24/7 Chat About Anything

[maki2]

A more normal Southwest Arizona wind pattern today. Warming temperature in mid afternoon meaning wind also increasing strength and both the temperature and wind dropping off at sunset. It certainly is nice to have more air moving when it gets hotter. No complaints about that.

I at least got one chore done today. Replacing my cracked tail light on my Honda Element. I had ordered it from Amazon while in Yuma as there was a locker large enough to hold the box it shipped in. But I did not want that box blocking the view out my back window on the drive north. So replacing the light was high priority on a pleasant morning without strong wind.

If tomorrow morning is a repeat for weather I want to unload and sort and reload the stuff in my “garage” meaning the back of my compact SUV tow vehicle. I will miss having my popup screen shelter for that job, it made it easier having a wind sheltered spot to sort and organize things.

Hopefully when done with organizing I will have a pile of stuff to take to town to donate at a thrift store and some to put in the trash as well.

 

[Happy Camper]

The lady you talked to might have found it along the way and gave it to you. Or left it on accident.

 

[Morgana]

I think this should win some kind of double-speak prize:

"As a courtesy to our patients ... Xxxx Medical Center will contact each patient the day prior to your scheduled [outpatient] surgery to verify the time you are to report to the hospital."

This doesn't mean they will remind you to show up. It means that they reserve the right to reschedule you, and your mandatory post-op caregiver/babysitter, up to the last minute. Because God forbid the doctor should lose the chance to squeeze in another Medicare fee or get to the golf course early.

As a courtesy to patients? seriously? LOL "What if they gave a surgery and nobody came [because they didn't know they'd been rescheduled]?" Even Medicare would probably balk at paying for that.

I think (hope!) the doc is basically competent. But bedside manner, treating the whole patient, communicating, all that frilly stuff -- has definitely gone out the window. Well, medical people have their own problems these days, I suppose I should be a little understanding ... cataract surgery Thursday wish me luck!

 

[vanbrat]

If all goes well we hope to be traveling to that area in about 3 weeks I hope it is not to hot yet.....

 

[vanbrat]

I think this should win some kind of double-speak prize:

"As a courtesy to our patients ... Xxxx Medical Center will contact each patient the day prior to your scheduled [outpatient] surgery to verify the time you are to report to the hospital."

This doesn't mean they will remind you to show up. It means that they reserve the right to reschedule you, and your mandatory post-op caregiver/babysitter, up to the last minute. Because God forbid the doctor should lose the chance to squeeze in another Medicare fee or get to the golf course early.

As a courtesy to patients? seriously? LOL "What if they gave a surgery and nobody came [because they didn't know they'd been rescheduled]?" Even Medicare would probably balk at paying for that.

I think (hope!) the doc is basically competent. But bedside manner, treating the whole patient, communicating, all that frilly stuff -- has definitely gone out the window. Well, medical people have their own problems these days, I suppose I should be a little understanding ... cataract surgery Thursday wish me luck!

Good luck and all that

 

[[email protected]]

Morgana, I hope everything goes well for your surgery. You are in our thoughts.

 

[bullfrog !]

Best wishes and good luck!

 

[Morgana]

Thank you guys !

 

[Happy Camper]

They started doing the day before calls because in general, some people are bad with scheduling, even for major events.

I would rather they do the day before calls and ensure that they have a patient to serve, than call extra patients in just in case someone doesn't show up. Then everyone is waiting extra and nobody is happy.

Good luck on your cataract surgery. You got this.

Had 2 discs replaced last Friday and can't really complain. And yes they did call the day before lol.

 

[maki2]

Had 2 discs replaced last Friday and can't really complain. And yes they did call the day before lol.

Great that you could have that surgery option. I hope you get fantastic results.

Too bad for me that disc replacement was not available in 1984 when they needed to remove 2 of my disc. My only option now will be a fusion should I become disabled with pain. But I am not there and not in constant pain either.

 

[DrivenNomad]

I think this should win some kind of double-speak prize:

"As a courtesy to our patients ... Xxxx Medical Center will contact each patient the day prior to your scheduled [outpatient] surgery to verify the time you are to report to the hospital."

This doesn't mean they will remind you to show up. It means that they reserve the right to reschedule you, and your mandatory post-op caregiver/babysitter, up to the last minute. Because God forbid the doctor should lose the chance to squeeze in another Medicare fee or get to the golf course early.

As a courtesy to patients? seriously? LOL "What if they gave a surgery and nobody came [because they didn't know they'd been rescheduled]?" Even Medicare would probably balk at paying for that.

