I rose after 7 with what seemed like endless hydration-proving events. I think I did get enough sleep and continue to read a book. My left eye dries out, and I need some eye drops for it and likely other items. I may have to tape it shut at night (it goes across the top eyelid, not over both). I get going and have a banana and yogurt for breakfast with liberal coffee, of course, made in my French press. I also do the two easy PT exercises I have, Dan sent the rest again (missing?!), and I will now do the six exercises tonight.
Tomorrow at 6AM, Matt and I will take Air Volvo to California, where I will attend Natasha (nee Smith) and Jason Kramer’s wedding at a winery in the San Jose area. The weather will be cool and dry. We will make it there in one day. We both plan to be back on Monday.
This means I started to pack and soon discovered I could just hand the suit in the car and throw the other clothing in a suitcase. I will also take my usual red Nike bag and my laptop in that too. I keep all my cables and pills in that bag when traveling.
I do the dishes and laundry. Lunch is just a can of chicken noodle soup. Rather plain.
I ordered an Uber, and a man appeared in an excellent black Model 3 Tesla. It is comfortable, and all the information on the screens is interesting. It tracks all the other things on the road and traffic lights. It even displays cones for the construction on 209th. I am fascinated. The driver rents it. He says it is cheaper in the long run because he does not have to care for the Tesla, and he always gets a clean, newish one.
While it is work, and I suspect it gets boring after a while, I would love to do this for a while: rent a newish car and drive people around for money all day. We talked about travel, and he suggested that Columbia would be a good choice for me. The flights are cheap. I checked and a week in July including hotel and flight for one person (cheap) is about $1,000. Very inexpensive! So tempting!
My tour of a cool Model 3 Tesla came to an end; I paid, tipped, and gave five stars. I found the doctor’s office and then waited nearly thirty minutes past my appointment time. The NP took out my stitches (not enjoyable but not terrible) and identified I had Bell’s Palsey on the left side of my face. Treatments were identified, and the prescriptions were filled at the hospital pharmacy. I also need some special PT as my flying feeling with my eyes closed is a sign of needing to rework my balance. However, the NP thought I might already be working it out or would soon and that I could pass on special PT if I had worked out the issues by then.
I learned that the impacted nerve for my face was the one that was a challenge in the surgery, and not all of the tumor could be removed from it without destroying the nerve and leaving me without a working left side of my face. Also, they tested all the work, and the nerves were still working when Doc G was done. Thus, it is likely the problems can be addressed with drugs. Excellent.
The pharmacy took some time to understand the Rx, and I waited an hour. It took them three tries for me to get the eye drops and eye gel. The over-the-counter items always seem to do this. Finally, I got everything and called Matt V, who said he would take me home. Traffic was heavy in the Beaverton area as it was Thursday, which is always a busy day. It took Matt V a while to reach me, and the trip home required a few replanning moments to get out of choaked streets. Matt delivered me and then returned with my iPhone, which I left on the floor of his car (oops). Leta called me, and Matt saw that he had my phone. Thanks, Matt V!
Next, I took Air Volvo, driving by myself now, and got it washed and gassed up. I also went to Safeway and bought cookies, pretzels, and other things to munch. I loaded them in the back seat. I had previously unloaded the games, umbrellas, winter traction devices, winter coat, and the extra safety kit.
I next made tacos. I had put out the frozen ground beef earlier, and now it was just cold, not frozen. I fried that in a non-stick pan (thanks, Steve) while putting shredded cheese in the taco shells on a sheet covered with foil and sprayed (you have to spray it). I added the usual pack of reduced-salt taco spices, stirred, and cooked it for a while. I then added half a jar of mild salsa and cooked some more. I spoon the spiced meat into the tacos and bake them. They are wonderfully greasy, spicy, and cheesy. I have too many. Some of the drugs make you hungry, and that part is working. Actually, for the first time in a while, I eat well.
I packed some more and finally got to this blog. Mariah has been updating her blog, so I have read that tonight. Thanks for reading.
Again, I should have taken some photos!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 