Hospital

THE PROBLEMS OF GETTING COVID TREATMENT

By Marilyn Armstrong on 03/22/2023 • ( 2 )

Considering how many vaccinations we’ve had, I would have liked if they’d worked longer. They didn’t prevent us from getting it — though Garry is still negative — but they did keep us from getting really bad cases. Everyone told… Read More ›

LIFE, DEATH, CANCER, AND DIGNITY

By Marilyn Armstrong on 03/15/2023 • ( 21 )

I don’t talk much about the “reality” of having cancer. It’s not the same for everyone. I had it twice, once for each breast and each was unrelated to the other. It was relatively minor for me other than the… Read More ›

TO THE EYE DOCTOR

By Marilyn Armstrong on 01/20/2023 • ( 13 )

Poor Garry. One of his hearing aids is out for repair, so hearing is a bigger than usual problem. For him, hearing is always a problem but with one aid missing, it’s worse. And now, with his eyes going blurry,… Read More ›

SMALL MIRACLES

By Marilyn Armstrong on 01/19/2023 • ( 23 )

I got the right nurse! She wrapped my arm in heated blankets and was able to find a working vein on the second try — which is probably a record especially considering how many have been unable to find a… Read More ›

WE ARE ALL SURVIVORS

By Marilyn Armstrong on 03/22/2022 • ( 12 )

In 2010, I discovered I had cancer in both breasts. Two unrelated tumors making me twice lucky. They removed the tumors and the associated breasts, gave me very attractive replacements which are perkier than the old ones in an artificial… Read More ›

UPDATE: MARILYN – SATURDAY PM

By Garry Armstrong on 03/19/2022 • ( 17 )

FLASHBACK FRIDAY On Saturday – Originally written on March 19, 2014 by Garry Armstrong. Update by Marilyn. Not all flashbacks are fun to read or remember. Eight years ago, I was in Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital trying to stay alive…. Read More ›

CHANGING MEDICAL PLANS – MASSADVANTAGE

By Marilyn Armstrong on 10/29/2021 • ( 16 )

I want to start by saying working with Blue Cross was great. They aren’t the cheapest service (or the most expensive), but they know how to run a medical plan. They approve requests for medication immediately and if you need… Read More ›

PLAGUES AND PANDEMICS

By Marilyn Armstrong on 03/28/2021 • ( 2 )

Plagues are not always pandemics. For a plague to become a pandemic, it has to have spread so widely that no location is spared. A pandemic is a plague (or epidemic) that has run out of control. Back in those… Read More ›

WHAT DOES CHARLIE BAKER HAVE AGAINST WORCESTER COUNTY?

By Marilyn Armstrong on 02/22/2021 • ( 10 )

Massachusetts isn’t a huge state. We aren’t Texas or even New York where there are miles of open country between cities. Basically, we have one city — Boston — and a lot of small towns. You can drive from the… Read More ›

ANOTHER DAY, A BIG SNOWSTORM, AND LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE

By Marilyn Armstrong on 02/02/2021 • ( 7 )

I really hoped that the new administration would lower the temperature of this country. I suppose it has, to some degree, but not enough. So far, Garry and I have managed to survive 11-months of lockdown and quarantine. Now, with… Read More ›

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT, BUT SOMETIMES, YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED

By Marilyn Armstrong on 10/15/2020 • ( 21 )

If you didn’t believe before, believe now. I was waiting. I knew. It had to be. I’m surprised it took this long, but finally, we’re here. Is this another media hoax? If 45 should die, would that be a SUPER… Read More ›

LIFE, DEATH, CANCER, AND DIGNITY

By Marilyn Armstrong on 09/28/2020 • ( 19 )

I don’t talk much about the “reality” of having cancer. It’s not the same for everyone and my cases (two, one for each breast and each different from the other) were relatively mild. The lymph nodes were not attacked, the… Read More ›

A SNEAKY LITTLE VIRUS – Marilyn Armstrong

By Marilyn Armstrong on 05/12/2020 • ( 11 )

Having had more medical issues than I can remember (sometimes I make a list and try to remember everything, but I always forget something), I speak and understand “medicalese” pretty well. Not every word or every procedure or even all… Read More ›

THIS ISN’T GOING TO GO ON FOREVER – Marilyn Armstrong

By Marilyn Armstrong on 03/13/2020 • ( 14 )

So Garry and I are listening (Audiobooks) to the biography of John Wayne written by Scott Eyman. We can’t turn on a baseball game, which we would normally be doing. There’s nowhere to go because it’s cold and rainy outside…. Read More ›

A BIT OF ADVICE ON SURVIVING YOUR MEDICAL SYSTEM – Marilyn Armstrong

By Marilyn Armstrong on 12/13/2019 • ( 11 )

I’m alive for two major reasons: Because I didn’t take a lot of advice I was given. I had been misdiagnosed and had some bad doctors. Having learned my lessons the hard way, I did my homework and sought out… Read More ›

AND AFTER ALL THE TESTS … Marilyn Armstrong

By Marilyn Armstrong on 06/01/2019 • ( 23 )

After Garry and I left our car with the valet at UMass Memorial, I looked at Garry and commented: “I should have just gone to an eye doctor.” Considering all the testing and checkups, you’d think I’d have a diagnosis…. Read More ›