UM, DID I HAVE A PHYSICAL THERAPY APPOINTMENT?

Today I got up early.  Okay not that early but earlier than I wanted.  I got ready to go, ate my breakfast and got out the door with time to spare to make it in time to make it to my physical therapy appointment.  I found a parking spot (FREE Parking!) and made it to my appointment right on time.

Mind you all week I reorganized my work appointments around this physical therapy appointment. 

I walked in the office and the PT came walking out to the dark waiting room.  She said you are here early.  We are not scheduled until 10:45.  I said, no I would not schedule an appointment at 10:45 because I work for myself and I would not schedule an appointment for the middle of the day.  I said I will have to cancel and make a new appointment.  We made a new appointment and I went off to run some much needed errands.

I see my doc tomorrow and I at that time I will make a decision.  This PT is the MOST unorganized therapist I have ever seen.  I have only have about 3-4 appointments and let's make a list of the things that have gone wrong:

• I showed up for an appointment and she had the wrong scheduled time
• I showed up for an appointment and she double booked.  She took me but had to explain to her SON (who is her assistant) how to call the other person and stop them from coming and make a new appointment.  A few times...
• I showed up and the front door was locked and the intercom was not working.  I stood outside waiting.  Turns out she was in the back of the office and didn't hear the phone ringing...
• I showed up for my preliminary assessment and she had a family situation that she decided to over share with me and we started my appointment late because it was tax day and she had to send her taxes in.  Once again she had to explain to her son/assistant how to mail a certified return receipt package.
• She sells some vitamin supplements on the side and consistently tries to get me to buy them. Ugh!
• She over shares all the time.  I know WAY too much about her.  Her tax situation, her family situation, her in-law's medical situation.  It is an uncomfortable over share.

I am thinking of changing physical therapists.  She doesn't seem like a bad PT, she just sucks at business.  I swear, if I ran my business like she does, I would be out of business!

What you do you think?  Have you had a situation like this?  What did you do?

Until tomorrow...

DOCTOR VISIT

Went to see my RA doc today.  I brought up my sensitivity to the sun.  At first she seem to poo-poo it as "getting older" and being more sensitive to the sun.  Then she seemed to check my medications to see if any of them would give me light sensitivity (none do). Then she said that everyone get's hot in the sun.  This was one of the first times she didn't really get it when I told her something.  Maybe it was because I was not saying it right.

I usually rehearse how I am going to say something to a doctor.  I don't want to come off as hysterical or too whiny or too needy. I don't want to sound like I just went on the web and researched something.

I was in a hurry so I didn't have time to rehearse my speech. So I heard myself come off repetitive and desperate.  I didn't have my facts ready to state in an organized fashion.  Instead I said those facts in an unorganized way that didn't make sense.

Finally after I mentioned it, she agreed that my diagnosis may have morphed into some Lupus symptoms.  She is running some tests to see if anything shows up.  Just talking about it my blood pressure was really high.  120/90 which for me is REALLY high.  I am usually 90/70.  I have always had low blood pressure and low heart rate.  Just low everything! 

Super!  Morphed into Lupus.  Just add it to the list.  I was told when I was diagnosed that I had Lupus symptoms but since then no one has said anything about it. I get the ANA test on Thursday.  So we wait until then. 

Until tomorrow...

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY

The terrible tragedy in Oklahoma is so hard to watch.  Those tornadoes just come out of nowhere and are so devastating.  Those poor families. 

This is exactly the sort of disaster I prepared for when I took the Animal Rescue Disaster Preparedness course.

Our thoughts are with the folks in Oklahoma.

Until tomorrow...

RUN IN WITH THE LAW

My sister-in-law has a blog and today her post about "getting in trouble for something you didn't do" made me think of something that happened to me a few years ago.  Brenda and I went to Florida to visit my parents and we rented a car so we could come and go as we pleased.  We were driving the car down the main road and I saw in the rear view mirror a police cruiser running the car's tags.  You know the look, he is right behind you and leans over to use the computer in his car.  I say to Brenda, the cop is running the tags.  She says you aren't speeding, don't be silly.

