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[ * 24 July to 30 November 2008 * ]
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* D E C E M B E R *
12 December 2008 / Friday -- the live Shiba Inu dog cam [they are a rare very active Japanese breed] that you read about in my previous news page is still on line, BUT now there are only three puppies remaining, the other three were adopted already -- in the following screen shots, 3 December 2008, they have two visitors who will take one home with them -- -- they brought along their child, who played with the critters and the puppies loved it -- -- the new owner takes a photo of one in the bed with his Apple iPhone -- -- here is a uTube Tribute video of the pups -- the following link is to the live web cam Comment Page where the owners chat with viewers and you can see old pics / clips of the adorable puppies --
On 4 December 2008 I went to the local LabCorp to get the blood and urine tests done for the doctor when I eventually get to visit him -- my winter cold is better now, but I still have runny eyes now and then
I called Joe the plumber several times but received no answer, so I called his son in Trenton who told me Joe is in Florida and will not return until the Trenton temperature goes back up to 60 degrees! The son said he would take care of what has too be done, but has not called me as of today
I took three loads of treasures to the Salvation Army this month and hope to have another two or more car fulls before the end of January 2009 -- got gas for the Honda on 9 December -- cost me $1.599 / gallon for a total of 10.26 gallons -- the previous fill up on 19 November 2008 cost $1.869, so it is now quite a bit cheaper than it was several weeks ago -- I finally got around to making my Christmas card list for 2008, but have to write them out yet -- no original card this year due to time constraints / putting it off because other things occupied my time -- I just finished the banner for my 2008 holiday page but have not started working on that traditional yearly page yet [done since about 1994] -- eBay gets suckier as the holidays approach -- in the last 60 days only 115 out of 205 items listed actually sold [about 43.9%] -- it is kinda depressing because I added a load of NEW treasures which took a lot of time to do the digital photos / scans [and process them] as well as my usual longish item descriptions
20 December 2008 / Saturday -- the start of my special holiday page is up and running, link below -- not a lot new other than it has been raining with some sleet and a little snow over the last couple days -- only twelve greeting cards received thus far -- it seems like a very slow holiday this year
The old link to the puppy cam has not been working, but I have another one that still works -- there are still three romping around on the LIVE CAM as of today
23 December 2008 / Tuesday -- yesterday morning at noon it was only 18 degrees outside, the car doors were frozen shut, but I eventually opened them to get to the post office to send out a bunch of eBay packages -- I shall send out the last batch [ EVERYTHING I have received payment for until then, even if I have not yet deposited the check / money order in my account, just to totally clear out my IN tray of eBay stuff to do ] hopefully tomorrow, 24 December -- the post office is only open until noon, so I have to make sure to get up early enough OR not sleep tonight at all -- we shall see how it works out. I made out a 2008 Jacquie Lawson eCard [ with personal message ] at about 03h today, sending it to just about everybody on my email list, as well as posting it on the two AOL message boards that I check out a couple times a day -- the link can be found on my Christmas 2008 page -- click the banner, below, to get there.
24 December 2008 / Wednesday -- Christmas Eve -- -- sooooo I got the eBay packages done [ I was naturally overjoyed ] -- about 07h when the temp outside was supposedly 52 degrees [WAY above freezing, of course], I happily went down stairs to get some cat food and litter out of the car -- as I stepped on the last cement step I slipped on ICE, [ it was covering everything and not visible ] falling on my right side and banging my right ankle on the step and sidewalk -- the car keys I had in my hand slid several feet away on the slippery surface. I was in absolute pain, able only to crawl to get the keys, then slither up the steps and somehow managed to get back up the flight of entrance stairs, painfully hobbling to my study. Hummmmm, I pondered, I do NOT need this to happen specifically now, when everything seemed to be going according to plan. I took two aspirins and waited until about 10:20, awkwardly pushing the postal bin filled with treasures along the floor up to the entrance stairway -- getting down to the door was yet a new task -- amazingly the postman was there with the mail and he placed the bin next to the car door for me, after listening to my horror story. I got the stuff pushed over on the front passenger seat, then attempting to maneuver my right foot to the brake / gas pedal area, which took quite a while -- I figured that since I could press my driving foot without too much grief, I could kinda drive to the post office and back. At this point a guy from down the street walked by and told me the right read tire needed air -- fut da wuck, what did I do to deserve this! OK, got the bin out of the car and put it in the entrance hallway so as not to drag the thing up stairs again. went to the fridge to get a CELEBREX capsule which I very infrequently use when my bad hip gives me trouble -- decided to snooze the best I could on the setup on my study floor -- got up at 15h -- pain still there. Sat at the computer until about 17h when I called Bernie at work -- they were just closing -- I briefly told him what happened, asking him if he could come over to take me to the Emergency Room about six minutes away. He arrived about half an hour later -- I gave him the postal bin asking if he would pleeze take it to the post office for me on Friday so that the winners would not be emailing me incessantly asking where the hell is what they paid for -- also gave him some auction wine catalogues that he could give to the clients at the liquor store he manages, plus an external hard drive he can use to back up his iMac files ... he helped me get into the passenger seat and off we went.
