Hello, my name is Waited Too Long:
I waited too long to make lunches and now I'm rushed
I waited too long to run that errand, and now it's snowed and the roads are rough
I waited too long to go to the dentist and instead of a filling it's now a root canal
I waited too long to put blackout shades in the bedroom and now it's dark at 5:00
I waited too long to get the oil changed and now it's an expensive fix
I waited too long to cook dinner, now we will eat at 9:00 pm
I waited too long.......
I waited too long to go to bed (even though I was tired) and now it's a long and tiring day
I waited too long to tell that woman her hair was beautiful and now she's gone
I waited too long to tell my old co-workers the impact they had on my life
I waited too long to confront someone about a situation, then it got worse
I waited too long to clear the air with someone
I waited too long to open my mind to new information
I waited too long to open my heart to....everything
I waited too long to see God in my life
I waited too long.......
I waited too long to see what long hair would be like and wish I'd done it sooner
I waited too long to accept my personality, always wanting to be like someone else
I waited too long to get into shape, now it's harder than it would have been
I waited too long to understand life is short, and the later it gets, the shorter it seems
I waited too long to build an adult relationship with my brothers and their families
I waited too long to work on my finances
I waited too long to quit smoking
I waited too long to try to become the person I should have been working on all along
I waited too long to face too many fears
I waited too long to understand accepting responsibility
I waited too long to understand that it's ok to be wrong and to say you're sorry.
I waited too long......
But I didn't wait too late for all these things - I was able to accept that I had waited to long, and was able to rectify them. That's a blessing.
Friday, 9 January 2015
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Monster creation underway?
So today Jon and I went out to cruise through the gun shops in town (there's really only three). First one is a small shop with what seems like a regular customer base and a barber shop attached - totally old school. Went in, told them I'd never shot a handgun but had just taken the course and was drawn to the single action revolver. The ones I was really interested in was the Colt 1873 and Colt 1911.They showed me several, but then started talking about accuracy with it - and apparently a single action isn't so accurate. It's a lot of fun - especially at the cowboy events, but not so accurate. So I decided to look at the double actions.
I found quite a few I liked, that sat well in my hand and seemed to suit me. The top ones on the list, however, all ended up being .357 Magnums. I was staying away from that because it seemed so cliche, but it seemed to be the ones I kept saying "I like this one". There was a gentleman there who was obviously a regular - he was chatting with the owner and staff, then sat down in the barber shop to get a cut. When I lifted the S&W he said "that looks good on you, you should take it", and proceeded to make the rest of the time feel like we were with old friends.
The second place we stopped at had a range, so we were looking at the rental prices, etc., and who walks up but the same gentleman we saw earlier. I asked if he was following us, and his answer was "not deliberately" with a huge grin. He and Jon chatted while I looked over what they had to use on the range and got some information from the staff. When I was done I joined them, and he introduced himself to us. (I'm not naming him here to keep his privacy in place) We had a couple of laughs, then he said see you around and we all left. Jon and I went and grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the third place.
We went in and right away we decided it was definitely a better environment than the second place we were at. There was a young man at the front of the store, and when I asked about the revolvers, he took us over to a display that held a whole lot of pretty guns! As I pointed at two I would like to see, he says "do you guys know someone named X?" My response was "are you kidding" and Jon laughed. Sure enough, they went and let X know we were there, and he invited us back to the range to shoot! With Jon's injured arm, he couldn't, but I was able to accept the invitation. And then it got REALLY fun! I had been pointing at a variety of guns asking to handle them, and every single one (and this happened at every store) EVERY SINGLE ONE that I said "ooooo I like this one!" was a 357. Go figure.
Then it turns out that X has a S&W 686 .357 revolver. EXACTLY the one I was most intrigued by.
