Curlew of Bluster

[ismo]

Not crazy about this day. The biggest portion of it was taking the Sparrowhawk to have a stress test that probably was not necessary to begin with, but what can you do when the docs get the bit between their teeth. Preliminary imaging went just fine, and the nurse expressed her opinion that nothing of concern was revealed, though hastily emphasizing that she was not a doctor. They didn't want him to do the stress test on the treadmill, because it's an incline that they thought might be difficult for him to manage. There is much dread of patients falling off the treadmill, and certainly we would not wish for that to happen either. So they injected him with the chemical that mimics cardiac stress. He tolerated that pretty well. Then they tried to inject the radioactive tracer for a second set of images. At this point things went pear-shaped, as the line popped out of the port and spewed mildly radioactive fluid all over everything, except into the vein where it was supposed to go. So he had to be swabbed off and sent home, to return next Friday and do it all over again. Seriously, you guys--you had ONE JOB. And you do it all day long. One would think you could get it right. But no. They just sucked up three hours of our remaining lifespan, to receive no more than an "Ooopsie . . . my bad." And a package of inedible stale cheese crackers. I took him home and gave him his usual breakfast instead--in this case, a little sausage, fresh fruit, and toast with peanut butter and marmalade--and sent him to take a nap. But he was still debilitated for the rest of the day, and so was I, although with less excuse.

There were quite a few persons in various stages of debilitation and interesting presentations to be observed in the waiting room. In the parking lot, an elderly man got off one of those medical transport buses and limped along the sidewalk with his cane. It was about 32 degrees out, "feels like" 22 due to a bit of a breeze, and it was cloudy. This dapper gent was wearing a baseball cap and puffy jacket over a pair of red athletic shorts with a white stripe, and I think some crocs. Hey, it's Michigan.

I got a cryptic text from one of Madame's other friends, who was visiting her today and wondered if her hearing aid had been complete when I was there yesterday. Apparently it was no longer functional today. Oy. Well, I'm glad I was there while communication was still operative.

I think I must go outside tomorrow. I've about had it with sitting on my ass in an institutional setting, surrounded by potential futures that I dread. I don't think I can sink any farther toward this black hole without making SOME tiny gesture of defiance.