barnberry

Dealing with a very stubborn Prostate

Basic prostate surgery I waited 2 weeks for my early morning appointment with the urologist. He had the report from the ER and advised me he was surprised I wasn’t in much more pain when I went to the ER. He said if he was retaining that much fluid he would rat out his threeContinue reading “Dealing with a very stubborn Prostate”

Outpatient Physical Therapy

Learning to take care of my new hip The surgeon sent in a referral and the physical therapy practice called near the end of the first week of in-home therapy to set up appointments. Two or three 1 hour appointments each week until further notice. I met my new therapist and he got to work.Continue reading “Outpatient Physical Therapy”

Tribalism

Is Afghanistan so different from the US? I have been observing tribalism from a distance for a while now. Many of us blame tribalism for the failure of the Afghani people to form a stable, democratic government. Most, if not all Afghanis are Muslim. That’s a pretty big tribe from our perspective. But while watchingContinue reading “Tribalism”

In-home physical therapy

Physical therapy after surgery comes in 2 parts. In-home physical therapy for about 2 weeks and outpatient physical therapy for a lot longer. Someone from the in-home company will briefly visit the home before surgery and in my case check for trip hazards, stair difficulty and just general mobility safety issues. Then the physical therapistContinue reading “In-home physical therapy”

The hip replacement surgery

I decided to proceed with the hip replacement. The doctor seemed competent, came highly recommended from many sources and had done many of these procedures. I even sensed the doc was a bit shy talking to patients, capable but shy, and had a sense of humor. I could tell that by how he interacted withContinue reading “The hip replacement surgery”

CWISPERS

A walk on the beach after retirement My wife and I live only 30 minutes from a favorite beach on the seacoast. Since we are retired and have some flexible time, we pop over to that beach for enjoyment, mental health time and even exercise. We have to plan our visits for low tide becauseContinue reading “CWISPERS”

Meeting the surgeon

The nurse practitioner (NP) left and said the doctor would be right in. Uh huh. While waiting I received a text from a close friend with a picture of his waterfront lawn showing what a beautiful view he had. So I smiled, took a picture of my view of the exam room and sent thatContinue reading “Meeting the surgeon”

Hey, Conservatives!

Actually, Conservatives, Tea Partiers, Libertarians, and all… I am with you. I share your love and protection of individual liberty and accountability. I share your economic views. I share your respect for the Founding Fathers and the Constitution – it is an amazing document. I share your belief in restricting the powers of the federalContinue reading “Hey, Conservatives!”

Time to replace the left hip?

I had been delaying dealing with a painful left hip for a couple of years. While running a small business without a lot of backup if I was out of the office, it seems there was never a good opportunity to take off the time I imagined replacing a hip would take. But now IContinue reading “Time to replace the left hip?”

Retirement

Wow. Retirement. How can I be retired? I still think of myself as around 40 years old with a noncompliant body. Actually I am several years beyond retirement age. OK, and a couple more years beyond that. I am happily married and the luckiest husband in the world. My wife and I owned a smallContinue reading “Retirement”