how about drinking?

Hi JCSL.... Man, I went through the same exact thing you are going through now.... I tried for so long to put up with the pain that went all the way down my left leg into my foot. I finally couldn't take it anymore. So after about a year, I decided to have the surgery.

I took so many pills, physical therapy, and finally had to have a double-laminectomy! I woke up from surgery, and the PAIN WAS GONE! I had two herniated discs, the LS4 &5... They just cleaned it all out and I was free of pain.

I know others have different things going wrong...along with different diagnosis.... but I was so lucky! Good luck with finding and fixing your problem!

NM - Your district's procedures seem a bit misplaced. From what you describe, it could lead to a rotating door of students or staff periodically staying home. When there is an opt-in/out choice, too much testing will lead to people opting out of testing thus negating any benefit you might have gained. I surely would opt out of more than one test. Those are difficult tests to take - particularly for little children. Per the CDC guidance, there are significant limitations to pooled testing that can make their results unreliable.

I think you'll need to make your Hump Day Lunch a daily beverage just to stay sane!

Ill- congrats girlfriend. I am a huge fan of absolute vodkas and must have me some of that Watermelon soon!

Beaver I pray ur son defies the odds and travels a good path. <<< HUGS>>>

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Thirsty Thursday! Should be busy at school today, got the folks coming in to do dental screenings and fluoride varnishes. One teacher and I are head to head on the tick collection race, she found 4 yesterday, I found 4 the day before, today we'll see how it goes, Friday will be tie-breaker day. Winner gets bragging rights. Found one on Sadie this evening, not too bad considering how bad they are this spring. I guess the tick med is working!

Morning, Karen!

Librarian--sciatica? Yikes. Not fun. Hoping the med cocktail works for you. Don't blame you for wanting to know what is going on and get treatment.

Chevy--I am so glad the surgery was so successful for you! Waking up free from pain must have felt marvelous.

Illi--HOO RAY!!!!! YIPPY!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

JHL--There was a statewide meeting yesterday about the Pooled testing program that I got to see. The testing program will not be mandatory (despite the tone of the presentation making it sound like our options were to trial it for the rest of the year and for summer school, with full implementation next fall). I asked directly. So far my district has declined to participate in the point of care testing (BinaxNOw rapid antigen test) and I'm going to keep advocating to stay out of it. It's not approved for use in asymptomatic people. I found study that shows the BinaxNOW only catches about half of positive cases in children compared to the PCR test. It only picks up cases that are probably already contagious. It's also being presented as an opt-out process, but parental permission will still be needed for the follow up BinaxNOW when a positive report triggers retesting of the entire pool. I did figure out what's behind the push--Maine has contracted with a company that provides support: training staff other than the school nurse to collect the samples, collecting the pooled samples and shipping them to the affiliated lab, that sort of thing. So someone is making $ off this process.The schools in Massachusetts who have been doing this have had to hire a second school nurse for each school, one to do the school nurse work and one to be project liason, keeping up with all the recordkeeping, follow up testing, etc. They never answered the question directly, but it sounds like when a pool tests positive, they test everyone in the pool again, if no positives are found they repeat the test daily until the positive individual is found, that person goes into isolation but close contacts do not quarantine. For thelife of me I cannot figure out how this is going to help with containing the virus. It does meet the goal of keeping schools open to in-person learning. But at what cost? And yes, adult beverages are helping keep me sane! Me and lots of my colleagues!

Morning, Jazzyy!

DOTD is Illi's special concoction!!!

OOOH I've lost 4 posts already just wanted to talk to everyone and I did just cant' complete it.

Remember I LUBS U ALLTeka that is me BTW completely

Now I'm hungry for a PB/ Jelly sandwich like anyone cares LOL

Hopefully I can get thru a whole post later right at the bottom of my posts it was eaten.

NM, ticks must be common in your area? Never had one on me. Glad you found the one on Sadie, I don't know how you find dem lil buggers through all that hair. And hopefully none on the kiddos. LOL at the tick contest, not one I want to win! Has that silly girl gottin into Sapphire yet? And is she still using her bed? I can NOT even IMAGINE trying to swab those little ones, what a nightmare, for you and for them.

JCS, I've had sciatica pain in the past, OMG it's excruciating painful. I hope you find a fix soon.

ED, glad you were able to get yours taken care of too.

BabyGirl, I'll have one of those watermelon vodka's with you and celebrate. Are you still waiting on the brain?

Cami, sorry about the lost posts. How are you liking things in the new house? You were so nervous about the move. Anything good with the girls yet?

