Musings and Ravings

Last Day of June June 30, 2023

It’s the last day of June, 2023.

And truth be told, I can’t wait for this month to be over.

I’m not going to go into details about everything that’s gone down in June and why I’ll be happy to see the month in the rear view mirror. All you, dear reader, have to do is read some of the blog entries of the past month (and those of May) to see what’s been going on health-wise with me, among other things/events, but it will be good to start looking forward to the month of July. My diabetes is still seriously out of control, given that I’m no longer taking metformin any longer, the diabetes specialist hasn’t replaced it with another drug or whatever until at least December (my next appointment with him), and so my blood sugar levels are not good, despite the fact that I’m not eating any of the wrong foods (well, not much anyway…have you seen the price or vegetables at the grocery stores? Eeek!!). Other than that, on the health front, the good news is that the diabetic lesion on the bottom of my left foot is finally healed. Six months, it took! Not having walked very much for that whole time (on the chiropodist’s advice and warnings) has left me physically out of (walking) shape; have walked too much, I think, the last two or three weeks, and to be honest I have the pain in parts of my body to prove it! Need to be more cautious and choosy in my walk habits for a while, methinks, and let the various muscles strengthen and all, but also not allow another diabetic lesion to develop. ::knock on wood::

In other health related matters, there is no change in the condition of my right shoulder, arm and back area. In fact, the shoulder is getting worse in a lot of respects, and I’m experiencing problems using my right arm and hand as well. The orthopedist is unable to see me at the moment due to his time constraints, and I’m still waiting on tests for the shoulder ’til the appointment in March, 2024! I keep calling the Ottawa General lab twice a week to see if there’s a cancellation, but no luck so far. Just gotta hang in there with the arm, shoulder and all. Adding to my health issues this summer, the season of allergies has been very bad since the spring with warmer than usual weather in Ottawa this year and to be honest, I’m just not doing well with the allergies right now. (Even with the meds I’m taking for it.)

COVID-19 continues to plague (no pun intended) the world, and Ottawa is no exception. While the disease in its various adaptive forms has shown signs of decreased cases and virulence (though not a lot of data is still being collected it seems and mask mandates are pretty much a thing of the past), it is still a pressing issue despite the claims. The world is trying to return to a pre-COVID style of life for the most part, but people continue to make not smart (read: stupid) decisions in terms of physical distancing and not wearing face masks and not taking measures to prevent the spread of the disease, among other things). I’ve had my sixth dose (the first 2 shots, and 4 booster shots), the last one in May, but it’s important to remember the vaccine is not the be-all and end-all cure, folks. Yes, that means I’m still being cautious and wearing a mask when I go out to places that have potential. I really don’t want the disease, to be honest.

And then we come to the weather… Ottawa and the valley have experienced several heatwaves since the middle of the spring and continuing into June, hot weather that is much more common in July and August, and those who predict weather patterns have stated this doesn’t augur well for the rest of the summer and early fall. While it’s only going up to 27^oC today (with a humidex of around 31^oC), I’m not comfortable due to my health (for reasons stated above) and there’s an additional factor involved. Massive, out of control forest fires in Quebec have caused smoke to blow into the Ottawa region. The air quality index is not very good today, and there have been quite a few bad days this past three weeks or so. For me, this includes difficulty breathing, chest pain, sore throat, irritated or burning eyes, and some brain fogging. I’m doing my best to stay indoors, not do too much, keep the air conditioning running and hopefully keep the smoke out of the house, and hydrating as best I can. Still, I’ve had several really bad days and I’ve got a bad headache today and am coughing with a sore throat. Not a happy camper, to say the least. Anyway, I fully expect the rest of the summer, including July, to be a miserable month between the temperatures, the allergies and the overall weather conditions. Just plan to do the best that I can. ‘Nuff said about that.

So, what am I expecting in the new month of July? Not much, really. Other than my regular footcare treatment appointment near the end of the month, I don’t really have any medical appointments scheduled. I don’t have a lot of plans for July, other than to do a bit of reading, work on some gaming adventures and material, and run rpgs with the two gaming groups. (I won’t be getting to play in any games this month, as none of my fellow players has chosen to run something for me to play in this year. A little sad about that, but I’m looking forward to running games for much of the month.

Otherwise, nothing planned for the day. I’ll be staying indoors, resting, reading a bit, drinking fluids to stay hydrated – oh, and running a session of the Rivers Of London: The Roleplaying Game with the Friday group tonight. 🙂