response 421 of 594:

Aug 16 17:27 UTC 2003

I am working like a dog to get a job as DSHS is about to apply 
pressure.  (I meet with a case manager on Tuesday who is said to be 
over the top and is going to blow a lot of hot air.)  I spent 2 1/2 
hours Thursday getting 7 resumes faxed, about 1-2 jobs sent online, 
and looking over several more jobs.  Most of these were professional 
jobs that sometimes required tests.  I definitely had to get cover 
letters crafted for them, and some I had to print off applications 
for.  I had some help from staff with the agency that is sponsoring my 
current state job.

The usual search involves looking over the newspaper classifieds, job 
bank websites, employer websites, and so on.  Some sites gave us the 
runaround-- had to put in all this information just to look at jobs.

response 423 of 594:

Aug 16 18:43 UTC 2003

What does DSHS stand for?   Department something something Services, I'd
guess, but from the somewhat minimal context of your message I'm rather at
a loss for what the middle letters mean.

response 425 of 594:

Aug 16 21:47 UTC 2003

I was advised to take Benadryl-type pills for beestings.  I also swell.  The
Benadryl worked immediately (and also put me to sleep).  Every 12 hours for
two days.   I carry it with me.

response 427 of 594:

Aug 17 02:01 UTC 2003

I knew someone for whom this was such a serous problem that she always
carried a hypo for a shot of adrenaline. The first time, though, I got
her to a doctor barely in time as her throat swelled shut.

response 429 of 594:

Aug 17 06:39 UTC 2003

Very sorry to hear that, Sindi.  My *impression* is that diagnosis of 
anything like lymphoma via CT is really just guesswork - they have to 
eyeball the suspect cells under a microscope (or similar) to really 
know what the "extra blob thingie" shown by the CT actually is. 

response 431 of 594:

Aug 17 13:22 UTC 2003

Best wishes, Sindi.  Take it day by day and be good
to yourself.  If it feels right, keep us up to date.

response 433 of 594:

Aug 17 18:29 UTC 2003

Good luck, Sindi.

response 435 of 594:

Aug 17 21:46 UTC 2003

resp:423  Department of Social and Health Services

response 437 of 594:

Aug 18 05:03 UTC 2003

Thank you all for your wishes.  My brother in Boston suggested I get some sort
of power of attorney form to give Jim the right to make medical decisions for
me (and visit in the hospital).  Where do I find one of those?   Jim's brother
is a radiologist.

I have yet another pulled muscle.  I hate lying down.  I am trying to get back
some back muscle strength and now it hurts to sit again.  I seem to be okay
at the office chair in front of the computer that Jim set up for me.  The
board is from JEP and now it does not do random resets.  It did not like its
Cyrix cpu.  It is happy with an Intel MMX.  It also has no Com2 but we don't
use a modem and mouse at the same time.  It has replaced two Compaq 486s with
noisy power supplies that drowned out the radio.  This case (from a 286) also
has a noisy power supply that drowns out the radio.

Jim fixed me up a really nice little room here, with a mattress instead of
a camping map (that was pretty uncomfortable to sleep on, especially with no
body fat) and more than 16" next to the bed.  I have a chair, a lamp (compact
fluorescent so as to heat less, thermometer (so I will know why I am too hot
to use a top sheet, until yesterday), little boombox on the wall.
Armchair out in the bigger room to eat at and play scrabble and I can sit for
an hour at a time in it.  Nice little bucket in a milk crate with a toilet
seat on top of it.  (There is a rainwater flush toilet downstairs but I am
not up to stairs right now).  The stuff they gave me to drink Wed. is still
coming out - it stinks.  Even in my sweat.

During the blackout I had a portable radio with little speakers plugged in.
And a fancy round battery lamp on the wall that you had to push just right.

You need body fat to sleep.  I keep waking up after an hour with a very sore
bottom shoulder.  Any ideas?  We put a thick polyester sleeping bag on the
cotton mattress.

Hope this is amusing for people.  Jim has been awfully nice about dragging
all sorts of gadgets for propping yourself up in bed and bed tables here and
he even somehow carried over the armchair (on his head or his bike?).  My apt
is over a block away.  It is too noisy to sleep there - the upstairs kitchen
is over the downstairs bedroom.

response 439 of 594:

Aug 18 11:31 UTC 2003

Check the web for a "living will", "durable power of attorney" etc.  Because
you and Jim are not married, you may need an attorney to double check that
your family cannot override your wishes if you are not able to make decisions
yourself, like being under the influence of strong narcotics, unconscious,
etc.  A simple form may not be sufficient for your situation.  

response 441 of 594:

Aug 18 11:53 UTC 2003

Also, consider that the most critical issue may not be "which treatment to
give" but whether or not to _withhold_ or withdraw a treatment.  Families can
get downright hostile when one person decides that the doctor's recommendation
to withhold or stop a treatment be followed.  

That happened recently to a friend who was suffering from cancer.  His
family's grief and anger about the cancer got focused on his live-in lover,
who had been there for the 6 months of diagnosis and treatment because his
family lived too far away.  When hospice decisions needed to be made, even
though he was pretty rational, his family displaced a lot of their hostility
about the decisions on the lover.