So I was noodling around on You Tube and came across this performance of the French National Anthem “La Marseillaise” by Mireille Mathieu. (See link here)
Now I have a passing familiarity with the song, probably the pinnacle being the movie “Casablanca” From the Grok entry:
The actress most famously associated with singing “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) in the iconic 1942 film Casablanca is Madeleine Lebeau. She played the character Yvonne, Rick Blaine’s (Humphrey Bogart) jilted former lover.
The interesting part was, not being a French speaker, I really had no idea what the words actually meant. Whell as you will see in the link above, they provided an English version of the lyrics. In the notes to the You Tube entry they note “My translation to American English, weighing literal accuracy, lyrical style, and contemporary US context.”.
I don’t know what I expected, but holy shit, the Frenchmen from the French Revolution were some bloodthirsty folks.
Let’s go, children of the homeland. The day of glory has arrived. The bloody banner of tyranny Confronts us by being raised The bloody banner is raised Do you hear the road outside… Of those ferocious soldiers ? They are coming right to you To cut the throats of your children and partners To ARMS, Citizens! Form up in groups to fight March now, march now! Let their blood spill.. And soak into the dirt!
I think I will stand the next time I hear the song played, at least in public,
It has been a while since my last entry. What is prompting this restart is my upcoming trip to Europe. I (and Kate) have signed up for a Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.
Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip (in theory), I have bookended a couple of days prior to and after the actual river trip. We fly into Prague in the Czech Republic for a couple of days before boarding the ship in Budapest. If you note the colors of Budapest and Vienna above, we spend two days in those cities for the chance to better immerse ourselves in those cities. It will begin when we fly to Prague on Sunday March 22, 2026.
Just by coincidence, last November I got a message from Starlink offering me (for free) a new product, the Starlink Mini. I dithered for long time before pulling the trigger.
Starlink Mini
Starlink comes with a 110v plug and 15m of power cord. I also ordered from Amazon, a battery pack that serves as a stand to give you 4 hours of connectivity. My plan is to take this on the trip to insure connectivity. If they allow me to set it up onboard it will be great, otherwise I will take it ashore daily to establish connection.
Starlink Mini with 5-Ah battery.
I am expecting this trip to be amazing, particularly the ending in Amsterdam. This particular city has a great deal of meaning to me and Lindsay in particular.
Prior to Christmas in 1980 I was on patrol abord the USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) somewhere in the far North Atlantic. We were notified that we would have a port call in the Netherlands over Christmas. We transited down the North Sea and eventually moored in Rotterdam.
At the same time the wives were notified and given the opportunity to meet us if they desired. Lindsay, of course, had her passport from her trip to Germany for the Reforger Exercise when we were in San Diego, and being DINK’s we were able to afford it. We were informed that Lindsay and the Engineer’s wife would be meeting us.
The previous summer Lindsay had finally gotten a confirmed diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with a new diagnostic tool, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (they quickly dropped the Nuclear to avoid freaking people out since there was no ionizing radiation involved), at Yale, New Haven. The MRI clearly imaged the lesions previously noted in autopsies of MS sufferers. They had offered us “genetic counseling” stressing the uncertainty of Lindsay’s future and the possibility of some genetic links to MS that were being investigated. We had long ago decided to have children “eventually”, but this gave us pause.
We spent the next couple of weeks talking about it. What we finally decided was not to be deterred. Lindsay could be perfectly healthy, have children and then get hit by a bus crossing the street. As for the possible genetic compromise of the offspring, I suppose you could ask them whether they would rather not exist, or take the risk of possible MS.
But that Christmas, unknown to me, Lindsay’s biologic clock had begun to tick loudly. I was thirty years old; she had just turned twenty-nine. In Amsterdam we talked about it. One of the quirks of ballistic missile patrols at the time was that if you wanted the husband to be present for both the conception and delivery, there was a two-week window to conceive. Lindsay had calculated (of course she had) that her period would line up with the patrol cycles about next March or so with delivery the following December. So that Christmas in Amsterdam is where we finally decided that we were going to have a family.
