The Garden Continues To Delight

This was the way the Fig Tree looked after I trimmed it quite severely last Fall .  As the Iris were starting to boom in late Spring the Fig Tree looked pretty much the same . 

But , WOW , when it started to leaf out it did so with vigor !

 

And, this is what it looks like today . It's Huge .  No fruit yet and maybe there won't be any this year .  However , the fruit has always started in August .  So maybe .  And , if it doesn't bear fruit this year it will be fine .  The white flowers at the top of the photo are the White Crepe Myrtle Tree and it is loaded with big clusters of flowers !

The Garden is certainly flourishing and I am really enjoying every bit of it . I have planted some more plants that I'll show when they grow a little more . The weather is HOT and it takes a lot of time to water everything .   More garden photos soon .

Hope your Weekend is enjoyable .

Mary

An Enlarged Spleen

Not sure where to start with all this .  But, just for the heck of it, how about a beautiful floral photo or two to let you know that I am very much alive , kicking and screaming all the way !!!

I am still quite irritated with everything . After all it is MY LIFE (dead or alive) that I am talking about.  Let's get to the core of my frustration .  If the doctors (four of them now) would have done the simplest of anything and ordered blood lab work especially since my routine prescriptions include 4 for hypertension , 1 for elevated (genetic) cholesterol  and a few others , this whole dam mess would probably not have happened !  Because the medications would have been adjusted to prevent the high lab work numbers result .  That is what medications are for !

Moving right along . Where is the Spleen and what does it do ?  Even though I am a nurse , that is what I asked the doctor after he talked to the Radiologist about my Abdominal CT Scan .   The CT Scan report had not been dictated from the 7/01/19 Scan appointment . However  my doctor called the Radiologist directly to discuss the findings . When the doctor returned to the exam room , the first thing out of his mouth was "You have an Enlarged Spleen" .  Nothing was said about the colon which was the reason for the CT Scan .

The Spleen isn't something we hear much about unless it is an automobile accident or athletic injury and then you might hear that the spleen was removed .  Yes, you can live without a spleen but your body will lose some of its ability to fight infections . It is better if you have a spleen !

And, where is it ?  It is behind the bottom of the left Rib Cage and butts up against the Stomach .

Now, what does it do and why do I need one ?

The spleen is part of the Lymphatic System which fights infection and keeps your body fluids in balance . It contains white blood cells that fight germs .  The spleen also helps control the amount of blood in the body and destroys old and damaged cells .

Why is it enlarged ?  The spleen is enlarged due to a variety of underlying causes .  In my situation, elevated cholesterol and abnormal blood flow may be contributing factors for the enlarged spleen. Without further analysis we really don't know .  Interesting, I have had many of the symptoms , which are loss of appetite , weight loss , night sweats , fatigue, bruising easily and two head colds in the month of May ,  My immune system has always been strong !  I can't remember the last time I had a cold or flu prior to that .  AND, I never have had a childhood communicable disease . Quite surprising - don't you think ?

For the last three years I have been diligently trying to find a doctor that will provide me with a "Medical Standard of Care  that is the level of care an ordinary, prudent, health care professional with the same training and experience would provide under similar circumstances in the same community".

I would expect that when I have an appointment with a new doctor and I have told him that I have not been able to find a doctor for a long time that he would review the current medications that have been prescribed for my medical conditions and at the least, order laboratory tests to evaluate the effectiveness of the prescribed medications . It wasn't until last September that I was able to get a requisition for some blood/lab work from the third doctor. The doctor basically asked me what I wanted checked .  I named off several tests but failed to mention lipid panel and cholesterol and perhaps some others .  I didn't know that was my job!  He reported by telephone that the results were normal , which is not quite accurate. What is it with these doctors - no medical history review or preventive health discussions or much of anything.

So now with the fourth doctor I was hoping that I would receive the care that will return me to health and that will allow me to continue life to the fullest.  But, that was not to be !  In an effort to make this as short as possible these are the troubling following events . He discussed the elevated cholesterol and lipid numbers and recommended a Brand Name (Crestor) medication (very expensive) that previously had helped bring the numbers down . I provided a medical report from a cardiac workup that was done in 2012 .  When I say that the medication was expensive, I mean after much research including a long discussion with a pharmacist .  $600 for 90 pills !!!  Along with the elevated lab work I have been having very high blood pressure readings with many above 200/104 !!!  He requested that I get more lab work (don't know specifics) prior to my nest appointment in a month .