We went back to the range, he reviewed some safety rules (still very fresh in my mind after the course), and then we went shooting. X was gracious, and allowed me to shoot a box of .38 first - I did pretty good with that once I had figured out the sights on his gun, then he let me shoot the .357 ammo. An entire box. And it was AWESOME! (Yeah, I know I've written about word usage, but truly - at that moment that's how it felt - awesome) I was consistent, the gun felt really good, I figured out a stance that works well for me, and well, it was just TOO COOL FOR WORDS!
I can't wait to go again - I'll try other guns obviously, but this one felt....right.
We were so lucky to meet X, and I am very thankful for the opportunity. When I have my gun and I go to the range, I will be paying this forward - as often as I can.
Target on the left is the .38, the right is the .357 magnum. Not too shabby for the first time ever shooting a handgun!
I found quite a few I liked, that sat well in my hand and seemed to suit me. The top ones on the list, however, all ended up being .357 Magnums. I was staying away from that because it seemed so cliche, but it seemed to be the ones I kept saying "I like this one". There was a gentleman there who was obviously a regular - he was chatting with the owner and staff, then sat down in the barber shop to get a cut. When I lifted the S&W he said "that looks good on you, you should take it", and proceeded to make the rest of the time feel like we were with old friends.
The second place we stopped at had a range, so we were looking at the rental prices, etc., and who walks up but the same gentleman we saw earlier. I asked if he was following us, and his answer was "not deliberately" with a huge grin. He and Jon chatted while I looked over what they had to use on the range and got some information from the staff. When I was done I joined them, and he introduced himself to us. (I'm not naming him here to keep his privacy in place) We had a couple of laughs, then he said see you around and we all left. Jon and I went and grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the third place.
We went in and right away we decided it was definitely a better environment than the second place we were at. There was a young man at the front of the store, and when I asked about the revolvers, he took us over to a display that held a whole lot of pretty guns! As I pointed at two I would like to see, he says "do you guys know someone named X?" My response was "are you kidding" and Jon laughed. Sure enough, they went and let X know we were there, and he invited us back to the range to shoot! With Jon's injured arm, he couldn't, but I was able to accept the invitation. And then it got REALLY fun! I had been pointing at a variety of guns asking to handle them, and every single one (and this happened at every store) EVERY SINGLE ONE that I said "ooooo I like this one!" was a 357. Go figure.
Then it turns out that X has a S&W 686 .357 revolver. EXACTLY the one I was most intrigued by.
We went back to the range, he reviewed some safety rules (still very fresh in my mind after the course), and then we went shooting. X was gracious, and allowed me to shoot a box of .38 first - I did pretty good with that once I had figured out the sights on his gun, then he let me shoot the .357 ammo. An entire box. And it was AWESOME! (Yeah, I know I've written about word usage, but truly - at that moment that's how it felt - awesome) I was consistent, the gun felt really good, I figured out a stance that works well for me, and well, it was just TOO COOL FOR WORDS!
I can't wait to go again - I'll try other guns obviously, but this one felt....right.
We were so lucky to meet X, and I am very thankful for the opportunity. When I have my gun and I go to the range, I will be paying this forward - as often as I can.
Target on the left is the .38, the right is the .357 magnum. Not too shabby for the first time ever shooting a handgun!
PAL - achievement unlocked!
So I finally took the course for my PAL. Non-restricted and Restricted. Passed with flying colours, thank you very much. The only questions I got wrong both days were ones on ammo, and I wasn't surprised, as I'm fuzzy on many of the different types of ammo. I believe that those are the less important ones tho - important in their own way, but not as important as the safety taught during the course. If I'm going to purchase a firearm you'd better believe I'll know everything about it and the ammo it takes before buying, so I was less concerned if I missed the question on "which cartridge on the table is the rim fire". Yeah, I got that one wrong.
There were some fun moments during the course though, and I don't want to forget them. There were 18 of us, I was the only woman. It amazed me how chivalrous most of the guys were, getting my ammo when it was on the floor, letting me go ahead of them (didn't take advantage of that one), encouraging me (that was HUGE!), etc. It was totally cool.
