This is a longish post mostly about (my) health, which I concede is a fairly boring topic. There is, however, something of Actual Interest starting about half-way down. Your search-phrase is Speaking of wicked.
So, just about caught up with housekeeping, bill-paying, and laundry. The cats are being a little clingy still, despite having had Mary’s undivided attention. Next time we go on tour, I guess we’ll just have to bring them along.
Or not.
Frequent auditors of this blog will recall that, right before we went on tour, I had a visit with the vampires. The panel of tests came back with good results, except that pituitary function was up, which was considered a sign that it was pushing the thyroid to work harder, which meant that (maybe) the dosage of my meds needed to be increased. The bitter irony here being that, though I had been pulling the falling-asleep-between-sentences thing throughout the writing of Alliance of Equals, I didn’t even mention it during the annual examination immediately prior to the blood test, because it seemed pointless. Not that my doctor doesn’t listen to me, but she listens to the test results harder, and we’ve been down that road too many times.
Happily, this time the test results took up the slack.
Long story short, we’re three weeks into the slightly higher dose of meds, with a book tour taking up a week of that (maybe not the best timing, there), and I’m noticing a definite decrease in the fall-asleep-snap-awake thing (which is actually A Rather Unpleasant Sensation, not to mention the hash it makes of productivity, and the potential for producing Real Mayhem, should I fall asleep while driving), so, hoping the six-week blood test will be such that I’m allowed to keep the higher dosage.
But! This little skit demonstrates a flaw in my otherwise perfectly agreeable personality (ahem), which I’m going to have to address.
I’m going to go out on a limb, here, and make the crazy assumption that health professionals are going to be playing a larger role in my life as I meander down my timeline. Health professionals being human, they come with their own set of assumptions and experiences, particularly with regard to grey-haired women. That’s fine, but here’s the thing. I get bored. Particularly, I get bored when I have stated a fact regarding my health which the tests then fail to support — or don’t support definitively. After the third time, I figure there’s no point to repeating myself, and I stop, even if I feel that there’s still a problem.
Clearly, I’m going to have to Get Tough about repeating myself and pushing for solutions.
I’m also going to have to get back with doing yoga, which got kicked off-track after PhilCon, and, with one thing and another, never got back into the schedule.
Boy, that’s a lot of virtue in my future. I’ll have to adopt a wicked new hobby somewhere along the way, so as not to become unbalanced.
Speaking of wicked — While we were on-tour, we received a head’s up from Bookseller Kate Reynolds that A Night in the Lonesome October (written by Roger Zelazny; illustrated by Gahan Wilson) has been reprinted in trade paper by the Chicago Review Press, in their Rediscovered Classics line (which seems to also include Mary Stewart’s Entire Ouvre; as well as Gwen Bistrow, Anya Seton, Rosemary Sutcliff, and, like, a dozen other authors/books I read in my now far-distant youth. BN will give you a list of the titles in the Rediscovered Classics line; Amazon is not so courteous).
For those who may be new reading here, A Night in the Lonesome October is. . .it’s an advent calendar for Halloween. Each of the chapters is dated, starting on September 30, and it is meant to be read one chapter a night, through Halloween. Steve and I read it to each other every year, and our copy is starting to show the results of our dedication, so we’re happy to be able to purchase a back-up copy.
And that? Is all I’ve got.
No, wait; it’s not.
I also have a picture of Trooper:
Today’s blog title brought to you by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, “Endicott.” Here’s your link.
Rosemary Sutcliff!!!! *runs off to do some research on titles*
BTW, THANKS!
With regards to the medical professionals and the difficulty of impressing upon them the validity of your health concerns, I recommend a health journal. When you have a repeating health issue, note the dates and times and sum up right before your appointment. “I had 48 incidents of narcolepsy since I last saw you. This seems a rather lot, can we address this?” You can use same journal to record their response. (Or lack of!) See if this is helpful, at the very least, if you are tired of telling them and being ignored, you can open the journal and point. Or bring flashcards! Thank you for letting us know about reprints of classic literature.
You could take up sexy dancing as your wicked hobby.
Maybe you could even go as far as the waltz!
I recall church youth groups warning us against dancing so it must be really something.
I hear you about the health thing. It is really tiring to go through the history of my bad eye, down through the multudinous years…. but it pays off if you keep up being a Nudge.
I remember grabbing a copy of the reprint of A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER last fall, when y’all pointed it out. There are other titles? Hmn. Bad for my budget… 🙂
I know what you mean about the health issue thing! My recent emergency surgery was because I’d recently been complaining to any doc who’d listen about frightening bouts of regurgitating a dinner eaten sometimes five hours before bedtime! When it started happening every night for two weeks and there was a threat of aspirating the fluid it still took several calls by myself and my general physician’s staff person calling another couple of times for the weight loss surgeon’s staff to get the surgeon to pay attention. From that to surgery in less than fifteen minutes notice just felt surreal. Now I’m dealing with an infected seroma where the port used to sit right over my ribs. Hurts like the dickens and still fairly swollen but now everyone is snapping to. Go figure, huh? I don’t wish this kinda silliness on anyone else.
Of all the superlative Zelazny out there, A Night in the Lonesome October is my favorite! Any my copy too is starting to fall apart at the spine and try to lose pages. Thanks for the heads up!
Unfortunately, one needs to be or have a medical advocate. Stern words when they do not listen, usually gets them to at least sit up and take notice. I learned that the hard way, helping my Dad navigate through his timeline.
Very true on the need to advocate. Finally got correct diagnosis entered into Doctor’s notes on Wednesday, migraine with aura (they had without aura for 10 years and I told them to change it each year). Doesn’t help that I loathe the medical profession, in general. Good luck!
spent all of my adult life religiously going to semi-annual physicals. Somehow, someone happened to miss my thyroid cancer, which is now stage 4. Now taking chemo drugs that make me Very Sleepy. Don’t know how long I’ll last, but I sure hope to read several as yet unpublished books before I go. Hang in there, Sharon!
Rosemary Sutcliff AND Mary Stuart!!!! Running to add to my wish lists! I am missing about 2 of the MS, and most of the RS titles in my personal library. So. Not. Good. Now I can correct this horrible deficiency!
Thanks Sharon!
Sarge
Now taking chemo drugs that make me Very Sleepy.
I imagine they do.
Also — holy crap.
Hang in there, yourself.
A journal’s a good idea — not the least because it will force me to pay attention to what’s going on. I spend a lot of my time. . .elsewhere. . .and don’t always pay close attention to the so-called real world.
Welcome!
There’s a recording out there of Zelazny (I believe) reading A Night in the Lonesome October — very long (thus, multiple tapes in old media) but great if you don’t have a resident reading aloud partner. Don’t know how available it is, but worth a listen as fall moves in.
Health, and finally finding that book one is reading in one’s dreams, to all.