3/11/2025

 Tuesday, March 11, 2025

D+124/51

D+124/511963  Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara ordered the adoption by the US military of the M16 assault rifle, originally designed as the AR-15 by Eugene Stoner

2020 COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization after 121,564 cases worldwide and 4,373 deaths

In bed at 9:30, awake at 4:35, and up at 4:55, thinking of and regretting the conversation with the PM&R nurse yesterday. 45° outside, but the temperature will fall steadily during the day.  The high was 55°, probably at midnight, quite a change from yesterday's unusually warm weather.  Tomorrow's high is predicted to be about 43°, 25° colder than yesterday. 

Prednisone, day 324; 4 mg., day 7/21; Kevzara, day 7/14.  2 mg. of prednisone at 5:10  a.m. and 8:45  p.m.  Other meds at 6:59 a.m.

Mickey the Mope.  I'm thinking it was a mistake calling PM&R yesterday, not getting my appointment moved up from next July to May, but the conversation with the nurse about Dr. Cheng squeeeing me into his schedule sometime earlier than two months from now..  I haven't been doing any of the things we discussed during my last visit: lidocaine pathes, Tylenol, joining a gym.  I suppose it's mostly because of indolence, but also because I can't put the patches on my back and Geri's been out of commission or partly so for weeks now, I dn't have much confidence in Tylenol as a pain reliever, and I am so sceptical about my ability or perhaps willingness to deal with signing up for and actually going to a gym and working with a trainer.  How would I choose a trainer?  Where would I find one equipped by training or experience to deal with an old physical wreck like me?  The ones I see in ads look like young, strong, healthy, weight-lifting, cross-country-running, health and fitness "nuts", the exact opposite of me.  I'm not even sure I can accurately describe my condition, especially with my hips.  I'm old and falling apart.  I had an "old spurt" this last year or more, dealing with the chronic pelvic pain until the fulguration and the shoulder, wrist, and hand pain till the prednisone.  The 'quick cure' would be simply to die and be done with it, and God knows I've thought about that, but Geri's struggles with the knee replacement remind me that I still have some usefulness in helping her.  I don't want to die and leave her alone.  I better start doing some PT exercises and chair yoga again.  Here's my journal entry from one year ago today:

 I was bothered by shoulder pain during the night and a bit of wrist pain.  I took 2 Tylenol 8-Hour tabs at 3 a.m.  It's discouraging that the cortisone injection provided hardly any pain relief and the PT stretches don't seem to help either.  I think the Tylenol does help.  I looked back in this journal to see when my problem with nightly pain and sleeplessness started and it looks like it was around the second week of January, 2 months ago.  Before that, a decent night's sleep for me was 7 hours.  Now such a night is rare.  The combination of bladder pain, back pain, shoulder pain, and wrist pain combined with frequent pit stops (growing to 5 or 6 a night) contribute to a lack of restful sleep most nights and a need to nap during most days.   It's been almost a week now since the surgery on my bladder which, so far at least, has stopped the bladder & pelvic floor muscle painful spasms, the main problem now being the shoulder pain.  On the other hand, my shoulder has been painful all day.

From two years ago today:

Prayer Requests at a Mennonite Church by Todd Davis

Pray for the Smucker family. Their son Nathaniel's coat and shirt were caught in the gears while grinding grain. Nothing would give, so nowhe is gone. We made his clothes too well. Perhaps this is our sin.

Pray for the Birky family. Their son Jacob fell to his death in thegranary. He was covered in corn before they could stop the pouring—chest crushed by the weight, seed spilling from his mouth. We hope something will grow from this, besides our grief.

Pray for the Hartzler family. Their youngest has left the church and nolonger believes that Christ died for her sins. She buys clothes at the mall. Tongue pierced, nose as well. Her shirt shows her belly where aring of gold sprouts. We pray she will remember that her Lord's side was pierced, that His crown held no gold, only the dried blood of His brow.

Pray for the Miller family. Last week their daughter, who lives in Kalona, lost her baby at birth. Child only half-formed: head turned the wrong way; heart laid on the outside of her chest; one leg little more than an afterthought. Lord, help them know that life may come again, that we are all made whole in heaven.

Pray for the Stutzman family. Their son fights in the war. We call him back to the Prince of Peace, to our Savior who knelt to gather the slave's ear, brushed the dirt away, lifted it to the side of his flushed face. May we leave no scars. May we ask no blessing for the killing done in His name.

I wish we had a new Muppets Show. I had this thought while watching Morning Joe this morning.  Regular guest Steve Rattner, who looks like but probably isn't a sourpuss, reminds me of the old muppet curmudgeons Statler and Waldorf.  I can imagine a muppet mimicking Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzyinski, Willie Geist, and their regular guests.

Geri's physical therapy did not go well this morning; it was too painful.  The therapist described it as "nerve pain" and texted something to Dr. Graf about it.  We haven't heard back from Graf yet. . .   The doctor called, said get an x-ray, which we did.