paging doctor sidney smith, please

Dear Dr. Sydney P. Smith III,

You need to step in to your office from time to time.

Today, I went to the Georgia Skin & Cancer Clinic to have two more moles excised by Taylor Byrne, your clinician working there. 

This was my fourth visit, by the way, so I have some experience with her.

She also has some experience with me, as she is well aware now that patients on Eliquis need better cauterization to prevent bleeding.

The last time I was there had been July 1st.

That visit, like this one, had been to have two moles removed, as they were moderately displastic nevi on their way to ruin.

That visit had gone well, with me being seen at my appointment time.

The two moles were both on my back, near the spine, and the entire process had me out of there in about twenty minutes.

Not so this time.

 

I had arrived a bit early, hoping for another quick visit, and was the second client in the waiting room.

Within five minutes, I was ushered into one of the inner rooms to await Taylor Byrne.

The time was 11:22 AM.

I was left to my own entertainment....

which, in and of itself, is common...

but time ticked by 

with no one checking on me.

In fact, I took this photo of the Blue Angels

and sent it to my computer to make note.

The time was 11:39 AM.

It was then 9 minutes past my appointment.

I then wandered around in the small room,

looking at other framed photos,

wondering where Taylor Byrne might be,

wondering why she was not there with me

for my appointment. 

This photo of the acrobat was taken at 12:01 PM.

No one had yet reached out to me, even though I had opened the door and asked why I was not being seen on time.

Was it because I am a referral patient from the Savannah VA Center?

Was it because the VA Community Care system was paying for me to be there?

Does the clinic have a problem with treating veterans or military patients?

I have to wonder. 

The redheaded aide who marked this spot certainly seemed to be trying to raise a reaction from me as she dug around with the anesthesia needle.

That time was 12:04 PM, more than 30 minutes past my appointment time.

Taylor Byrne offered no explanation for her tardiness.

She did ask if I wanted to reschedule, even though I had already spent so much of my time for this one that she had botched.

I'm hoping that this time was well spent.

I'm not convinced that the correct mole on my leg was marked.

I guess I will see tomorrow when I remove the sloppy bandage that her assistant put over the cauterized wound.

Meanwhile, Dr. Smith, I expect better on any future visits.

I will certainly let the VA hospital in Charleston know how disrespected this US Navy veteran felt at this appointment.

Sincerely,

Faustina

 

bday gifts from the SavVA

This doesn't look like it contains almost $2000 worth of goods, does it?

Just an inconspicuous plastic delivery bag, right?

I'm just glad that I was home yesterday when it arrived.

If I'd left home before it was dropped off - with no one even knocking on my door - I would have been concerned.

The contents were the Eliquis, Lisinopril, and Levothyroxine for the next three months.

Thank you, the Savannah VA and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, for taking care of me.

Then, today, another package arrived, this time delivered by the post office, by my regular mailman.

He came at his regular time, even rattling my mailbox to let me know he left something for me.

He's such a sweetie!

I had not realized what was coming until I saw the box, though.

My new eyeglasses!!!

I picked the Blue Marble for the frames and just love it!

Thanks, Dr. Urban at the Sav VA, for setting me up!

finishing the day the way i'd planned

"Um... isn't that one of the sticky pads used for an EKG?"

 

Yes, it is. That and another one was still stuck to me after the orderly rolled me in a wheelchair to my car.

 

"An orderly?! You mean, like at a hospital? And why did they release you to your Subaru instead of to your brother or someone?"

 

Yes, an orderly, St. Joseph's Hospital, where I've been since yesterday afternoon. My PCP over at the Savannah VA sent me to the Emergency Room so they could do bloodwork and an ultrasound to check out my spleen. Those departments were already closed after 2 PM at the VA center.

So, to St. Joseph's I went, explaining what was needed. Instead, the on-call doctor (Dr. Salas) at the hospital mistakenly thought I was having a heart attack, even though none of the symptoms said that. Yet another case of someone looking at my weight and thinking the wrong thing. They did an EKG, a chest X-ray, and an MRI of pelvis and abdomen, as well as the blood draw. None of those, by the way, came back with any problems. 

Nonetheless, after keeping me NPO since my arrival at 4 PM, in case she thought my chest needed to be ripped open, she finally decided to check me out of the ER exam room and into a hospital room about 10:30 PM. And that was a shared room, so the woman in there was asleep when they wheeled me in. Such a nightmare.

I objected, of course, as I had plans for today, but they didn't listen.

 

"Oh, no! This was the day of luncheon at The Pirates' House with Sisters of Faith, wasn't it? With the trolley ride after? That you'd paid $50 for as part of your bday68 gift to yourself. Oh, no. Were you out in time for that?"

