Sunday

It’s been a rainy, shilly, kind-of-damp-that-gets-into-your-bones sort of day.  I’m wrapped in a blanket and giving some serious thought to extra socks and a sweater.  I refuse to turn on the heat just yet, but I don’t think I’ll be able to hold out for much longer!  This is where the dog would come in handy, because he generates a lot of heat… but of course he’s nowhere near my feet now that they’re little icicles.  He’s sitting by himself on Don’s blanket, not relinquishing it, chewing on one of his toys.  Don is watching what feels like his 20th football game of the day… and don’t tell me that it’s physically impossible.  Every time I look up there’s a different set of uniforms running around a field, although I admit that there were men skating at one point so there must have been a hockey game.

WOO!  Finally, I got a support worker this afternoon!  Oh, what a relief 😅 She showed up on time, I got a shower, she changed the sheets, and generally made things fairly livable again.  I’ve become very reliant on having my worker so going almost a week without help was a definite challenge!  I hadn’t fully realized just how dependant I am on the help for some everyday things.  My pharmacy is back ordered on my Ensure — I seem to be on back order for several things — and they were very apologetic but they are likely to be out for at least a week.  I use the Ensure daily, a couple of times, as it’s practically my main source of nutrition.  This morning I had 3 tins in the fridge… so I went hunting to see if anyone had them available for sale.  This had also happened last year, and it got pretty dire.  I was able to find some at Walmart, and I should have a delivery tomorrow.  I hadn’t realized either how expensive it is!  $23 for a case of 12!  I am normally covered by the health plan for this, so I don’t pay for it, so this came as a shock.    I didn’t call my dad today because 🫢 my phone was almost dead.  I’ll have to remedy that tomorrow; I only noticed that today when I went to call him, so it’s being charged now and when it’s done it will be too late to call.  (He’s got a 7:30pm bedtime)

Am I allowed to be a little mean? I heard the news that the diabetes drug Ozempic is in short supply because people are using it for weight loss.  I know what it’s like to struggle with weight, and to seek any help possible to drop some extra weight, but I can’t understand why doctors, in good conscience, would prescribe for weight loss when there are so many issues with legitimate patients not being able to access the drug.  Yes, I’m being a bit judgmental, because given a choice between treating people with chronic illnesses and those whose problems are in another, less life-threatening area, I’d think that the treatment would be focussed on the diabetics.  To my way of thinking, it’s a simple matter to stop issuing the drug for weight loss and that pharmacists should stop dispensing for that reason.  I know that losing weight, especially when very obese, is important, but unless and until there’s a reliable supply, should not endanger others.  From my perspective, also, the trend of following celebrities activities is somewhat silly… they aren’t medical professionals, and any medical advice they offer should be regarded with the same seriousness as a 5-year-old’s diagnosis of tonsillitis (I.e. none at all!)  I mean, the unmitigated nonsense that’s spouted — and followed — injures so many people!  Things like inserting garlic into your vagina, or not vaccinating children with the MMR, or drinking “raw” water (complete with parasites) or taking veterinary anti-parasitic for a viral infection… all I’d say is that it’s probably clearing out the weak and inept, but at such a horrible cost!  Please don’t.  I recommend following your doctor’s advice, and not the naturopath/homeopath/crystal waver/whatever quack tells you that medications are poisoning your system and you just need to detox (those are just a sham) and other such nonsense.

I’m not kindly disposed to those people, and yet, for some reason I keep getting the “if you get rid of all the sugar in your body, you’ll never get cancer” or “a study of 1 guy showed that eating lemons will outperform chemotherapy” and other such nonsense.  I encourage you instead to go to any of the many legitimate cancer research and information sites to learn the facts and to get involved with them.  You’ll be contributing to improving the lives of patients and educating yourself, which is always a good thing!

Sorry for my rant, really.  Every now and again I get some of those nonsensical emails and it gets to me on an off day so I can’t just ignore it.  I think I’ll try begging the dog to come sit on my feet and warm them up a bit… Good night!