Wednesday, April 13, 2022

 Wednesday, April 13, 2022  

       What a great night's sleep. I wasn't tired at 8:30. I wondered if I would fall asleep if I went to bed at my usual hour, between 9:30 and 10:00. Shortly after nine, tiredness hit on cue. I read a little and fell asleep promptly after turning off the light. I woke at 12 and got up to pee. When I went back to bed. Again, I felt wide awake. I dreaded another restless night. The next time I was conscious and needed to pee, it was 3 am. Again, I fell asleep and woke at 5 am. That's a great night's sleep. 

   I used the walking stick for my morning walk but didn't need it. I used it to ensure I used my weak leg as much as possible. My leg was so much improved that I again doubted if I should have the THR.

 After publicly posting the April 13, 2021's blog, I showered. Then I head to town to do some shopping. I needed something to deal with the mold on my crepe myrtle. Margo told me to spray it with horticultural oil. I found a spray I had prepared some time ago in the shed. I dutifully sprayed the plant not once but twice. It did nothing. I sent Margo a text asking for additional help. As a result, I went to Farm and Garden this morning. I told them I had a 'dusty' mold I treated with horticultural oil with no success. Fortunately, I had a picture to show them. I also saw Margo referred to it as powdery mold rather than dusty. The clerks asked me some pointed questions. Did I use the correct proportion, 2 oz to a gallon? I told them I didn't remember, but I was sure I would have gotten the measurements right. When did I prepare this mixture? Hmm. It may be a year ago or so. You're supposed to throw out what you don't use immediately. The oil settles to the bottom, making the mixture useless. While I thought I had a store-bought container at home, I bought another one. I knew I could return it if I found my old one in the shed.

   Shortly after I got home, my acupuncturist arrived for my session. She always starts by working my muscles with her hands. I'd call it massage, but it is more specific than that. As she worked on my left outer thigh, something popped. I screamed, not so much in pain as in surprise. Something unexpected had happened. The acupuncturist said she was startled too. I thought she was alarmed because of my scream. No, she was alarmed because she could not only feel this unexpected significant shift, but she also heard it. Neither of us knew what had happened, but I knew there was no pain in the aftermath. 

    The acupuncturist expressed concern about my ability to recover from the THR surgery. She saw my situation as unique. She had worked on other people who had it done. Their muscles were more symmetrically developed. I had atrophied muscles as a result of many years of misuse. Others may be in worse shape than me in one way or another, but something about my body is different. 

    My first step was to contact my primary physician and request a current hip X-Ray. The surgeon showed me one taken several years ago. I wanted to know if the femoral head was worse- or better. The surgeon assured me there would be no difference due to the stem cell treatment I completed in January. I would like to see that for myself.

     I planned to ask my PTs for straightforward feedback. They both have experience dealing with hip replacement recovery. I have two requests for my primary physician:  1) I would like a hip X-ray. The surgeon showed me an old one. I would like to see what that hip looks like now. 2) I have had two body workers, a PT, and an acupuncturist, tell me that I am not a good candidate for THR because of the problems with the muscles in my left leg. I have a lot of atrophied muscle and spinal curvature. These problems might compromise my rehab. I know my primary physician has a background in massage and is familiar with the muscles. I would love a consultation with her to get your feedback. 

   Jean, my hanai sister, and my stepson's mother, called about the pictures we both received of Damon and the staff that produced The Bad Guys. They all gathered for a staff viewing of the completed film. It will be released in the US on April 22.

   I had Mama K's crew at 2 pm. First, I had second-grade Twin E. She could not remember the word we had worked on memorizing last week, WAS. I worked on memory processing. First, I determined what areas of the brain she was using for visual and auditory processing. Her visual image was in the forehead area, the place I have learned works best. However, her auditory processing was at the top of her head toward the back. I showed her how to find the spot I found worked the best. She was able to make the switch. Then I did something new. I had her confirm the visual image, the letters WAS, and then the auditory image of the name of the word. I did not break it down phonetically. I don't know why. It didn't seem like a good strategy for her.

  I had her switch back and forth between the visual and the auditory several times. When her responses sounded confident, I taught her to 'press the save button." It wasn't easy to communicate over Zoom. When I'm with the student, I gently twist some hair in the front of the left side of the head, saying I'm linking the visual and auditory images. Then I pressed their nose, "the save button," run my finger down the left side of their head, drawing a right-hand ruled spiral over their ear and ending at the back of their head. Let's see what the results are next week. I was looking forward to trying the strategy with adolescent D, who has serious memory problems.

   Next, I worked with Twin A. I didn't work with her last week. She was distraught because her brother wouldn't let her play with his Legos. I had her read the same Carpenter selection, Sassy the Cat, which I had Twin E read last week. Twin A's reading was much better. She recognized more words. Moreover, once I told her what a word was, she recognized it when she saw it again in the text. Amazing! She was the weaker one when we started last summer. Now, she is way ahead of Twin E. 

   I had reading material prepared for 3rd grade K. for comprehension. Mama K was in the room and apologized for not sending me the information on K's math deficit. I remembered enough of what she said to figure it out. I had checked the Core Standards for third-grade math then forgot that I wanted to work on it in today's session. I asked him if he could illustrate 2 x 3 with marks. He didn't have a clue. I modeled some problems 3x2= ///   ///, two groups with three in each group. I gave repeated examples, but he didn't see the pattern. I switched from marks to numbers. 3x2= 3+3,  5 x 6= 5+5+5+5+5+5 .  Then I wrote the problem 6 x4=. I wrote one 6 and asked how many should I write? He looked up and pondered as if it was something complex to figure out. I said, "The other number tells you how many groups." Then he was able to do the problems I gave him. Then I wrote 3+3+3=    and 4+3+2= and asked which of the two I could write as a multiplication problem. He answered the 4 +3+2=. Again I had to show him explicitly the relationship between addition and multiplication.

  At one point, he said, "We already did multiplication. We moved on to something else." Then he admitted he didn't get the multiplication. When you haven't got something in math, you're not done with a subject because the teacher is no longer teaching it. You have to learn everything about the basic math subjects. I asked if his teacher used blocks to teach multiplication. He said no. Did she use arrays? No. At the end of the session, he said he understood what I had covered better. K is a smart boy. He may get it quickly now. On the other hand, he may not.

  Elsa and I went up to Paulette's to get more Kangen water. As I parked at the top of the driveway, Adam came up with Aya on the leash and Zi, his two-year-old son, walking up behind him, holding a package that had just been delivered for grandma. I videoed them. I always take the time to visit Paulette when I get water. I didn't know about her, but I valued the time. She gave me news about the rest of the family.

   I watched the end of Madame Blanc Mysteries. It's weak. However, the scenery is great, and some of the characters are a delight.