Oh, no. My lunch meal at the hospital, eventually, was a good one, a meal suitable for Thanksgiving, too. But I didn't get that until after 1 PM. No breakfast, nothing since the deli machine roast beef sandwich on white bread that an ER nurse gave me before shuttling me upstairs. (Sigh.) I woke up this morning to a cardiac stress test, as the new doc (Dr. Rice) was following along on that wrong trail, too. Anyway, that meant lying on a hard plastic table for the CT scan before the chemically-induced stress test, then lying back on that rigid surface for a post-test CT scan. I felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my kidneys.

Dr. William Crosland, the cardiac surgeon who'd actually seen me briefly back in 2022 (before I became Dr. Cobb's patient) came in and pronounced me good to go. Well, kinda sorta. He wanted to have an ultrasound of my heart, just to be on the safe side. The two techs - one with experience, one a student - did that after my turkey and dressing. That came out fine, too. I kept telling them my heart was good. Apparently, so was my spleen. All they found was a "mild urinary tract infection".

I kid you not.

 

"I still don't understand why they released you on your own today."

 

Because I asked. Nurse Jane had me call Smitty and Mary to come for me, and I asked her why I couldn't just drive myself home. After all, I'd not had a single drop or milligram of any opioid drugs, so I was fully cognizant. So, she asked and they okayed it! I called my brother and told him they were letting me drive myself, so no need for him to make the trip. That was good for both of us! That meant he wouldn't have to make a second trip to help me fetch my car.

"Good deal! I'm so glad you asked about that!"

 

Me, too. I phoned him, Tony, and Christina when I got to my car. Then I bopped over to the AMC. See, on Tuesday, I'd booked the Thursday, 2 PM, first screening of "The Mandalorian and Grogu", in 3-D Big-D, along with a kidpack, with a bottle of water and Junior Mints. That snack was free to me, as it made use of my AMC Reward points, plus a gift card from AARP.  

As I wasn't released from St. Joseph until just before 5 PM, that meant my reserved kidpack had been sitting on the rack, waiting for me, for 3 hours. My choice was to go and retrieve it or just kiss goodbye to that money, too, as I'd been forced to do for The Pirates' House luncheon with the Asbury Sisters. I was not willing to do that. 

 

"I understand."

Plus, I had an American Legion meeting to get to. This one was just for Post 36, my post, and I felt I had to be there. Something to eat and drink would be a good thing. As it was, just Doug and I showed up. He had his dog, Sam, there, too. We were the only people there until the Marines started showing up for their 7 PM meeting. Really nice to see them wearing their dress red jackets! I even talked to a couple of them, then ducked out. It's been a long couple of days, and nights, mostly in a 68 F environment, and I wanted to go home and get back into normalcy.

 

"I know what that means: the CBS line-up, with 'George & Mandy' and 'Ghosts', and "Elsbeth', right?"

 

Right. Nothing like being in a hospital to make a person exhausted. I look forward to being back in my warm little house, in my warm bed, tonight. Can you believe I had four "blankets" on my hospital bed and was still freezing? Just craziness.

 

"Well, you sleep well tonight, dear. You need that."

 

Thanks. Tomorrow is another day. I am thankful about one thing. Remember that I'd called Dr. Whipple's office about my leg still bothering me and my concern that the inguinal hernia was back? Well, I did, last week. This afternoon, about 2 PM, his office had called to talk about that. They were thrilled to find out that an MRI of my pelvis and abdomen had been run yesterday. That meant they wouldn't have to wait to order a new one, they could simply look at that one! That's one less doctor appointment for me.

 

"And you also know now that nothing bad was found with your heart or anything south of it. That's a pretty good birthday gift from the Universe."

 

Yes, you're right.

There are no accidents. 

i thank You, God.

vacay in georgetown with a footlong...

... chili cheese Coney! Hahahaha!

Just a little sexual innuendo to brighten the day!

I had not had one of these Sonic creations for years, so after the S&K Friday Fiesta at Texas Roadhouse was canceled due to crowds, I stopped in.

I didn't want to eat it with Stella around, so I sat in my car in Dawn's driveway.

Stella has a habit of lying on my foot, or touching it, to make sure I don't get away.

In my car, I could drink my Cherry Lime-ade in peace - aahhh!

As for the hotdog and the tater tots, they were okay, but I'm just not into fast food.

Then again, I had my first meeting with my new nutritionist this morning.

Alyn Rosales is down in Hinesville, so we had a Video meeting, with her spending an hour with me.

