Please send some positive vibes my way. If all goes well today, I will be finished with twice-weekly visiting nurses and weekly trips to the doctor. Dr. K. was so pleased with how everything on my leg and foot looked last week that he told me to bring my normal compression wraps for the leg today. If I come home with yet another bandage wrap, I won't be best pleased!
And what's this about being mouthy? The visiting nurses who've been coming on Mondays and Wednesdays have worked hard with me to develop a way of wrapping my foot so that the bandaging and the medication would stay in place. It's not easy when that leg is the "stable" one and that foot is the "pivot" foot. The wrapping was popping right off. Well, Alex and Amber (the nurses) and I came up with a way that kept the bandaging in place, and that's why my foot has finally healed. Problem is, it is almost completely contrary to the rules of wrapping for anyone with lymphedema, so I was expecting a lot of flak when I went to the doctor last Friday.
I got it.
But I didn't keep my mouth shut. I told them that I knew that it was contrary to what they'd been taught, but something had to be done because what they were doing wasn't working, and my foot wasn't healing. The way the visiting nurses wrapped it worked, and my foot had healed. Guess what? I came home with my foot and leg wrapped My Way. Ha!
On that triumphant note, I'll leave you with a cartoon that makes me laugh every time I look at it. Phoenix went 31 straight days with temperatures of 110°F and above. We've since had a couple of days with temperatures just below that mark, but the forecast says they'll be going right back up again. Ah well.
Enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library celebrates its 200 millionth book milestone.
- A study has found that English libraries generate at least £3.4 billion ($4.4 billion) in yearly value.
- The process of book cover design.
- How and where to find discount children's books.
- You can't tell the truth about the Holocaust in Poland. Could that happen in the US?
- How handwriting lost its personality.
- How an untested, cash-strapped TV show about books (Reading Rainbow) became an American classic.
- Why adults should read children's books.
- Maternal death rates doubled in the past twenty years in the US.
►Book Banning & Censorship◄
- The Digital Public Library of America launches a "geo-targeted" banned book club via the Palace eBook app. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
- This school librarian was labeled a "pedophile" and "groomer" in a viral video, and it blew up her life.
- Jay-Z finances anti-book ban initiatives in New York.
- Community members share book removal worries after Hanover County (Virginia) board members were appointed to the library board.
- The Springdale (Arkansas) Library board is backing new rules requiring the supervision of children while they're in the library. (We're reaching new heights of absurdity every day.)
- A Hungarian bookstore was fined for selling an LGBTQ+ novel in the youth section. (Just in case you thought the insanity was limited to the US.)
- Barack Obama speaks out against "profoundly misguided" book bans in school libraries.
- The book ban backlash has arrived just in time to mobilize voters. (Think your vote doesn't count? Think again!)
- How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians-- they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A first edition of The Hobbit found in a Dundee charity shop sells for £10,000 ($13,000).
- Stone tools and a camel tooth suggest people were in the Pacific Northwest more than 18,000 years ago.
- X-rays uncover the secrets of 3,000-year-old Egyptian paintings.
- Possible Bronze Age finds have been unearthed in roadworks in England.
- Archaeologists in Louisiana are saving 12,000-year-old artifacts from natural disasters and looters.
- Archaeologists have discovered an entrance to the Zapotec underworld beneath a church in Mexico.
- Hidden for 400 years, censored pages reveal new insights into Elizabeth I's reign.
- Thousands of medieval coins have been unearthed by metal detectorists in Romania.
►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄
- An enormous Burmese python killed in the Florida Everglades was about to lay 60 eggs.
- Five astounding orca behaviors explained, from ramming boats to hunting great white sharks.
- A surfboard-snatching sea otter is vexing wildlife officials in California.
- A mountain dog named Skye received an award for more than 200 rescues in 11 years of service.
- Crows and magpies snatch anti-bird spikes to build their nests.
- How food receptacles are deemed "bear resistant".
- Sharon Hughes has fed generations of one fox family every day for the last 25 years.
- Who. That. It. How we speak about and for animals.
►The Wanderer◄
- The Roald Dahl museum acknowledges the author's antisemitism.