Worked out in the warehouse all day yesterday. Went to bed early, DH was rubbing my back which was killing me, especially that muscle right in the middle, on either side of the spine. So I say to DH, "ya, right there, that muscle". He responds, "I wish had some". UGH! Then this morning he was talking about wanting Chinese, and wondered if the buffet was open yet. Starts crying, how am I gonna get my food, I have a walker, I can't carry my plate, blah blah blah. Like I wouldn't be right there next to you helping you? Will it ever stop? Supposed to get close to 90 here on Saturday!

Goldie, my brain MRI showed 2 spots, so I’ll have those zapped next week but the absence of it in the spinal fluid is the big best news. While it may be in the cards for me down the road and there are treatment options, especially for HER2+, the prognosis is just awful, so I’m happy to dodge that bullet.

We're still waiting! It's due day

Morning all - logging on "late" - forced myself to lay in bed till 5:30!!!! instead of 4:45 or earlier.

Kim - when we were in Ohio we lived on 4 wooded acres - we worried about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever with ticks - hadn't heard of Lyme disease in the late 70s early 80s. It was a regular task to check for ticks in the spring and summer. We had lots of critters - our German Shepherd took care of some - once when I started our old Toyota Landcruiser there were a nest of field mice in the engine that went scurrying away!! fortunately, none ever came in the house.

Supposed to get to 70s over the week-end. Tomorrow, I'll enjoy sitting out reading. Sunday going to meet with a girlfriend that I haven't seen since before the school year started

Have a great Friday

NM, it was hard to give up the toy hauler. Sold the same day I listed it. Glad we had a friend that could take care of it for us. Sounds like Covid is going to make a return. Especially with so many states removing the mask mandate. Living in MI, I was aware of the ticks, but never encountered any. Funny that Sadie moves that bed around. Talking about the slouching, my 6'2" husband now stands shorter than me at 5'8", that's 6 inches!

Supposed to be in the mid 80's today. Will get out and do some garden work. Friends coming today to install the ramp. If my niece doesn't have the baby this weekend, she will most likely be induced come Monday. Pretty quiet in here.

JCS, maybe call the cancer center and if you don't get anywhere with them then I think I would go to the ER. It's the weekend, you might not get anywhere with doctors.

Beav., prayers that your son beats the odds and that new drug sends him into a long, open-ended remission.

JCS, "thirding" what Lori says. Numbness, back pain radiating downward, and now constipation all may point to something other than a pinched nerve/herniated disc. DEMAND an MRI. (Or a PET scan).

Illi, congrats on your clear spine! Hope the brain spots are just "debris" from your last bout of rads/surgery. (That's what the rad-onc called the scary 2019 lump at the site of my former seroma--"echogenic debris").

Kim, we walked to dinner Thurs. night, thinking as we stepped out the door how lovely it was gonna be not having to put our masks on till we reached the restaurant. But within 5 min. my eyes began watering and my nose started simultaneously running & itching--and I noticed everyone else out on the street was still masked. So I sighed, reached into my pocket, pulled out my mask & put it on. Instantly, my nose felt better ("the boat had already sailed" on my eyes). When we got home I checked the pollen count: grasses moderate, trees high. Darn those elms, junipers & maples. I looked out the window just now, as a gust of wind slammed our arborvitae--and when it subsided it looked like there was a cloud of dust surrounding the tree.

Weather has been insanely "bipolar"--40s-50s Mon., then 87 Tues. (Sat outside in a T-shirt dress & bare legs, sipping my cappuccino at 3 pm). Bob got home at 5, took a look at me and said "go put on long sleeves & some pants, and take a jacket if we're dining outside." I opened the back door and was hit with a blast of chilly air. By the time we left the restaurant (we sat with our BFFs on the covered patio, right near the heater), it was 46. In the high 40s here by the lake all week, and now this morning the low 60s, forecast to go to 73 (80s inland). Wind gusts to 50mph--we're definitely brunching indoors. 80 tomorrow, no wind--and then the thunderstorms start at midnight. Mon. we will wake up to 60, which will be as warm as it gets all week. At least no overnight frosts, so we will get the tomatoes planted and the dill & cilantro into the ground.

Speaking of BFFs, he's fine--and the neurologists are stumped as to why he had that bout of expressive aphasia. All scans (CT, MRI/A/V, PET) came back clean. Bloodwork normal, as was the EEG. Only thing out of the ordinary was slightly elevated BP. The working hypothesis is that he may have taken the wrong meds the night before--his BP and bipolarity meds look similar, and he had taken his pills after awakening from a nap; and the half-life of the latter med was such that it took several days to leave his system. Unlike most people who get expressive aphasia, he was able to tell us what it felt like: extreme frustration at thinking very clearly but being unable to finish a sentence without devolving into "word salad."