She wants me to eat three snacks a day, as well as three meals, being mindful of having more fruits and vegetables.

Cherries and limes are fruit... though I doubt either are truly in that Sonic drink!

Anyway, after I had dined, I went inside, knowing full well that "party on the patio" time had passed us by.

Still, I took Stella onto the back porch, to "wait for the party" to start.

We were out there thirty minutes!

No Coco ever came out, and I convinced the ridgeback that we hadn't missed it and they had decided not to do it.

Then I took her in and fed her and she was okay with the little lie I'd told.

That's no doubt due to me letting her chase the geese this morning.

We'd both noticed the adult geese up on the bank.

Of course, it had been impossible to ignore them, as they were all five honking up a storm right there!

So, while we were on the back porch, I encouraged her to go after them.

Hey, why not?

I knew they would be well out of her reach, and they were well away from the water, so there was no fear of Stella getting scum all over her.

Plus, she had been so patient during my video appointment - she deserved to have a bit of fun!

That was fun for both of us!

(smile!)

vacay in georgetown on may the fourth and cinco de mayo

I usually have a few folks that remind me of the day for lisping Jedi knights, but not this year.

Only my ex texted me for the occasion.

Thanks, Jeff, for starting my day with dancing Darth Vader!!!

I was only too glad to pass him along to brighten the lives of others! 

(smile!) 

I finished the rest of the Italian salad that Dawn had left in the fridge.

Salami! Pepperoncini!! Ham! Tomatoes!

I've really enjoyed that for the last three days.

The party on the patio was spent sans birds of any kind.

Susan, Terry, and I talked of food mostly, with them asking about meatballs in the freezer.

Sorry, Charlie, none of those!

Today's vacation film festival consisted of "Wreck It Ralph" and "Ralph Breaks The Internet", shown back to back on Freeform.

So good to hear my favorite Disney Princess song again!

(smile!) 

My Tina Tuesday just happened to coincide with several other events!

First off, this was the 25th anniversary for Smitty and Mary - woohoo, y'all!

Plus, this Cinco de Mayo was also a Taco Tuesday - that meant I needed to go to the store for Mexican food for dinner.

First, though, had an appointment with Dr. Diaz.

He's my neurologist at the Savannah VA Center and today was the discussion about the MRI results.

What a gorgeous day to be told that all was well with my brain!

He said there was some shrinkage, but totally normal for my age.

Woohoo!

Off to celebrate I went, with some other older folks at the AMC, there to see "The Devil Wears Prada 2", twenty years after the first one.

Those fresh faces of Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt have become the same as that of my 43-year-old first niece!

I had not realized they all shared her age.

As for Stanley Tucci, he's 65, like my brother Smitty.

And Meryl Streep is 76... just a couple of years behind my friend, Carolyn.  

Good movie, too!

Then, at last, to Publix for the makings of my south-of-the-border dinner!

I also picked up a few other items, like milk, and still saved $21.22 on my trip.

That's 30% off on groceries!

Plus, I took care of my appointment and movie and still returned in plenty of time for the party on the patio!

That made Stella happy.

She was on the back porch, waiting to rendezvous with Coco and her owners, for almost thirty minutes.

I sat out there with her, enjoying a glass of milk and the afternoon warmth.

Tonight, after dinner, I'll have a series of "How I Met Your Mother" to enjoy. 

Yes, life is good on vacation!

(smile!)

today, i was 1 of 5

I was invited to this forum about three weeks ago.

The Ralph Johnson Hospital in Charleston wanted to hear from veterans about their care with the Savannah VA Center.

Even though the time would be 9:45 AM, I agreed to take part.

Even though that meant I would have to rise by 7:30 AM, so I would have time to take my Synthroid, have breakfast, and drive southside.

Why did I make the choice to be there?

I believe that if I want the right to complain, then I must accept the responsibility to give praise.

So, I went.

Including me, there was a total of five veterans who chose to be there; 2 Navy, 2 Army, and 1 Air Force.

I'm not sure just how many were there from Charleston - perhaps 8? - as well as three from our VA center.

Jonathon Isaman, the Veteran Experience Assistant Chief, was in charge of the forum, taking names and asking questions.  

There were three, and each of us were asked them individually, making sure each of us had a voice.

That was nice.

 

The first question: "What was going right with our care?"

We liked the MyHealtheVet website (me) and app (the others) as it allowed us to contact our care team at our convenience, with a written record of our needs being addressed.

 

The second question: "What was going wrong with our care?"

By and large, it was the time lag involved with getting community care.

I told them about having to cancel my appointment with Dr. Cobb two days ago because the Community Care in Charleston had not responded to the RFS (Request For Service) from my cardiologist's office. 

