Follow-up on "The Hits" Post

Here is the e-mail I sent to family and friends a few minutes ago:

Houston, We Have A Problem 

Whilst I'm not in transit to the Moon as 'spam in a can', I've developed my very own problem.

 

Apparently, age, mileage and my own personal mutation in my lower back have converged to short out the nerves that run my left foot and, to a lesser extent, my left leg.  My chiropractor (Dr. Fritz) stopped treatment a week ago last Monday, because he didn't know what was going on.  I met with my MD (Dr. Art) yesterday, who, in no uncertain terms, said that surgery was indicated lest I lose function permanently.

 

I'm scouting out means of financing this, and plan to consult with Dr. Fritz on Monday for a referral to a neurosurgeon, as Dr Art suggested.

 

Prayer in any denomination is welcome and requested.

  

Friday Garden, 2013

It has begun to warm up on a regular basis around here -  supposed to get up to 57 deg today!  The natives are exhibiting signs of Spring Fever, and I'm a bit twitchier than usual, too.  Not being able to get around doesn't help.

BUT!!  I am doing a new Science Experiment (I loves me a good science experiment)!  Last fall, I harvested, dried and saved seeds from plants grown in the garden.  (OK, and one store-bought item - the Red Bell Pepper.)  Yesterday, when I was at the local hardware emporium, I saw the seed starter kit and got one.  It has thirty-six pots in six separate trays, all held in a larger tray.  I just finished populating it with said seeds, and here is the result!

Instructions, starter tray, seeds and map.

Closer on the tray and map.

 

 

The map!

The notch on the lower right of the card corresponds to the notch I cut from the corresponding corner of the tray (hidden by the map).  That way, in a month or so, I will know which sprouts are which, because I know which end on the tray is "up"!

I'm trying to start Poblano peppers, Red Bells, Thai Hots, Honeydew melons, Butternut squash, and more Red Bells.  The Poblano section is sub-divided, because I had some Mulato Poblano seeds left over from last year.  I'm pretty sure that the Poblano seeds I saved were Mulato, because those were the only Poblanos the Doc planted, but they looked a bit different from the ones I had saved. More as that develops!

The tray will live on the Pepto-Bismol(TM) pink shelf at the back kitchen window until they sprout.  Now all I have to do is get the garden beds ready.

Weather

So, we have apparently gone from winter warnings to fire weather watches in the period of about two weeks.

I don't recall fire season appearing so fast in So. Cal.

Huh.

The Hits...

...Just Keep On Comin'

Sometime in early January, I took a fall off the bottom of the steps between my parking space and the yard.  It was dark, I was tired and grumpy, fussing with my backpack and a package all at the same time I was descending said stairs.  Scuffed up my left knee pretty well, and twised my right ankle enough so that I had to hobble a bit into the house.  All in all, not a major deal.  So I thought.

That night, the whole right foot, from the ankle to the sole was a throbbing, painful ache.  I had visions of a visit to a podiatrist the next day, or at least setting up an appointment with one.  Didn't get to sleep until after 4 am.  And yet, then next morning, the foot was just fine.  No indication that it had ever been so insomnia producingly painful.

And then I started to notice a bit of a 'blinch' when I moved in just the right way.  (Blinch, n., a sudden jolt of electric-like pain down a nerve path, coupled with a desire to unload the blinched appendage as quickly as possible.  See also, "Doctor, it hurts when I do that... .")  I figured I'd go see Dr. Fritz when I was a bit more solvent that I was at the time.  He is a chiropractor I met in one of my classes at the library.  As big a bear, if not bigger, than I am.

And so it went, until Saturday before last, when the lower back took an express hand basket to hell, taking my ability to stand upright and walk normally with it.  Fortunately, I was able to get in to see Dr. Fritz last Monday.  The plan was 3 visits per week for two weeks, the re-evaluate.  Which was going along fine until I mentioned that I noticed my left foot "dropping".  He asked me to stand on tip-toes, then on my heels.  I went 1 and 0.  I don't remember the medical terms, but I have no roll or yaw control, and only downward pitch control in my left foot.  No heel-walking.

Dr. Fritz' take is that I have a disk impinging on my spinal cord, causing the weakness in my left leg and foot.  Based on where I told him the ice pick was being stuck in my left shin, he said the impingement was at the L-5 vertebra.  And that I needed to get my M.D. to evaluate it, pronto.  (My word, not Dr. Fritz'.)   The "pronto" part is to get it treated before the damage becomes permanent.  Which could involve diapers.  The evaluation probably means another MRI.  Which I can't afford.

Meanwhile, entropy is slowly taking over the house, as I have little energy for hauling stuff up and down stairs.  I haven't walked the dogs since a week ago Thursday.  I did make use of Sam's "click and pull", so my groceries were waiting for my at the customer service counter.  And I used a cart as a walker when I went through Wal-Mart.

So, prayer in any denomination is welcome and solicited.  I don't know what I'll do if I'm unable to navigate this three story house and, more importantly, walk the dogs.

Interesting.

(Posted over at Leelu's Place blog, too.)

Day of Resistance

What started out as the morning dog walk tuned into a peaceful assembly/protest.  Who knew??

I didn't know anything about it until I turned the corner onto Main St. and saw this:

We cut  the walk short, and went home.  I swapped my Breakers cap for my NRA cap, and went over to join in and get some photos:

The crowd across the intersection.

Two speeches were given.  Acoustics were crap, but I caught quotations from the Declaration of Independence.  We were exhorted to read and know the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  He said (I paraphrase) "The Second Amendment is the gun law for this country."  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

A couple of folks came bearing arms.

Nifty signs

I haven't been to a demonstration since the 80s.  This one seemed to me to be important to participate in.  The direction President Obama is taking this country is wrong.  No government should have as much control of peoples' live has his assumed, from health care to unconstitutional laws trying to disarm the citizenry.

I have not been this afraid since the early 60s, when I wondered every day if  the Russians would push the button down.  I do not want the sheriff coming to my door to inspect my guns.  I want to afford to shoot  them, which means nothing but sales tax on ammo.  I don't need expensive liability insurance because I own guns.
The people I met today seemed decent, rational, and patriotic.  Several people recommended a particular gun club to me, and I plan on joining.  I don't want to be alone in this mess.

Main and Broadway is a busy intersection, PA routes 24 and 74, from the MD state line, up to York and Carlisle.  We got a lot of support from passers-by, honking horns, waving, and giving thumbs-up.  I'm happy be where the kind of government intrusion Obama seems bent on will be resisted.  I am glad I wound up here.

Odd...

I happened to peruse my blog stats the other day.

In the last month, I've gotten 106 hits from Belarus.

Qua??

My only guess is the "Red" in "Red Lion".

If any of you pop by again, please leave a comment and say "Zdravstvujtye" (or for the less formal, "Privyet")?

Spasiba!

And, pazhalusta!!

This is What Happens...

...when the PVC pipe (that wasn't shut off like I thought it was), cracks and starts a wondefully fine mist spray going for a few hours overnight.

And it's freezing outside.

The common walkway

My neighbor's side

The culprit

Dining area wall w/ A/C

A/C and electric meter

A/C

Garden of icy nubbles