Mind Games for the Altered Mind? OR "It's Not Me; It's Them."

   I like to record past happenings, probably a form of reassuring myself, so here goes:

  Wednesday, March 28, 2023:   When I turned on the TV mid-morning, I  first got sound, no picture. Knowing the drill, I rebooted and then saw the message that Spectrum Service was unavailable.  I called to report the problem and of course got their usual kind recorded offer to reboot from their end, and to call back if it didn't restore service. The voice said there were NO outages. After the reboot attempt took almost 1 hour, I called back and spent considerable time with Arnold, who tried various ploys and then stated that the reboot was not completing from L-8. He scheduled a service call for 9a.m. Thursday morning. BUT, when I checked later in the day, an email stated that the outage had been resolved. (I'd been told no outage, but what the heck, I tried the TV and it worked. Great. I cancelled the service call.

  Thursday morning, March 29, 2023. Rejoicing in my television viewing, I went to my computer and found, "No Internet Access."  A surprise. I called Spectrum help and received the recorded message, saying there are Intermittent Outages in the area, and they are working to restore service asap. I waited all day---no ebay, no gmail and worst of all no Spelling Bee. 

  Friday morning, 6:30 a.m. I'd waited, patiently, I thought, and then called, and asked if Internet Service had been restored as mine was still out. The rep said "We've had no reported outages, and have you tried to reboot/ When I said I'd been told of the outages yesterday, how could that be, she just said, "I don't know." She identified the problem as likely coming from Trendnet, which is not their property. Then, after  questions about which modem is connecter to which router in what manner, "we" agreed that she would reboot from there. Nothing worked. By now the mass of wires and accessories have a life of their own. I attempted to remove unnecessary stuff, the speakers, the lamp, and a few other devices, and succeeded in cutting access to my telephone service. 

  I was about at the point of ascribing to the Luddite way of life when Ben arrived. He plugged stuff back where it belonged and decided I needed a new Mouse. He doesn't know from where the problem arose or how internet was restored, but he succeeded. And I have a new Coral Reef mouse.

The Search

   Intended only for myself or for anyone who wonders what happened to me:   Suggested / Prescribed Course

2/27/23 Discharge RX : Dr. Black:  Atorvastatin 80 mg. and Aspirin 81 mg.

             Discharge FU:  PCP Primary Care Provider and Dr. Ubaid, Neurology

              Discharge Care Transition Coaching

           Activity Instructions: Resume your regular activity.

(Sounds pretty straightforward but that would not be the case.)

PCP thinks an additional Rx should have been ordered. Will request Neurologist's notes and contact me. One month later, no contact.

Neurology OV: He prescribed Gabapentin, not cholesterol drug. Feels CVA more likely to be heart-related. Referral to neurosurgery, Psychotherapy, ordered Lumbar Spine MRI, Brain EEG, 30 day Heart Monitor, and future TEE. 

Cardiology OV (self appt.)  Cardiologist said not to pursue "that stuff" from Neurologist's orders and prescribed Plavix to the Statin. Return in 2 months. He asked if Physical therapy had been ordered. "No."

Transition Team (The Eddy) could not help much, b/c "We're not doctors," but did ask if P.T. had been recommended. "No. Who would order it?" Answer: Your Primary. Also warned against any mental stress--no intense TV, no puzzle solving, etc. (Contrary to my hospital discharge info.)  

Self-contact back to Primary. I had not been contacted b/c They had not received response from neurologist. Primary sees no way PT could help, and thinks the meds course should be both aspirin and Plavix with the Statin. But the cardiologist said add Plavix. Do I need both? Answer was ask him.

So I try to look stuff up, from reliable sources.  Of course, nobody knows everything, and some lack the ability and inclination to add to their store of knowledge. After all everybody dies of something. But wouldn't it be helpful if we could tap into AI's ChatGPT? 

              

                

Mrs. Puttermesser revisited, so to speak...

 Attempting to clear the detritus of half a century, I came across this epistle from June 1994.

   "Today I heard of a woman who had to leave her home where she had lived her life up to now. The reason was that she couldn't stop crying. She cried all the time. No one could stand it. So they sent her away, to someplace else. 

     I wonder---what kind of place is it where people go who can't stop crying?  And are there people there who can stand the sound of crying? And is this place filled, crowded? Is there room for more? And in this place of sobbing, does anyone ever leave? "

        29 years ago and it feels like yesterday.   (The Puttermesser story was one of the eeriest and most frightening I'd ever read in my entire life. I've kept it but can't bring myself to even open the pages.

Some of the way too many notepads:

 

Dreams, I guess

 Same dream two nights in a row: I'm searching for an object. It seems to be metallic, red, embossed with gold. It's circular and has depth, probably some weight. I can't find it. Then it comes to me. I see it to the left. It's now familiar, and ordinary. You idiot, I say to myself, of course that's what it is. How could I not have known. And then  I forget what it is . Exact dream the next night, or rather morning.