Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.
11/14/26
Aloha Ohana!
Life lurches on here. The weather has been pretty good this week-- not too hot during the day and getting
downright chilly at night (69d!). We've started covering our pool at night again to keep the temperature at geezer-acceptable levels. I managed to accomplish two of my monthly routine maintenance chores that are uniquely necessary here in Hawai'i: spraying for weeds and spraying for bugs. I use a portable pump sprayer to distribute weed killer in areas around the house to keep the jungle at bay, and I also spray the perimeter of the house along the walls and the soffits with insect killer to control ants, cockroaches, and centipedes -- all of which were brought to Hawai'i by humans about 1k years ago, It has been very effective, though we occasionally have a bug or two that tries to move inside. I could, of course, hire a pest control service to do this, but where's the fun in that?
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| Kona Climber |
As part of my "accept and adapt" strategy for coping with my vision problems, we've made travel plans this week to visit a couple of national parks in Utah that I've always wanted to see. This will be in early spring next year, prior to our trip to Portugal. The idea is to see things as soon as possible while I can still appreciate them. In deciding where to go, I realized just how fortunate I've been to see all the things I already have during our travels over the years, Even a partial list is gratifying -- Great Wall of China (3 times), Pyramids of Giza (twce), Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Petra, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben, Mona Lisa, Stonehenge, Sistine Chapel, Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Grand Canyon, etc, etc.. Countless other visual experiences that might be considered less iconic have also deeply enriched my life. There is a clear lesson here -- always appreciate your visual experiences and don't take them for granted.
I've now gotten all of the test results from my Bascom-Palmer visit. I have a Tele-Health session scheduled for Monday to go over them with my hot-shot Bascom neuro-opthamologist. I doubt there will be much change from his analysis during my in-person visit. The video conference will end my evaluation and consultation. So far my insurance (Aetna Medicare Advantage) has covered everything except about $100, though I might get a stuff bill for the fancy blood tests, many of which seem pretty exotic and experimental. Speaking of insurance, it turns out my visit was well-timed because I've received a notice from Bascom-Palmer that starting in 2027 they will no longer accept my insurance plan. Thus, they will join Mayo Clinic and Stein Eye Institute at UCLA that won't accept patients with Aetna Medicare Advantage (and several other advantage plans). I sure hope the clinic I go to regularly here in Kona doesn't follow suit. Dropping to plain Medicare would be less coverage and probably more expensive because our State Teachers Retirement system gives me a price break for Aetna but not full Medicare (I don't have enough Social Security credits to qualify for both parts of Medicare). Interesting times.
On a final bit of medical news, Karen had to have a tooth pulled yesterday, her first ever. In fact, over the years she has had very few dental problems -- only a couple of cavities and that's it. The extraction is necessary because her dentist missed an infection that has been going on for a long time and now can't be treated with a simple root canal. Hopefully her recovery goes smoothly. Luckily the tooth was the very last one in the back of her mouth, so she won't have to have a bridge or an implant.
That's about it for now. I'll check in again next week. In the meantime, stay the course. Morality, decency, and rationality aren't quite dead yet.
2 comments:
Yes, let's hear it for voting! Good idea. Taking a lull on the outdoor yard work, It's rained a few times already here, so spring is starting. Many things jumped green from the ground and the opportunistic flowers appeared from nearly nowhere! Doing data analysis on bird data base where we both volunteer. Might need you to consult! DN
glad you got in under the wire with your eye insurgence and hope for an effective treatment. So glad you are going to Utah. We have just loved the Nat parks there, Bryce only once, but memorably, but Arches and Canyonlands are precious to us. If you can, see Double Arch, especially at sunset as the colors change. But at anytime, leaning back to be being held inside the palm of the earth and looking up through the fingers is magical.
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