And What Happened Today my Dear Boy?

08/13/19

Last night I continued my WD assigned mission. WD’s charge to me was that I am to write some pieces not in the first person.

To do this last night I set down a vignette of an occasion day in my lifetime.  Specifically I tried to capture an hour of one day in my lifetime.  I grabbed a Tuesday scene.

So as opposed to my usual listing of what I had for lunch, the tale was populated with two characters, one kind of me and one a thought I have had about the lady walkers from Sparrow Health Systems office. This office is right near my office.  What I put down last night and this morning  is another in the fits and starts of trying to get this story teller to tell larger stories.  At the worst the post I created will, at some point in the future,  be a prompt to jog my memory about what my life was like at the end of my working career. Note the bit about the wind is absolutely true.

I mention this story because I cleaned it up on my break at work today and also during the first part of my lunch hour.  So that there will be no guessing I took the photos today.  I got the $1.79 pizza. I did not eat at the table, the worn  table pictured at the top of the story.  I walked back and ate at my desk.

So the first thing I did was to finish the story.  The second thing I did was to take on an extra case and blow my planned schedule all to hell.  A Petitioner came to the wrong office, Lansing instead of Livonia.  He was from Muncie, Indiana and well I had enough time open to at least hold the hearing even if I had to write it up later. As I talked to him I realized I had met him before and so I searched my files. I had seen him about four years ago, but because he did not have a full year without using alcohol or drugs I sent him on his way.  We didn’t even finish the hearing. Since we last met he had changed a great deal.  He lost 100 pounds, was a vegan (mostly) and had earned a Master’s degree.  He impressed me and had the needed proofs.  He got a full license.

The final thing I did was to call my local doctor’s office and tell them that I had decided to go to the big cancer center hospital in Ann Arbor.  My call to them went to voice mail.  I emphasized that I loved my doctor and that he has now saved my life twice.  I made up some bullshit, although what I said was partially true, about being concerned about aftercare follow up when my doctor and his most senior partner retire in December.  The real reason is my concern about the local hospital’s rating relative to infections (and a host of other stories of problems with care),

I  did emphasize that I really appreciated my doctor.  In response I got a voice mail back saying all the local stuff and follow up had been cancelled.  It was polite.  It was surgical.  I hoped it would end there.  Still, I knew it wouldn’t.  At about 5:20 I got a voicemail from the doctors office.  I know from experience this late of call meant the call was from my doctor himself.  The fact that the message went on for a minute and a half told me he had something to say.

The watch on my hand as I write this says it is 7:59 pm and I still have listened to the message yet. My stomach is churning.  Here is doctor, a person I like, that I have left for the bigger and in many ways better place for cancer care.  But I feel like I have abandoned him.  Eventually I will listen to the message.  I just don’t know if it will be tonight.

I will have my kidney surgery on October 1, 2019 in Ann Arbor Michigan.  I will then recuperate for six weeks.  My plan is to return to work the day after Veteran’s Day assuming the creek don’t rise.