Medication was not called in to pharmacy nor was lab work requisition provided . When I called regarding the medication order they called in the order for the GENERIC medication which was not considered as effective.  When I called the next day with my concerns and a blood pressure above 200/__ they scheduled me to come into the office in the afternoon to see a different doctor who takes one day appointments .  The status of this mess was discussed and I asked for my current lab numbers from lab work that was done just before the CT Scan .  He said the numbers were so good that he didn't think that I even needed the medications .  Soon after, I left with a very confused head - - - and an Enlarged Spleen  😖

When I arrived home there was a message from the doctor saying that he gave me the wrong numbers.  He gave me the current numbers and they were severely abnormal and elevated.  After I did a little research I could see that the numbers he first provided me were from the 2012 Cardiac evaluation report when I was responding well to treatment .

I spoke with the office staff the following day about my experience.  Who knows if that will do any good .  And, I still have not seen or discussed the CT Scan (other than mention of Enlarge Spleen) or lab work done prior to the CT Scan .  I am in the process of going to the hospitals to get reports from medical records.  That is the ONLY way that I can get my medical records .  The medical office can no longer copy medical reports .

This has been tremendously stressful and that is putting it very mildly .

Time for a little sweetness !  No, that is not Ivy but maybe I could teach her to help me.  Right now I can use all the help I can get !

Thank you for listening if you read to the end .

Tomorrow is a New Day .

Mary

Some Gentle Thoughts

In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. 

To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. 

I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.
 ~Dodinsky

Ivy is Happy when mommy is Happy!

This little lady continues to make progress in her rehabilitation process from a traumatising life for her first six years of life prior  to joining me for a lifetime .  I don't think anyone could love her more than I do .

My next blog will be about  How The Medical System has failed me and now I have an Enlarged Spleen !                                                                   Yes, that is right - - - Spleen !!!!!!!

Mary

What Ya Cooking

How about some Pulled Pork for Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw ?

This is a 4 pound boneless Pork Butt Roast . I used a dry rub of brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper  and some garlic powder.  Left in refrigerator in a baggie overnight so flavors marinate .

Baked at low temperature for six hours while periodically basting with cider vinegar, ketchup and hot sauce while it cooks .

Shred the pork and mix with any pan drippings .

This tastes great !  Tomorrow when I can go to the store to get some buns and coleslaw fixings I plan to make some sandwiches like the photo below .

(google image)

The garden continues to bring forth more lovelies .  These Gardenias are a petite miniature variety and the plant is covered completely with buds .

They are so precious . In years past I have been able to enjoy their aromatic perfume .  But, this year as I am getting older, I am not able to smell the fragrance as well !  It's about a year ago that I noticed that "my smeller" was changing !!!

The Rose of Sharon - Hibiscus - has started to bloom .

And, next time I will have photos of the Gladiolas !!!

See you again soon .

Mary

At My Door Step

What a nice neighborly gesture and surprise .  Since the hedge around my corner lot has been cut down the neighbors that walk by (and there are many) often stop for a quick chat .  One neighbor that lives nearby and has lived here longer than I have asked if I would like some Asiatic Lilies . Of course, I said yes .  It just so happened that when I recently returned home from having a CAT Scan they were sitting at my front door .  Nothing like a plant can cheer up a gardener !

These  Asiatic Lilies are from her garden .  I'm not certain of color .  But,that is just fine with me !  In time past we would call these "pass along plants".  These are often "The Best".

These beautiful colors of recently opened Daylilies are so enjoyable for me and there are still more varieties to come .

And now some returning flowers from last years May planting at the corner near the driveway .

I think these Black Petunias are fascinating and they are continuing to put on a interesting show along with the returning Yellow Calibrachoa (Million Bells) .

