For years I kept journals -- in composition, spiral bound, and French graph paper books. This blog is an attempt to get back to writing and documenting the world around me using photos, newspaper headlines, and other articles.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Goodbye January!

I'm ready to see this month end.  It hasn't been an easy few weeks.  I didn't get the promotion that would have been swell and that would have allowed me to return to day shift.  We've had bitter cold and not much new snow.  And all three of us have had health issues.

When we returned from Toronto, Nedim had odd pain that seemed like kidney stones to me.  After many tests of varying kinds, nothing was found to be wrong.  Great that he didn't have anything bad going on, but mysterious as to why he was having pain.

Then just over two weeks ago I was at work when I had a pain attack in my left side.  It was the wrap around pain of kidney stones.  I filled out a leave slip, told my team that I was leaving, and lit out to the emergency room.  Luckily it happened on a Wednesday night so Mom was at the house with Selim and Nedim was free to meet me at the hospital.  A bag of fluids in my IV and some pain medication eased my symptoms and I came home later in the evening.

The next day, Mom stayed until Selim came home from school and she took him home with her.  He didn't have school on Friday, an extended Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and I didn't have work either.  I was able to see my doctor and have tests done at the hospital while Selim tagged along with Jacob at Sant Bani, including the Friday afternoon skiing program.  Snow on Saturday prevented me from driving over to the Ashram to pick him up.  But by Sunday the roads were clear and I made my way over to Mom and Robert's in time to watch the Patriots lose to the Broncos in the AFC Championship game.  Boo, hiss.

Monday we came home and I had an afternoon appointment with the urologist who performed surgery on my last kidney stone in 2006.  He was confused when I told him that the pain had been on my left side because the tests from the hospital indicated that I had two stones on my right.  He sent be back to the hospital for an x-ray and set up an out patient lithotripsy procedure for January 30th.

Three days later, Selim came home with a swollen left side of his face.  He wasn't hit with anything, no random gym injury...nothing.  He went to his math group in a different room and when he got back to his regular classroom his teacher asked him what happened to his face.  Mystery.  Friday, I took him out of school before lunch and we went to the doctor.  He didn't know what was going on.  Spider bite?  Allergy -- but to half his face?  May be a tooth issue.  The doctor didn't seem overly concerned.  He wrote out a prescription for a sinus x-ray in case Selim developed pain over the weekend.

By Monday his face was back to normal and he had an appointment with the dentist for his regular teeth cleaning.  The dentist said that it could have been tooth related in that he has molars that are ready to come down.  But if the swelling returns, it could be an abscess tooth and we should bring him back in.

Finally, yesterday I had my procedure.  I chose this option because it was non-invasive and it did not require a stent to be put in, even thought he success rate was only 80%.  I figured if it didn't work, we could go to plan B and have the basket surgery as I've had the other two times.  I was willing to try anything that would not require the stent.  The odd thing about my first bout with pain was that nothing was found on my left side.  The two kidney stones were in my right side.  Who knows why the pain manifested in my left.

There has been so much discussion on health care for the past few years.  Both sides of the political divide employed scare tactics and put out less than honest ads.  The Affordable Care Act passed into law and was challenged in the courts and deemed legal.  I don't know all the details as health care is no longer in my daily portfolio.  Working in the HR field for six years, I sat in on insurance pitches, reviewed health insurance contracts and bids.  I explained plan changes to employees and was up to date on most things insurance related.  But no more.  So I don't know the ins and outs of the ACA.  I just know that we have a crazy system and much of America believes it needed reform. Whether or not the most recent legislation has helped in meaningful ways, time will tell.  I'm sure once the changes have had time to make an impact, we will have a better sense of what aspects will be tweaked and what will be scrapped all together.  But at least it is a start.  All I know is that life would have been infinitely more difficult this month had I been worrying about the cost of every appointment, test, and hospital charge that my family has incurred this month alone, had we not had insurance to cover the majority of the costs.

The first time I had kidney stone surgery in the 1990's, I did not have health insurance.  I paid for all the rounds of x-rays, doctor visits, urology appointments, surgical fees, anesthesiologist bills, and much of the hospital charge myself.  I was working part time, trying to finish my master's degree, house sitting on Squam Lake -- and just getting by.  It took my over a year to pay off the bills.  I ended up writing to the Concord Hospital charity department and asked for forgiveness on the rest of my bill because I could not pay for it.  They did forgive the last few thousand.  What a relief that I am still remember with gratitude.

So I am ready to leave January in the dust.  Goodbye kidney stone.  No more child with swollen face.  Adios mysterious pain for my hubby.  I'm ready for a new month, and better health for all.