On of the highlights of that trip was the chance to attend midnight Mass at the Nieuwe Kirk, the “New Church” in Dutch. The Nieuwe Kirk was a huge dramatic cathedral in downtown Amsterdam. It was built after the Oude Kerk (Old Church of course), built a century or so before, was outgrown. I found the cornerstone of the Nieuwe Kirk after mass; it was completed in 1409. It became Protestant in 1578 after the Reformation, and at the time was more of a cultural center, but Midnight Mass was celebrated there in 1980. It really gave me a sense of just how new the United States was compared to Europe.
One of the things that Kate, and others, have been pushing me do is to find something to do to occupy my mind. Idle hands, devil’s work, etc. One of the things I decided to do was to get back into 3D printing.
Things have really changed since about 2017. I had a smallish 3D printer that I obtained via a crowdfunding site. This time I reviewed a number of potential printers before deciding on FlashForge Adventurer 5M printer from Amazon.
My first prints were from the embedded projects in the firmware.
The classic ‘Floaty’ small tugboatFloaty on lower left, a recessed icosahedron and a cat-themed phone holder.F
Finally, I went a little nuts and started branching out.
Floaty for scale with a bigger multicolored Floaty and a box labelled Stuff.
The Adventurer has a provision to pause a print mid-stream that allows you to change filaments. The big Floaty started off with bronze (like the box next to it) below the waterline, transiting to blue for the decks, transiting to white for the bow and upper deckhouse, and finally to red for the stack. The latching box prints as is, including the working hinge. I added the embossed ‘Stuff’ to the front.
The print bed size is 220mm x 220mm x 220mm (8.66 inches cube). It connects via USB or wireless network so I have it set up so I can load and control it from my laptop in the living room. It has a mini camera on the bed that lets me keep an eye on printing remotely.
It’s Thursday April 17th and it’s snowing again (although lightly). Should just be a couple of days before clear weather returns.
The recent trip to Hawaii was wonderful. It was only for 4 days but it was simply amazing. We stayed at Disney’s Aulani Resort which is a great property. One of the key decisions I made was to rent a car, rather than rely on Uber, etc. Having a car let us stop at the nearby ABC Store to stock up on packaged fruit, salads, Gouda cheese and English Muffins. This let us avoid getting breakfast at the resort (a very pricey option).
Aulani is on the leeward side, near the old NAS Barber’s Point, where Sis was stationed in the mid-70’s. We took the car and decided to explore the site. (The NAS was closed in 1999 with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process). You can tell it’s a former military installation because the streets are all named after battles/aircraft carriers.
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Sis at tower at former NAS Barber’s Point
We drove around the base, discovering all the old cinder block housing is gone, and eventually wound up at the control tower for Kalaeloa Airport. Sis talked to a gent who was parking at the time and he invited us in to look around.
The front desk inside was the same as was present in 1975 (with the addition of a plexiglass shield courtesy of COVID). Sis shared stories of the past with the guard, and she offered to call upstairs to see if we could visit. They sent an air traffic controller down (who was making a coincidentally convenient trip to her car) and she took up up (including a steep stairwell and circular metal staircase) up to the tower.
Tower of Kalaeloa Airport with ocean view in the background.
Other than the addition of a couple of computers and a remote radar display from Honolulu Airport, the equipment is almost unchanged. This is one of the highlights of the trip for Sis.
While driving around that day we also visited Ford Island in Pearl Harbor where a couple of the original hangers were set up as museums of the attack and subsequent war. They even had some of the original windows with bullet holes that were preserved to commemorate that day.
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The bridge across to Ford Island is new since the early 1970’s, you used to have to take a ferry. Note that you do need a Military ID to access Ford Island via the bridge, but I had my retired ID so there was no problem.
The next day we met up with Patty, a close friend Sis’s. She drove us around and we picked up some lomi lomi chicken and another store for sushi. We wound up parking behind St Augustine by the Sea (Patty had an in with the secretary, so she got a note with permission to park. We then walked a block down to Kalakaua Avenue on on to Waikiki Beach. We found a stone table in the shade of nearby trees and sat down for a delicious lunch of chicken, rice, sushi.
After lunch we stopped in at the ABC store in front of the church and got some emergency Macadamia Nuts. After we left, we decided to swing by Sam’s Club. We got some more Macadamia nuts, and I found two (made in Hawaii) Aloha shirts for about a third what they charged at Aulani.
