November 2, 2018

Well now, what has been happening since the 26^th. I have just been lazing around. The instructions are that I should not put any undue pressure on my back as it might cause permanent damage to my spine. Well, now, how do you not put pressure on your back? Don’t move. Ha. So, in any case, I have cut down on my movements. They bring my meals up to me so that I don’t have to go to the elevator (lift) and down the passage to the dining room. I miss the company but, OK. So I hardly move out of my room.

   The 26^th was a Friday. Sat. and Sun. very quiet. As for sleeping at night I have gotten used to the spasms every 15 seconds or so and turn on the left for a while then on the right for a while then flat on my back and then I sit on the edge of the bed for a while. Can’t really sleep but somehow doze. It goes like that from about 10pm to maybe 2:30am. Then, for some reason, it seems to quite down, not go away completely, but offering a chance to get a bit of sleep. Last night, I got a taste of what the doctor probably was preparing me for when he gave me meds for pain. Up till now I have felt no special terrible pain, but last night, for a short time (I don’t know why it happened that way) I felt a sharp and medium painful pain for about 5 minutes, but then it went away. Maybe that could be the future and the reason why the pain capsules.

    In any case, On Monday the 29, the day before the MRI (which was finally ordered via a friend who contacted his friend who is a radiologist). I went to our neurologist to get a a script for the pharmacy for something to make sure the spasms didn’t happen during the MRI. That would be a disaster. He then asked about the form. I said, what form. Ha. Someone had forgotten to tell me that he has to fill in a form to authorize the MRI, the results of which will then be sent to his computer. Hooray. Got that done. Then the doctor (Wolpe, by the way, was a well-known anti-apartheid congressman for the State of Michigan around Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Grand Rapids. He was the head of the subcommittee on Africa and did a great job. He died in 2006. He was Jewish and the conservative so-called Christians in his area said they don’t want him they want a Christian for Congress. How unchristian can you get…but he said they are not related) said to come about an hour after the MRI to see what to do. So we wen to the place where the MRI was to be done…Jackpersad… and got the instructions what to do and not do for the MRI, as, for instance, not to wear anything that has metal on or in it. They also asked if I had any metal in me. I told them not yet. So the booking was confirmed.

We then went to the pharmacy to get the prescription  filled. Two tiny little pills, R8,50 for the two. Ha. That’s about 40cents in the US. Powerful little things…muscle relaxants that also make you a bit drowsy. They worked fine.

I climbed on the table for the MRI and was positioned by the nice lady radiographer and given a remote in case I go into a panic I can push the button and it will stop. As I had been told by a friend I also asked for a cloth to be put over my eyes…not to see the inside of this tube and panic. However, in spite of the noise, the medicine worked fine. I didn’t move a muscle and even the noise (it is very noisy, I don’t know why) didn’t bother me. I think I must have slept and then it was over. Nice calm experience,

    We then went up to the doctor’s office (neurologist), Wolpe, who looked at the results of the MRI and sent us to Dr. Van Der Merwe (neurosurgeon) to have a look. He showed where the column where the spinal cord is looks as though it is narrowed down a lot almost closed off with the bunch of nerves coming through. Being a neophyte I don’t know what should and should not be or if it is not right how to fix it. After that we went home.

     That Was Tuesday. Wednesday, nothing, Thursday, nothing. I don’t know what the procedure is. Should I contact him or will he contact me to see what is the way forward.

So I phoned his office Friday (yesterday) and the secretary promised to pass the word to him and he would get back to me. He didn’t. So I phoned again today and said to please organize a time when I can meet him to find out what is going on, Monday if possible. She said Monday is full but come at 10am and, even if I have to wait, he will try to squeeze me in. OK. That is something positive. So much for the URGENT part.

    In the meantime I am getting tired of Kashogii stories and the Saudi’s and the vitriol in the buildup to the midterm elections. (I voted, by the way, by absentee ballot).

   An aside. I just finished the lunch that was brought up to me (fish of course since it is Friday). Bishop Lobinger (89yrs. Old, my neighbour—who wrote most of the things about small Christian communities that was published worldwide) just brought me my post. One of the items was my copy of the National Catholic Reporter. Ha. It is now November 2.  This is the May 18-31, 2018 edition. Our post is faithful in the end. Holy Moses.

    See you again in a few days, and many thanks for the torrents of prayer. I hope that God is listening.  Cas.