Sure enough, the lights come on and then the siren.  I come to a place to pull over and he comes up to the window.  License and registration.  I give him my license and the rental agreement.  (Interesting Factoid: in Florida the rental cars have no indication that they are rental cars.  I was told that back a number of years ago there was a murder spree where the murderer targeted rental cars because he knew the people were from out-of-state.  So the state passed a law that rental cars can no longer indicate they are rental cars.)  The cop ran the information and came back and told me that the registration of the car didn't match the VIN number.  He said he wouldn't ticket me because it was a rental car but if I didn't get it fixed, I would continue to get pulled over throughout our vacation.

I called the rental car company and they said it was common to switch the registrations on the cars and the paperwork had not gone through to the state DMV yet.  Wonderful!  I could come down and switch cars but I would have to drive back and switch the cars, they would not bring me one.  I gave them a hard time and they threw in a 1/4 tank of gas for my trouble.  I did go switch cars because the next cop may not be so nice.

That was one of the few times I got in trouble for something I didn't do.  Usually it is the other way around!  

Until tomorrow...

NO TRIPLE CROWN

Well, there will be no triple crown this year.  Orb didn't win.  Orb didn't even come in the top three finishers.  Oxbow won the Preakness.  Poor Orb got boxed in and couldn't get free in time.

It was fun to watch.  So many people put money on Orb.  If you bet on Oxbow you made a lot of money!  I sadly did not.  I watch the horses but I don't bet on the races.

Until tomorrow...

SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME

Someting you don't know about me is that I love to watch the horses. Yes, horse racing.  Since I was a little girl I have watched the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.  The Triple Crown.  When I was younger I even visited a relative who lived in Blue Grass country in Kentucky.  I loved watching those horse on that green grass.

I was SO horse crazy when I was a kid. I gave up ballet lessons to take horseback riding lessons after 10 years of ballet. I loved going to my great-uncle's farm. He didn't have horses, he had cows but I was happy there.

Now I have to be happy watching horse races on TV.  The Preakness is on tomorrow and I will be watching.  Let's see if Orb has it in him.

Until tomorrow...

GETTING OUT OF A FUNK

I just read an article titled "5 Foolproof Ways to Get Out of a Funk" written by Stephanie Booth in the May 2013 issue of Real Simple magazine.  I know I get in a funk sometimes.  I get overwhelmed sometimes when I have too many things pushing down on me.

There were some good ideas:

1. Do the chicken dance.  I would probably not do the chicken dance but just put some music on and dance.  But do the chicken dance if it is your thing.  It will most certainly make you smile!
2. Rent a tearjerker.  I know that when I watch Marley and Me, Steel Magnolias, Hatchi, Finding Nemo, Beaches, Fried Green Tomatoes, Toy Story 3, Wall-E, The Bucket List or Up I stop thinking about myself.  These stories put life in perspective.
3. Pay attention.  Participate in an activity that requires your full attention.  Do zumba, do a crossword puzzle, play with your dog, talk to a friend, or fix something.  
4. Look out the window.  Observe the world and see what you can see.  Maybe you will see a funny dog or a person riding a unicycle.  It may make you smile.  Maybe you will just see the beauty that is the great outdoors.
5. Use your imagination.  Think of new things and tap your creative side.  Paint, write, design, collage, scrapbook, or whatever creative thing you do.

These are great ideas.  I also have some:

1. Get in your car and turn up the radio.  Listen to the music and drive along a pretty road or along some water.  It will make you smile.
2. Go your place.  We all have a place we like to visit.  Mine is the beach.  Go to that place.  I sit in my car and look out at the beach with the radio on.  That is my happy place.
3. Walk a dog.  No one can be in a funk while walking a dog.  Dogs just don't care what mood you are in.  They are just so happy about going for a walk (we can't even say the word "walk" in our house without creating chaos) they forget about everything else.  Happy, happy, happy!
4. Take a bath.  Sometimes when I am in a funk I take a bath with good smelling bath scents and a good book.  When I get out of the tub I feel warm and wrapped in love.

Those are my ideas for getting out of a funk!  Next time you feel funky, take one of these ideas and give it a try.

Until tomorrow...