He deposited me inside and left -- poor Bernie, I am sure he had other activities planned back home for the pre holidays. There was only one other pair of peeps sitting in the waiting room -- I filled out the brief paperwork -- they provided me with a wheelchair for convenience. My turn came up and I was wheeled into the admissions room, answering questions, getting my pulse / blood pressure checked [ it was normal, which surprised me somewhat ] -- then into the ER into a curtain enclosed bed space -- more paperwork, they made out the wrist band and other necessities -- I watched some animated holiday feature about reindeer / hungry wolves and their adventures when a doctor arrived and started checking out my right ankle -- I needed X-Rays, so that was the next holiday trip -- back to my bed, I had to lay on my stomach, which is always difficult with that bum hip of mine, while the MD did something unseen to my ankle -- when it was over he asked if I could get around in the apartment on crutches -- I could NOT place any weight on the right ankle -- they brought in a pair of aluminum crutches -- the nurse showed me how to use them [ which I already knew from years ago ] -- I have to call an orthopedic place on Friday, the day after Christmas, to make an appointment for them to look at my foot -- according to the X-Rays I seem to have a fractured ankle - malleolar -- a fiberglass splint was placed on the area, wrapped in some cloth bands, making the foot appear to be that of an ancient Egyptian mummy -- I asked a couple times what happened to the reindeer, since the TV was turned off through the latter procedures -- they did not know what I was talking about, HE HE. They gave me a prescription for PERCOCET, 20 tabs -- when I mentioned that I had no way to get to my usual or any pharmacy, do they not have a supply there -- NO, but the nurse gave me two tablets, one to take when I got home [ which I have not taken yet ] and the other in two days, which was helpful. I had the option of remaining there overnight OR going home -- of course I chose the latter option, BUT how will I get home? I called Bernar on his cell phone, but only got the usual recorded message. I asked whether they know of some cab company that allows the use of a credit card -- NO. They talked with a supervisor and she handed me SIX dollar bills and said the taxi will arrive shortly -- miracles never cease! The driver accommodated me well, with the crutches, the cane I arrived with and the bag with the work boot I went there wearing / the four sheets of discharge instructions -- not a major problem getting into the taxi in the front passenger seat -- a passenger was sitting in the back seat and we picked up another along the winding route the cabby took -- the few times I have taken a taxi here in Trenton, they always seem to service multiple passengers on a single trip. I am home again, as you can see -- guess what I forgot to take with me when Bernar picked me up? MY KEYS -- luckily I wear a house key on the chain around my neck, problem solved.
I will take a narcotic Percocet after I finish this update, then get some shut eye again, probably for muchas horas -- hopefully the pain will have diminished before I awake. The cast has hardened somewhat already, I can still wiggle my toes, and it does not feel too tight -- now to the kitchen at the other end of the apartment to get something to munch on after this Christmas surprise gift ordeal. I hope to hell that your Christmas Eve was a LOT less traumatic. With my latest icy slip sliding adventure, I may be extra slow at updating stuff over the next week or two -- eBay will suffer too, just when I need it the most
25 December 2008 / Thursday -- Christmas Day -- -- I am finding it quite difficult to get around the apartment -- I use two of my adjustable metal canes, the right one lifts me up enough to move my left foot forward without putting pressure on the right fractured ankle, sort of anyways -- the crutches are a lot more cumbersome to use -- just getting from the study to the kitchen to feed the kittys and find something for myself to munch on is a major chore -- how the hell will I be able to clean the litter boxes / mop the freekin kitchen floor / put the trash out / go down to the front door to look for mail every day / get seated and up again from the really low toilet when I have to take a dump / take a shower, ad infinitum. I took one of those pills last night before snoozing and awoke at about noon -- the ankle is somewhat less painful depending on how it is positioned, at least I do not scream in pain when I move, which is a plus I guess -- this is kinda depressing to say the least -- here is a pic of my lovely gift wrapped right foot --
31 December 2008 / Wednesday -- New Years Eve -- on 23 December two more doggies left for their new homes -- my favorite one with the red collar, Amaya, was one of them, seen here waving goodbye to her loyal viewers -- -- she was always the most vivacious / daring -- the live cam has been transmitting reruns of old videos since then, I assume until the breeders change things around so we can watch the pup they kept and perhaps her mommy.
