Friday, March 24, 2017

Day 69 New Beginnings

Yesterday we hit a record high temperature and at the same time the radio stations and the weather forecasters were telling us to prepare for a blizzard.  The prediction wasn't anything new and folks
around here took it to heart.  Even the stores prepped. There was extra firewood and windshield wiper fluid to assist with the anticipated inclement weather conditions.

I had planned for this Friday off, so with all the dire warnings, I was glad to not have to deal with rush hour traffic and snowy/icy road conditions.  I=Only here could you go from motorcycle weather to snowmobiles in twelve hours!

As it turned out, I would have missed rush hour anyway.  The storm came in and along with it some pretty high winds. In the wee hours of the morning, 3:30 or so, the power went out.  It didn't come back on until about 8:00 am which would have put me a couple hours behind schedule if I hadn't taken the day to deal with a number of items.


First on the list was meeting with my PA to discuss the results of my specialized blood test, the one that revealed I was allergic to Kentucky Blue grass.  There are a number of items to work on, and a lot of them can be assisted by cleaning up my diet even more. To make a long story short, I'm increasing fish oil and eliminating anything with flour and sugar.

I've been down a similar road before, about seven years ago, so I know I can make this change. I've had success at doing so.  I ate this way for nearly three years and it wasn't until I started back to work that I got off track.

My next item to tackle was my boot.  I went to Hanger clinic and picked up my custom made inserts and my new shoes.  They are pretty much what you'd expect from an orthopedic shoe, but, I can take out the souls and insert them into other shoes for short periods of time.  I'm thrilled to be bootless and back to walking evenly.  The walking will take some getting used to again. Five months is a long time to have your foot motionless.  My gait is wonky, and I need a hip adjustment from a chiropractor in the worst way.

After a quick lunch, we headed to my insurance agent and picked up a copy of our most up-to-date auto insurance card. From there we went straight to the Department of Motor Vehicles arriving just past noon.

They have an employee triage your purpose for being there and then you are handed a number ticket. I got B156 and the ticket said it would be 90-120 minutes. OUCH!

I'm studying a book called, Story and settled in for a long wait.  A half hour or so later, a gentleman sat down next to me and spoke to some young men behind me, asking them what number they had.  They were in the C category of triage.  The man then turned to me and asked the same thing. "I'm done waiting," he said and he handed me his ticket.  His number? B145

Jumping up in the line was awesome, but I had no clue how long he'd been waiting.  The numbers were in the low 130s so I figured I had a bit to wait. A young couple sat down behind me and I heard them mention they had B178. They also were pressed for time. I paid it back and handed them my 145.  They were so thankful I almost felt guilty for hanging on to the 145. Almost.  I had another appointment I had to get to and I was also pressed for time.

A few minutes later I looked up at the board and the number had jumped to 141!  The next few numbers were called pretty quickly back-to-back. Moments later it was my turn. I had all the necessary paperwork and was back to the car just after 1 with my current registration in hand.

That was great as I had an eye appointment at 1:30.   I was ten minutes early.

The appointment revealed it would be a good idea to get Avastin shots, one in each eye.  Unfortunately, they couldn't numb my eyes until they got a preapproval for the treatment from the insurance company.  After fifteen minutes I went out to see what was taking so long. 
The poor gal talking with United Health Care had been transferred SEVEN TIMES and still didn't have an answer.  That didn't come for another fifteen minutes.  Finally, we had all the approvals needed but by this time I had been at the doctor's office for three and a half hours.

Even my patience was thin by that time.  I went to the front desk and rescheduled.

A new way of eating, new tags, and a boost to the improvement in my eyes all signal another opportunity to start over, a new beginning. It's important to take the beginnings as a fresh start. 

Mistakes are made, miscommunications happen, and sometimes just plain ol' denial and stubbornness mar a change in our lives.  Just because it wasn't perfect doesn't mean you quit. Rather, you take what you've learned to heart and work harder to make it happen with fewer errors and more open-mindedness.

I've got some things I'm doing really well with, and others that I definitely need to improve on. Dangerous living will mean making some important, intrinsic changes. I'm up for it.