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Toronto

We lucked out in our trip to Toronto.  We arrived after the ice storm and left the morning that the arctic air blew in to town.  Our drive started in snow, both on the way to the Schongalla day after Christmas reunion in Sudbury, MA and then as we left that gathering on our way west.  I think the snow had ended before we hit the ascent into the Berkshires.  Traffic was light, Nedim and I were both wide awake, so we pushed on and drove to Toronto Thursday night, crossing into Canada around 1:00 am and arriving in the city around 2:30 Friday morning.

The city was still recovering from the ice storm.  There were people staying in the hotel that had not had power in their own homes for five days.  I am not a good pioneer woman and my heart went out those families.  Mid morning we drove over to Tyler and Natalie's.  Their apartment had maintained power throughout the storm.  As we were sitting in the living room, unwrapping presents, their power went out.  Hoping we didn't jinx the power situation, we left around 2:30 to go back to the hotel for a swim.  As we drove away, the power was being restored nearby.  We could tell -- the traffic lights started working and we watched them come to life one after the other as we drove down the road.

Before we could swim, I had to buy a bathing suit.  I made a great list before we left, but I forgot to look at it Thursday morning.  I had been so focused on getting all the Christmas stuff ready for the Schongalla gathering, that didn't review it before driving away.  Luckily, there was a Sears a few blocks away from the hotel.  They were having a going out of business sale and I mixed and matched a suit bottom and top, not caring too much about style.  For $30, I didn't do too badly.

It felt so good to get into the water.  We had been in the car for hours and hours and my muscles were tight.  The lap pool was nice, but the hot tub was better.  45 minutes was not enough time for Selim, but we had to get out and shower so that we could go back to Tyler's and have dinner.

Saturday morning we ate breakfast out of the hotel.  Apparently we hit on a Toronto institution, Fran's.  The food was plentiful and the price, just right.






For the day's activities, Nedim dropped us off with the family and then he went to visit his friend John.  Ten years ago, Nedim and I spent New Years in Toronto with John and his family.  We hadn't seen them since.  It was nice that John was around and that they could reconnect.  While he was doing his thing, we (Dad, Tyler, Natalie, Georgia, Selim and I) took the subway downtown to the ice rink in front of the old City Hall.

Georgia's first subway ride.

She slept through it.

Mosaic mural by the platform

Enough, Mom.

Grandfather and grandson

He humored me as I asked for yet another pose.


We brought our own skates and were able to enjoy the activity free. Skating there is akin to skating at Rockefeller Center.  It felt like a native thing to do, yet very touristy at the same time.  It was really fun.  Selim hasn't skated much on a rink.  He is more used to ponds and lakes and not the constant turning around an oval.  He did well and didn't want the activity to end.  I cut it short because it was getting past the regular lunch time and I didn't want his chipmunk engine to run out and for him to get cranky.





We stayed long enough to see the Zamboni.


We walked across the street to the Eaton Center and ate lunch at the food court and did a little shopping.  Selim picked out a souvenir/Christmas present -- a Toronto hockey jersey.  Just as we were approaching the subway to go back home, Georgia woke up and decided to tell the world that she was hungry.  Good thing there were seats available in the back of the subway car where Natalie could have a bit of privacy and take care of her needs.



For the rest of the afternoon we played games and enjoyed the conversation that flowed around the apartment.  We left after dinner and went back to the pool.  I gave up on enforcing regular bed time schedule and let Selim enjoy the weather.




Sunday morning we went back to Fran's Restaurant for breakfast.  Selim had chocolate chip pancakes for the second day in a row.  I had oatmeal home fries again and Nedim had a huge omelet thing on a croissant.



After eating we walked around, enjoying the relative warmth and empty streets.

Decorations on Yonge St.

Reminded me of London

I love maps.

The CN Tower in the background.

Modern police station


But by 10:30, we were back in the pool.  11:30 rolled around and I had to coax Selim out of the water.  Sigh.  After showering and trying to rid ourselves of our chlorine smell, we were ready to meet up with the family.

We enjoyed a lazy afternoon in the apartment.  We watched football, played cards,



napped,



learned a new craft,



held the baby, and cooked (though not at the same time).

We said our goodbyes after dinner.  That was hard.  I don't like saying goodbye to family.  I'm glad we made the effort and took that road trip.  It is a dicey proposition in the winter, driving through Buffalo.  But the weather was kind to us and Selim was a real trooper.  I'm grateful that we could spend time together as a family, our small unit and then combined with the family at large.  I know I will remember moments from this trip for a long time to come.