I had an appointment with Trenton Orthopedics on Monday, 29 December 2008, yesterday -- Bernar called to tell me he would be right over to get mua -- both he AND his boss, the owner of the liquor stores arrived in the latter's import SUV -- I slide in the back seat ... when we had traveled some twenty blocks he asks me for the name and addy of the place -- I gave it to him on an index card some daze ago -- his boss thoughtfully / quietly suggests that they have to be somewhere distant by 11h, so they will just schlep me along and I can languish in the car while they do whatever they have to do -- I thought, why not, the day was sunny / bright and kinda warmish -- we went through roads I had not ridden on in ages, through a smallish neato renovated town, Freehold, New Jersey, home of a race track and an Apple Store -- we wound up at an undertakers -- they both got out and I kinda watched the comings and goings -- eventually cars started lining up to go to the cemetery, some distance away -- I then asked my benefactors WHO croaked ... you knew him, Scotty !! I sure as heil DID know him about ten years ago, his AOL screen name is still on my Buddy List [I am sorry that I did not keep in contact more often, maybe I could have changed things for the positive] -- a delightful fun loving dude who got one of the Siamese kittys I was breeding then -- I had not heard anything about him since those bygone tymes -- as I waited for the pallbearers and the coffin, a guy from the funeral home carries a smallish box of some sort to the designated grave site -- to make a shaggy doggy story shortish, Scotty, who just reached the age of 35 frigid eastern winters, died totally emaciated via drugs / booze, there was nothing to see at the viewing, thus he was cremated -- I was shocked, but sadly in this supposedly enlightened day and age, drugs and booze continue to kill peeps in their prime -- it is a VERY negative reflection on this superior culture / society we are supposed to so thrilled to be a part of
On the way back to my place Bernar noticed that my right leg where the cast was situated looked VERY swollen and discolored -- I should do something about it asap -- he returned later that afternoon in his car to spend a couple hours thoroughly cleaning the kitchen and to return me to the Emergency Room after putting out all the trash -- he gave me the receipts for the two bins of packages he took to the Post Office for me -- it was already dark when we arrived -- Bernar got me into a wheelchair and helped me fill out the initial Traige form -- there were MANY people ahead of me, the wait was about an hour [after arriving at 17:30h] -- then back into the curtain closed examination beds -- totally different staff on duty -- they removed the cast / splint and found a swollen lower right leg -- a blood test was performed to see if an infection had set in -- then an EKG -- after a while I was off to the Ultrasound department [they thought there might be a blood clot in the leg] -- up several floors my bed was pushed -- the lady technician squirted some slimy stuff up and down from my fuzzies to just below the right knee -- a lengthy procedure it was, pushing down with the scanner / sliding it up and down / squeezing my leg -- at times I heard gurgling sounds which seemed to be heart beats [they sounded kinda normal to me, no irregular intervals] -- I asked the gal several times if I could watch the scans on the monitor, but she never replied -- then back down to my original cubicle -- for some reason the staff visits seemed to take forever -- while waiting, several handcuffed prisoners were brought in by armed guards -- they were basically dressed in underwear / gray leisure pants & top -- they ALL walked on their own, none had to be carried in -- I saw NO really emergency cases with blood all over the place or heads falling off, at least in my section. OK, they put a drip antibiotic in my arm and prescribed Keflex and a refill of the Percocet -- I asked several times for the X-Rays they took on Christmas Eve so I could take them to the Orthopedics Center, but they never arrived -- now came time to resplint / bandage my ankle / leg -- why did they not wash or clean the swollen / infected leg BEFORE redoing the wrapping -- the foot even smelled rancid because it was not washed since about 23 December -- a seemingly newish male starts putting some gauze over my toes, but the toes are supposed to kinda stick out -- the one who did the EKG comes over -- I asked him how the chart came out -- he did not even remember me from a couple hours ago, saying that he only does the computer part, some specialist analyzes the results [which he did not have -- I find it weird that there appears to be very little communication among the health care workers even though all their records are on computer databases -- they could NOT find anything about my visit on Christmas Eve, only a couple days before!
It was finally wrapped up, I was given a couple pages of Discharge info [it was now about midnight], they called a cab for me [it cost $7 this time, a dollar more than the pre Christmas trip] -- at home I basically just went to bed -- the next day I called Bernar again about the new prescriptions and the new appointment with the Orthopedic Center for 10:50, Friday, 2 January 2009 -- at slightly after 23h he returned with the meds and took out a couple more large boxes to put out at the curb across the street -- this is what the ratty foot package looks like --
the front bandage has some eight inches not fixed to anything, it just flops around when I walk -- as you can see, the gauze under the elastic wrap is very frazzled along the top part -- Bernar used duct tape around the front part to keep it fastened Hopefully the leg does not get any worse before Friday.