This past Spring I planted two new plants in this area near the driveway . Each of them were one gallon plants and both of them have been growing beautifully .  The first plant in the photo below is a Viburnum 'Opulus Roseum' commonly known as Snowball .  I have always liked the Snowball plant and so happy that I was able to find one in early Spring this year .  There was a  Snowball plant in this area when I bought the house .  But, unfortunately it had to be removed due to some type of disease .

The next one is Cotinus Coggyria 'Grace' known as a Soft Purple-Pink Smoke Bush .  I look forward to the uniqueness of this plant .  It is described as having new leaves that are pinkish-purple turning green as the season rolls along . Much of the year it is green with pink tips . Small pink flowers are in huge clusters , up to 12 inches in summer , and fall color is fire red and purple .   Sounds very interesting to me .  Perhaps , a focal point .  I have planted it where it will have enough room to showcase nicely !

It was just yesterday that I was able to finish revision of the other side of the driveway .  Needless to say the soil is almost non existent .  From a few years ago when I planted a few  Indian Hawthorn  Rhaphiolepis  'Jack Evans'  plants very little attention has been given to this part of my garden .  I think it is a good plant for the area . Fortunately, early in the season I found six more plants at the local nursery .  And then a few days ago when I was buying more planting mix ,  two 'six pack' of Coneflowers jumped into my cart .  Does that ever happen to you ?

The color of the Echinacea purpurea , Purple Coneflower (that can be self seeding) will go nicely with the blossoms on the Indian Hawthorn,  Rhaphiolepsis .

My Garden Ducks that came with me when I moved here many years ago  have been keeping watch over the driveway garden for a very long time .

The railing that you can see goes to what I call my Secret Garden  .  It needs lots of work up there . Years ago I picked up two railing at a yard sale that were used with a mobile home . I fastened them together , "planted" them and jokingly would say that they will help me when I am old and feeble .  Well , I guess you can say that I am, now OLD but I don't think feeble - - -yet !!!

Hope your New Week is a happy one .

Mary

And The Earth Did Roar

And she powerfully shook the complacency of its inhabitants .

As a native Californian the phenomenon of earthquakes is certainly not new to me .  I can recall as early as childhood listening to my mother talk about earthquakes .  I wish I could remember the details but all I can recall is about fireplace bricks falling across a doorway exit .  After doing a little research it looks like the year may have been 1933 in March with magnitude of 6 .4 .  My oldest brother would have been one year old and they lived in the Los Angeles area .  And, this would have been about five years after she came from Minnesota to California .

This subject certainly brings memories of my own life experiences  with earthquakes .  My first recollection of any earthquake was in 1971 (6AM) San Fernando Valley-Sylmar earthquake of 6 .5 magnitude.  At the time, I was living in San Gabriel Valley which is about 30 miles from the quake site.  It had been less than 2 years since I became a single parent and I was working as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital .  The quake awakened us and it was a very frightening experience for the three of us .  My children's father never had much involvement after leaving , so we were on our own.  After getting the children settled with child care I went to work - of coarse !  I don't think we had much damage at the house other than the typical items falling off shelves .

Going to work was a new set of experiences . I worked on the surgical third floor . There were wide open cracks in the floors . All elective surgeries were cancelled .  Patients were discharged if possible.  Obviously , patients looked to staff for reassurance !!!  The aftershocks persisted for days and were very unnerving .

The year 1989 brought us the Loma Prieta earthquake with a magnitude of 6 .9 .   The Quake site was near Santa Cruz and I was living in San Jose and had not been home from work very long when the earth shook at 5.04 PM .  I recall putting my precious pets  (Pixie, a Yorkie and Puff, a cat) in their crates and taking them out to the front sidewalk of the house where neighbors were gathering . This earthquake was far reaching and very catastrophic to many regions .  San Francisco freeway system was horrendously effected.

At the time I was working as a Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist which meant that I was a liaison between a Sick/Injured Individual and the Responsible Payer of expenses .  Kind of like "helping the Right hand to know what the Left hand is doing" .   A rather  simplistic explanation ! 😃

What does this have to do with anything ?  It just so happened that in my workplace I was referred a case of an earthquake victim that was dealing with Post Trauma Stress Disorder . Interesting , his case was reported in the Reader's Digest (remember the Digest) in August 1990 .  I am not sure of the date that I received the referral .  He was a very impressive person as well as his story !!!  It was a pleasure to work with him .