Moments:
During NR:
Instructor (walking towards me and looking right at me, then pointing): You are on a beach in Maui, your house is broken into and your firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: report the theft to the Police.
Instructor: No, you are on a beach in Maui, your house is broken into and your UNSECURED firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: It wouldn't happen, our firearms are secured appropriately.
Instructor: (small grin, I think deciding if he was ticked I didn't answer or if he was pleased I got the message), if SOMEONE was on a beach in Maui, their house was broken into and their unsecured firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: They are guilty of an indictable offense, subject to up to five years in jail, or a summary conviction, and/or a fine of up to $2,000.
Instructor: (larger grin) Yes (turning away to ask someone else something)
This was an instructor that didn't really grin, I was pretty pleased I managed to get a grin out of him.
Today, during the R portion, we were handling the semi-auto 9mm, and the slide was tricky - on all of them. If you pay attention to what the instructor does and says, it makes it way easier. We were told to pick up the firearm and PROVE it. I managed to get the slide to catch on the second try, and stood waiting. There were three guys in my group who struggled, and the instructor walked down the line and said to the guys "what's going on? Laurie has it!" In my mind was "nyah nyah" :D
When we were handling the firearms yesterday during the NR, I had the break action shotgun. They had warned us to do every single step every time, because they might change ammo, or load the gun on us, or something. I pick up my shotgun, go to PROVE it, and poof - out pops a shell. I look around, and there's the non-grin instructor staring right at me. Sneaky devil must have loaded the shell on me. I nailed it though, and was rather pleased.
During the Q&A prep for the test, every single question that was asked I knew. We were to put our hands up if we knew, this also told the instructors that they had covered everything. There were several where my hand shot up, and I wanted so badly to wave it around crying out ME ME ME!!! PICK ME!!!! But I didn't. I got a chance to answer some, and they always seemed to be the wordy ones. Funny that.
After the written portion yesterday (NR), the non-grin instructor walked my test over to me and said I passed by the skin of my teeth. I had been so stressed and nervous about it, I figured I'd take it. I started looking it over, and couldn't find more than 2 "x" marks. I asked Sean (who took it with me) "don't they tell you what you got wrong?" he said yes, and started flipping through my test. He couldn't find the x marks either, so flipped to the front page and pointed. I had gotten a 96% - pass is 80. Doh. I had the other examiner for the practical, so didn't get a chance to say anything. After the practical, the instructor asked me how I thought I did, and I answered that I thought I missed a few things - but no, I received 100% and he asked if I knew why I had done so well. I asked why, and he said it's because I listened to everything and did it all right - also I verbalized everything I was doing. Fantastic!
After the written portion today, the same non-grin instructor was with the instructor who was marking the tests. He was not marking at all, but when I walked up with my test he took it - mine was the only one he marked. I just knew he was targeting me, but it was all good - I really took a liking to him as an instructor, and after yesterday it was kinda funny. He took my paper, and seemed to take a long time marking it - then he motioned for me to come over. He pulled the paper against him, and asked how I thought I had done. I told him, there were 7 questions I was unsure of, when I went back through the text I think I marked three of them right, maybe four. So, I figured I had either three or four wrong (would still give me a pass, but not as good as I'd have liked). He grinned again, said I got one wrong and just like yesterday it was about the size of ammunition, and what is it with women and issues with size? I let that one slide completely. I was so happy about the mark! Then for the practical I had the same instructor. He had me pick up the dual action revolver, and PROVE it. I then put it on the table. He said "I didn't tell you to put it down, please do exactly as I say". I picked it up again, and we proceeded through the rest of the routine on that firearm. He then asked me to pick up the single action revolver. So I picked it up, and held it pointed downrange - and stopped. I waited, it seemed like an eternity. Then I turned only my head and said "You didn't say to PROVE it, and I'm trying to do exactly as you say". He grinned again, then said "Good. Now PROVE it". I wasn't sure if he was testing me or if it was an accident, but it worked out in my favour I think :D
When it came time to give me my mark, he said I did great, and I achieved a 98% on the practical, then congratulated me.
In hindsight, I maybe could have chosen a more appropriate wardrobe piece. I just went for comfort, so I wore my WHGames shirt -
Not sure that's the right top to wear to a Restricted Firearms course :)
I am so chuffed about this - the instructors were fantastic - taking me from where I was yesterday morning to comfortable that I can PROVE a NR or a R firearm - wow!
It was a memorable weekend, and well worth it. I will now send in my application and wait for my PAL to arrive, then will likely show it off to the family. This is exciting!
There were some fun moments during the course though, and I don't want to forget them. There were 18 of us, I was the only woman. It amazed me how chivalrous most of the guys were, getting my ammo when it was on the floor, letting me go ahead of them (didn't take advantage of that one), encouraging me (that was HUGE!), etc. It was totally cool.
Moments:
During NR:
Instructor (walking towards me and looking right at me, then pointing): You are on a beach in Maui, your house is broken into and your firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: report the theft to the Police.
Instructor: No, you are on a beach in Maui, your house is broken into and your UNSECURED firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: It wouldn't happen, our firearms are secured appropriately.
Instructor: (small grin, I think deciding if he was ticked I didn't answer or if he was pleased I got the message), if SOMEONE was on a beach in Maui, their house was broken into and their unsecured firearms are stolen, what happens?
Me: They are guilty of an indictable offense, subject to up to five years in jail, or a summary conviction, and/or a fine of up to $2,000.
Instructor: (larger grin) Yes (turning away to ask someone else something)
This was an instructor that didn't really grin, I was pretty pleased I managed to get a grin out of him.
Today, during the R portion, we were handling the semi-auto 9mm, and the slide was tricky - on all of them. If you pay attention to what the instructor does and says, it makes it way easier. We were told to pick up the firearm and PROVE it. I managed to get the slide to catch on the second try, and stood waiting. There were three guys in my group who struggled, and the instructor walked down the line and said to the guys "what's going on? Laurie has it!" In my mind was "nyah nyah" :D
When we were handling the firearms yesterday during the NR, I had the break action shotgun. They had warned us to do every single step every time, because they might change ammo, or load the gun on us, or something. I pick up my shotgun, go to PROVE it, and poof - out pops a shell. I look around, and there's the non-grin instructor staring right at me. Sneaky devil must have loaded the shell on me. I nailed it though, and was rather pleased.
During the Q&A prep for the test, every single question that was asked I knew. We were to put our hands up if we knew, this also told the instructors that they had covered everything. There were several where my hand shot up, and I wanted so badly to wave it around crying out ME ME ME!!! PICK ME!!!! But I didn't. I got a chance to answer some, and they always seemed to be the wordy ones. Funny that.
After the written portion yesterday (NR), the non-grin instructor walked my test over to me and said I passed by the skin of my teeth. I had been so stressed and nervous about it, I figured I'd take it. I started looking it over, and couldn't find more than 2 "x" marks. I asked Sean (who took it with me) "don't they tell you what you got wrong?" he said yes, and started flipping through my test. He couldn't find the x marks either, so flipped to the front page and pointed. I had gotten a 96% - pass is 80. Doh. I had the other examiner for the practical, so didn't get a chance to say anything. After the practical, the instructor asked me how I thought I did, and I answered that I thought I missed a few things - but no, I received 100% and he asked if I knew why I had done so well. I asked why, and he said it's because I listened to everything and did it all right - also I verbalized everything I was doing. Fantastic!