The following day was our last in Hawaii, but our flight wasn’t until 8:00pm. We checked out about 9:30am and loaded out bags in the trunk. We then went back into the resort and sat by the adult pool and enjoyed some tropical drinks.
At 11:00am the food service opened, and we tried an order Ahi Poke Nachos. They consisted of (raw) Big Eye Tuna, Wonton Chips, Green Onions, Furikake, Kewpie Mayonnaise. Although not a fan of raw fish, these were quite tasty.
After lunch we stopped by Sam’s Club to fill up the rental car and to let Kate get her Macadamia nuts. For dinner we decided to try The Big Kahuna Pizza located right adjacent to the Honolulu Airport The pizzas were fantastic. (Of course, the classic Hawaiian pizza [ham & pineapple] was renamed the Haole pizza).
We finished up and turned in the rental car and sat outside the security gates because you are not allowed to check your bags more that 4 hours before the flight.
One drawback of the late flight is that, combined with the 5-hour time difference, is that we didn’t arrive in Denver until 6:30am the next day. I didn’t arrive back in Casper until almost 11:00. It was a long day.
We are now only 10 days out from our 4-day trip to Hawaii and Sis, Kate, and I are all really excited about the trip. One of the exciting things is that there is an ABC Store just across the highway in the Ko Olina Resort.
For those new to Hawaii, the ABC Stores are a touristy market of just about anything you need in Hawaii – take-out food, clothing and beach wear, sunglasses, macadamia nuts, and on and on. Since the Disney resort provided cooking facilities, we can stock up here for breakfast and snack items.
We fly out a week from Wednesday on April 9th-12th. Also, in late breaking news, Kate got an offer to upgrade to first class and had me check on my flight. I too had an offer too good to resist: $380. for me, but $760. for Sis. So, we all upgraded and are flying from Denver to Honolulu in comfort.
Planning for Disney Points later this year we are looking at taking a trip with Kate, Jen, Patrick, and Charlotte in early December that would be a 4-day Disney Cruise out of Port Canaveral. Patrick and Jen’s anniversary is on December 3rd, and Charlotte (who graduates HS this June) may be spreading her wings soon. We are still noodling about that trip; we probably can’t book until August when my annual points vest.
While thinking about that trip, I got on offer from Viking Cruises about a sale they were having through the end of the month: discounts on tickets, free airfare (from select airports, not Denver), and free drink package. I poked around on their site and decided to go big or go home. There was a two-week river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. (You can see the trip HERE.) Of course, cruises are double occupancy, so I contacted Kate to see if she were interested. She had interviewed Poppi in high school about his experiences in WWII and we would be going by some of the highlights (Cologne and Nuremberg). I decided that I wasn’t getting any younger and jumped at it. It’s expensive, but all inclusive: air fare (from Casper to Budapest), all transfers, meals, drink package, etc., etc. Total price was just under $14K for both of us. I also got us 2 extra days in Amsterdam.
For the rest of this entry, I’m going to go into and talk about Lindsay and my recollections of Amsterdam; feel free to skip to the end.
In December of 1980 I was about half-way through a patrol on USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) when we were notified that we would get a port call in Rotterdam, Netherlands over Christmas. This was back in pre-iPhone days. If I had a phone it was left at home and looked something like this:
Cellphone circa 1980 – you could make calls on it, period, not even text messages.
The Submarine Group also let the wives know, so some planning was done in the background, and we got family-grams (45-word one way text messages (censored by the navy as needed) that a few of the wives were flying over to meet us. I think the Engineer’s and me (Ass’t Weapons Officer) were the only officer’s wives to fly over. (Lindsay had gotten a passport to go to REFORGER exercise in Germany a couple of years before.) Note that this was expensive and short notice, so I was very lucky she could make it.
While noodling down through the North Sea, the CO asked me (since I was Diving Officer as a collateral duty) so exactly how much will our draft increase when we go into fresh water? “Uhmmm, I’ll get back to you sir, with the calculations”, I said. I was a smart enough junior officer to recognize a leading question, and the follow-on questions that would wind up leading to the exact calculations I was going to do, so I cut to the chase. I knew intuitively that it couldn’t be much, since my previous ship, the USS Tang (SS-563) had been moored at the Subase New London, up the Thames River and taking her out to sea and back hadn’t made any noticeable change in draft.