DsOTD Thurs. night were the pairings at an Italian wine dinner: with antipasto, Verdicchio; then Pinot Grigio with salad; Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (red) with lasagna; Chianti Classico with the beef course; and with dessert, a Limoncello "Creme," which was like Bailey's only very lemony (the wine rep said it was non-GMO, dairy-free & shelf-stable, which tells me it was likely almondmilk-based). The latter was not to Bob's liking: he's a limoncello purist. Last night, a little Mumm Napa Blanc de Blancs reserve. I think for brunch I will teetotal, since we'll be driving to the Apple & Verizon stores to get our new iPhones. (Verizon Store for Bob, as Apple will not set up new phones in-store--COVID-protocol time restrictions--and Bob doesn't want to go the DIY route).

We still do not have a treatment plan, or a definitive diagnosis, for our son. Dr. says it is a complicated case, after comparing slides from two bone marrow biopsies (done at the two leading centers for leukemia and lymphoma in the US, apparently they are consulting with a number of other pathologists. Don't know specifically why. Frustrating, and they may not realize the level of medical knowledge in the family: his wife is a veterinarian, his MIL and mother were nurses and his FIL a physician. It would help me to know more details, even if there is not an answer yet. I'm feeling the effects of not knowing--I do much better when I have information.

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Sunday Funday! Except that it's a work day for me, got to get a paper written for class and I've been a bit of a slaker this week on class work. Well, my own fault, right? Had a nice visit with Mom yesterday. She did this really neat thing for lunch. She took a Suddenly Salad box, cooked it up, but instead of making it into a salad she made it into a soup and added some left over ham to it. Served it with a dollop of sour cream. It was really good! Mom wasn't super crazy about and I was going to bring the leftovers home but I forgot it. Mom is going to North Carolina to visit with brother and SIL for a week or two, leaving next weekend if she gets a flight booked. She's thinking its going to be cheaper to rent a car once she gets to N.C. I tried to explain to her that car rentals can be problematic right now, with traveling increasing and rental car places not being able to add to their fleets after selling off a lot of cars last year. I reminded her to check out prices through AARP, too. I wish she would let me do this stuff for her but she is determined to do it herself. She even asked me if she called the local airport if they would tell her how long any layover might be between flights and how far she would have to go to get from the arrival gate to the next flight's departure gate. It took me 3 tries to get her to understand that the times are on the tickets and itinerary, and she would need to look up the specific airport and look at it's maps. She did, at least, agree to order a wheelchair now that she can't walk very far without her knees and back hurting. Nor can she walk very fast.

I think a critter may have gotten into the house. Sadie is going nuts chasing something around. Whatever it is I hope it finds its way back out the kitchen door soon!

Goldie--Wow, 6 inches is a lot! I'm with you about COVID making a return. The numbers may be down in Maine but the activity seems a lot higher lately. I supposed we could just be in a pocket of activity, or particularly sensitive to it. 80's would be nice for a few hours around here. Still sweater and jacket temp even during the day here. You must be excited to be so close to meeting the new grandniece or nephew.

Librarian--call the cancer center. Not wanting to sound pessimistic or dramatic, but there is an oncology emergency where mets to the spine or spinal cord can cause pain, issues with pee and poop control and even paralysis if not identified and managed rather quickly. I would expect the cancer center would advise you to go to the ER, and that they would call the ER you are going to and give the staff a heads up to prioritize your work up. Make sure everyone knows your bowel and bladder function have started to become affected. That is a huge red flag that should help the staff take your situation very seriously.

Morning, Beaver.

Chi--That must have been the weirdest, and scariest feeling for your BFF. I love the "bipolar" description of the weather! It used to be like that around here in the spring and fall, although 70's were more common than 80's, but it seems the last few years have been chilly, dark and wet springs suddenly becoming hot and humid summers. The Limoncello crème sound very yummy!

Chevy--good advice for Librarian!

Beaver--I know docs don't like to talk about much until they have hard and fast data to fall back on, but your family NEEDS more info! Son and DIL need to call the doc and explain that they need info, even if preliminary, and understand things may change as info comes in. Knowing what is being considered is way easier than imagining.

Karen--yup, Sadie and the world let me sleep in this ayem! Didn't get up till almost 7! Hope your friends all connect and you get some nice visits. Outside is nice this time of year when it's warm enough, and any excuse to get outside the house is helpful these days!

Lazy Sunday

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces tequila
• 1 1/2 ounces grapefruit juice
• 1 ounce cinnamon syrup
• 1/4 ounce turmeric tea*
• Club soda water, to top
• Garnish: grapefruit twist

Steps

1. Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

From <https://www.liquor.com/recipes/lazy-sunday/>