After the written portion today, the same non-grin instructor was with the instructor who was marking the tests. He was not marking at all, but when I walked up with my test he took it - mine was the only one he marked. I just knew he was targeting me, but it was all good - I really took a liking to him as an instructor, and after yesterday it was kinda funny. He took my paper, and seemed to take a long time marking it - then he motioned for me to come over. He pulled the paper against him, and asked how I thought I had done. I told him, there were 7 questions I was unsure of, when I went back through the text I think I marked three of them right, maybe four. So, I figured I had either three or four wrong (would still give me a pass, but not as good as I'd have liked). He grinned again, said I got one wrong and just like yesterday it was about the size of ammunition, and what is it with women and issues with size? I let that one slide completely. I was so happy about the mark! Then for the practical I had the same instructor. He had me pick up the dual action revolver, and PROVE it. I then put it on the table. He said "I didn't tell you to put it down, please do exactly as I say". I picked it up again, and we proceeded through the rest of the routine on that firearm. He then asked me to pick up the single action revolver. So I picked it up, and held it pointed downrange - and stopped. I waited, it seemed like an eternity. Then I turned only my head and said "You didn't say to PROVE it, and I'm trying to do exactly as you say". He grinned again, then said "Good. Now PROVE it". I wasn't sure if he was testing me or if it was an accident, but it worked out in my favour I think :D
When it came time to give me my mark, he said I did great, and I achieved a 98% on the practical, then congratulated me.
In hindsight, I maybe could have chosen a more appropriate wardrobe piece. I just went for comfort, so I wore my WHGames shirt -
Not sure that's the right top to wear to a Restricted Firearms course :)
I am so chuffed about this - the instructors were fantastic - taking me from where I was yesterday morning to comfortable that I can PROVE a NR or a R firearm - wow!
It was a memorable weekend, and well worth it. I will now send in my application and wait for my PAL to arrive, then will likely show it off to the family. This is exciting!
Friday, 14 November 2014
Health update
The new update is that there is change. Change is good, even if it seems bad, because change tells you which direction you ARE going, and which direction you SHOULD BE going. Like, maybe, the opposite direction sometimes?
Anyway, I went to get a refill of my prescription last night, and the guy at Shoppers (I'll be calling their H/O, definitely not a performance I want to repeat) says to me "are you going back to your doctor soon? have you had a blood test?" I told him I'd had blood taken and was going to the dr in two weeks. To me, that should have ended it right there. One thing I'll give him, he's persistent.
He looked up the results of my blood test, actually gave them to me, and told me I had to stop taking these pills because it was dangerous, I should be on the opposite pills.
OK, so my Dad (yes, an aside here) gets a muscle-relaxant prescription filled at Shoppers, I look up the drug interactions with what he's taking and it's all so NOT good. That pharmacist didn't even look it up on their own system. Meanwhile, mine went way overboard.
I told him I would talk to the dr about the results. He was insistent that I not take any more pills, it was dangerous, yada yada yada. I get that he went to school for a couple of years, but my specialist went for many many many more years, and knows WHY I'm taking them, has all the other test results. The guy at the pharmacy does not. He finally gave me the pills (after a distantly related argument about the insurance coverage), but not until I signed a document that said he explained it was dangerous to continue taking them and I was responsible. Seriously?
I called the dr's office last night and explained what happened, and asked for a callback today. This dr is fantastic - he called me back this morning, agrees that the pharmacist overstepped his bounds and could easily frighten many people with that attitude, and then he looked up my results. Turns out the meds are doing EXACTLY what they were supposed to, so I'm back down to one a day and seeing him in January.
I have to call Shoppers and voice my discomfort over this pharmacist. I'm concerned that he might truly scare someone off meds that they need to be on. To me the pharmacist should have said something more along the lines of - I can see your test results, based on what I'm reading, would you be able to get ahold of your doctors office tomorrow morning because I'm a bit concerned about the dosage. Definitely not trying to tell me how dangerous it was - full stop.
As well, I find it a bit uncomfortable that he was able to go online and get all my results. I didn't know that pharmacists had access to all of my medical data. I mean, I don't - why should they?
