In Answer to Your Question
How am I feeling? In order to help answer that, I did an ECG check. Heart rate was 57 bpm, which the machine flagged as too slow. So I did some stretches and exercise for about a minute, then checked again. Now it's 67 bpm, which the machine says is okay. And the heartbeat is pretty regular, thanks to the Chinese herbal medicine I have been taking for three days now. I saw a new Chinese doc last Thursday. Unfortunately for me, the previous doc, the one with the beautiful eyes, moved back to her hometown in Taizhong. The new doc seems good though. He prescribed a week's worth of herbal powder and wants to see me again next Thursday.
I asked him if this arrhythmia was curable or if I needed to be careful from here on out. He didn't give me a clear answer, either "curable" or "be careful". So we know he is a good doctor.
I've been seeing dentists a lot lately, at least once a week for the past few months. One dentist is for the implant that I have under way. It's for my left front tooth, the one that I broke off on the bottom of a swimming pool when I was 11. He put in the titanium screw a few weeks back. In a few more weeks, he'll fit the tooth that hooks on to it. Meanwhile I have a one-tooth dental plate that he gave me a while back.
I am seeing a dental surgeon for some deep rot in a rear molar. She speaks quite good English since she had majored in English Literature! How she happened to turn into a dentist I do not know, but she works in the military hospital near here. On my last visit, she had an assistant whom she was instructing, so that session was all Chinese. I mean all. I see her again tomorrow afternoon and we will see what language she wants to speak. She's the doctor.
She gave me several anesthetic injections last time, and the evening when they wore off was somewhat rough going. But she had prescribed acetaminofen, aka Tylanol, which helped a lot.
Every time I see a dentist, it costs me $5.00. This national healthcare system is something else. But I plan on getting a couple of crowns from the English Lit major, and those count as optional, which means I'll need to pay, $500 apiece. You don't have to be a king to wear a crown here, but they aren't free either.
When I talked to my daughter last week, she pointed out that I had suffered from an interesting variety of problems. There was my broken collar bone from the bicycle crash, the tooth problems, the heart arrhythmia, the hernia operation, and the deep vein thrombosis that I got on the airplane back to Taiwan. I thought that would be over in 10 or 15 minutes, but it actually took a month. So she's right; it hasn't been just one nagging thing that goes on and on. I have a lot to be thankful for.
So that's how I am feeling. Oh yes, I sliced my little toe rather badly yesterday while the girls were out shopping. I had cut some thin sheet steel from a cookie tin to cover the platform on a little camera track that I am making. As I was attaching the plate, I accidentally kicked some metal scrap that was on the floor. Man it was sharp. I was bleeding all over the carpet, and left a trail to the bathroom where I finally elevated the foot and put on a band aid. Lucky I was able to get the mess cleaned up before anyone came home. And the carpet came out better than expected, too. There is just one dark spot, but you have to know where to look.
In a slightly different department, when I was a kid I had one aunt who used to grind her own flour and make the most delicious homemade bread. I've been making bread for some years, but never had a grain mill. (And my bread has not been as good as hers, either.) Well, I just ordered a grain mill, from Idaho. Mailed the check to Retsel Incorporated yesterday. Hope it all goes smoothly. They are supposed to be excellent mills.
So that's how I am feeling. It's a beautiful morning. The birds are starting to sing. There is a lot to be thankful for.
I asked him if this arrhythmia was curable or if I needed to be careful from here on out. He didn't give me a clear answer, either "curable" or "be careful". So we know he is a good doctor.
I've been seeing dentists a lot lately, at least once a week for the past few months. One dentist is for the implant that I have under way. It's for my left front tooth, the one that I broke off on the bottom of a swimming pool when I was 11. He put in the titanium screw a few weeks back. In a few more weeks, he'll fit the tooth that hooks on to it. Meanwhile I have a one-tooth dental plate that he gave me a while back.
I am seeing a dental surgeon for some deep rot in a rear molar. She speaks quite good English since she had majored in English Literature! How she happened to turn into a dentist I do not know, but she works in the military hospital near here. On my last visit, she had an assistant whom she was instructing, so that session was all Chinese. I mean all. I see her again tomorrow afternoon and we will see what language she wants to speak. She's the doctor.
She gave me several anesthetic injections last time, and the evening when they wore off was somewhat rough going. But she had prescribed acetaminofen, aka Tylanol, which helped a lot.
Every time I see a dentist, it costs me $5.00. This national healthcare system is something else. But I plan on getting a couple of crowns from the English Lit major, and those count as optional, which means I'll need to pay, $500 apiece. You don't have to be a king to wear a crown here, but they aren't free either.
When I talked to my daughter last week, she pointed out that I had suffered from an interesting variety of problems. There was my broken collar bone from the bicycle crash, the tooth problems, the heart arrhythmia, the hernia operation, and the deep vein thrombosis that I got on the airplane back to Taiwan. I thought that would be over in 10 or 15 minutes, but it actually took a month. So she's right; it hasn't been just one nagging thing that goes on and on. I have a lot to be thankful for.
So that's how I am feeling. Oh yes, I sliced my little toe rather badly yesterday while the girls were out shopping. I had cut some thin sheet steel from a cookie tin to cover the platform on a little camera track that I am making. As I was attaching the plate, I accidentally kicked some metal scrap that was on the floor. Man it was sharp. I was bleeding all over the carpet, and left a trail to the bathroom where I finally elevated the foot and put on a band aid. Lucky I was able to get the mess cleaned up before anyone came home. And the carpet came out better than expected, too. There is just one dark spot, but you have to know where to look.
In a slightly different department, when I was a kid I had one aunt who used to grind her own flour and make the most delicious homemade bread. I've been making bread for some years, but never had a grain mill. (And my bread has not been as good as hers, either.) Well, I just ordered a grain mill, from Idaho. Mailed the check to Retsel Incorporated yesterday. Hope it all goes smoothly. They are supposed to be excellent mills.
So that's how I am feeling. It's a beautiful morning. The birds are starting to sing. There is a lot to be thankful for.
Comments
Post a Comment