Since I have been cooped up inside for many days, I finally got around to updating my special Christmas page, with info on the surprise gifts received -- thus far twenty - six holiday greetings have arrived -- I also worked on the totally new banners and stuff for my 2009 YES news section -- the following is only a teaser, the page will probably not appear for at least a week
Please have a happy and SAFE New Years celebration, everyone
2 January 2009 / Friday -- I called my trusty cab guy three times to get me to the orthopedics center -- it took him over an hour to get here -- we found the medical / business complex BUT, as frequently happens around here, it is an acres wide expanse of low building groups each with a different letter / number designation -- we rode around checking out signs -- he finally dropped me off [about noon, over an hour late] at the correct letter building, BUT where I had to go was way at the other end of a really frigid windy open walkway! Once inside I explained my lateness, filled out a bunch of forms and waited a short while to be called -- the cast / wrapping were removed -- the foot did not seem any worse than the last time -- doctor arrives, says I need an operation, possibly a plate on the right side and a screw on the left -- I had to bring them the X-Rays taken at the emergency room on Christmas Eve -- hang on there, fow da wuck does he know I need an operation if he does not have the X-Rays? Ohhhh, he says, he has them on his computer -- I ask to see them -- he makes some grunting sounds and leaves / another doctor comes over to have a look -- I should have charged admission to the show or something! That one departs and yet another MD appears -- same looking at the foot, idle chitchat -- a gal arrives to put on a new fiberglass splint and wrappings -- I suggest that she first wash foot since it has not been cleaned for about two weeks already -- this she superficially does, removing all the built up fuzz and stuff since the first cast -- then I thought she would run out of cotton batting / wrapping gauze because she kept piling it on -- how am I supposed to remove / put on my pants if every time they make the dumb ass cast larger than the first time?? She simply replies that I can CUT the pants leg if removal problems arise [which they sure as hell would] -- I said I do not have money to constantly buy new clothes because I chop the old ones up! The higher they put the cast, the higher the swelling seems to go -- if this keeps up I may end up with an ass three times the size I already have!
In summary, that place does NOT have the original X-Rays, nor the blood test / EKG / ultrasound results from the two emergency room visits -- they told me they would take new X-Rays, to which I replied that I am NOT a guinea pig to see how much radiation my leg can take before it falls off -- pre operation tests would have to be made, the exact same ones already done, at least a week in advance of potential surgery -- it is possible that I would be sent home the day after the operation, maybe, WITH a new cast setup -- recovery would take some two to three months, the exact same time if I simply allowed the theoretical fractures to heal on their own -- I get along nicely already in the apartment, hindered somewhat ONLY by the damn cast -- why do I suspish that all this crap is simply to pad the Medicare / health insurance bills and increase the doctor/s profits? Apparently it happens all the time in this make a buck as fast as you can country, causing health insurance rates to rise.
I called the cab at about 14h -- had to call again because it was snowing outside / was way too cold to be standing waiting at the end of the walkway for the guy to appear -- a friend of his finally showed up in a different cab -- could he take me on a quicky trip to the bank to deposit my miserly pension check so that the bank would not charge me their usurious BELOW MINIMUM DEPOSIT fee when a bill I already sent out got to them, leaving me next to nothing in the account -- yes, he would charge me $25 -- unfortunately I only had $20 cash left to my name, so we scratched that idea.
Incidently, that Oxycodone = Percocet seems to have absolutely no weird effects on me, I do not go into trances / have hallucinations / I do not even have strange dreams -- I assume it does calm the pain, but the pain would subside anyways after a few days. The absolute ONLY thing that really bothers me are the ever expanding dumb casts. Oh, yes, and they keep telling me to keep my right ankle ABOVE my heart level to reduce swelling, when sitting / sleeping or whatever -- can anyone explain how the hell I can type at this iMac / sleep / move around / go to the bathroom / clean out the kitty litter boxes / find stuff to scan for eBay / prepare the little food I have been eating / ad infinitum with my right foot dangling above me?? Do I look like a circus freak or what?
The brief snow shower ended -- it is now 30 degrees outside, going down to the low twenties this evening
One of the nicest posters on an AOL message board died just before Christmas -- click the image for his Memorial page
3 January 2009 / Saturday --
Twenty - nine snail mail Christmas greetings have been received thus far -- as usual I have NOT counted any and all related email / cyber holiday messages, even distantly related / plus photos, that are all stashed in the Xmas 2008 folder on my desktop -- it now contains a total of one hundred and twenty - two entries
below you can see my 2008 Christmas card display over the windows above / to the right of my desk -- see if you can find the one you sent me among them -- it does not come down until the end of 2009 when the first new greetings start coming in
3 January 2009 / Saturday -- I am finishing this 2008 news page here -- for 2009 reports you can now go to the freshly designed new page -- click on the banner to get there
My traditional Holiday page is found below -- click on the banner
Countdown to Los Reyes Magos
Please visit my special page
MIDI audio files of 22 Traditional Christmas Carols have now been added !
God Bless !
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