The fax of the RFS form had been acknowledged as received by Charleston, both 4 weeks ago when it was initially sent, as well as Tuesday of last week, but nothing else had happened and the original Community Care Authorization had not yet been renewed.

I didn't understand why that CCA had to be renewed in the first place, as it was for continued care of my Atrial fibrillation, a condition which will require care by a cardiologist for the rest of my life.

I also told them that this was not the first time that the CCA for Dr. Cobb had been allowed by the VA to lapse in the years that I've been in his care since February of 2022.

Kirsten Danforth, the Chief of Community Care in Charleston, was there and was able to respond directly to my complaint.

I told her the name of the representative who was the liaison for Dr. Cobb's office and that seemed to be an issue, as she did not know that person.

Another person from Charleston spoke up, about them finding there were phone numbers that went to inactive mailboxes, as those people were no longer there, so they were trying to rectify that, with an end date of June to rectify the problem.

They would also make sure that anyone who was already approved for use as Community Care would receive updated contact lists.

Meanwhile, I asked, why couldn't an alert be sent to the veteran and their community care supplier when a CCA was due to expire, so the need could be addressed and a new CCA issued in a timely manner?

Oh, they all liked that idea!!!

In fact, Ms. Danforth said they would be instigating that right away!

Well, alrighty then!

(smile!)

 

The third question: "What improvement would we like to see?"

Mine was to make sure prescriptions were sent when I would be home.

I told them that when I ordered refills, I could make sure to be home, to prevent porch pirates from stealing them.

However, some of my prescriptions seemed to be on auto-refill and I would not know they were on their way until I received a text message.

That meant I had to try to shuffle my schedule at the last minute, which was not always possible.

Dr. Slappy, the Head of the Ralph Johnson Hospital, told me to let the pharmacy know that I wanted to "park" those prescriptions; that meant they would be held until I requested them.

Very good to know! 

The others hadn't known of that option, either.

 

In an hour, we were done.

I felt like we'd accomplished a lot, and I think some of the others did, too.

I know there was a fellow from Charleston who took notes the entire time.

I'd talked to him beforehand, explaining that I wanted to be on record for having been there so early in my day.

9 o'clock is usually when I wake up, not when I leave home and drive.

I even told him about watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings!

He replied that he watched Westerns.

"Oh," I said, "like 'The Wild, Wild West' on ME TV? I sometimes watch that, too, after the cartoons are done."

Yes, he did watch that old show, too.

Nice to have made that connection with him.

I'm glad I was there today... even though it's still a 'Saturday' for me.

As Frank told me so many years ago, in retirement, every day is Saturday.

But I know today is Wednesday for everyone else, so I stopped by Publix on the way home for the $5 sushi specials on this hump day.

Instead, I found chirashi with both tuna and salmon! 

A special treat!

(smile!) 

 

assorted sneakers in row of dryers

"What's that, dearie?"

That's part of what it sounded like. I had an MRI of my brain this afternoon, over at the Savannah VA Center. Part of the testing reminded me of the banging noise that sneakers make. Only thing is, the sound was much, much, much louder. I'm glad they gave me ear plugs, as I don't think I could have stood the din!

"Sneakers in a dryer... that's an interesting correlation."

I actually have Michael Kavanaugh to thank for that. He posted the above cartoon on fb and I happened to spot it. WASH 'n' DRY 'n' MRI, it says, in a laundromat with a twist!

"Oh, my. That's a pretty narrow channel for your body!"

Yes, it was. I was scrunched down onto this gurney, arms tight against my side and partly on my chest and abdomen, shoulders jabbed against these plastic knobs that held my head in place, and a sheet draped over my body to keep it all in place. They had what seemed like a catcher's mask over my face. Then they gave me a 'panic ball' to hold, telling me to keep my eyes closed and try not to breathe deeply during the the twenty-minute procedure. That was absolutely the longest twenty minutes of my life. The noisiest, too.

"A 'panic ball'! So you could have stopped the test at any time?"

Sure. However, I stayed the course. I've been waiting for almost two years for this MRI. Remember when I started having ophthalmogic migraines, back in 2019?  They began without any pain or headache, just psychedelic sunshower auras radiating out from my central vision, making it impossible to truly see anything and causing vertigo. The trip to the ER at Memorial Hospital involved a CT scan of my head, as well as other tests to rule out stroke or heart issues. The upshot was I needed to see an ophthalmologist. Ah, but first I must go to Charleston so the veteran hospital could rule for themselves what I needed. (It would be another few years before I would learn that the VA MISSION Act of 2018 gave me the right to have refused that and to insist on local community care instead.) 

