Well, be off here for awhile and typepad changes everything. Wasn't even sure how to do a new post.. everything had changed. That will teach me to stay more current.
How am I? Stable, still, and that's good enough for me. Gained a few more pounds and now weigh in at 109.. still have a ways to go to get back to my fighting weight but working on it daily. Been drinking a lot of rootbeer floats figuring that is a lot of calories. And I try to have a calorie rich desert every night.. tough when one isn't that hungry but forcing myself to eat them.
Ever since I came home from the hospital in early June a nurse has come here each week to check me out, weigh me, check my oxygen level, take my blood pressure, change my bandage around the feeding tube and make sure there is no infection around the feeding tube. Today he - yeah my nurse is a guy - said he isn't coming here anymore cuz Medicare said a caregiver can learn to do those things. What a catch-22. Been working over a month to try and get Medicare to pay for my caregiver. One of the requirements is that you must have a visiting nurse weekly to even qualify. So I lose the nurse! He'll be reinstated if I have trouble breathing or am in pain but for now, it is adios.
My oncologist has been working to get Medicare to pay for a caregiver, too , but you can be in chemo too weak to get out of bed and Medicare says get a caregiver and pay for her yourself. Rotten system. I went through that back in the desert when I could barely get out of bed and son Tod was practically living with me to take care of me, and Medicare would not pay for anyone to come out and take care of me. You'd think that with a feeding tube Medicare would want someone trained to be here to do that. They'll cover me if I move into a nursing home but no thank you.. that would be hell for sure.
One of my Palm Springs doctors found me on facebook. What a hoot that was. His nurse wrote to me and asked me to "friend' them ,saying the office thinks of me all the time and wonders how I am doing. Wasn't that nice?
Book talk:
My cousin Dave and I go back and forth with biographies that we have read and give each other tips on new ones to get. He just finished reading the William Holden one I read a few months ago and we both think that the author never interviewed anyone other than a shrink who had treated Holden for awhile. Surely didn't interview Stef Powers who I had interviewed for a story on Holden. Now, all of a sudden Amazon notifies me that there is a new William Holden bio coming out. He's been dead since 1981.. who is left to inteview, what new material can they get? Well, out of curiosity I ordered the book and then Dave and I will hash over that one.
One of the books we both enjoyed this last year was " Mrs. Astor Regrets" the story of the life of Brook Astor and how her son was robbing her of her millions. Then Dave and I both followed the daily goings on in his trial by reading the New York Post online .. and he was found guilty. Goody. I was sure he was guilty.
I know, not exactly high class reading, but it is entertaining and passes the hours for me here.
A good bet for you if you like short stories would be to rush out and buy " Other Resort Cities" the collection of short stories by my son Tod Goldberg. It's getting rave reviews! He also has a new "Burn Notice" book out and one of my neighbors here is reading it ( and watches that t.v. show) and is really enjoying it.
Tonight in Palm Desert Tod has a book party at UCRiverside's Palm Desert Graduate Center and then another book party in Westwood ( LA ) at Borders books on Sunday.
In the meantime, son Lee is a speaker tomorrow at the AAUW author event in Ventura. Hoping he will stop by here afterwards to give me the lowdown.
I just got a call from a pal in Rancho Mirage on the way to Tod's book party and forgot to take the address along and asked me where the graduate center is. Heck Idon't have the address. All I know is it is on Frank Sinatra Drive. Wished him good luck.
Plans for the future:
Plans are in the works for a family reunion -- brothers, nephews, nieces, my kids.. the entire family for Thanksgiving in Ventura. That would be wonderful. Will keep you posted on that. Scouting out hotels now, or rather daughter Karen is.
Okay, is that enough babble for one post?
A doctor of mine mentioned to me today that I hadn't put anything new on the blog in awhile, so, Doctor, if you are reading this, I updated with you in mind!
Thanks for stopping here. Now you can go to TMZ.com and check out all the Hollywood gossip.
~Jan
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