Anyway, I went to get a refill of my prescription last night, and the guy at Shoppers (I'll be calling their H/O, definitely not a performance I want to repeat) says to me "are you going back to your doctor soon? have you had a blood test?" I told him I'd had blood taken and was going to the dr in two weeks. To me, that should have ended it right there. One thing I'll give him, he's persistent.
He looked up the results of my blood test, actually gave them to me, and told me I had to stop taking these pills because it was dangerous, I should be on the opposite pills.
OK, so my Dad (yes, an aside here) gets a muscle-relaxant prescription filled at Shoppers, I look up the drug interactions with what he's taking and it's all so NOT good. That pharmacist didn't even look it up on their own system. Meanwhile, mine went way overboard.
I told him I would talk to the dr about the results. He was insistent that I not take any more pills, it was dangerous, yada yada yada. I get that he went to school for a couple of years, but my specialist went for many many many more years, and knows WHY I'm taking them, has all the other test results. The guy at the pharmacy does not. He finally gave me the pills (after a distantly related argument about the insurance coverage), but not until I signed a document that said he explained it was dangerous to continue taking them and I was responsible. Seriously?
I called the dr's office last night and explained what happened, and asked for a callback today. This dr is fantastic - he called me back this morning, agrees that the pharmacist overstepped his bounds and could easily frighten many people with that attitude, and then he looked up my results. Turns out the meds are doing EXACTLY what they were supposed to, so I'm back down to one a day and seeing him in January.
I have to call Shoppers and voice my discomfort over this pharmacist. I'm concerned that he might truly scare someone off meds that they need to be on. To me the pharmacist should have said something more along the lines of - I can see your test results, based on what I'm reading, would you be able to get ahold of your doctors office tomorrow morning because I'm a bit concerned about the dosage. Definitely not trying to tell me how dangerous it was - full stop.
As well, I find it a bit uncomfortable that he was able to go online and get all my results. I didn't know that pharmacists had access to all of my medical data. I mean, I don't - why should they?
Thursday, 6 November 2014
So many delays
I keep promising myself I'll write more, and never seem to have the time. It's all about priorities, isn't it?
Turns out my thyroid has been causing issues for some time. I was put on meds, they didn't do much so last month the dosage was doubled. The specialist really doesn't want to "kill" my thyroid as that is permanent, and he's hesitant about doing anything permanent if we can treat it. Now I'm on a double dose of this medication, and the side effects are....noticable.
I'm always cold now. Weird - for someone who was always warm - overheated most of the time - now I have to take extra clothes. Jon and I went shooting a month ago, and while it normally would have been an amazing day, weather-wise, I froze. Toque, mittens, two hoodies, and about two hours for my toes to warm out. He was wearing a light hoodie - which is what my normal would have been. If this is the case, at least I can handle it and prepare - not exactly a life-changing side effect.
One life changing side effect, however, is that I'm sleeping. Oh wow am I sleeping! Most nights I lay down and boom - out till the alarm goes off. It's a wonderful feeling. The flip side is that I'm still somewhat fatigued at night, just not as bad as before.
I go back on the 24th to see what the double dose has been able to accomplish and we go from there. Meanwhile, so many other things happening!
New job - doing inventory and reception at the H/O of the fitness club I worked for. I wasn't sure about slinging boxes around every day, but it's working out wonderfully. I feel good being out from behind a desk 8-10 hours a day. The pay is not nearly what I'm used to, but I'm happy, have a great boss, the energy in the working environment is overall positive, the people are great, and my membership to the club is free with half price training. Ah yes, the training - have a new trainer, a young Irish lad named Declan. He has changed up most of what I'm doing and I can feel the difference. Previously, and especially after working with a trainer, after my workout I wanted to go home and nap. After his sessions I feel energized, and I go back to work feeling fantastic. Even the second day (which is usually the "I can't move my legs" type of day) I feel great - I know I worked out, but I'm still very mobile and feel good.
Ottawa Major was a couple of weeks ago - one lesson learned is for another post, maybe next week.