"Does this story ever get to a current point?"

Well, last year, my ophthalmologist at the Savannah VA Center, Dr. Urban, asked if I was still having those ophthalmogic migraines or any blurriness in my vision. I told him I was! Very little of the sunshower stuff, but sudden blurriness for no reason several times a year. He said that originated from within my brain, not from my eyes, and he called them acephalgic migraines. He recommended that I see a neurologist and get an MRI. I passed that along to my PCP, Susan Barker, and she concurred. Finally, last December, I got that neurology appointment, with Dr. Diaz at the Savannah VA Center. He agreed that an MRI was warranted and today that came to pass. What an ordeal this has been!

"I'm glad you stayed with the process. You know how it works in the medical field, when you have to see a specialist. It just takes time, lots of time. So, when do you get to discuss the results with Dr. Diaz?"

That will be on May 5th. Becky and Maureen, the technicians, told me the results would be posted within 48 hours, so I may look at them before I see him. Right now, I just want to take a quiet break. As well as the din from the tumbling sneakers, there were periodic bursts that can only be likened to the shrill tornado alert drills that we get every month. Only these were very much louder, too. So loud!

"Fortunately, that's all done now. Just take a little down time and mellow out. Don't forget you have an American Legion meeting tonight, though. That's at 5:30 for the Two First Posts."

Got it. I hope that will be the last one!

surprise! chili cookoff!!!

There I was at the Savannah VA Center for my first meeting with my new PCP, LPN Tiffiny Duchene.

All went well, too, and she was thrilled with my lab results!

Total cholesterol was just 153, my TSH was right where it should be, and even my Vitamin D level was good.

Plus, my blood pressure was 124/82, so that was good, too.

I told her about the increased tremor in my left hand and asked her about changing my blood pressure med from Ramipril to Lisinipril - done!

I told her about some of my moles being crusty and dark and asked if I could get a dermatology consult - yes, she would do that!

I told her about the upcoming hernia repair and those appointments and she made sure those were reflected on my chart.

I even asked her about getting a temporary handicapped parking permit because of that inguinal hernia... and she'll have it for me next week!

Wow!

I felt like I'd just visited my fairy godmother!

Then I went to the desk to make my appointment to see her again in the fall and wound up invited to the chili cookoff that was going on.

How about that!

As shown above, there were four contenders, so I used different little cups and spoons for each to keep from affecting the tastes. 

The first was a bit bland, but had beans and some beef.

The second had a good mix of beef and beans, as well as cumin and cocoa!

The third was a traditional chili, with plenty of heat as well as corn.

The fourth had a lot of beef in a thinner broth; as I told the other two people, it would be very good on garlic toast!

After I voted for my three favorites, I was invited to stay and have lunch.

My bowl had mostly #2, but with a dollop of #3 to spice it up.

Very nice!

And the nurse who made #4 gave me a cup of it for home so I could try it out on toast!

How very kind of her!

Now, I'm off to see the latest McKenna Grace movie, "Slanted", which looks to be science fiction with teens.

Hope it's a good one!

parting gift from my nutritionist

When I went in to the Savannah VA Center for the meeting with Elizabeth Carley, I had been expecting the news would not be good.

I knew my weight would be up.

Between the inguinal hernia pain and cold weather, I had not been moving as much and had been eating more comfort foods.

I had no idea that she was leaving.

She has a more exciting job working with a new company in New York.

In true form, she had made plans for switching me to a new specialist, but wanted to discuss the options with me first.

Such a professional with a heart she is!

But she did one thing that my new PCP, Tiffiny Duchene, should have: she followed up on the Community Care I was supposed to have received in December.

Elizabeth found out I was to have started that on December 23, 2025.

Instead, I had not yet heard from the local surgeon who was to repair the inguinal hernia that's been paining me since mid-August.

Elizabeth wrote down all the information: the phone number, name, and address of the clinic as well as the Community Care Authorization number issued by the Ralph Johnson VA Hospital in Charleston.

I called the Surgical and Bariatric Care clinic at Memorial Hospital as soon as I got home that day.

They didn't have the paperwork from Charleston, but would call them.

I immediately went into VA Health's website and sent messages to the Community Care in Charleston and also to PCP Duchene.

That was on a Thursday.

I waited until Tuesday, February 17th, and called the clinic again.

Yes, they had the VA CCN!!!

The first available appointment was March 3rd.

Later than I'd hoped, but it was still more progress than I'd had!

Today, I was at the office of Dr. Oliver Whipple thirty minutes ahead of time.

