Wednesday, April 27, 2022

 Wednesday, April 27, 2022

 

    I woke up anticipating my call with Dr. Salassa, the orthopedic surgeon. I was afraid I was going to have to argue with her. Then a miscellaneous thought of the sweet kale prepared salad I bought the other day passed through my mind.

   I didn't take the salad out of the sealed plastic bags. Usually, I take the salad out of those bags immediately, wrap it in a terry cloth dish towel, and store it in the fridge. If I don't, it goes bad quickly. If I do, it can last for over a week in A1 condition. That thought I had left the salad in the plastic bags to go bad triggered shock. It wasn't shame unless we felt shame when we were shot. Perhaps we feel shame at a time like that. We feel we did something wrong when we get shot. Were we somewhere we weren't supposed to be? Did we offend someone? Did we violate some rules? If not, why were we shot? While shame may be one of the feelings, shock is the main feeling. My whole body spasmed. It was exhausting.  

     Wow! When I checked my blog stats today, I only had 10 visitors yesterday and zero this morning. I hadn't seen that digit for over a year. Zero!!!! As I suspected, once a teacher no longer assigned the blog, my numbers would drop precipitously. They have. Numbers on The Phonics Discovery System Phase I video jumped from 211 for days to 241 overnight. I'd followed Dorothy's suggestion, posting my ads on Facebook for Reading Teachers and Homeschoolers.

   Damon sent me an article reviewing The Bad Guys published in Sojourners, an ecumenical Christian magazine. The Judeo-Christian community loves this movie. Everyone will. It's a movie filled with upbeat messages of goodwill. We all need this desperately. This movie has legs.   I was so thrilled and relieved about Damon's success.

  Dr. Salassa called a few minutes before 10:30. I couldn't ask for a more responsive doctor.   She was aware of my osteoporosis and made plans accordingly. Whadaya know? There may even be an advantage to osteoporosis when it comes to THR. The outer, compact bone gets thinner with osteoporosis because it doesn't regenerate, but the underlying spongy bone remains intact. The spongy bone looks like a sponge with holes in it. The doctor's plan was to cement the implant in place. This works better with osteoporosis because the cement fills the holes, improving the grip. 

    The doctor had already examined my knee's X-ray, which was just taken last week. She said I had age-appropriate arthritis but nothing to write home about. The one point of concern was her attitude toward my muscular problems. She believes they will automatically clear up with the THR. Yes, the muscle problems were caused by a bad hip. But there's more to it than that. I have a matrix of issues that all caused each other and made each other worse: spinal curvature, anterior hip rotation, and contracted muscles. My overly contracted left inner thigh muscle was fully evident in my twenties. I took dance classes. I couldn't stretch it.

     I had a session with Mama K's crew to squeeze in between the doctor's call and a call from her scheduling nurse at 2:30. I started with third-grade K. I wrote two addition problems (3+3+3+3 and 1+2+3+4). I asked him which I could write as a multiplication problem. He got it right and was able to explain why. He told me his teacher had sent him home with a multiplication book to study over the spring break. He got better and then forgot it. As far as I could make out, she had him work on memorizing the multiplication table. That's a good goal, but learning other ways to solve problems is essential. That's what creates lifelong mathematicians in all those kids who don't have good associative recall. K is one of those people. I worked on showing him how to solve 7 x7=. Make an array of 7+7+7+7+7+7+7=. Add 7+7 and 7+7 to get 14+14. Add 14+7=, then add them all together. He had trouble figuring out 14+ 7=. I showed him the 4+7= 3+8=2+9. He could solve the last problem with ease.   He then had to add 28+ 21=, easy peasy.

  I had Twin E. and continued working on automatic recall using BrainManagementSkills. She did not use the correct parts of the brain. I finally got her to use the correct section for visual working memory when I asked her to imagine her dog. She was able to describe his activities.  

   At 2:30, Karen, the orthopedic scheduling nurse, called. To remind me to get a blood test. I had already read two sets of instructions. One said to get it the day before; another said the week before. Karen, Dr. Salassa

s nurse, said I should get it on May 6, a month before. I had to go to Kaiser anyway for another matter. Okay.

   B arrived today for another stint working with Hawaiian Stage and Lighting. When the gig is finished, he'll return to the mainland to help his stepmother care for his father. He stopped by to say he was off to Costco; did I want anything? I could use another packet of salad. I opened it immediately and swaddled it in a clean terry cloth dishtowel this time. He also brought another package of the miso soup he knows I like. I didn't need another now, but one is always welcome. 

   I already knew I had to sleep on clean sheets and wear clean clothes after showering with the antiseptic soap the night before the surgery and shower again in the morning with the other half of the antiseptic soap before putting on freshly laundered clothes. Since I would travel by plane and cab to the hospital, I would have plenty of opportunities to get contaminated. I would wear long pants with bike pant cuff clips to block the dirt from the tarmac and the airport getting up my leg. I needed a pair of long pants that would be comfortable. I had only one pair left. I didn't wear long pants in Hawaii; I never needed them. I found the perfect pair. A flair bottom faded knit with a drawstring waist. Perfect. I remembered where I got them. Mike's first wife gave them to me. They were her pregnancy pants. Damon is now 47 years old. They're still good. I put them in the laundry. Once they're dry, I will put them in a plastic bag to keep them clean until needed.