May 10, 2003

•      I feel miserable today. I started coming down with a cold or flu yesterday afternoon, so didn't go to the VFW like I usually do on Friday nights, knowing that would make it worse & possibly spread it to others. With most of the people there older than I, their immune systems may not be up-to-par.

  
  

       During the night, I must have woken up a dozen times, aching. I'd have to flip kitties off my legs or abdomen so I could reposition myself, taking a cat-stretch each time to flex my cramped & aching muscles. I finally gave up on sleep about 7:25, having a nasty headache & with both cheeks aching, I can only guess due to my sinuses.

  
  

       My nose was running last night like a leaky faucet, dribbling to the floor as I cooked supper. I was also coughing from a scratchy throat & sneezing occasionally. I still am today, feeling worse than last evening, so I skipped going to the DAV meeting I had full intentions of attending. My chapter was electing new officers today, but considering that these are all DISABLED Veterans (& some spouses), they're much more susceptible to illnesses.

  
  

       I'd actually felt this start to come on a few days ago, when twice, shopping, I would suddenly feel flushed & slightly nauseated, telling my son I needed to get out of there. Just walking through the small mall in Hilo one day & through Wal-Mart the next, my legs & back ached so much I could barely stand. Both times, this caused me to put off other stops I had planned to make, so our grocery shopping hasn't been done yet.

  
  

       I just took my son to town, so he can videotape his friends skating. The weather isn't cooperating (cloudy with occasional showers) but they're going to skate anyway. He surely is bored, sitting around here playing video games. We bought a few new ones at Wal-Mart yesterday, along with a few skating videos the day before at the mall. I guess he's already bored with them, or just stir-crazy.

  
  

       I asked him yesterday evening if he's decided what he wants to do or not do about his knee. He said, "Surgery." He knows that this will mean a long recovery, at 4-6 months until he can take up skateboarding again, but it appears he believes it's better than the alternative... never trusting to skateboard again, or any other stressful activity. I told him that the doc probably wouldn't do the surgery until after school's over for the year. He asked why. I told him that most likely, he'd have at least a week's recovery before he could be expected to walk around as much as they do for school, even though the doc told him he'd be able to walk (with a special brace) the next day. Walking a school's campus is overdoing it, as far as I'm concerned. I don't think he understands what damage surgery does to the body. I think he expects to be able to get up & walk around after surgery like it was no big deal.

  
  

       A friend, who's currently in Texas, helping her daughter (in Ft Hood's 3rd, who fortunately stayed back), actually went through knee surgery years back, to repair damage done to her knee while trying to stop a piece of heavy equipment from falling at her job (7-11). It was a dumb move, she knows, but did it out of reflex. When I told her about my son's knee, she empathized. Hers has never been the same, with still having episodes where it collapses on its own, or gives her much pain. This is even with surgery (I didn't ask what the doc specifically did) to correct the damage! I believe her damage was the same as my son's, because when I mentioned the specific ligament & the meniscus her reply was with total understanding.

  
  

       Normally, technical things need to be explained to her in detail, carefully, so she can understand. Her main language is Hawaiian, with piddgen second & English last. Don't get me wrong... she ISN'T dumb (neither are other Americans who don't have English as their first language). They just need a bit more time & familiar terms to interpret what someone speaking English is telling them!

  
  

       Sometimes I actually feel as though those who understand more than one language are actually smarter than those of us who only know English! When others are speaking in languages other than English, I feel most definitely the 'fifth wheel' & stupid, even though I know I'm not. I can understand a bit of what they're saying, enough to get the gist of what they're talking about, but not enough to stick my 'two-cents' in. (Usually!) This is sort of like computer geeks talking about what they do with computers to someone who barely knows how to turn one on. They're not stupid & nor is the one who knows next to nothing about computers!

  
  

       Putting that another way, those of you who know nothing about the workings of a car & have to take your broken-down car to a mechanic for repairs know that you aren't stupid when the mechanic tells you what s/he needs to do to it to get it running again, right? Even though you don't know a fuel filter from an EGR valve? So the next time you're talking to someone & they aren't quite getting a handle on what you're saying, consider the fact that their learning background isn't the same as yours & they probably know alot of things that YOU don't understand! Take the time to carefully explain what you're talking about, in terms that the other can understand. When the time comes, YOU may need that same consideration! I know I do at times!

  
  

   

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  This pic was taken by my son Saturday, showing the damage he did to his left hand that day. Sunday, before he screwed up his knee, he buggered his right hand up the same way. For him, these all become 'red badges of courage!' Once he grows up, they'll remind him of his unwarranted risk-taking.

  • 7:27 pm
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