I spent about an hour going over the density of fresh versus salt water: we had a standard value we used to calculate trim about 8.56 lbs, Fresh water was about 8.3 lbs. Typical draft in seawater was 32 feet so in freshwater draft would be about 33 feet. I showed the Captain my calculations and he was satisfied.
We pulled in and I met my wife on the pier. She explained that the Engineer’s wife and her had split a rental car and had us a hotel room in Amsterdam about 75 klicks up the road. We checked out with the CO, and we were off until the muster for underway.
I’m not sure where we stayed for instance here is the current view of downtown Amsterdam:
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And here is the same view with hotels overlaid”
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Notice all the blue lines, they are the canals of Amsterdam. The red pin in the center is the location of the Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church). In 1980 it was newly refurbished, and it hosted a Catholic Midnight Mass. We attended, the Dutch vernacular was close enough to follow along. As we were coming out, I noticed a cornerstone with the date: 1409. Hmmm, that means that the “New Church” was built 211 years before the pilgrims landed in 1620. It gives you a sense of the scope of history of Europe. By the way, in case you were wondering, the Oude Kerk (Old Church) is about a thousand feet to the east, still standing, was built in 1213 and consecrated in 1306, but was crowded so they needed a new one.
Another place we visited was the Anne Frank house. She was the author of the Anne Frank Diary. It was incredibly sobering to see. If any of the young’uns haven’t read it, I recommend it.
Another interesting fact I picked up was the proper pronunciation of the cheese Gouda. I used the traditional English pronunciation of goo-da. Two of the crew in a rental car noted the town of Gouda was just North of Rotterdam and decided to visit it. Of course, they got lost and were asking some Dutch folk (with so-so English skills, but way better than the sailor’s Dutch). They were at an impasse until they pulled out the map and pointed to the town. The light came on, and the helpful Dutch said, “Oh, you mean (How-da). You go down this road for a couple of km and turn left. Our Supply Officer also scored big. He wound up purchasing a bunch of small cheeses (mostly flavored Gouda), that we served as appetizers and movie snacks for the rest of the patrol.
One of the decisions that Lindsay talked to me about some more while in Amsterdam, was having children. She felt her biological clock ticking (she was 28 at the time). We had been up to Yale New Haven the year before and had gotten a brand-new test called a MRI. So new in fact the name used was Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging or NMRI. It turned out that the “Nuclear” freaked people out, so they dropped it. That had given Lindsay a positive diagnosis of MS and she already had significant scarring in her brain. They also offered us genetic counseling in that they suspected that there were some genetic factors even though there wasn’t any clear dependence. They advised NOT having children.
When we married, we had planned to have a couple of kids. I couldn’t imagine being an only child. (Sorry, Charlotte, I didn’t get a vote in your parent’s decision). We decided after talking it over that we get no promises, and Lindsay was still mobile (as we hiked all over Amsterdam). She could be perfectly healthy, have children, and still get hit by a bus.
Getting back to Amsterdam, and Lindsay’s loudly ticking biologic clock. She decided to go off the pill and be ready to try at the end of the patrol. It turns out that at the time, there was a three-week window if you wanted your husband home for both the impregnation and delivery of a child. That patrol ended in mid-February of 1981. Kate was borne on November 12th of that year. So yes, I am interested in revisiting Amsterdam.
Today is 3-14 the annual celebration of Pi day. (Mmm, pie)
By a happy coincidence, my daughter-in-law Irene’s maiden name is also Pi, so she gets a shout out too.
In my post a couple of days ago I mentioned that Kate and I would be traveling to the Aulani Disney Resort in Hawaii in April. Sis replied asking if I would be there over my birthday (April 21st) and reminiscing about being stationed at Naval Airstation Barbers Point back in the mid-70’s. She closed with “I wish I was going with you!”
I answered her “No, we’re going for Apr 9 through 11. I remember coming out to visit you at least once at Barbers Point. Any chance you could get sprung? We could cover your costs if you could go AWOL.”
