The state of the Problem 2/24
Feb. 24th, 2018 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydionI did use nearly all the car tax money fixing the car. I borked the alignment driving it to the mechanic, but towing would have cost more than I had. It is very lucky things broke the night before I was to go pay it. The tail end was just enough to gamble on trying to get the computer fixed. That ate my thurday entitrely and I had not much left by way of spoons after. Meanwhile Tavy, who had started the week super clinging, turned out to have a bad cold Wednesday, and by thursday was particularly seedy, so most of when I've not been out on unpleasant adventures, I've arranged things so the poor miserable beastie could nap on me, the best place in the world to be from a sick cat's perspective being asleep on his or her particular favorite human.
The fix did not work, but they said they'd take it back and try again without charging extra iuf I took it back lunchish Friday. I had blood work and lung follow up at 7:45AM. (My Doctor starts very early and stays late). I emerged to discover ominous flurries and a forecast of 1-4 inches. Neither I nor my car are safe in snow, so imagine Saturday's saga as a ticking clock in which I am trying to cram things in with a constant worry that my car won't make it up the slope and into parking and in which sidewalk snow and ice can mean a nasty ER trip. My legs don't handle slipery or uneven footing at all and it was a bad fall on ice that ruined what was until that point the more functional of my legs. I need to go back for more tests end of March, looks like, as they may need to adjust one of my dosages, but given the scale and complexity of my medical situation, really, this id nothing. I am heavily monitored for a reason and most things that turn up in blood work are fairly easily sorted at this stage. Also, as I am very trustworthy and very serious about the dangers of antibiotic resistance, so I was entrusted with antibiotics in case this week's lung infection escalated over the weekend. I mentioned the mystery of my immune system successfully sorting two lung infections all by itself since late December. She suspects it's the new lung infection vaccine I had last fall giving me just enough help that I actually can get better sometimes on my own. Yay! (Seriously, folks, vaccinate your kids!) Tavy and I both woke up much better this morning, so odds are my immune system may be wracking up a third win in a row, which is something that hasn't happened in well over a decade. We also had a long talk where I used medical history stuff to help her work out a case to fight them taking a way one of the medications I need to function at all as part of the new Republican austerity measures. *fingers crossed, folks* Losing this isn't as deadly as losing my nebulizer, but it would mean amoung other loses, completely losing my arthritis medicine, which happens to9 be the only non-narcotic option I'm not allergic to (Which is why I got to keep it through the last round of austerity cuts), along with likely going back to the old delightful multiple ER trips a year pre-Medicare standard. Look there is a reason I am on Medicare and my meds schedule is an incredible complicated multiple times a day web. Nothing can be changed lightly without completely fucking the whole mess up. This particular once a day pill makes arthritic medicine possible while doing two other extremely useful things, sort of like a keystone in an arch.
I also had a stupid medical bureaucracy thing where the wait to get in was dramatically longer than the bureaucracy, which turned out to be an easily solved kerfluffle over my gender and bits of the bureaucracy not communicating with each other instead of some catastrophic problem with my Medicare or Medicare Advantage. I need to do some phone bureaucracy to straighten things out on a larger scale in the near future, but the local issue was solved by me clarifying my gender and document status. All this with the clock ticking and the flurries not yet sticking, but coming sown small, hard, and faqst, in a way suggesting they's soon stick.
Then to the dentist to drill another tooth, as the drilling in early February suggested that while not causative, my bottom left side teeth were contributing to what has been some of the worst most persistent chronic pain in years. I discovered this after the Renaissance Angel Dentist fixed one of them and suddenly my chronic pain lessening tricks started having more than temporary effect, enough so that by mid February, I could pick out individual things hurting instead of dealing with an undifferentiated wall of pain fluctuating between unbearable and nigh unbearable. Extremely Unpleasant and occasionally horrifying is something I can work with much easier and any thread I can unpick helps. I am meant to go back Monday, as Gentle Giant (As his DA calls him) spotted the tooth next in the early stages of falling apart. Apparently there is a loose temp filling on a loose filling that has developed a cavity? This is what I get for not being able to afford dental copays since not long after my Mother died. Every time I leave, I seem to have the same number of cavities as they find something new while poking each time. Still most of today's chronic pain is normal particularly bad chronic pain, which is progress.