Brother and Sis-in-law and neice got two kittens. The babies lost their mum - they figure to a coyote. They were only about four weeks old, and had to be bottle fed every few hours for the first bit - the two of them could sit side by side on a 6x6 tile. SOOOOO tiny! I haven't met them yet - hopefully Jon and I can make a trip out there and see them before they are full grown. The adult cat is unimpressed by them, but hasn't beaten them up, so that ended up working out well.
There's alot to say, and hopefully I'll be able to post a few more entries with more information, then (again) try to keep it up.
Turns out my thyroid has been causing issues for some time. I was put on meds, they didn't do much so last month the dosage was doubled. The specialist really doesn't want to "kill" my thyroid as that is permanent, and he's hesitant about doing anything permanent if we can treat it. Now I'm on a double dose of this medication, and the side effects are....noticable.
I'm always cold now. Weird - for someone who was always warm - overheated most of the time - now I have to take extra clothes. Jon and I went shooting a month ago, and while it normally would have been an amazing day, weather-wise, I froze. Toque, mittens, two hoodies, and about two hours for my toes to warm out. He was wearing a light hoodie - which is what my normal would have been. If this is the case, at least I can handle it and prepare - not exactly a life-changing side effect.
One life changing side effect, however, is that I'm sleeping. Oh wow am I sleeping! Most nights I lay down and boom - out till the alarm goes off. It's a wonderful feeling. The flip side is that I'm still somewhat fatigued at night, just not as bad as before.
I go back on the 24th to see what the double dose has been able to accomplish and we go from there. Meanwhile, so many other things happening!
New job - doing inventory and reception at the H/O of the fitness club I worked for. I wasn't sure about slinging boxes around every day, but it's working out wonderfully. I feel good being out from behind a desk 8-10 hours a day. The pay is not nearly what I'm used to, but I'm happy, have a great boss, the energy in the working environment is overall positive, the people are great, and my membership to the club is free with half price training. Ah yes, the training - have a new trainer, a young Irish lad named Declan. He has changed up most of what I'm doing and I can feel the difference. Previously, and especially after working with a trainer, after my workout I wanted to go home and nap. After his sessions I feel energized, and I go back to work feeling fantastic. Even the second day (which is usually the "I can't move my legs" type of day) I feel great - I know I worked out, but I'm still very mobile and feel good.
Ottawa Major was a couple of weeks ago - one lesson learned is for another post, maybe next week.
Brother and Sis-in-law and neice got two kittens. The babies lost their mum - they figure to a coyote. They were only about four weeks old, and had to be bottle fed every few hours for the first bit - the two of them could sit side by side on a 6x6 tile. SOOOOO tiny! I haven't met them yet - hopefully Jon and I can make a trip out there and see them before they are full grown. The adult cat is unimpressed by them, but hasn't beaten them up, so that ended up working out well.
There's alot to say, and hopefully I'll be able to post a few more entries with more information, then (again) try to keep it up.
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Uncertainty, part 2
So I saw the dr on Monday morning. It was totally not worst case, because just by the ultrasound he couldn't have given me a whole bunch of details. It turns out I have nodules on my thyroid. Nodules that contain nodules, that contain cysts. The largest on the left is 3.5 cm and the largest on the right is 2.8 cm. Good grief that is large. He can't tell yet exactly what it means, so I went for more blood tests, and then a thyroid scan yesterday. That was pretty cool. They inject you with radioactive iodine and see what parts of the thyroid light up. It's kind of weird, because if there is X amount that's hot, that's good. But if there is x-y amount that's hot, that's bad.
I go in to see the dr tomorrow morning for a diagnosis and hopefully a determination of a plan for moving ahead. Looking forward to finding out the results.
I go in to see the dr tomorrow morning for a diagnosis and hopefully a determination of a plan for moving ahead. Looking forward to finding out the results.