Less than 10 minutes later I received a Facetime call from Sis. After confirming that I was serious we discussed how we could meet up in Denver for our noon flight. I then called Kate to alert her about the change. I got on the United Airlines website and booked another ticket and changed our seat locations. By 10:00pm we had booked and changed our travel arrangements.
Since we are looking at checking out the changes in Barbers Point and elsewhere on Oahu, I decided to spring for a rental car. It will also make it easier to get over to Aulani from the airport. Looking at Google Maps there are a lot more freeways, but some things look the same. Kaena Point is still unpaved and labelled as a hiking trail. It was unpaved in the early 70’s but mostly passable for the adventurous, but if you got your vehicle stuck it would have cost thousands to get it out. Nu’Uanu Pali still overlooks the Kaneohe Marine base and the Northeast side of the island.
One of the issues from my physical in February was my weight (and subsequently A1C). So I’ve gotten back on the intermittent fasting wagon. I’ve also gotten back on the water walking. Like today I got up at 7:45am or so and went immediately to Casper Aquatic Center and walked a mile or so and came back home for a cup of coffee and breakfast. I cut off eating about 4:00pm or so and just suffer through the evening. So far, I have lost about 10 pounds since my high of 253.6 at the end of February. My goal is to get down to somewhere in the vicinity of 220 by May when the PCP wants me back in for and A1C check.
It has been a month since my last update and things are winding down back to somewhat normal. I will try to update you all my current state.
I got definitive proof that I do NOT have Alzheimer’s Disease (at least as of now). I had a lumbar puncture (Spinal Tap) to look for specific proteins that leak into the spinal fluid and the result was negative. Sometime later this year or the next they will have a blood test for the same kinds of protein to monitor it on an ongoing basis. It made last quarter an exciting period of time but I’m glad that it’s over.
My right ankle has healed from spraining it (stepped in a hole in the back yard of the C-cans). When I went in for a Podiatry appointment about two weeks later and the doctor expressed concern about increased blood flow that added to the swelling and the perception of warmth in the ankle. The concern was for Charcot Syndrome which results in your ankle collapsing. The correction was to finally start wearing knee high compression stockings. Lindsay had worn them (thigh high) for the last several years for the same circulation issues. Two or three days later the swelling was down significantly and the follow up with the podiatrist went great. From the 6 page full report:
Assessment & Plan Problems 1. Diabetic foot E11.8 2. Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hyperglycemia, without long-term current use of insulin E11.65 3. Polyneuropathy associated with underlying disease G63 4. Generalized edema R60.1 5. Nail dystrophy L60.3 6. Tinea unguium B35.1 7. Sprain of anterior talofibular ligament of right ankle, subsequent encounter S93.491D Plan Diabetic patient with right ankle sprain concerning for potential Charcot event with improvement in temperature and swelling from prior visit. No changes in right ankle compared to left side today. Recommended continued monitoring. He will continue to limit his activity. He will continue with compression socks. Discussed follow-up in 1 month with repeat imaging. He will follow-up sooner if recurring swelling or heat to the ankle. He will continue with good blood sugar control. He will monitor and follow-up. All questions answered.
A week later I had a rather uncomfortable conversation with my PCP at my regular 6 month physical. Jen Wagy had been gently advocating for compression stockings for the last year that I had been ignoring. All of a sudden, I showed up in compression hose and there were several axes of contention – Male Doctor vs Female Nurse Practitioner, etc. We left it as it is good that I am using compression hose.
Other than that, things are generally good with the signal exception that my A1C has crept up to 6.5 along with my weight. She expressed that maybe it was time to go back on medication (metformin). I expressed confidence that if I got my weight back down to 230-220 lbs from the current 252 lbs that the A1C would go down. She agreed to let me try, but set the deadline at May 28th, a couple of days after Memorial Day. So I am back to intermittent fasting, restricting my eating to mostly protein between about 9:00am-3:00pm. I am also going back to water walking at the Casper Aquatic Center three days a week. For those of you who want to dig into the ugly details, the actual report is below:
One thing Jen suggested was getting a DexaScan to measure bone density. It’s of more concern for women, but good to get a baseline for elderly gentlemen. Again, a couple of days later I went into the Radiology Clinic on the first floor, and it was 20 minutes in and out. The report is below:
Kate visited from Feb 23rd-Mar 1 and we actually got some significant things accomplished. First up was the stairs up to Jan & Mike’s house:
The ties are actually 8′ lengths of 4×4″ plastic cut into thirds. After placing they are staked down by 3′ or 4′ sections of 1/2″ rebar. I added the lights I had hanging around and the finished work is as shown below. The plan is to let the spring rains settle the earth on the slope and when Jon comes out this summer add the handrails (set in concrete) and pea gravel.
