Ramblings

My brother told me I should blog more.  Apparently he doesn't realize I generally collapse into bed every  night with barely enough energy to brush my teeth.  I never, EVER lay in bed wishing I could fall asleep.  Jerry (my brother) seems to think that my grandchildren will be interested in what I'm saying here.  Maybe.

So here I go.. a bit of rambling created just for my brother and my future grandchildren.

Potatoes

Today was potato harvest day.  We've managed to dig 13 rows of 26.  That's like.. half.   This is a photo of one of the first potatoes I dug up today.  Perhaps not so appropriate for my grandchildren.  Haha..

Digging potatoes went something like this.  Scoop the hill to the right. Scoop the hill to the left.  Sift through the soil with bare hands to find the potato.  Place it in a pile.  Shovels and other implements can damage the spud.  We must do it by hand.  The hills, of course, are on the ground (I know.. duh, huh?)  but that means crawling through the field on hands and knees, unless of course you're suffering from a sore knee and a back (that's me.. after our adventures in roofing).   So my method was to sit with my legs out and the row between  them.  I would lean forward, scoop to the left, scoop to the right, find potatoes then scooch forward on my backside.  I left interesting butt prints in the soil and my overalls have seriously ground-in dirt.  Peter thinks that with enough time I would level the whole field.  Thank goodness we don't have THAT many potatoes to harvest.

Getting fixed

Peter fixed me today (my back that is).  It's fortunate I'm married to a chiropractor.  Chiropractic Neurologist actually.  We went to the office this evening and he treated me.  Chiropractic neurology is not your traditional chiropractic.  It involves stuff that doesn't seem relevant to the patient but is really important.  It has to do with the fact that the brain controls everything.  The stability of the spine and the muscles.  To increase spine and muscles strength, you need to strengthen or activate certain areas of the brain.  This activation is, of course, followed up with appropriate traditional chiropractic treatment. He had me looking at numbers, watching red squares, following a moving object.  By the time I got home I could pick up my shoes from the floor without a lot of whining. 

On our way to the office we passed a car.  It was on it's roof.  In the ditch about 1/4 mile south of our house.  We have salmon in that ditch.   Poor salmon!

Enough rambling for now.  I shall go brush my teeth now, if I have the energy.

Diagnosis

I took my mom to neurologist #2 today. He was nothing like Dr. Ass. This man was kind, caring, thoughtful. He listened. He was patient. He had a sense of humor. When all was said and done, diagnosis: Alzheimer's. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

Peter (the finest Chiropractic Neurologist in the world!) asked me why I was seeking a diagnosis. Why a label mattered. I didn't have an answer for him then. I think I do now.

I needed to have a name for this thing that was stealing my mother from me. I needed to know the name of the enemy. Now I know. Now I know what to research. Now I know what the future holds.

I can not control this - but at least now I KNOW what it is I can not control. I know what expectations to have. Knowledge is power. I will continue to follow all of Peter's recommendations - Goodness knows he has more constructive and helpful knowledge and advice than all these other dr's combined.

New topic!

I found the perfect beverage for my 50th birthday celebration.

Day 66 - Doctors!

I took my mother to a neurologist yesterday. As I vowed early on not to say anything bad about anyone on this blog.. I will simply say that he and I had a difference of opinion and quite possible the entire problem was my own.

I am certain that it was my own post-weekend exhaustion that caused me to perceive his actions and words as arrogant and uninformed. Not to mention just plain stupid. I'm certain that if I were not so tired I would not have been offended by his brusque and rude manner or his high-handed handling of my dear mother.

It's not him.. it's me.

At his recommendation my mother got an EEG today. It was an interesting process. This is the only recommendation of his that we will be following and I do not believe we will be returning to his fine office. I think, instead, I shall refer my mother to the best Chiropractic Neurologist in the Northwest. Thank goodness I know who that is!

I also took Sophie back to the vet today. One of these days I should probably work a full week - or at the very least - a full day.