Back to normal

It appears the Blogger send email function has finally been fixed after a month of it being broken.

So what's new with me?

My broken collarbone is healing well.  The doctor is pleased with my progress.  He said I can now lift up to 20 lbs with my arm.  Am I?  Well, I don't have a scale with me so I may go over that limit at times.  I also am supposed to be doing therapy.  Three times a week for 6 weeks.  I want therapy as I have movement limitations with my arm, but I'm not doing therapy on a regular basis.

First I had to find a therapist.  I asked around and a few days later settled on a therapist (actually the clinic).  Then the clinic wouldn't accept the therapy prescription from my orthopedic surgeon.  I am on Medicaid Expansion health plan and Medicaid's rules is that all health decisions go through my "passport" doctor.  So I had to get him to write a therapy prescription even though the orthopedic surgeon was most qualified to do so.

That took a few more days.

Then the therapy clinic is very busy.  I didn't have my first session until another 8 days.

The therapist was pleased/surprised at how well I was doing.  After the session he gave me a couple of exercises to do at home.  He wanted me to have once a week sessions.  I still haven't had my second therapy session.  Last week the therapist was booked solid and I was on a call list.  Monday morning the office called.  Could I be there in 25 minutes?

No.  I just got out of bed.

Tuesday the office called at noon and left a message asking if I could come on Wednesday.  I had a calf born that morning and didn't get to my phone until 2 pm.  Too late.  They already filled the opening.  I don't know if they ever called the rest of the week.  If they did, they didn't leave a message.

My therapy session for this week is Friday.  Instead of having therapy three times a week I seem to be having one session every other week.  Not a prescription for getting all my arm movement back.  I guess us poor people should be happy for the few crumbs we do get.


Donna, being a former nurse, thought that since my collarbone broke into five pieces it would be a good idea if I had a bone density scan.  The Passport doctor agreed when I asked him.

I was sent to the Women's health center to have a bone scan.  Apparently not many men have a bone scan.  Questions on my intake form:

1. Age of menopause
2. Are you pregnant?
3. Have you had a hysterectomy?
4. Have you had any ovaries removed?

Etc., etc.   Half the questions I marked "Not applicable".

Then the technicians had to scramble to find a loose pair of unisex pants that were long enough for me to wear.   I did just fit on their scanning machine.

The results?  I don't have osteoporosis but my bones are not as dense as they should be for a male.  Apparently the scale for men is based off a 20 year male.   A minus 2.5 is osteoporosis territory.   The four areas I was scanned for came to be:  -.02, -.04, -1.2 and -1.8.   Hmmmmm!   I now have to take calcium and Vitamin D supplements.

Speaking of medicine.... I have high blood pressure. Not too crazy as both parents had high blood pressure. I think all the bicycling I do and exercise delayed it in me.  The ER and orthopedic doctor office had dismissed my blood pressure high readings as due to pain.  The hospital where I had the surgury had said the high reading was due to anxiety over the surgery - though I don't think I was anxious about the surgery.

Now that I am on the medicine my blood pressure is lower.

Since I was at the doctor's office... I have a couple of thick toenails.  Now I am on medicine for that.

The medicines aren't giving strange dreams... it is just that I now daily remember the last dream I have when I wake up.

And remember the spindle cell proliferation growth on my hand from last year?  It grew back as the dermatologist didn't completely cut it out.  Well, I had my passport doctor remove it.  He cut a large divot in my hand to completely remove the growth then sewed my cut up with three stitches.  There is barely a scar now.

I'm getting old.  I'm not invincible any more.