I think (hope!) the doc is basically competent. But bedside manner, treating the whole patient, communicating, all that frilly stuff -- has definitely gone out the window. Well, medical people have their own problems these days, I suppose I should be a little understanding ... cataract surgery Thursday wish me luck!

Hey Morgana,
First time commenting here, but been working in the background for a long time. Just saw your note about preparing for cataract surgery and I wanted to let you know that I just had my 2nd eye done a week ago after having my. 1st one done last October.
Have to tell you i've never done anything that was so worth while. I'm 71 now and been wearing glasses since I was about 13. It is so strange to walk around, and have perfect vision at least for distance. Still getting used to needing readers for anything within arms length but it's worth it believe me.
Don't sweat the surgery I was in-and-out of the operating room literally in 20 minutes and you go home the same day and you can see the next day. Never felt the thing and don't remember anything. Today is day 6 since the surgery for me and finally this morning my vision is really crystallizing. It was blurry and foggy the 1st day or 2, but my good eye was able to overcome it and I was still able to drive myself home the next day.
I am in Pahrump now and I went to Vegas for the surgery but rather than arrange for a driver to take me back-and-forth twice in 2 days, I was able to talk the people at the surgery center into letting me park my rig in the parking lot there and just walk to it after my surgery and then drive out the next morning.
Slick!
Anyway, just wanted to wish you a good luck and assure you you'll be happy you did it!

 

[Morgana]

, I was able to talk the people at the surgery center into letting me park my rig in the parking lot there and just walk to it after my surgery and then drive out the next morning.

Now that is an awesome new wrinkle on nomadism! Dang, I shoulda rented an RV! Thanks for sharing your experience too. It does seem like if you must have surgery, this is a good one to have to have.

 

[Happy Camper]

Great that you could have that surgery option. I hope you get fantastic results.

Too bad for me that disc replacement was not available in 1984 when they needed to remove 2 of my disc. My only option now will be a fusion should I become disabled with pain. But I am not there and not in constant pain either.

Thank you!

So far the results have been good, considering it's only been a week. Mine were upper back C3-4 and C5-6. I think if they were lower it would be a different story.

I do have issues at T7-8, but I'm not touching that one. They said they would be a fusion if I did it. Not appealing.

 

[maki2]

The worst part of cataract surgery is the dry scratchy feeling in your eye the first 5 or so days.

I have had seven eye surgeries so far. For all of them that first week is very annoyingly uncomfortable but not actually pain filled. The Cortisone drops help. I finally learned to ask for an Ambien prescription to take at night that first week. It is a whole lot easier to sleep with that sleep aid. Get some audio books and relax and keep your eyes closed as much as you can the first few days.

 

[Frood]

The problem I have is that my home base does not get rain during the summer, so plants do indeed need tending during the summer. Hence I have been looking at commercial dry land farming for ideas of what to grow in the (long neglected) raised beds that are there. Water on the property is currently part of the plan, but the person who needs to take action is a) not me and b) known for having his ambition run far in advance of his ability to get 'er done. It's, um, interesting.

Yeah. I'm considering how to automate irrigation. Most of the land I could afford will require irrigation due to lack of rain. Unfortunately most of the land that is also in the same place I want to spend most of my time is pricy. I love the ocean so intend to travel the coast extensively. Western NV, eastern OR is where I'm likely to get land since you can still get moderately affordable land there.

 

[Frood]

Today when I went out before heading into town I did a walk around of my car and trailer. In the track of the sliding window we were talking through there was an 8mm Allen wrench. Very strange thing to be there. It is not mine, I worked on the outside of that window last week and it was not there so I know it had to have been very recently placed there.

This seems rather ominous to me. Did you do a walk-around on your trailer as well to make sure there was no tampering?

 

[Morgana]

If that's the window you were talking to someone through, then one possibility is that they thought you'd dropped it and that was a good place to leave it where you'd see it without tripping over it -- iow just a courtesy.

 

[maki2]

The idea that I could actually be tripped by a small Allen wrench has me laughing. It was definetly not a trip hazard.

 

[maki2]

Frood, yes I did a full walk around the next morning. Looking for any potential signs of tampering tires, stabilizer jacks, locks, solar panel, wires, items left behind, etc. That is how I spotted the Allen Wrench in the window track.

For sure it was not there earlier as I had worked to replace a seal on the vertical bar on the sliding window that the wrench was leaning against. While working on reinstalling that bar I had dropped a screw and did a down on my knees, wide area search of the ground looking for that very small screw. I never did find the screw but for sure would have spotted that silver Allen wrench if had been anywhere in the vicinity.

 

[Morgana]

It's either big enough to trip on or small enough to inadvertently kick to the side. The point was that the placement could very easily have been a simple courtesy.