I'm sorry, Barb.

smonster, I think you're right. I'll email amyth and see if she has any words of wisdom or whatnot.

Zenkitty, I think that, barring surgery that they'd rather not do, it's a chronic thing. Once the little crystals in your inner ear get loose they're liable to go wandering. I guess the question is if it's an every three years or every three weeks kinda chronic.

So sorry to hear the bad news, Barb, Calli. I'm glad it's benign Calli, but I know how much you love flying. Hope it doesn't interfere.

I know about them because about six months after Katrina the Episcopalian Bishop of Louisiana spoke at my church. Just a few days before Katrina he and his wife had moved into their new house ... on the shore of Lake Ponchatrain (sp?) and he'd gotten Jericho Road started.

Huh, I don't think I've come across them either, which is weird considering I work for a community advocacy organization. So many non profits here!

I feel like asssssssssssssssss.

Skipping a bunch of posts.

I got to Lexington. I discovered that Columbus had a restaurant that will make vegan chili dogs, so that was fun. Also spent a long while wandering around in an awesome bookstore, and then a little while wandering German Village. German Village was cute and quaint and everything, but the totally uneven brick sidewalks were not good for my ankle.

Whoever designed the highways in Columbus (or really, in most of Ohio that I saw) has never heard of the "drive right, pass left" rule. A whole ton of places where there was a four-lane highway where three of the lanes were exit-only for some other road, and the lane to stay on the same road was not the leftmost one. Northern Virginia does that, too, but much worse -- Ohio actually puts the signs for all of it far enough ahead that you have time to figure out which lane you're supposed to be in and get in it. In NoVa, there are a lot of places where the lane that you're in suddenly becomes exit-only (as do four other lanes) and you just have no idea how that happened and there's no time to read all hundred signs to figure out where to go. Also, Ohio drivers are very polite about letting you get in front of them to get to the lane you need.

Now I need to figure out dinner. Looks like my only option at the hotel restaurant is a rather boring-looking salad, but I'm not sure if I really feel like going out, since I'm pretty tired.

Calli, there's a funky rolling around thing that you can do to get the crystals back where they need to be. Pretty sure amyth will have the deets.

Nora, sorry again to have missed your text. Stoopid AT&T.

Sorry, Barb. I wish I had some wisdom to offer.

I slept. Now I need to get up, walk dog, and feed animals then self. Don't wanna.

Much ~ma for those who need it.

So we still don't know much, even after his doctor's appointment. He's scheduled for surgery Sept. 2nd to excise a significant portion of his left upper back, and they're going to inject radioactive dye to see if it's traveled to his lymph nodes by performing a sentinel node biopsy. Treatment will then be based on whether it's metastasized. So he's on pins and needles, and I'm trying to hold it all together. Just a day in the life lately.

Maria, that seems so far away. They can't do the surgery on a more urgent timeline? I'm so sorry. I wanted to call you last night but it would have been 1AM your time.

It is and it isn't. If it's in his lymph nodes now waiting isn't going to make a difference, and if it isn't, then the odds are good that one month won't matter, based upon the size and depth and the fact that it's non-ulcerated. His health insurance kicks in Sept. 1st. We never got around to putting him on mine after he left his job, and he won't be eligible for my COBRA since open enrollment is 2 months after I leave this job. Besides, he would have an 18-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions.

Ironically, my die-hard Republican DH is ONLY obtaining health insurance because of Obama's health care act, and it's going to keep us from going bankrupt. We've chosen to refrain from "I told you so," and "You were right." It's not the time. The coverage is even better than what I'm paying for through work. It's an HDP with a $1500 deductible and 100% coverage (medical and prescription) after that, for $195/month at his age bracket.

Sorry to hear it, Barb. They are missing out, and I'm pushing chocolate through the interwebs.

Maria, ongoing ~ma to you and DH. I'm glad you know dates now. Wishing you best possible outcomes and clean margins.

Maria, my darling, my thoughts are all with you and the DH. Fucking publishing can go take a headfirst leap into a very shallow creek for all I care. What I want most is for my people and their loved ones to be healthy and employed and coddled-- because we've earned it, goddammit.