(click image to enlarge)

The Digest article has many stories of the 1989 earthquake experiences that were catastrophic life altering tragedies .

WOW , that took me down memory lane .

My Best Thoughts and Desires are with everyone who has or is impacted by the recent earthquake events .

Mary

Moments To Ponder

It is hard to believe that it would be a week of celebration of a Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary if I had stayed married to my children's father and he had not left us .  And - - - he had lived .

Yes, this photo is in muted colors !

It is not with bitterness that I write this but more with some thoughts of sadness .  Yes, after this many years and having lived a life filled with many life experiences which included 8 years out of 10 years of married life that were the happiest years of my life until recently .

We met when he was yet a boy at age fifteen and I was a mere girl child at the age of fifteen .  We were attending the same church along with our parents .  Not an uncommon event for the times in the fifties .  He was beside my side through the years of high school and the years of my rigorous nurses training .  We truly were in love as we knew love at the time !  Following completion of my Registered Nurses training/schooling at age 19 we were married (in the church, of course) on July 5, 1959 .

We were extremely happy even though my parents weren't as happy .  No surprise there !  There certainly were no excessive funds provided for my very simple wedding .  But, we were just happy to be married !

Life was as happy as I could ever have imagined !  I passed my State Board Exams as a Registered Nurse and my husband was very busy working as a Carpenter .  We had our first child when we were 21 and the next one when we were 23 .  Prior to the birth of our second child my husband and friends were able to build a house that we were able to move into when our daughter was only six weeks old.  It was a great three bedroom, two bath house .  I was able to be a "Stay at Home Mom" and I loved it .

Life was moving along beautifully as a young family of the fifties .  We knew we were fortunate to live the life we were living . Nothing extravagant but nicely comfortable .

Photo taken in 1966 . Red Velvet Mother/Daughter Christmas dresses that I sewed .

AND THEN  - - - - -

Out of necessity , my husbands employment changed radically from outdoor carpentry to indoor NIGHT shift Computer office work .  And, I had to start working as a nurse on DAY shift . It was a very tumultuous time for us .  Very Unfortunately , before long he became involved at work with co-workers and illegal drug use .  He left us in early 1969 and he passed away at the age of 47 !

And, That Is My Story .

As we know and I have often said "Life can change in the blink of an eye" .  I could write a lot more but let's just say "That Is My Story" and I am very Thankful for the years that were very Lovingly Beautiful .

Now, let's go enjoy some Fireworks !  Are you coming with me ?

Mary

New Health Care Pavilion

This 64,000 square foot, three story new building housing the Diane J. White Cancer Institute and Health Care Pavilion is the facility where my doctor referred me for an Abdominal Cat Scan which was done this morning .  The Pavilion provides Rehabilitative Primary Care and high-tech Diagnostic Imaging .  The Cancer Center is named for a matriarch of a local family that donated $3 million to the project that opened fall of 2018 .  The total project was $30 million .

This building is associated with the Adventist Health Hospital which is my choice of hospital and where I have received excellent care in the past .  I have not been able to get a doctor who is from this hospital . But my new doctor arranged for me to go to this state-of-the-art facility .

I have experienced a certain level of anxiety regarding the Cat Scan because of the need to take the barium prep the night prior and again in the  morning of the exam . My issue is that of chronic rectal incontinence .  As feared ,  this morning my fear was realized !  I called the Imaging Department at 8 AM to ask if I should take the morning barium .  I am happy to tell you that they were wonderful and advised that I bring the drink with me and they would make provisions for completing the Scan .

I am delighted to say that every minute of my care from the minute I entered the registration area until I left was outstanding .  Without further detail , I can not imagine any better care .  What a Blessing .

I am scheduled to see my Primary Care doctor next week when I sincerely expect to receive a report that is routine screening for minimal symptoms and not a traumatic diagnosis.

I have been so exhausted since returning home and I have slept most of this afternoon and I am now feeling quite refreshed .

I hope your 4th of July holidays are festive and safe .

Mary