Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mick McKellar Update--Day +106

Intrepid Walker (in the shade)

The intrepid walkers did venture out into the glass and steel canyons of the city -- early in the day, before the temperature topped 90 degrees. I sat in a small shaded alcove downtown, complete with fountain, trees, flowers, and a very comfortable bench, while Marian took care of some business. Even so, by the time we walked back, the heat was approaching brutal levels in the direct sunlight. The high today in Rochester was 99 degrees. At 7:21 PM, it is still 94 degrees. This is not good weather for a Copper Country conditioned Yooper.

Walking off a gut ache

I insisted on going along for the walk today, because apparently my morning medications decided to have a war with whatever was still in my stomach. About 20 minutes after taking the first round of meds, my stomach began to ache as though I had taken a sucker-punch to the abdomen. Copious amounts of ice water seemed to help, but my experience has shown that a little stretch of the legs can help "move things along" in the digestive tract. The walk helped a great deal, but my stomach has remained a bit sensitive all day long. Just to be sure, I had to resort to tomato soup for supper, the primary comfort food from my youth.

We are both praying that a good night's sleep will reboot my digestion. If I wake up tomorrow and the medications re-enact today's morality play with my innards, I will have to report to the hospital. That would not be a good thing for those who wish to leave on Friday. All we need is another mystery to solve.

Steel and Glass Canyon
Mail order, shmail order...

We converted 10 of my medications to be delivered from a mail order pharmacy that BCBSM likes. I called today because their online system would not accept my identifying information (I was checking the progress on my prescriptions). Five will ship June 9, barely in time to replace diminishing supplies. Five are being held up because of a systems generated warning about a drug interaction. They want my doctor to call and explain. Meanwhile, I may run out of some very important maintenance drugs before they can ship replacements. I cannot get insurance to cover refills at the local pharmacy, because the mail order pharmacy has filled them...it is just holding on to them. Ah, the price of convenience can be high.

Sad to say, I did not write a poem today.

Assuming my stomach is back online, tomorrow starts stage one packing for the trip home. Sorting, boxing, washing, bagging, and organizing as much as possible. Thursday will be an entire day of tests and procedures, so we'll be just about able to finish that night, and leave Friday. We have been residents in this space since January 27 and there is a lot to organize. It is amazing how many nooks and crannies must be emptied and decisions made about what to take and what to leave behind. And the Focus remains a small car...a very small car.

I hope I shall have time to draft journal entries tomorrow and Thursday, but time pressures may prevent it. Friday, if we are traveling will be journal-less for certain.

Thanks for your prayers and good thoughts.

God bless and good night


Mick

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