednesday, with several layers of clothes, I was not too uncomfortable, but my fingers were cold. I wore fingerless gloves, because I've heard that if your wrists are warm, your hands will be too. It ain't necessarily so! Keeping my fingers moving by knitting did help somewhat.

About midafternoon, I heard a knock on my back door. There was a little, white-haired lady standing there. She is a friend/family of Robbie next door and was at his house for hot food. He had asked her to check on me. She said she had heard that it woulf be seven to ten days before the power was restored. That really surprised me, because we've never had it out that long before.

On Thursday, I decided to drive to Mayfield, to see how things were there. There were some snowy/icy patches for the first few miles, but then they roads were clear. I went to the hospital for a cup of coffee. I hoped to get some hot food, as well, but all they had was tomato soup and sandwiches. At least chicken salad on a croissant was different from what I had been eating.

I discovered that Alyssa has a gas floor furnace that doesn't require elecrticity to circulate the air, and gas water heater and range. She and Trevor said to come stay with them. I went home, but every time I was awake during the night, I was coughing. I decided that I shouldn't be staying in a cold house, so Friday morning I packed up clothes, toiletries, medications, knitting and the meat from my freezer and headed to their house. I had to make friends with the dog, but that really didn't take long.

From the hospital, I called the Cancer Group to see if they were open. Since they were, I kept my appointment that afternoon.

God works in mysterious ways!

At the Cancer Group, they told me that eating that granola bar on Monday had saved me several thousand dollars! turns out that Medicare has not approved the PETscan for multiple myeloma, and therefore would not have paid for it. However, they have gotten me onto a study that Medicare is paying for, so I will have the test on Tuesday, February 3.

Much of Paducah has power, but traffic lights are spotty. People seem to be handling it well though.