Contrary to what was alleged, the second step was not set to intentionally trip Jon’s OCD.
The other major project was to get some 2×3 sections of shelving from Menard’s to help clean off the island. It and the table had accumulated misc tools, liquor bottles and assorted stuff. We set up first one, then went back to Menards to get the last one in stock to finish off.
They are set up on the wall across from the island in the putative dining room. A view of the cleaned off island is below:
The last project we accomplished was replacing the UPS system that protected the Starlink system. It tripped off a couple of times while Kate was working here. It was easy to reset, but Kate offered to split a replacement from Best Buy. We went down and bought a slightly updated one of the same kind that we had. It went in with no issues, but the instructions showed how to remove/replace the 2 12vdc batteries. I checked Amazon and they were $81.00, but I checked at Batteries & Bulbs in town (on Second St) and got the last two in stock for $78.95. I brought them home and installed them, so I now have a UPS for the laptops in the office.
That resolved most of the medical issues I had. Next month I go back for a repeat set of X-rays of my feet and ankles and in May I have the follow up on my weight/A1C. Also, next month Kate and I are going to Hawaii for 4 days to visit Disney Aulani Resort. It’s to burn off a few vacation points that will otherwise expire. It’s located over by the former Barber’s Point Naval Air Station so it will be interesting to see the changes from the early 70’s.
Since today is February 18th, I would like to wish both Sis and Jon a happy birthday. Jon was Dawn’s 10th birthday present.
So, while the temperature plunges (today – High – 15 deg Low – 0 deg) I had my semi-annual diabetic podiatry appointment. In addition to the standard foot poking, we discussed my sprained ankle and the bruised big toenail.
I will summarize the above for those who don’t want to noodle through the whole thing. The foot poking went about like last time, some loss of sensory perception but no worse than before.
The right big toe has been bruised under the nail ever since the Foreigner concert on October 1st. The doc examined it and started carving around it with the big old nail clippers he had. After he had exposed about half of it (with no pain or discomfort) he remarked that the nail had started growing underneath it. He kept whacking away at it until it was down to the quick of the nail and stopped. He said that it should thicken up and get harder over time.
The ankle he was a little more concerned with. It was still swollen compared to the left side and was considerably warmer. What he was primarily concerned with was the possibility of a Charcot event (see which is Neuropathic Arthropathy). When you have a persistent inflammation, you can get an elevated blood flow (hence warmness) which can lead to lead to bone scavenging until your ankle collapses (generally considered not to be a good thing). He decided to get some X-Rays for both the right ankle and foot and one of the left foot to establish a baseline for longer term issues.
It just so happened that the Radiology department was next door so I walked over there and checked in. Five minutes later I was ushered into the X-Ray office, and they took a series of X-Rays of my feet and right ankle. I walked back in and was reseated in the office and ten minutes later the Dr. was back in and we discussed the X-Rays. I hadn’t broken any bones in my foot or ankle and there were no gross abnormalities.
For the short term he recommended wearing a compression stocking to improve circulation flow. I was familiar with these as Lindsay wore them for the last 10-15 years. I picked them up at Walgreens and am wearing them now. I have a follow-up appointment in two weeks to check my right ankle.
Tomorrow, I have a follow up appointment with Wyoming Otolaryngology Clinic to see how the CPAP machine is working for me. I don’t expect any problems, I’ve had string of 90% or better scores since Dec 11th of last year through last night; except for one night that I didn’t use it at all (Mike’s hospital adventure) and last night which was only 79%. That event was caused by power running down at 3:17am due to the heater running continuously (low temperatures).
Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment at Greiner Ford to get my oil changed, filters, and tire rotation. Again I don’t expect any issues.