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Uncertainty
So last week (Tuesday to be precise) I couldn't sleep, and just before midnight I realised my arms were tingling, and going numb. I kept getting up and trying to shake it off, but it kept getting worse and worse. I finally woke Jon up, because I was getting seriously scared, and we ended up on the phone with Healthlink, and I was looking stuff up online....I thought I was having a heart attack, but symptoms didn't match. I seriously honestly truly thought I was dying that night, that I wouldn't see morning. It scared the crap out of me.
The nurse at Healthlink told me that it didn't seem life-threatening, but if it got worse overnight to go to emergency. If it didn't get worse, see a doctor the next day. OK.
It didn't get worse, so I went to a walk in the next day. Saw this a-maz-ing doctor that, sadly, isn't taking new patients. He sent me for blood tests, the results came back and I went in to see him. Turns out my thyroid count was way high, and he wanted to send me for more blood tests, an ultrasound, and a scan. Yeah, like I didn't google the you-know-what out of thyroid and everything related!
I went for the ultrasound on Thursday, and have the blood tests scheduled for this Tuesday, and the scan for this Wednesday. I figured we'd get the results at the end of the week or next Monday. The doctor's office called me yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, and said I needed to come in first thing Monday morning. Like that isn't going to freak me out completely?
Again, back to Dr. Google. I had to reassure the Dr. from last week that I'm not trying to find something that matches my symptoms, I am trying to be informed. So, what's the worst case scenario that I could come up with that would make the doctor call me in before my other tests were done. Of course, a growth was the worst thing I could think of. Soooooooooooo, google everything I could find related to thyroid growths and such. Turns out that 80% are nothing more than a cyst or equivalent - so no biggie. Of the remainder, 15 percent that may be cancerous are easily treated with a slim likelihood of recurrence. The last five percent is the worrisome part, but even most of those are treatable. The last one percent is rare, but it's a very dangerous one. I like being unique, but not like that.
We will find out tomorrow morning what he saw on the ultrasound to have me come in so quickly.
On the plus side, I did find a new doctor - met him today for the first time, and think it will work out well. Pity the one I've been seeing wouldn't take me as a patient - believe me, I begged :)
Praying that it's something we can treat so I can stick around for a while yet.
The nurse at Healthlink told me that it didn't seem life-threatening, but if it got worse overnight to go to emergency. If it didn't get worse, see a doctor the next day. OK.
It didn't get worse, so I went to a walk in the next day. Saw this a-maz-ing doctor that, sadly, isn't taking new patients. He sent me for blood tests, the results came back and I went in to see him. Turns out my thyroid count was way high, and he wanted to send me for more blood tests, an ultrasound, and a scan. Yeah, like I didn't google the you-know-what out of thyroid and everything related!
I went for the ultrasound on Thursday, and have the blood tests scheduled for this Tuesday, and the scan for this Wednesday. I figured we'd get the results at the end of the week or next Monday. The doctor's office called me yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, and said I needed to come in first thing Monday morning. Like that isn't going to freak me out completely?
Again, back to Dr. Google. I had to reassure the Dr. from last week that I'm not trying to find something that matches my symptoms, I am trying to be informed. So, what's the worst case scenario that I could come up with that would make the doctor call me in before my other tests were done. Of course, a growth was the worst thing I could think of. Soooooooooooo, google everything I could find related to thyroid growths and such. Turns out that 80% are nothing more than a cyst or equivalent - so no biggie. Of the remainder, 15 percent that may be cancerous are easily treated with a slim likelihood of recurrence. The last five percent is the worrisome part, but even most of those are treatable. The last one percent is rare, but it's a very dangerous one. I like being unique, but not like that.
We will find out tomorrow morning what he saw on the ultrasound to have me come in so quickly.
On the plus side, I did find a new doctor - met him today for the first time, and think it will work out well. Pity the one I've been seeing wouldn't take me as a patient - believe me, I begged :)
Praying that it's something we can treat so I can stick around for a while yet.
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