That quote up there...too true. In a conversation I had with (son) Josh about getting that steroid shot in my hip he mentioned medicine's inclination to "grab the low hanging fruit," that is, snag the easiest explanation for the symptoms and then treat it with the most available medicine or procedure. Methinks the tendency for this is only increased by the normal 15 minute time allotment for seeing each patient.
When that easiest and most available treatment causes unwanted side effects we layer on another treatment to solve the new problem and continue layering until the house of cards crashes.
Patients (like me) certainly contribute to the problem by wanting immediate fixes to the list of symptoms. "Make me better, doc, and do it by tomorrow noon."
I read this morning that the U.S. is expected to drop a chunk in the new life expectancy ratings that will come out soon. Is our high level of medical treatment ineffective, or is it a contributing problem?
Never mind the very real question, "Is it a good thing to live ever longer?"
I'm falling into some new patterns. One is starting my blog post early, before the day's tasks begin in earnest. It's 5 a.m. now and I've been up for 90 minutes. The news sites are read, as are the car sites. Breakfast is made and consumed.
Because afternoons are still warm enough (mid-70s) to keep MoHo comfortable I'm building the fire each evening that I light in the morning. It was 58 in here when I got up but 66 now and rising steadily.
I also set up the coffee in the evening so the next morning's brew is ready to go.
Feeding the goats will take less time now that I don't have to mix a special mash for Sundae and her dietary needs. That's too bad. I'd gladly go back to the extra effort.
I'm driving out to Riverbend Hospital this morning to pick up a CD of Pam's angiogram they promised me would be ready. This will be our fourth attempt to get that medical record. I'm hoping my physical presence will be more effective than the faxed form, the emailed form, and the phone conversation, all of which were supposed to produce the record and didn't.
I should also have Sally back by the end of the day. I sure hope this fix works, 'cause I don't have a Plan B.
I wish this wasn't going to end up well beyond our budget. These are very simple cars, have panache, are climbing in value, and are reportedly easy and fun to drive. Some day I may go hunting for a reasonably priced example in decent condition.
Safety be damned. At my age.....
When Pam's gone and it's just me....
Of all the tasks and chores I do in her absence the one that I dislike the most is doing the dishes. I don't know why. It takes about 15 minutes, only has to be done once a day at the most, and isn't in any way gross or unpleasant. And as kids we always did the dishes, one of us washing while another dried and put away. So it's not like I struggle with the complexity of the task. I just find it somehow annoying.
But even more annoying is eating off of dirty plates and cooking b'fast in a greasy frying pan.
"Toxic masculinity." What a stupid term. It's just bad behavior, boorishness. It's a term that screams AGENDA!
We're finishing up Genesis this week in my class. You want toxic masculinity? Try the patriarchs! As Solomon said, there's nothing new under the sun. What was, is, and what is will be. No amount of hashtag movements is going to eliminate bad (sinful) behavior. Only changed hearts will do that, and only One can change hearts.
Dolly and Stella are out of sorts, very vocal, and looking around for a missing Sundae.
Pitiful.
It's now just shy of 7 p.m.
I went - alone - for Thursday night pizza but talked to Pam on the phone while I was there.
It's sort of like the goats; I keep looking around for her and she's not here. Pitiful.
I did get Sally back from Ron. He candidly admits that he can't guarantee his fix will work but he ran the engine for 15 minutes and it held. I'll track oil levels closely and hope they don't drop as quickly as they did with the bad seals.
I've got a cup of hot coffee to my left, the PBS News Hour in front of me, and no plans to do anything significant before I go to bed. My only goal is to not fall asleep here in my chair before then.
No comments:
Post a Comment