I'd spent forty minutes on Sunday night filling in all the paperwork for the online check-in, plus I'd filled in the eight pages sent to me two weeks ago. 

I gave him the disk with my CT scan - from November 18th - as well as all that paperwork, then we talked.

Mostly, we talked about my previous surgeries over the years, but in particular about the cardiac ablations I've had.

After a talk with Marsha, the one in charge of surgery scheduling, I walked out with pre-surgery paperwork, though a date for that hernia repair has not yet been set.

First, they have to get clearance from my heart doc, but that should not be an issue after the results from the heart monitor study.

Dr. Whipple liked that Dr. Cobb was down to seeing me every 6 months; that's a very good thing!

However, the biggest hurdle to a surgery date is Dr. Whipple's upcoming two-week vacation coming up... after next week.

Timing is everything.

So, now, it looks like I won't have the hernia repair until late April.

Then, there will be about three weeks of recovery, they say.

Dr. Whipple told me he will be using a robot-assisted laparoscopic technique to remove all the scar tissues in my abdomen, starting from the ribcage down to the right groin, then insert a mesh pocket to hold the abdominal contents in place.

I'm hoping that will all go as planned.

He was surprised when he heard about the scar from my tubal ligation, then surprised again when I told him about my Polar Express from the hysterectomy.

I just wanted him to be forewarned about all that scar tissue, and the adhesions from three abdominal surgeries, waiting inside.

I'm not looking forward to the surgery, but I can't wait to be rid of the pain I've had for more than six months. 

None of this would even be in progress without the aid of my nutritionist, Elizabeth, taking action on my behalf.

My gratitude to her.

I sure am going to miss her.

squeeeEEEAAaaak

Last evening, I logged into the VA Health website and left the following message to the Community Care representative in Charleston.

I also copied the message and sent it to my new PCP here.

 

"More than two months ago, I was issued a Community Care Referral (VAxxxxx) to Memorial Hospital in Savannah to have surgery to repair an inguinal hernia.
To date, I have not yet received a call from them to schedule the surgery.
When I called them last Thursday, I was not called back.
When I called them today, they had no record of the CC Referral.
I gave them the Referral number but they did not have it and I was told they would call Ralph Johnson VA Hospital to request it be resent to them.
The phone number for Memorial Health Surgical & Bariatric Center is 912-350-3438.
They suggested that Community Care in Charleston may have an incorrect fax number for their clinic.
Please contact them. 

I need to have this surgery that I've waited for so long.
Thank you."

 

Amazingly, I had a call from that clinic at Memorial early this afternoon!

I now have an appointment for a surgical consult on March 3rd!!!

That's definite progress after frustrating months of sitting idle.

 

And look at this: I won a 10-dollar gift card for Macy's on AARP!

Once a day, I can play for a gift card for 50 of my AARP Reward Points.

This time, I was fortunate enough to win!

I think I'll take another chance and sign up for some volunteer gigs downtown.

The Savannah Music Festival opened the portal moments ago for us to choose which concerts we'd like to usher.

I've chosen four, to start.

3/26: NOON30: Alicia Olatuja & Christian Sands - Shift 11:30-2pm
3/28: Sarod Trio w/ Maestro Amjad Ali Khan - Shift 1:30-4:45pm
4/3: Noon30: Darrell Scott & Rob Ickes - Shift 11:30-2pm
4/4: NOON30: Le Vent du Nord - Shift 11:30-2pm

Those are all nnon30s except one in early afternoon.

I'm hoping for close parking spaces, so I won't have far to hobble.

What a relief to have progress!

Now, I'm going to settle in and watch "The Notebook".

Comcast gave it to me as a reward for Valentine's Day.

Watching Ryan Gosling and James Garner seems like the right thing to do to celebrate these welcome changes!

(smile!) 

ISO the thyroid pill

I've been on medication for hypothyroidism since I was almost 40 years old. 

Never have I ever had that pill act the way the new refill does.

It literally begins dissolving as soon as I place it on my tongue.

At first, I though maybe the pill formulation was too loosely packed.

Then I began wondering if maybe the dosage was off.

So, I've been concentrating on using the remainder of my old prescription, just to be on the safe side.

That's the semi-gloss, oval, lavender pill on the right.

This morning, I realized I only had three of those in the bottle.

Time to find out what was up with that violin-like, pale pink, pill on the left.

So, I called the pharmacy at the Charleston VA Hospital, as they supply all the by-mail refills for the Savannah VA Center.

The pharmacist was shocked when I described the dissolving of the pill.

She had me read the fine print on both sides of the pill, then referenced her files to make sure the dosage and medication was correct.