We had the follow-up appointment with the Neurologist, Dr. Santiago this morning. I was accompanied by Jan, so, as always, contact her for the minority opinion. It started off slowly, with the blood pressure, pulse rate, O2 sats, etc. The nurse, Sherry, was frowning as she checked the paperwork, checked a couple of things out of the room and came back, still frowning.
The Doctor came in shortly and apologized for the fact that they still didn’t have the results of the Lumbar Puncture. He reported that it was the third time recently that they had problems getting the results. We talked about me being local, as opposed to driving a couple of hours to get here, and we were preparing to have to come back.
There was a knock on the door and someone, presumably Sherry, handed in a couple of sheets of paper (see below). She had presumably broken through barrier and gotten the results.
The Dr. then shifted the tone and delivered the good news.
The key information is on page 2 under the block labelled CSF. The “Beta-Amyloid Ratio” is reported as 0.092 while the Reference Range is “>or=0.073”. Therefore, I do NOT have Alzheimer’s Disease (or at least not yet).
Jan pointed out that at the bottom of page 2 that the test was performed by Mayo Clinic Laboratories. Thanks Mayo!!!
As we talked about the results the Dr mentioned that Sherry could be quite fierce over the phone and attributed the ability to get this done to her. After I got home, I called a florist (amazingly located on 2nd street) to order a flower arrangement to be delivered to her at work today to thank her. I just got a phone call from her thanking me; I think I made her day.
Aside for persons of XY gender. Many years ago, before my first patrol on the USS Sam Rayburn, the COB (Chief of the Boat) took aside all the people making their first patrol. He laid some facts on us as if they were handed down from Jehovah himself. The bottom line was people with XX chromosomes are queer for the sexual organs of plants. As an XY you don’t have to make sense of it, or even understand it at all – just accept it as a given. So, if you accept it as a given, go to a florist and make arrangements to send your wife/girlfriend the sexual organs of plants (flowers) once a week, or every two weeks, or for you cheap bastards at least once a month. Just do it, don’t analyze it, just do it. I took his advice and have never looked back. It really is true. In addition, I had them delivered at work so that all her co-workers could see that I loved her.
I’ll write more later this week on what my plans are moving forward.
Brief addendum. I see that I have inadvertently confused some of you. I mentioned sending flowers to Sherry as a sign of my appreciation for her tenacity in beating an answer out of the people we were depending on for answers.
I wrote the last paragraph over time, and revised it a couple of times, in order to reveal to some men, the truths I had discovered. In the last sentence I was referring specifically to Lindsay and the fact that I was sending flowers to her at work while I was deployed. I certainly did not mean to suggest any nefarious interest in other females.
Just a couple of new items, some mentioned on the family call.
First of all, Jill sent me a text that power was off in the C-Cans, so I went up and futzed around a bit and discovered the breaker at the power panel was tripped. So I reset the breaker, and while turning around I slipped and my right foot slipped into one of the several holes that I have neglected to fill in since we worked on the power last year. I got out and my ankle felt a little sore, but didn’t seem to be much worse for wear. I got the power all reset and heat restored to the C-Cans
Over the next 6-8 hours my ankle swelled up and I determined that I had definitely sprained my ankle. I wrapped it up in one of my collection of Ace Bandages. I can walk on it and although sore I don’t think I broke anything. Next week I have the 6th month appointment with the Podiatrist, Dr. Murdock, for the semi-annual foot stabbing to assess my neuropathy, so if my ankle is still swollen, I will ask him about it.
On Monday, as I promised on the family call, I called the office of Dr Santiago, the neurologist, to ask about the follow up. We reviewed the test results they had, and she hadn’t gotten the final result of the Lumbar Puncture. She said she would call them and get back to me.
On Tuesday she called back and said they had the results and wanted to schedule the follow up. We decided on Tuesday February 11th (the twin’s 42nd birthday). I also got a Webster’s Large Print dictionary from Amazon to crib words-starting-with-F so I can ace the cognition test if they give it to me again.
I still haven’t had the Influenza-A, which Mike was diagnosed with, that I might have been exposed to while taking Jan to the hospital. I came home and dosed myself with Vitamin-C, Zinc, and Ivermectin. I appear to have been successful in avoiding the infection.
