Distractions

Dear family and friends,

Not as much got done with Measure for Measure as I had wished. Too many distractions. In the morning after a little work, we went to see Dr. K, who seemed to be pleased with my progress. I started at 2:30 a.m. this morning tapering the prednisone. This is not easy to do. That is, the body reacts with dismay when you take the drug away. So I am to call her after 2 doses of 30 mg. (on Wed.). I am not sure what she'll be looking for. I realize that without the pneumonia, and with the prednisone, my mood is definitely being chemically enhanced. I am not complaining! In fact, I wonder if I will like being without the mood-enhancing effect. I just hope I can continue smiling. I like to feel happy.

By prior arrangement, I met Antoinette there. She makes appointments far apart, and comes from a long distance, so I like to catch her when I can. She looks good. Our time together, though, was too short. We need to make better arrangement, maybe lunch or something after our appointments.

Dr. K was a little concerned about what she heard when listening to my heart and had a nurse do an EKG. She sent the results, which looked fine, to Dr. Goldberg, our coordinating doctor who is also a cardiologist, then spoke to him about the EKG by phone. He said I was OK: he had looked at his e-records about the Holter and at the EKG and thought I was good to go: he doesn't have to see me about it. Isn't modern medicine wonderful? Isn't the communication among all the doctors we go to productive? The good news is that the blood values look good, and I am to continue, as Dr. Mascarenhas suggested, on 1500 HU per day.

Afterward on the way home from New Hyde Park we did a little shop at the kosher Persian store, which carries all kinds of unusual items and has a pretty nice array of meat. I miss my old butcher, Barry, who was always so good to me, but his store is just too far away. We got chicken livers, which I broiled for Merwin for his lunch, and chopped meat for a meat loaf I was planning for the evening. Once a staple of the household, it hardly ever comes into play now that our four sons have left the nest, and I have forgotten how I used to do it. I don't think I got it quite right: 1 and 1/2 lbs chopped meat, 2 beaten eggs, 3/4 C of bread crumbs, 1 can tomato paste and two cans of water to rinse out the paste (I used to use catchup, but we don't keep that condiment around anymore), a little chopped onions and garlic, sauteed thoroughly in olive oil, and a little oregano, fresh from the freezer. It looked all right, and Merwin said it tasted all right, but there are some things I cannot produce from memory. Good recipe anyone?

It's unusual for me to make Merwin 2 full meals: he rarely eats that much. But the chicken livers were just fortuitous, and in the evening we had a guest, George, a student at Yale whom Harvey has taken under his wing since having him in his Freshman class last year. George will be staying with us for a few days. Harvey hooked George up with a doctor who lives nearby, a former student of Harvey's I believe, who does robotic surgery. This doctor will pick up George every morning for the next few days and show him his ropes through the day. As a pre-med student, George is just finding his way.

Earlier in the day, I went to Vicky, the physical therapist who had helped me with my thumb. She is highly regarded by both orthopedists I went to, the hand man Dr. Facibene and the generalist Dr. Steinwurzel. They both showed enthusiasm for her (more than for anyone else they had on their lists) when mentioning her as a possibility. Fortunately her office is 2 minutes from my house by car, a straight path down Glen Head Rd. I have a slew of exercises to do, and the good news is that she thinks I can return to SPIN by the weekend, if I remain seated on the bike except for 15-minute intervals of standing for 5 minutes at a time. The other class will be harder to rejoin, but I'll see what Vicky can show me about modifying Mimi's workout.

Do you get the impression I didn't do much with Measure for Measure? I took a few notes, but most of the day, indeed, was spent I am not sure how—though the play did float around my mind all the time. There is a clear path to the play today, and I hope to write some useful things about it.

Until tomorrow, then,
Love,
Bernice