My friend Charlie

I call him "Happy Charlie" because he is always so positive and smiles all the time. Charlie doesn't have a job right now, like a lot of people. I think we all know somebody who doesn't have a job, don't we? Anyway, Charlie is a very generous person. For example, he drives homeless people to church on Sunday, visits children at a hospital, and he helped me hang my pictures, put together my bookshelf and wine rack, and recently he put together my fish tank stand, which was a real challenge. Charlie came and picked me up at the hospital the other day. Then he stayed with me until my daughter Camille came over. Charlie and I watched movies on TV and he said it was a very relaxing afternoon. I was still recovering from the anesthesia from the surgery.  It was so good to have him come here. The only funny thing was that the nurse at the hospital suggested he help me get dressed, and Charlie isn't that kind of friend! We both got a laugh out of that!  Of course Charlie stepped outside while I dressed.  It was really funny.

The rat and the hand

I have my son's little brown rat on my shoulder, and my left hand is in a bandage from the surgery.  The rat is wiggling inside my shirt.  I don't know what she's doing in there -- maybe cleaning herself.  Pet rats are very clean.  They are meticulous.  I love this rat.

I am able to type with the bandage on.  The surgery wasn't bad, and I don't have to take pain medication because my hand doesn't hurt enough to go through the hassles involved with the medication.  The medication is actually worse than the pain.  If you don't need to take a powerful pain killer, why bother?  The only thing I didn't like about the surgery was recovering from the anesthesia.  That was hard.  My surgery was done like at 9:00 and I was in recovery until around noon, sleeping most of the time.  I barely remember going into the operating room.  I have a vague memory of somebody putting an oxygen mask on my face, and of moving from the gurney to the operating table.  The anesthesia stung a little when it went into my hand, but I had been warned about this, and I was hardly aware at that point.  I remember it for a couple of moments, and then the next thing I remember was being in recovery.  Charlie, who had picked me up from surgery, stayed with me until 4:00 in the afternoon, when Camille came over.  Camille spent the night and left late morning, then came over this evening and had pizza.  She also brought me sodas and ice cream (the breathing tube left my throat sore).  Charlie and Camille have been really helpful while I have been recovering, doing things like walking the dog for example.  I am lucky to have people who care about me.

The rat has settled down on my shoulder, quiet and still.  I know my son will really love her when he gets her.  I will have her for another week, but I really want him to see her as a baby.  She's already growing.  I have been checking to make sure there is a little bump in her tummy from eating food, but I don't see her going up to the next level for her food and I don't see her drinking water.  I know she is eating and drinking though.  She is a very happy rat.  She doesn't have a name yet but I've been calling her Lily.  

I have a good life.

My trigger thumb and surgery tomorrow

I am going in for surgery tomorrow on my trigger thumb.  Apparently trigger finger or trigger thumb is caused by inflamation around the joint and tendon.  Mine has some sort of related cyst on the place where my thumb joint meets my hand.  That's very common.  Trigger thumb is called digital tenovaginitis stenosans.  Tomorrow I am going to be knocked out and my doc is going to do the surgery.  Since I have diabetes, I get the first slot in the morning, which means I have to be there at 6:30 am, and I'm not thrilled about that.  A friend of mine (I call him "Happy Charlie") is coming to pick me up at noon, around the time I will be out of recovery.  We will need to go to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for the pain medication, then off to my house.  At some point my 17 year old daughter Camille will relieve Charlie.  I need to figure out what kind of "loose clothing" to wear tomorrow, and I'm not sure I have anything that will work, except maybe my pajama top.  I might try that.  I don't know how big the bandage on my hand is going to be.   It would be a drag to have to split open a shirt just to get my hand in there.  Maybe the pajama top is the right thing to take.  I could always replace the pajamas, right?

I don't have a picture of this right now, but I'll take one and post it.