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I am scheduled for cancer surgery on the 20th, a Friday.

Though I expected to stay hospitalized till the next day, the transportation doesn’t run on weekends. I will be in the hospital, then, till the 23rd, a Monday. That means I will be hospitalized on the 22nd, my 78th birthday. I think I should make a big deal about that to see what the hospital does about satisfying a brat. Ha!

One of the dialysis staff, who has three cats of her own, will look in on Andy, but the first day and a half, my sister and niece will still be here. My sister will care for Andy for that time. I know she is anxious to get back to Saki, her kitty girl!

Though I would have preferred this all happened after my sister and niece returned to Dallas, all of those things I was worried about have been dealt with by the various hospital people involved. I will be glad to have this operation dealt with and over. It’s been nearly a quarter year since I discovered the lump!

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It started when I drove over to my tax preparer’s business to leave my tax paperwork.

Once there, I had difficulties getting off the street onto the sidewalk because of a 1920s vertical curb and broken sidewalk.

A woman who works in a building across the street came over and asked if I needed help. Yes, I said and she helped by getting behind me and pushing! She also asked if I could use some water, which she went across the street to bring to me.

After I settled down – blood pressure, heart beats per minute, and acceptable oxygen level – I gave my tax paperwork to the clerk, noting it was too dangerous for me to come there, that I’d have to do my tax preparer’s talk over the phone and arrange some way for me to sign the paperwork.

The back end of my VW Golf Sportwagen looked like my safest option because there are rails down both sides of the roof that are strong enough to hold me.

Back to my car once I worked out this best solution to the problem I knew I’d have….

I put my walker down on the 1920s brick road, but one wheel got tangled in a crack or depression in the crap sidewalk.

As best I can recall or recreate the moment, the fraction of a second the wheel came loose, I also used both hands, losing the support of the rail…which meant I wasn’t holding onto the rail on my car long enough to notice the oxygen cylinder feeding me oxygen – that was hanging on my neck – became a swinging weight that pulled me down onto the brick paving!

I landed hard. I also had minor abrasions on my left knee.

Dr. Soltanpour, the dialysis nephrologist requires anyone who has a fall, especially involving the head, to go to the emergency room and have X-rays and a CT scan.

By this time, a crowd assembled to try to get me up. I shouted to call an ambulance, noting Dr. Soltanpour’s expectations. They did, with quick response time, using a couple men to pick me up to put me on the gurney.

The emergency room people made me comfortable and prepared me for the CT scan and X-rays. Later, they brought back the findings: nothing of concern, but they recommended a return to the emergency room if I felt nauseous, vomited, and a few other obvious signs of bad things to come. Standard stuff any “professional” faller knows by heart. Ha!

Andy finally got his 9:45 am lunch at 3:15 pm, when I parked my car ON THE GRASS, next to my front door. YES, I KNOW DON’T DO IT! As it was, I barely got in the front door, thanks to Bret coming over and doing some helpful things to facilitate a safe stumble inside.

It was a day.

I called the tax preparer to let him know I was safely home with surprisingly minor injuries. I reviewed what the emergency room people told me. I let him know that I was partly responsible for the fall, that I knew he’d brought the problems of disabled access to the city’s attention, with inadequate corrective action.

Credible because I told him I would be available to support their complaint if he wanted or needed me to be. I noted how the 1920s curb and broken sidewalk had to be a business problem because I surely wasn’t the only one with problem climbing it safely or stepping down. He noted they had had complaints.

More importantly, I noted he’d witnessed the ambulance crews’ work to get me up, that he now had me as a credibly witnessed injured person injured by conditions brought to their attention.

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I mean to watch this annual speech. It doesn’t matter if I voted for the current president or not, I feel watching this speech is part of being an informed, good citizen.

That noted, I fell asleep early, perhaps within ten or so minutes at the start. I missed the other party’s response and most of the pundits’ analysis later.

Have I ever survived one of these speeches? I think I stayed awake for every one up to…? I don’t think I have ever seen one completely through.