The Rusty Years

Monday morning and finally, finally, we're getting some rain. And not just one of those violent thunderstorms we get off and on. This one is a western New York gray dripper, a soaker, and the first such rain in well over a year. Now, if we only had a fireplace.

I finally said I'd had enough with the shoulder pain and went to the Same Day Care center to see what they could tell me about them. I kept thinking they'd get better if I didn't golf, but it's been two weeks since I swung a club and they're no better than when I quit. And I'm sick of the pain and awkwardness. I got in to see a doctor around 8:30, after a half hour wait. He asked me the usual doctor questions and then sent me to radiology for x-rays. Another forty minute wait and then I was taken in for three views of each shoulder. Back to Same Day for another twenty minute wait while the results were forwarded from radiology to Same Day. He told me they didn't show anything serious, that is, no bad-case arthritis. He said my pain could be a combination of things--arthritis, muscle inflammation, rotator cuff minor tearing. I said, but how could it be rotator cuff if both of the shoulders began aching at the same time and I'd done nothing to injure my rotator cuffs. He didn't know. So he gave me a prescription for a six-day round of prednisolone pills. You know, six the first day, then five, four, three, two, and one. Just what I need, to gain about twenty pounds in a week. The list of possible side effects other than weight gain was interesting: stomach upset, headache, dizziness, trouble sleeping, and menstrual period changes. I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about that last one. The only thing missing was constipation. Oh, yes, and he also said occasional applications of ice might help.

I seem to be a walking list of odd afflictions, for which I take an ever-increasing number of pills in the morning and at night. The afflictions: high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, low thyroid production, gout, an abdominal aortic aneurysm (which must be checked every six months), a low-level leukemia called myelodisplasia (which requires that my blood be checked every six months), and finally, my six-year battle with the squamous lesions that attack both my lower legs. That's a disgusting list, isn't it? These years go way beyond just rusty, but I can't think of any description worse than rust.

The Cardinals looked really good in their win over the Vikings last night, and they have probably the softest schedule for the remainder of the season of anybody in the league: the 49ers, the Lions, the Rams, and the Packers. They actually have a good chance of winning out and getting to 12-4. Whoa! Is that a scary thought.

And another delightful play on words: Times flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.