Stuck With Mom

It was that time of year again, so i dragged myself unwillingly into the doctor's office not just once, but twice, for a full annual physical.

Twice, because my doc asks us to come in and get all the blood work and initial tests done, then come in a week later and discuss the results along with the actual exam.

So i went in and the nurse checked my hearing, eyesight, did an electrocardiogram, tested me for peripheral arterial disease, performed a breath spirometry test (i think that's what it's called), drew about a pint of blood, made me take a whiz quiz, and checked to make sure i'm not shrinking. Yes, i am still 5'0" exactly, just as i have been since i turned 12.

Then i went back for the rest of the exam.

Eyes -- nearsighted, and i need reading glasses. Yes, i knew that. Peripheral vision is fine, so no signs of glaucoma.

Ears -- hearing is within normal ranges. If i don't hear you, it's because i'm not paying attention.

Lung function is fine.

Heart is fine. Neither of the two minor heart problems, mitral valve prolapse and supraventricular tachycardia, are of any concern or in need of treatment.

Blood work, heart test, and peripheral arterial disease tests show that i have a less than 1% chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years.

Blood pressure was 100/58. Typical for me.

Everything else is normal in the blood work, except that my thyroid meds need tweaking again. That will be retested in 3 months.

Not at risk for depression, not particularly anxious, no sleep problems to speak of, and since i don't drink, do drugs, or have a problem with domestic violence at home, i'm as sane as i can be with a husband, kids, and a menagerie all trying to make me nuts.

As for the Rate Your Plate questionnaire, apparently i am the highest scoring patient he's ever had. That's what comes of being a crazy raw vegan.

Apple, penny, table. Those were the three words i was supposed to remember as he asked me a bunch of other questions, like what he was holding in his hand (a pen), the date and where we were, how to spell words backwards, and a few other things. Essentially, it's a test for early senility or dementia symptoms, and i don't have them.

So barring accidents, i'm good to go for a while.

They are going to be stuck with mom, and i think they'll get over it.


Today is:

Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck -- Malta

National Cream Cheese Brownie Day

National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe -- Italy, especially in Trieste

Plimsoll Day -- honoring Samuel Plimsoll, the "Sailor’s Friend," who persuaded Parliament to have a maximum load limit on ships.

St. Scholastica's Day (Patron of children in convulsions, nuns, and bringing rain)

Try to Invent a New Jell-O Flavor Day -- you can at least try

Umbrella Day

Yuma Square and Round Dance Festival -- Yuma Civic Center, Yuma, AZ, US (whether you love square dancing, or rounds, there is something here for you at this festival; through the 12th)



Anniversaries Today:

Queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saxe-Coburg, 1840
Tom Thumb marries Mercy Lavinia Warren, 1863
Poland is symbolically married to the Baltic Sea by Jozef Haller de Hallenburg, celebrating the restitution of Polish access to the water, 1920


Birthdays Today:

Lance Berkman, 1976
Laura Dern, 1967
Glen Beck, 1964
Cliff Burton, 1962
George Stephanopoulos, 1961
Greg Norman, 1955
Mark Spitz, 1950
Roberta Flack, 1939
Robert Wagner, 1930
Leontyne Price, 1927
Lon Chaney, Jr., 1906
Bertolt Brecht, 1898
Jimmy Durante, 1893
Boris Pasternak, 1890
Samuel Plimsoll, 1824
Charles Lamb, 1775


Today in History:

St. Paul is shipwrecked on the island of Malta, 60
Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch, 1098
The St. Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days, 1355
Wampanoag Indians under King Philip kill all the men in Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1676
Edmund Halley is appointed the second Astronomer Royal of England, 1720
The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War, surrendering Canada
to England, 1763
Simon Bolivar is named dictator by the Congress of Peru, 1824
The first US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane of Virginia, 1863
The YWCA is founded in NYC, 1870
Nearly 11,000,000 acres of land, ceded to the US government by the Sioux Indians, is opened for settlement, 1890
The New York Times begins using the slogan, "All the news that's fit to print," 1897
Japan and Russia declare war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships, 1904
Britain's first modern and largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" is launched, 1906
Baseball outlaws all pitches that involve tampering with the ball, 1920
New Delhi becomes the capital of India, 1931
The first singing telegram is delivered, by the Postal Telegram Company of NYC, 1933
Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, 1962
Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party, 1989
The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time, 1996
The communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collide in orbit, destroying both, 2009