And, she's back

I went to the GP yesterday. What a mess that was. They only had one doctor, or so they said-- it looked like two when I got there-- so I couldn't actually make an appt, but had to call the morning I wanted to go in, and they would give me a time. I missed a half day of work due to that little system, argh. Anyway, I didn't want to see the doctor they offered, I've had him before, but that's what they offered. So I walked in, sat down, and the first thing I said to him was, "I'm here because I've had a cold since October 22" and proceeded to describe my symptoms and what I've done for my cold. He listed to my chest, found it to be clear, and began to tell me I should keep using expectorant cough syrups to get rid of the phlegm and paracetemol for headaches. I was at a loss for words, I just stared at him...so he said, well, look, you've only had this for a couple of weeks, right? And I said, "NO, since October 22! I would never normally come in for just a cold!" His eyes widened a bit, and in a quiet voice, he said "Oh, ok then, we'll try some antibiotics." I just love doctors who don't listen to a word that comes out of your mouth. By tomorrow, I should know whether they're making a difference or not, although I think already that perhaps they are. Touch wood.

A summary of my holiday week at home: I was on the wrong time zone all week. I woke up at 4am the first day, and got better by about a half hour each morning, so by the time I left, I was "sleeping in" until about 7am. I had my best night of sleep on January 1, which was my first night back in London...hey Midge, does that mean that GMT is actually the time zone my body wants to be in? (I remember you saying the US felt like the right time zone to you.) I did quite a bit of shopping, taking advantage of the excellent exchange rate (well, for those of us who live in the UK anyway), and my mom's generosity. On Christmas Eve, we were in Macy's by 7am, since I'd been up at 4am and was bored by the time Mom got up around 6am. I went with Tress to her hand doctor appt- we both decided the guy was an idiot, given that he didn't do any testing of strength, function, or sensation, didn't ask for a history of the problem, didn't look at her splints, and discussed one potential diagnosis with us, but wrote down something completely different as diagnosis on her prescription for therapy. Oh, and I especially loved the part where he told her to go get some blood tests done to see if it was arthritis or fibromyalgia! Thankfully, Tressa didn't really know what that was, but it scared the hell out of me the way he just tossed the term out casually, and without explaining it to her. Fibromyalgia is widespread pain affecting muscles, ligaments and tendons all over the body, is quite severe, and lasts for years. Nope, no thanks. Anywho, I had the name of another hand surgeon recommended by an OT I'd met through housemate Nicole, and we got her an appointment with that doctor for two days later. He seemed to be competent, and told her he thinks she has tennis elbow in both arms, suspects she has muscle tears at both elbows, and that the pain in her wrists and hands is referred from the elbows. No one seems to know exactly why the pain travels along her forearms as well, the radial nerve tunnel on both arms- she underwent a rather painful nerve conduction test at his office yesterday to make sure there's no nerve damage. And he told her no physio- just relax and try not to do things that aggrevate her arms (to the extent that is possible).

We spent Christmas Day with the Florys, Jenn and I continuing our tradition of cooking a gourmet feast for our families, although a toned down version since no one wants to work hard on Christmas Day. Standing rib roast, shrimp fra diavolo, twice-baked potatoes filled with cheese, shrimp, and sour cream, cauliflower au gratin, and pannetonne trifle for dessert. I've got a few pics from that day, see below.

Spent a lovely spa day with Viv and Rhonda, I had a Swedish massage, manicure and pedicure. And an absolutely delicious meal at Delta's in New Brunswick, a soul food restaurant- blackened catfish, mm-mmm.

We entertained the Heilalas at our house, played some Wizard, learned an addictive new game called Blokus, and generally had a good time.

I visited with a previous patient of mine from when I worked at Roosevelt, he has come a long way in recovering from his stroke. It was really amazing to see what he has accomplished since going home, and I enjoyed catching up with him and his wife.

Oh, yes, and Viv delivered the bad news that since she has just bought a new townhouse and does not yet have renters for the old condo (poor baby, she's just racking up the assets), she has backed out of our trip to Thailand and Philippines we've been planning for the last year. Therefore, I am thinking I will attend Nicole and Rob's wedding in Boston the last weekend in March after all, or at least I hope to, and I am trying to plan a trip to Peru (Machu Picchu at long last!) or Costa Rica from the US whilst I am there.

Oh, and it looks like I will be going to Paris for my bday after all!!!! Two takers so far, and I'm thinking more people will say yes...how can you say no to an authentic top-notch Parisian cabaret, I mean come on! You can't say no. It's going to be fabulous...

Gorillas

Have I ever mentioned that sometimes I get really jealous of Tressa? Well, this would be one of those moments. She went on a gorilla trip, and got to see the Sabyinyo group, which has the largest silverback gorilla in the world, at 450 pounds. Plus 3 wives, 2 blackbacks, and 2 babies. Here are a couple more of her photos...

News from Rwanda

I forgot to mention on Friday that it was World AIDS Day, you'll find a new widget on my sidebar if you're interested in making a contribution. But I thought I'd copy and paste from Tressa's latest email update, hope she doesn't mind, as it's to with HIV. Oh, and Happy December everyone! 21 days to Christmas!!

"Hello all,

Friday was World AIDS Day. I'm not sure how much coverage it gets in the US, but it tends to be a big deal in Africa since the prevalence rates are very high in many countries. It's only about 4% here in Rwanda, but big donors (various foreign governments and UN organizations) like to give a lot of money for it. Partly because it's a very popular cause right now and partly because donors still feel guilty about the genocide and are willing to show it with money. On World AIDS day, you're supposed to hold lots of public events to education people, and show support for the cause.

CRS planned a day-long event at one of the centers we support here in Kigali for street kids and kids who are already household heads (lost their parents to the genocide or AIDS or something else). There were about 250 kids, from 8-22 years old. There were several speeches and we had some games for the kids; mostly questions testing their knowledge about HIV. The winners were given backpacks with school supplies in them. They did some traditional Rwandan dancing for us and presented a skit they had created showing the dangers of unsafe sex. The dancing was pretty good. I've seen it done by several times before and it takes a lot of energy and concentration! One of the best parts however, was when it rained for 10 minutes. Everyone ran under the awning, and the DJ put on some American hip hop music to pass the time. Two of the younger boys ran out into the rain and started dancing by themselves, just because they love to dance. They were definitely a hit.

Then we ate lunch, which some of the kids themselves had prepared. At this center, they have professional training courses for the kids. They can enroll in carpentry, metalwork, cooking, or tailoring during the year. CRS helps with small income generation projects for the center itself, so it can work towards being self-sustainable. We given them cows and training on how to manage them. We used to contribute their grains and oil to feed the kids, but our donor has cut its funding. After lunch was the big football game between the kids and CRS. So we played against teenagers who probably practice every day and I was by far the youngest member of the CRS team....we lost some very large number to 1, but at least we scored! And we know now who on our staff is remotely in shape (not to mention who knows the rules); it was highly entertaining at the time and I suspect will continue to provide some laughs in the re-telling.

I hope everyone is doing well. I'll be stateside for christmas and new years, which will be nice.

Love,

tressa"