By the time I left, it was sticking on sidewalks and gradd verges, though the streets were still clean. Normally, with snow like that, I'd go home immediately, as a peculiarity of geography makes my neighborhood much worse than most of town, and my part of town is full of slopes. There is a danger of getting trapped outside or crashing trying to get into parking. I'd much rather be trapped In than Out. The computer needed to go back though. I skipped forage, even though we are low on things and odds were there'd be no line on the grounds that I was nearly out of time to get home safely as it was, especially with a car that threatens not to start in the cold with wonky alignment. The highway was clear, though visibility wasn't great, and of course people not from snow country were a tad panicky. I made it safely cross town and that end was lighter so I got in and out okay. There was the long wait for my guy to be free. Tick, Tick, Tick. Luckily, he wanted me to check it in instead of me camp0ing there while he worked on it, so I made it out in what turned out to be the nick of time. I went straight home. My street was still driveable though dirty and the tailgater behind me clearly thought I was crazy the last block, but I learned to drive in the snow and I know my driveway which is almost frictionless in these conditions, so I picked a steady speed calculated to be the least momentum needed to carry my around the turn and up the slope. There was a horrible moment I thought it was not quite enough, but I crested, then an even more horrible moment as with dreamlike slowness, I drifted sideways nearly two car lengths, luckily, I had hit the center of the drive accurately and the force went nearly straight ahead even though my car was rather diagonal, so there was space. I steered into the skid, the tired caught, and I made my slow way to parking. (I'd lost close parking the first Tuesday in January and have been parked on the o0ther side of the complex since. I randomly and fortuitously won the spot back when I limped home broken Tuesday, and for some reason have had the fortune to retain it now, when I needed it most, as I'm not any better at slick pavement than my car is on a near frictionless upslope). Home and safe, to form a leg mest for a feverish cat for the rest of the day.
So the upshot is: the snow is gone again today, Tavy's fever had broken and he's on the mend, Squirrel is meant to collect the dying laptop while he was out and has been issued instructions for trying to get it to work tonight. We do not know if it will actually work, and even if it does, it's got likely one month or at best two left in it, but we have a good offer of a used one, and hopefully time enough to transfer things across, assuming nothing goes wrong between now and when said laptop arrives here. I have enough in my account to cover the insurance automatic withdraw and whatever banking fees will turn up end of month. (Thank you benefactor). I do not have the car tax money which is due the 2nd. (70.00). Social Security comes between the 2-4th, more often the third or forth since Sequester. I can not pay something else due early in the month and make car tax, assuming SS is on time for once. If the computer is enough fixed to get connection, I can try an auction, but it's best to wait until the fever goes for the safety of buyers, but it's all scary tight.
If the computer does not connect, I need to stay messages only until the gift laptop shows up. I'll let y'all know where we are when I know.
Want to chip in towards car tax? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.
* "Help us stop the humanitarian crisis on Manus:" https://www.asrc.org.au/donate-now/
* "RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees):" https://www.givenow.com.au/riserefugee/donate
* How to help Rohingya refugees: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html?emc=edit_nn_20171012&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=50784086&te=1&_r=0
* Help fight for Net Neutrality restoration: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/170010496350/democrats-are-just-one-vote-shy-of-restoring-net
* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey
* Trans Lifeline is one of those organizations you can call at (877) 565-8860 in the US and in Canada (877) 330- 6366.
* The Trevor Project has a 24 hour hotline geared toward helping our youth, and you can call it at 1-866-488-7386
* Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.
* This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/
* Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/
* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
The fix did not work, but they said they'd take it back and try again without charging extra iuf I took it back lunchish Friday. I had blood work and lung follow up at 7:45AM. (My Doctor starts very early and stays late). I emerged to discover ominous flurries and a forecast of 1-4 inches. Neither I nor my car are safe in snow, so imagine Saturday's saga as a ticking clock in which I am trying to cram things in with a constant worry that my car won't make it up the slope and into parking and in which sidewalk snow and ice can mean a nasty ER trip. My legs don't handle slipery or uneven footing at all and it was a bad fall on ice that ruined what was until that point the more functional of my legs. I need to go back for more tests end of March, looks like, as they may need to adjust one of my dosages, but given the scale and complexity of my medical situation, really, this id nothing. I am heavily monitored for a reason and most things that turn up in blood work are fairly easily sorted at this stage. Also, as I am very trustworthy and very serious about the dangers of antibiotic resistance, so I was entrusted with antibiotics in case this week's lung infection escalated over the weekend. I mentioned the mystery of my immune system successfully sorting two lung infections all by itself since late December. She suspects it's the new lung infection vaccine I had last fall giving me just enough help that I actually can get better sometimes on my own. Yay! (Seriously, folks, vaccinate your kids!) Tavy and I both woke up much better this morning, so odds are my immune system may be wracking up a third win in a row, which is something that hasn't happened in well over a decade. We also had a long talk where I used medical history stuff to help her work out a case to fight them taking a way one of the medications I need to function at all as part of the new Republican austerity measures. *fingers crossed, folks* Losing this isn't as deadly as losing my nebulizer, but it would mean amoung other loses, completely losing my arthritis medicine, which happens to9 be the only non-narcotic option I'm not allergic to (Which is why I got to keep it through the last round of austerity cuts), along with likely going back to the old delightful multiple ER trips a year pre-Medicare standard. Look there is a reason I am on Medicare and my meds schedule is an incredible complicated multiple times a day web. Nothing can be changed lightly without completely fucking the whole mess up. This particular once a day pill makes arthritic medicine possible while doing two other extremely useful things, sort of like a keystone in an arch.
