[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]
Aloha Everybody:
Well, some of you may be experiencing something even worse than what we experience when we have bad VOG-- the smoke from the fires in Canada is apparently pretty nasty in some parts of the mainland. Maybe it should be called "COG?" And of course we have one more new word for our weather vocabularies -- "heat dome." My sympathies. Hopefully it won't last too long.
My own mental fog lifted around Sunday morning and most of the week my body and mind were in sync. Well, as much as they ever are these days. I've just about got the jungle whacked back, and most things around the house are up and running. Also, as soon as we got back we started covering the pool at night and by early in the week we had the temperature back to a tolerable level, so we've been able to get in almost every day. Our cutoff is 80d, and while we were gone the cool nights and lack of sunshine dropped it to 76d, practically ice. This week we did get more rain, but even so we managed to eat dinner outside by the pool several times, something we haven't been able to do for months. I'm sure you recall that we eat breakfast and lunch outside almost every day, too.
One big event this week for me was going to my retina doctor on Tuesday. Recall that before we left I had an injection of this new drug called Vabysmo that might lengthen the time between shots. Well, Tuesday had been 7 weeks and there was no sign of edema! I'm scheduled to return in 6 weeks for a total stretch of almost 3 1/2 months, about as long as I've ever gone. It will be interesting to see how things are doing then, but right now I'm hopeful that my problem is finally stabilizing. Now, about those cataracts....
Another piece of good medical news came yesterday, when Karen had a followup with her orthopedic doctor. Her hip problems are definitely not something calling for replacement, but rather are muscle related. She has responded pretty well to physical therapy, though it was tough to keep up her exercises while on our trip. She resumed sessions this week and hopefully will make even better progress now.
Another major activity this week for me was dealing with insurance to cover the costs of repairs to our rental car. The damage occurred in an Italian parking garage, where I tested the law of physics about two things not occupying the same space at the same time. The law still holds. The car we had was a tad bigger than I thought and I managed to scrape both sides on the garage support pillars. The damage didn't interfere with driving the car, but it was too extensive to hide from the rental agent when we returned the car in Rome. Our home auto insurance (State Farm) doesn't cover damage to a rental car in another country, but our credit card company does. AVIS charged us for the estimated repairs on the spot, and now I'm filing a claim to get reimbursed. This has to be done online, and it has required gathering a lot of information and putting in the required format. We'll see how this turns out -- it should be 100% covered, but I'm guessing it could be some time before we get the money. I'll keep you posted.
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| Wrong Hole! |
Ok, that's about it this week. Hope your summer is going well. Be good, stay healthy, stay away from the crazies. They sure seem to be multiplying....
5 comments:
My eye problem is different from yours but still not something I ever expected. Mine is Chronic Corneal Erosion, left eye... The good news is I finally gave up on my optometrist and sought out an ophthalmologist. His office is directly across the street from my office. He told me at my first appointment that if he couldn’t help me, he would refer me to a corneal specialist. So far, his recommended treatment has worked well. I am feeling somewhat relieved. I read that some folks who couldn’t be helped adequately asked to have their eye removed. That is how agonizing it can be. I am doing well now.
Geez! Your problem makes mine seem trivial. I have no pain at all, and as long as the edema is controlled it shouldn't progress. Glad to hear you're getting better treatment now. Good luck!!!
Maybe 20 years ago we rented a car in Portugal and it was shared by a few friends. One guy held out for buying insurance which I usually don't. Before we turned it in it had a scraped up rearview mirror. The insurance paid off fully and on the spot. I vaguely recall it was one of those little alleyways where we were doing a squeeze play that didn't work out so well for the car! Good luck with your insurance!
Thanks Dick. I think we are both lucky because we can access affordable treatment which, for both of us, is working well!
This is only the second time we’ve been charged for damage. I don’t know how much Avis’ per day insurance would have been but I think we’re ahead even with the hassle this time. The surprise was that State Farm dropped their coverage for international rentals. I know they used to have it but when I called them from Italy they said “nope.” Luckily both of our credit cards include it.
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