Sure enough, those were as they should be: 125 mcg of the needed drug.

Here's the difference.

The pill on the right - that lavender one - is levothyroxine HCl, the one I've taken for more than three decades.

The one on the left - the pale pink weirdo - is levoxyl, the actual trademark branded drug for hypothyroidism.

In other words, the refill was the genuine article, not the generic form.

How about that?

She and I both learned something new!

Here's something else we both learned today.

Most pills that dissolve on the tongue are actually meant for sublingual ingestion.

That means they're to be placed under the tongue until completely dissolved.

However, the levoxyl is meant to be swallowed with water.

Really seems like they'd pack that tablet a bit tighter, right?

At least I know they're okay.

Plus, I feel a little special: the VA couldn't find any generic to fill the refill, so they sprung for the name brand...

just for me.

(smile!) 

threesome

I'll wait while you dig your mind out of the gutter.

Hahahaha!!!

I'm talking about A*List movies, over at the AMC, taking advantage of this last warm day out of the next three or four.

Yesterday at that time in the photo, it was only 38 F, making me cancel my lab appointment at the Savannah VA.

Now, I have to wait almost two months for that.

Boo hiss.

I never left the house.

Not so today!

Time to get 'er done!

(smile!) 

By noon30, I was in the screening room for the first of three: "Dead Man's Wire".

A true story about a man driven to distraction by a mortgage company, I could relate.

I'd never heard of Tony Kiritsis, but that was in February 1977, when I was 18 years old and still in boot camp for the Navy.

Nor did I hear of the court case in October 1977, when I was going through "C" School in Pensacola for the Bullseye Computer Maintenance program.

It didn't help that the tale was local to Indianapolis.

I will say that Bill Skarsgard was excellent, as always.

I didn't even recognize Cary Elwes as his buddy, the undercover cop!

In my defense, I'd just seen him last Sunday in "The Princess Bride", where he was 38 years younger (he is currently 63 years old). 

Great music in this film, and everything - even the film method - felt just like it had stepped out of the late 1970's.

Kudos to Gus Van Sant and company!

 

After a walk, I had lunch at the cinema.

The manager, Trey, told me he "made them with love", and I truly believe he did!

Those pretzel bites were absolutely perfect - crispy on the outside, but not hard.

I saved a few to munch for my second movie, "Greenland 2: Migration".

That was at 3:30, which fit exactly with the time for Carolyn's first movie... the one I'd just seen.

I knew she'd seen the Gerard Butler post-apocalypse movie already, so I'd switched up on her.

See, I'd asked her to meet me for the 1977-era movie, but when I saw I could have a threesome today instead of a duo, I just had to do it, especially as I knew the foul cold weather on its way tomorrow.

"Chance of snow" - no, thanks!!!

Definite chance of black ice, with three mornings below freezing.

That, to me, is apocalyptic!

 

Anyway, when each of our movies were done, off to dinner she and I went to El Potro! 

I'd missed the Friday Fiesta with my brothers and she wanted flan - the choice was perfect!

We discussed our movies as we dined, then, back to AMC we went for the 7 PM show!

Yes, that would complete my trio and give her a double header! 

"Night Patrol" was very well attended, too!

I guess everyone likes a good vampire movie!

This was very good, too, with a group of racist cops cum vampires, who insert metal fangs when they're making a bust.

They're led by Dermot Mulroney, a police captain whose son has just been accepted to the 'elite' squad. 

Mind blown!!!

I saw him a week ago in "My Best Friend's Wedding", which is almost thirty years old.

What a trip!

But here's a bigger one: the guy who plays his son is Justin Long, who I knew I recognized but I couldn't place him.

That's because I remember him as the nerdy kid that saved the spaceship in "Galaxy Quest" - which came out in 1999, when he was only 21 years old.

Mind blown!!!

Carolyn and I both really liked the movie and will likely see it again.

It ain''t "Sinners", but it has some of that flavor, and that was mighty satisfying for both of us.

I'll have to mention it to the bfe, as he likes vampires.

(smile!) 

die hard violent night

I started my day with one of my favorite non-traditional Christmas movies: "Die Hard".

Why not treat myself to those three gorgeous men again?

Especially as it was free!!!

Yippee-kiy-aye!!!

Then it was off to my neurology appointment at Savannah VA.

I've been waiting for this ever since I last saw Dr. Peter Urban for my vision.

Remember, he told me I was having acephalgic migraines?

I had thought I was getting an MRI today, but, nope.

Instead, this was a consultation with Dr. Diaz for him to determine whether an MRI was actually warranted.

