IF I KNEW THEN…..

 

What I know now, I would never have spent so much unprotected time out in the sun as a kid.  This has not been, as you can already tell by the tone, a good week!

The context.  This past July I noticed what looked to be a pimple on my nose.  I watched it for a few days and it appeared to me to be growing very fast.  So, I saw my dermatologist.  She took a look and said not to worry, it was just an ‘oil bag’ (whatever that is).  Well, it kept growing very fast. 

For several years now I have quite often been driving almost an hour to Dayton to see my dermatologist.  Because I grew up in Florida before there was sun screen, and because I am a redhead with fair skin, I have had several procedures to remove suspicious spots and in some cases to actually have surgeries to remove squamous cell and basal cell skin cancer.  I wasn’t comfortable with her assessment.

Coincidentally there is a new dermatology practice that opened just 10 minutes from our house, so one day I stopped in to see if there was any chance to see a doctor to look at my ‘oil bag’.  As it turned out there had been a cancellation that day, the doc took a quick look and immediately said she wanted to take a biopsy.  A week later they called back to say it was squamous cell and that I needed surgery.

To make a long story short, I had to go through a lot of hoops to finally see a surgeon who could do the Mohs surgery.  If you are not familiar, Mohs surgery is a procedure where the surgeon takes slivers of skin off the site to look under a microscope to confirm that all the cancer has been removed.  This is very specialized and those surgeons are few and far between, and therefore hard to get to see.   

This past Tuesday I had the surgery.  The surgery itself is not a big deal.  They do local anesthetics, it is out patient, it takes a while to prepare the skin to view under the microscope, so you can be there 4-6 hours, easily.  I had another Mohs on the top of my head this past Spring, so I was familiar and brought along my current book.  All went as expected. 

What wasn’t expected was the after experience.  Looking at the top of my nose and seeing a hole about the size of a dime, swollen eyes and two black eyes.  Some pain.  Just a yucky, lethargic experience.  I hate not feeling well.  Also, the tape used for the bandage had to be placed up, very near my eyes, removing that tape was pulling some very tender skin. 

So, while I am well aware of there being worse things, I have not been having my best week.  I don’t want to go anywhere, cause I look really scary.  I did go to the pharmacy to pick up my antibiotics, they have a drive-thru, and I was quite rude to the attendant.  I thought she said my 14 pills were $155.  When I got home and looked at the receipt, the cost was $1.55.  I should go back and apologize. 

The stitches come out this Monday, hopefully life will get better from there. 

My Cup Runneth Over – Again!!

In June this year I wrote about my long-time friend from Alaska, Kevin Corr, making a surprise appearance on Facebook Messenger after a 35-year absence.  This week I write about 2 more such returns that have also been major surprises.

 First, the context.  A few years back I learned about a program called OLLI (Oscher Life Long Learning Institute) hosted by the University of Cincinnati.  OLLI is a terrific program for those folks over the age of 50 who still have a thriving curiosity for almost anything.  They have 3 semesters a year where volunteers offer up courses of interest to them.  The program has a $90/semester entrance fee and you can pack as many courses on your calendar for that fee as you can handle.  I’ve been a student and a moderator for the last few years and usually enroll in 5-8 courses per semester.  

 Well, the Fall Semester 2024 started in late September and as usual I signed up for several courses.  One was a course on Genealogy which is a hobby of mine that I have been working on since the early ‘70s.  First day of class I sat in the second row of seats and a few minutes later in walked a woman who sat directly in front of me in the first row.  I recognized her immediately, I smiled, but she obviously did not recognize me. After 30+ years what else to expect??

I originally met Lucy Crane as a volunteer with Women Helping Women, a resource center for victims of rape and abuse.  Lucy sat on the board and I was a volunteer who worked on the overnight shift taking calls from women in distress.  She had a pretty high profile in the community and eventually she also became involved in the Sierra Club, I think during the time that I was Chairperson of the Cincinnati Group. 

After class I stepped up in front of her and identified myself and she immediately recognized me and we had a great hug!!!  It was a fun re-acquaintance.