I also had a stupid medical bureaucracy thing where the wait to get in was dramatically longer than the bureaucracy, which turned out to be an easily solved kerfluffle over my gender and bits of the bureaucracy not communicating with each other instead of some catastrophic problem with my Medicare or Medicare Advantage. I need to do some phone bureaucracy to straighten things out on a larger scale in the near future, but the local issue was solved by me clarifying my gender and document status. All this with the clock ticking and the flurries not yet sticking, but coming sown small, hard, and faqst, in a way suggesting they's soon stick.
Then to the dentist to drill another tooth, as the drilling in early February suggested that while not causative, my bottom left side teeth were contributing to what has been some of the worst most persistent chronic pain in years. I discovered this after the Renaissance Angel Dentist fixed one of them and suddenly my chronic pain lessening tricks started having more than temporary effect, enough so that by mid February, I could pick out individual things hurting instead of dealing with an undifferentiated wall of pain fluctuating between unbearable and nigh unbearable. Extremely Unpleasant and occasionally horrifying is something I can work with much easier and any thread I can unpick helps. I am meant to go back Monday, as Gentle Giant (As his DA calls him) spotted the tooth next in the early stages of falling apart. Apparently there is a loose temp filling on a loose filling that has developed a cavity? This is what I get for not being able to afford dental copays since not long after my Mother died. Every time I leave, I seem to have the same number of cavities as they find something new while poking each time. Still most of today's chronic pain is normal particularly bad chronic pain, which is progress.
By the time I left, it was sticking on sidewalks and gradd verges, though the streets were still clean. Normally, with snow like that, I'd go home immediately, as a peculiarity of geography makes my neighborhood much worse than most of town, and my part of town is full of slopes. There is a danger of getting trapped outside or crashing trying to get into parking. I'd much rather be trapped In than Out. The computer needed to go back though. I skipped forage, even though we are low on things and odds were there'd be no line on the grounds that I was nearly out of time to get home safely as it was, especially with a car that threatens not to start in the cold with wonky alignment. The highway was clear, though visibility wasn't great, and of course people not from snow country were a tad panicky. I made it safely cross town and that end was lighter so I got in and out okay. There was the long wait for my guy to be free. Tick, Tick, Tick. Luckily, he wanted me to check it in instead of me camp0ing there while he worked on it, so I made it out in what turned out to be the nick of time. I went straight home. My street was still driveable though dirty and the tailgater behind me clearly thought I was crazy the last block, but I learned to drive in the snow and I know my driveway which is almost frictionless in these conditions, so I picked a steady speed calculated to be the least momentum needed to carry my around the turn and up the slope. There was a horrible moment I thought it was not quite enough, but I crested, then an even more horrible moment as with dreamlike slowness, I drifted sideways nearly two car lengths, luckily, I had hit the center of the drive accurately and the force went nearly straight ahead even though my car was rather diagonal, so there was space. I steered into the skid, the tired caught, and I made my slow way to parking. (I'd lost close parking the first Tuesday in January and have been parked on the o0ther side of the complex since. I randomly and fortuitously won the spot back when I limped home broken Tuesday, and for some reason have had the fortune to retain it now, when I needed it most, as I'm not any better at slick pavement than my car is on a near frictionless upslope). Home and safe, to form a leg mest for a feverish cat for the rest of the day.
So the upshot is: the snow is gone again today, Tavy's fever had broken and he's on the mend, Squirrel is meant to collect the dying laptop while he was out and has been issued instructions for trying to get it to work tonight. We do not know if it will actually work, and even if it does, it's got likely one month or at best two left in it, but we have a good offer of a used one, and hopefully time enough to transfer things across, assuming nothing goes wrong between now and when said laptop arrives here. I have enough in my account to cover the insurance automatic withdraw and whatever banking fees will turn up end of month. (Thank you benefactor). I do not have the car tax money which is due the 2nd. (70.00). Social Security comes between the 2-4th, more often the third or forth since Sequester. I can not pay something else due early in the month and make car tax, assuming SS is on time for once. If the computer is enough fixed to get connection, I can try an auction, but it's best to wait until the fever goes for the safety of buyers, but it's all scary tight.
If the computer does not connect, I need to stay messages only until the gift laptop shows up. I'll let y'all know where we are when I know.
Want to chip in towards car tax? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.
* "Help us stop the humanitarian crisis on Manus:" https://www.asrc.org.au/donate-now/
* "RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees):" https://www.givenow.com.au/riserefugee/donate
* How to help Rohingya refugees: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html?emc=edit_nn_20171012&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=50784086&te=1&_r=0
* Help fight for Net Neutrality restoration: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/170010496350/democrats-are-just-one-vote-shy-of-restoring-net
* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey
* Trans Lifeline is one of those organizations you can call at (877) 565-8860 in the US and in Canada (877) 330- 6366.
* The Trevor Project has a 24 hour hotline geared toward helping our youth, and you can call it at 1-866-488-7386
* Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.
* This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/
* Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/
* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com