TheBanyanTree: Checking under the Hood

[Bill]

Yep, Margaret, the Diarrhea before and after is the only bad thing about a 
Colonoscopy. Mine was bad enough after that I have decided, at my age why 
bother with any more.

Still His Servant
Bro  Bill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Margaret R. Kramer" <margaretkramer at comcast.net>
To: "The Banyan Tree" <thebanyantree at remsset.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 10:10 AM
Subject: TheBanyanTree: Checking under the Hood


> School started this week.  My youngest grandson began kindergarten on
> Thursday.  He's been home with his dad for the last year and a half or so,
> and of course, his brother was home with him during the summer.  Pooch is 
> a
> little sweetheart, but tough as nails underneath.  For example, a kid
> through a rock at him a couple of months ago, and Pooch yelled, "No one
> throws rocks at me!" and proceeded to beat the crap out of that kid.  He's
> been pummeled so much by his older brother that he knows exactly what to 
> do
> when someone tries to pick on him.  Pooch's kindergarten teacher (who also
> taught his brother) asked if he cries easily.  My son told her that only 
> his
> brother can make him cry.  My little Poochie Man is now in kindergarten.
> The Baby Era is over.
>
> We met with the family on Grand Avenue and had Italian ice to celebrate 
> the
> beginning of the school year.  We sat at tables outside and soaked up the
> last warm summer sun.  We ate our flavored ices, the boys flitted around,
> and all of us celebrated the beginning of school and lamented the end of
> summer.  A cold front plowed through yesterday and it is truly cool in an
> autumn-like way outside now.
>
> Fall is a time of year when I want to get all my ducks in a row.  I had my
> annual exam this week.  My blood pressure is up a bit, and although the
> nurse said it was good, but it concerns me.  I think I've been getting 
> more
> salt than I should, so I'm going to try to cut down on that.  I didn't 
> need
> a pap smear this year, since I've never had an abnormal pap, and I can now
> do pap smears every other year, as well as the cholesterol and the fasting
> glucose since my numbers are good.
>
> The doctor didn't mention my weight.  He probably gave up on me.  I'll 
> never
> be skinny, unless I ended up in a concentration camp.  I work out and try 
> to
> watch what I eat, but fat loves clinging to these bones, and even though 
> I'm
> in great shape, I'm "overweight" according to the good old BMI chart.  I 
> was
> told last year to lose 10 pounds and those lovely pounds are still on my
> body.  My weight was the same from last year.  I guess that's a good 
> thing.
>
> Every year I have to fill out a questionnaire about my general health. 
> One
> of the areas to fill in is any issue I want to discuss with the doctor.  I
> broke down this year and wrote about my sore knees.  The knees themselves
> are not sore, but the muscles surrounding them can be quite painful at
> times.  Plus, I'm having a difficult time bending them to a full range of
> motion.
>
> Well, the doctor had me give blood, always through my hand, not my arms,
> because I don't have veins in my arms, to test for rheumatoid arthritis.
> Then I had some x-rays taken of my knees.  The results from the x-rays
> showed I had "old age arthritis."  Yeah, old age, that's me.  But I felt
> better when the doctor told me that it didn't look like I had RA, which 
> can
> be a killer.
>
> I thought he might prescribe pain medication for my poor knees, but he 
> didn'
> t.  He set up a treatment plan with a physical therapist.  I saw her
> yesterday and what an enlightening experience that was!  She told me that
> our kneecaps "float" and are not really attached to anything but a large
> tendon.  Mine are tilted sidewise, which is why I have a problem with 
> pain.
> My calve muscles and my quad muscles are very tight, which limits the
> mobility of the joint.  I'm not using my abductor and adductor muscles the
> way I should and therefore muscles around my knees are not being used
> properly either.
>
> She gave me four simple exercises to do daily.  And they work!  She said I
> wouldn't see results right away, but I have noticed my knees are much less
> sore than they were.  I need to work on my range of motion and that will
> take a while.  I'm so pleased I didn't have to take a pill for my problem,
> but that I can work on it myself.  I'll touch base with the therapist 
> weekly
> for at least eight more weeks, maybe less, if I'm making progress.
>
> Finally, after a year of procrastination and anxiety, I made an 
> appointment
> for a colonoscopy.  I've dreaded this procedure because I hate "going 
> under"
> and I'm not thrilled about spending the day before the procedure living in
> the bathroom pooping constantly.  But after hearing the stories from 
> people
> that "it's not a big deal," I'm sucking it up and will undergo the 
> procedure
> on September 19.
>
> Well, it looks pretty good under the hood, I guess, according the head
> mechanic.  There's some bloat, some of the belts aren't as elastic as they
> used to be, but the oil is still moving through OK and the engine's heart 
> is
> steady and strong.
>
> Margaret R. Kramer
> margaretkramer at comcast.net
>
> I am learning all the time.  The tombstone will be my diploma.
> ~Eartha Kitt
>