Wow! What a difference a week makes. Got a surprise phone call from my doctor yesterday. Turns out he sometimes works Sundays to stay on top of things. I went for bloodwork and a knee x-ray this past Tuesday, and Lorne (I’ve known my GP for so long we (informally at least) go by our first names) had already received the results. He was happy to tell me all my vitals are normal, including blood sugar, which means I am non-diabetic. I have no idea if it will last, but I must have been doing something right this past year. And better keep it up. According to my knee x-ray and ultrasound, he figures it’s worn cartilage on the back of the knee, and if I go for a little physiotherapy to strengthen the connecting muscle, it should go back to normal.

I also finally went for my eye exam on Thursday, and they figure my vision’s too far gone now for stronger lenses. Instead, time to go the cataract surgery route. I’ve been added to the waiting list, but with the hospitals still in crisis mode, it could be some time before I see the inside of a hospital again.

If not for face masks and the endless drone of statistics in the media, at times I almost forget that we’re in a pandemic. As per the advice of doctors, Ontario has arbitrarily extended the shelf-life of a large quantity of the AstraZeneca vaccine, sitting in freezers. There has been a lot of hemming and hawing in the past few weeks as to whether to use it at all, or only give it as a second dose to those who already received AZ. The blood clot side effect issue continues to pop up, but the experts say it’s better to use up what they’ve got, rather than have it go bad.

Personally, I’m happy to wait for my second shot of Pfizer in August, as scheduled.

My poetry’s been a bit slow in coming of late, but I’m happy with that. I could use the break, especially in light of my output in the previous three years. I am however putting together a small package of poems for my friend Phil Mader, for his website. Phil is part of the old Sasquatch crew of writers here in Ottawa. When he retired sometime around 2000, he migrated to Nelson, BC, and has been there ever since. Part of it was to get away from Ottawa’s stifling humidity in summer. As much as I also hate the humidity, I love Ottawa, and am willing to tough out the few heat waves we get each summer.


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05/31/2021

Posted on 05/31/2021
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti