Medical Mysteries Summer 2010

Dear E coli,

I.Hate.You.

I really, truly, and utterly hate you. You ruined my RoadTrip. You wrecked my appetite. You caused me great distress. You even made me take drugs, not to mention go to the doctor. A LOT!

But I guess I have to thank you for the weight loss, you nasty bugger.

Now ... go away! Don't come back. Don't send postcards. BE GONE!

Sincerely,

Auntie Nettie

P.S. Yup E %)(@*%#) coli ... that seems to be the official diagnosis for the last two months of "fun." So far the count is three doctors visits, three sets of "samples," three sets of antibiotics, an abdominal ultrasound, lots of time on the train, about $80 in co-pays, $100+ in drugs, a yet-to-be-determined final bill from everything that wasn't covered by insurance, and one call from the New York City Department of Health, with an oh-so-fun phone interview about what I might have eaten, where, when, and what kind of symptoms. But, hey ... at least it wasn't my gallbladder and my kidneys didn't shut down!

Photo by Eric Erbe, digital colorization by Christopher Pooley, both of USDA, ARS, EMU.

This image (found here) is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Retroblog Wish I had done 1981(?)

Even though this is 2009, and not 1981(?), some of my wishes for this past year are the same.

I wish I had kept on doing something even though it was hard.

I probably could have made better use of my time, as there were definitely a few more projects that I needed to do and people I needed to contact.

Everyone needs to earn more money, but just breaking even(ish) in this economy counts for something -- especially when you give up a job to maintain your life and sanity.

I wish I had gone more places, but requires more time and money. In the larger scheme of things this year, thanks to some very good friends, I got to go to a few places that I never would have made it to on my own ... and the memories and photos will sustain me for a very long time.

All in all, I have learned to be grateful for what has happened and what I did manage to do, rather than dwell on the what-might-have-beens.

Living Wills - Semihumorous, Semiserious

A humorous e-mail from a friend (see below, with my edits), got me thinking today about living wills. While we may joke about them, think that they are just for our "mature" friends, and believe that they will never be needed, have we really sat down and discussed them with our friends and family? While death may be one of the other taboo topics of polite conversation, like money, politics, sex, religion, and natural hair color and age, I feel strongly that the topic of living wills, medical wishes, who-gets-what are things that should be discussed PRIOR to emergencies and chronic illnesses. The more people that know this NOW, while I'm healthy, of sound mind, coherent, and able to inform everyone in my life of these choices, the less confusion and angst later.

I feel especially strongly about this, because I live alone, far from my ICE and next of kin. For example, who would know that I wish to be an organ donor? How would you know that I'm registered on the NYS Organ Donors list, especially since my drivers license isn't currently signed to that effect? I may have had the conversation with my brothers, but would my parents know? Probably not. Why would they? We haven't had these kinds of conversations, even after many vigils with ailing elderly relatives. Do I know what their thoughts are, if something happens to incapacitate both of them? Kinda, sorta, vaguely, ... not really.

While I don't have to worry about who would take care of my non-existent children if something happened to me, does everyone in all of the in-law and out-law families know who will take care of my niece(s) and nephew(s) if, heaven forbid, something happens to their parents? Are all of the aunt, uncles, and grandparents on the same page? We all love the kids, but do we know who their parents have designated as the emergency care providers? See -- another scary but important conversational topic.

Maybe one of the goals for 2008 is for all of us to at least draft up/update/finalize with the lawyers these thoughts and get them sent to the appropriate people. It's not morbid, it's practical. Really.

So, now that we are all depressed and stressed out about yet ANOTHER thing to do -- here's the funny e-mail that got me going down this train of thought.

NOW REMEMBER THIS !!!!

I, (state your name) , being of reasonably sound mind and of-so-soft body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means.

Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers , or doctors interested in simply running up the bills.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the following, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better:

chocolate
Dt. Coke
filet mignon - steak - red meat
Dt. Coke
ice cream and hot fudge
mashed potatoes and gravy
chocolate
Mexican food
chocolate
French fries
chocolate
Pizza
fudge
Hot Tamales (candy)
bacon double cheese burger
Chocolate
Chocolate

When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, let the "fat lady sing". . and call it a day!