- A monument honoring Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman, is coming to Brooklyn.
- The clearest-ever seafloor maps show a deep-sea "Grand Canyon" off the US coast in stunning detail.
- Lake Tahoe's clear water is brimming with tiny plastics.
- See stunning Tudor tapestries restored to their former glory at Hardwick Hall in England. (I wish I could. Hardwick Hall was one of my favorite stops when visiting the UK.)
- Heroic couple shares remarkable before-and-after photos after planting 2 million new trees in the Amazon.
- Ten unusual castles from around the world.
- President Biden has established a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Did Caterina Sforza flash an army?
- Tenzing Norgay: the mountaineer who refused to be categorized.
- The double life of Thomas Downing, New York's Black oyster king.
- James Lee Burke reckons with history, the South, and the hatred burning through America.
- How Emmett Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- Eight anti-beach reads for readers who hate "summery books".
- The best mysteries and thrillers of the second half of 2023.
- Visit 24 islands in these summery novels.
- Eight novels inspired by mythology.
- Nine books with international acclaim.
- The best mystery books of all time, according to the readers of Murder & Mayhem.
- Thrillers with settings on the water.
- Books set in Paris, France.
That's
all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be
sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Sending all the vibes for your health, Cathy! And good for you to get mouthy when you needed to. We need to advocate for ourselves. I love that cartoon, too (I know, odd juxtaposition of comments). Now, I'm off to check out that Zapotec underworld; I'll bet it's cooler underground that it has been where you are...
ReplyDeleteI think there's very little doubt about that, Margot! LOL
DeleteThanks, Lark! :-)
ReplyDeleteA cheer to women warriors. So glad you spoke up for yourself and that, as a result of the correct treatment, your leg is healing. And thanks for the links you managed to post in the midst of this situation. But you're improving. That is what matters.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is what matters, even though there was a slight setback. I've been learning patience whether I want to or not.
DeletePatience is everyone's issue. When I think of my reaction when I'm calling a company to straighten out a problem and I get a robot and I'm yelling "Agent," and it's saying "Did you say billing"? Etc. I have to chill out. By the way, Lincoln Lawyer season 2 on Netflix is so good. The actor playing Mickey Haller is perfect, as is the rest of the cast. Could watch 50 episodes gladly. The showrunner and others aren't sure if there is a third season, although the audience loves it, but due to the writers' strike, they couldn't start on it even if executives greenlight it.
DeleteDenis and I have been enjoying The Lincoln Lawyer, too.
DeleteI absolutely loathe those automated telephone answering systems! I think I came close to popping a blood vessel a time or two when one would refuse to understand my clearly enunciated English. Grrrrr!!!!
Yep. Wait until the day I get arrested for yelling at a robot on a phone. So much time wasted trying to get the help we need and sometimes it does not happen, so problem not solved (aside to phone/cable monopoly).
DeleteThere's been a time or two where I've had experiences with "calls may be monitored for quality control". Sometimes I have a sixth sense about someone "eavesdropping" on the line (and they can be doing it even while the Muzak is playing).
DeletePositive vibes!! And the cartoon made me chuckle!!
ReplyDeleteThat cartoon is a keeper for me. I would imagine it wouldn't be unless you were an Arizonan.
DeleteGood for you, speaking truth to power - and reminding the medicos that you are the one with the most experience with your own body. I'm glad to hear about the good progress. Thanks for fitting in time for the links!
ReplyDeleteI work on the links in between nurses' visits and the like. It keeps me from watching the clock. ;-)
DeleteHappy for you, Cathy, that you are well on the way to eliminating that problem now. I'm a firm believer that it never hurts to question the so-called experts; they might not like to be challenged, but on the other hand, they might actually learn something new that will help others in the same situation. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteYour cartoon reminded me that Phoenix has lately almost matched temperatures with Hassi Messaoud deep inside the Sahara where I worked for so many years. That is not easy to do.
No, that wouldn't be easy to do, and I'm resigned to the fact that we're right back up in the 110°+ range. I read that someplace in Iran reached 150°. Yikes!
Delete