As it turns out, he agreed with Dr. Urban, so now I await the scheduling of that test, most likely in April.

He also liked what I said: "Better to know what bogeyman is there than think there is no bogeyman at all." 

On that note, off I went to "The Housemaid" at AMC right next door.

I had no idea how appropriate that choice would be!

Right place, right time. 

That will most likely be my only A*List film this week, so I'm glad it was a good one.

I first thought it might be horror, but it was a thriller, featuring one of those surprise endings that I so love!

It was also a woman empowerment movie, like "Heathers", or "Ready Or Not", so chances are I'll watch it again while it's in town. 

I needed to stay to the south and west area so I let Melaness treat me to a Christmas slunch!

I'm not saying she was actually there, but I had the Texas Roadhouse gift card she gave me for Christmas, so that's her by proxy, right?

That's the way I looked at it!

I started off with that fabulous House Salad, side size, then ate half an order of Tater Skins for the meal - totally yum!

The rest of that will be fancy hash browns one morning... oh, yeah!

Then I headed over to the Two First Posts club for the sixth time.

Yes, that's correct: the sixth American Legion meeting for December.

At least it looked very festive, having been prettied up by Sabrina Scales and a few others with Post 500.

Honestly, without them putting in the manpower, none of the chairs or tables would have ever been assembled.

Tonight, I was the sole representative of Post 36.

Post 500 had five people: John Parker, Eddie Patterson, Brenda Pough, Eric Bolden, and another guy (maybe Leon Johnson?).

Savanna Newsome, the former CB for the Navy and the head of the company that made this place habitable, was also there.

All we really accomplished this time was verification of the Certificate of Occupancy, as well as the maximum number of people for this space.

That would be 200.

That brings up why the place was decorated: an event was held by the USO for 100 children and Santa Claus on Saturday morning. 

I made sure to give thanks for Sabrina's actions and style!

After 90 minutes we adjourned and I was finally able to go home.

Peacock had another non-traditional Christmas movie for me: "Violent Night".

Free and perfect to round out this Monday!

(smile!)

four calling birds!

That was the line that Virginia and I and a silent singer had to sing and pantomime.

Fortunately, I'd seen the People's Youth Choir in action two years ago, so I could coach the others on what to do.

"We just place our hands to imitate a megaphone at our mouth!"

That worked out just fine all nine times that our part came up in "The Twelve Days Of Christmas"! 

The table beside us were tasked with "partridge in a pear tree".

What a cute act they choose for that line!

That was good, as they had to perform for all twelve stanzas.

However, the group that got the most crowd reaction was the table right in front of us.

Here they are, doing the squat of "six geese a-laying"!

It was such a hoot!!!

Bird pun intended! 

I'm so glad that Michelle Meece asked us to do that song for her!

It was a favorite in her family that her dad always led.

Here, she's performing "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas".

She truly has such a nice voice and a great stlye!

I think she looked like a cross between Cindy Lou Who and an elf for our Sisters In Faith Christmas luncheon party.

Very cute!

Yes, we were all gathered at Asbury Memorial, in Holliday Hall, and I'm sure Miss Virginia was there celebrating with us!

Linda Combs had called out the big guns for this event.

That's Huxsie Scott on that throne!!!

She's been a well-regarded songbird of Savannah for several decades.

She was there to sing "Because It's Christmas", a favorite song of Linda's, and one that I had never heard before.

What a treat!

Speaking of such, there was lots of good food!

There were several different kinds of tea sandwiches, reminding me of Aunt Linda's birthday celebration - good times!

I also enjoyed the sweets - so many different desserts, including that cake with coconut and pecans and dark chocolate chips!

 

I arrived late, due to the noon appointment with Dr. Urban at Savannah VA.

Noon was also the start time of this soiree!

Still, I'd been waiting six months for the eye check, so that had priority...

but I so wanted to go to the party...

and when he heard my dilemma, he let me go!

It helped that I'd not yet had the neurology meeting that he'd wanted me to have before this visit.

All told, I made it to the church while Dottie Klutz was telling a story from her youth in Germany.

Perfect!

I was able to grab a plate of food and the empty seat beside Robin Eifler with no one paying any mind to me!

Hallelujah!!!

Afterward, I helped put away the chairs and tables and decor, as I'd promised to do.

And I ended up with two goodie bags instead of one!

That's because Virginia's bag had a Christmas card in it that started out, incredibly, with "Dear Tina"... so she insisted that I take it and wouldn't take my bag in trade.

Whoever wrote the card didn't sign it, so I have no idea who to thank.

I'll be sure to enjoy the lavender hand soap, given by a secret Santa.

i thank You, God!