My second reunion took place in my favorite class of OLLI. For 4-5 years I’ve been taking a course entitled “A Reader’s Life”.  It is essentially a class where the participants give oral book reports.  We get a list of genres for each week and if say the genre for that week is historical fiction, you tell your classmates about a book you’ve read related to that genre.  It’s a great way to learn about books you’d probably never encounter and generates a ton of interesting classroom discussions. 

So, this past week, our 3^rd week of class, a new participant showed up.  I saw her enter, and I smiled, but in this case the situation was reversed, I did not recognize her.  As the class got started our moderator, Tom, called her out and asked for her to introduce herself.  As soon as she spoke, I recognized her voice and of course sharing her name confirmed my recognition.

Back in 1989/1990 I was director for Crescent Women’s Medical Group, a multi-specialty group medical practice for women.  We had a fertility specialist, an ob/gyn physician, general practice and a few others.  Barb Tobias was our GP doc and she was a wonderful person to work with.  I couldn’t believe she was in our class. 

After class we caught up.  She is also now retired, a grandmother and someone who is obviously enjoying OLLI immensely. (She showed up at another class the same week.)

I’ve got to say, there are some very fine elements to growing older.  One of them is when people show up from out of no where and rekindle a relationship from years gone by, it brings up so many wonderful memories. 

My cup runneth over, again!!

Goodbye Little Friends

I've been watching for a week now....and it seems they have all left....my little friends, the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds.  We have a feeder right outside our living room window, so at anytime I'm sitting in my favorite chair I can easily watch them.  

They start to show up in mid-April.  By mid-June or so we can tell if they've had babies.....they are always just a tiny bit smaller.  They don't seem to get along well as there is always one who will defend the feeder violently.  And somehow they always know when we are watching as the slightest movement will chase them away.

It's one of my simple joys.  I can watch them for hours if there is nothing going on to get me out of my chair.

This week I was worried for them....with 2 hurricanes to the south and another one in the making....what does that do to their fall migration?  Seems like they wouldn't have a chance....but I don't know....guess I'll get a good guess next Spring if no one shows up.  Got my fingers crossed.

GRRRRR #2

 

I’m a little late this week, sorry…..

Back in July I wrote a ‘GRRRR’ story about scammers, now I have another GRRRR story.

So why is it, that just when you get your car loan paid off your car starts to fall apart???  Can anyone explain that???

So, I drive a 2015 Ford Escape, that I really love.  So far it has been a great car for me.  It has a 145,000 miles on it and even at 9 years of age, it has been totally dependable.  However, last week I took it in for an oil change at Bob Summerall AAA Service Center and the technician called me into the service bay (a first for me) and pointed out a problem.  It seems that my radiator is mounted in place at the top of the engine and the bottom has some kind of part that just protects the bottom from rubbing on the frame and possibly developing a hole in the radiator.  The part that is supposed to be there has completely rusted away.   The cost to replace that part is over $1000.00!!!!  What????

I need to give some context.  First, I never have trusted dealerships or chains like Bob Summerall since they always seem to have inflated repair prices.  I go to AAA for my oil change as I buy my tires there and that gives me free tire rotations.  Let me give an example.

A few years ago, AAA told me I had an oil leak in this car, which I thought was strange as there was no evidence of an oil leak on my garage floor.  They explained to me that the leak was coming from the top of my engine??!!  They would have to wash my engine ($200) to figure out where the leak was coming from and then there would be the cost of the repair. 

Well, fortunately I do have a mechanic that I love and trust completely.  He is a 2-person shop that has been wonderful for years.  Took the car to him, he looked at the engine for about 20 seconds and said, “Sue, I don’t know why Ford did this, but your engine mounts are hollow rubber mounts and they are filled with oil.  One of your mounts has sprung a leak.  Will be about $200 to fix.”  And that is just one example. 

I used to be one of those people who would do everything to keep my car going, so one time I replaced a motor, another time I replaced a transmission (both totally needed), but I learned an expensive lesson.  When you get to those kinds of repairs, it is probably smarter to buy a new car. 

However, as I said at the beginning, I just paid off this car in September.  I typically try to go 2 years after a car is paid off before I replace a car.  I spend those 2 years saving the cost of my prior payments so that in addition to my car trade-in, I have a nice cash down payment as well. 

I have an appointment tomorrow with my mechanic to see what he says about that repair. 

Keep your fingers crossed!!!