NOT FRANTIC The past few weeks have been intense. I lose track of time. Retirement tends to make our days and weeks run into each other seamlessly. It can be difficult to remember when something happened — whether it was… Read More ›
medical
HARD DAY WITH CROCUSES
Yesterday was a long day. Between the telephone all morning trying to arrange a simple doctor’s visit — then going off to find out if I have cancer again (if you’ve had it once, you always wonder if it will… Read More ›
COZY MORNING
Garry was up early because he has a medical thing today. He wanted the extra time to have coffee, for showering and all that morning stuff. I lolled in bed for an extra hour, mostly because that’s how long it… Read More ›
MY MEDICALLY CHALLENGED COLLEGE CAREER – BY ELLIN CURLEY
The week that I started college, in September of 1967, I got sick. Physically sick. I developed palpitations, shortness of breath, rapid pulse and dizziness. The symptoms got worse during my first year in college. I started taking my pulse… Read More ›
HACKING YOUR HEARTBEAT
You thought this was a creepy, personal fantasy. It turns out to be real. I told’ya, didn’t I? FDA recalls close to half-a-million pacemakers over hacking fears Turns out former Vice President (and erratic shooter) Dick Cheney was right all… Read More ›
MEMORIZING NORMAL … WHAT WAS THAT?
It was another trip to the oncologist. About 3 months ago, I was checking out my fake breasts and found something that hadn’t been there before. Now, before everyone starts to worry, don’t. I felt it in the right breast… Read More ›
A REAL LIFE ‘M.A.S.H.” STORY – BY ELLIN CURLEY
My first husband, Larry, was in R.O.T.C. in college. That meant that he would become an officer when he entered the U.S. Army. So, after basic training, he became a Lieutenant, not a grunt. He was sent to Vietnam for… Read More ›
TRASH GOES OUT MORE OFTEN THAN ME
“We are made of sterner stuff than most people,” my son said. This was in answer to the question how come we hurt so much and still function. Well, sort of function. I have good days and not so good… Read More ›
MAKE ME FEEL BETTER
I visited my favorite doctor last week. She is the only one of my original set of doctors I kept when I changed insurers. Despite her not being covered directly by my new insurance, she is irreplaceable. She “gets me.” To try… Read More ›
STAYING ALIVE
In 2010, I discovered I had cancer in both breasts. Two tumors, unrelated to each other. Just twice lucky. They removed the tumors and the associated breasts, gave me very attractive fake replacements. Much perkier than the old ones in an… Read More ›
THE WEEK DRAWS TO A CLOSE
I got to see some really great x-rays of my spine yesterday. Garry got to see them too and I gave him a short course in why Marilyn’s back hurts. And how come what hurts also keeps my spine in one piece…. Read More ›
WHAT INSURANCE DOESN’T COVER
Seeing. Hearing. Eating. Breathing. Breathing. No one covers asthma medication anymore. A while ago, insurance companies universally decided to stop covering medication to prevent asthma attacks. Most of us don’t have the medication anymore. We buy emergency inhalers because they cost around $50 — without insurance. The daily… Read More ›
REFRESH!
REFRESH Today, after having postponed this appointment three times, I finally went for my annual checkup with the oncologist. I like my oncologist. He’s a very pleasant, easy-going, friendly guy. Low key. Not an alarmist. Sensitive and sensible. But, in the… Read More ›
THE INEVITABILITY OF ALL OF THAT – AND THEN WHAT?
You can run, but you cannot hide. Let me rephrase that. I can’t run … nor can I hide. Every year, like a particularly annoying alarm clock, they come around. Annual visits to the oncologist and cardiologist. And my birthday, the… Read More ›
HACKING THE PACEMAKER
EPISODE: NCIS – NEED TO KNOW (2012) Short Synopsis: Alan Katzenbach, a lawyer, waits for Gibbs with his client, a chief petty officer named Leland Wiley. Wiley was busted for drugs and wants to trade information he has — which he… Read More ›
HAPPY LEAP DAY
Today is Leap Day. Leap Day used to mean something, but now, it’s just something we call that extra day we get at the end of February every four years. Once upon a time, it really meant that the calendar leapt over… Read More ›
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 