Thursday, September 17, 2009

P.S. TO MY LAST POST

Was at my exercise group this week and mentioned about the metal in my hips and having an MRI and two people said they had had MRIs....one who had had a knee replacement and the other a hip replacement. Seems I may have been misinformed about the dangers of me ever having an MRI. Will have to seek further information about this subject as feel it is important enough to know the exact truth.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A STARTLING REVELATION

As those who have read earlier blogs of mine will know I have had 2 total hip replacement ops in the past 15 months. I needed a new Medic Alert bracelet and when speaking to the lady in Adelaide about this she said that "Bilat THR" should most definitely be shown on the medallion and we made it so.
I mentioned this to my physiotherapist recently and her response to me was rather startling: "Yes in case of an accident or similar it needs to be known about your hip ops because if you had an MRI it would kill you". Of course it is magnetic resonancing and you are not allowed to wear anything metal when you have an MRI. I hadn't eveen thought about that but I can now imagine what two lumps of metal (one in each hip) might do. No, I prefer not to think about it but should perhaps tell all my family "just in case".
After hearing this from Jenny my dear hubby several times afterwards would ask me "You do have your Medic Alert bracelet on, don't you?" Don't worry it is on my wrist all the time except when I have a shower but then perhaps I should wear it then too. Who knows,I may just slip and fall in the shower. Sorry, that is just my weird sense of humour taking over. I am sure all will be well but I wonder why we are not told about these things by the medical profession.

DO WE GRIEVE FOR ANIMALS MORE THAN PEOPLE?

That may be a strange question and yes, of course we grieve for family members and friends that die but......I was very sad when I heard that Sam the koala had to be put to sleep 'cos she was very ill - who will ever forget the wonderful pics of the fireman giving her water to drink? - and then this month I felt much sadness when I heard of the death of Mr Percival the pelican from that fantastic movie 'Storm Boy' made in South Australia 1976. He was 33 and he'd had a great life at the Adelaide Zoo with a nice wife and had fathered a number of children.
We see pictures of animals being rescued from some pretty weird and wonderful places and are so relieved they are OK and recently when our dear cat Henry died suddenly in his sleep not only us but our family and friends expressed their sorrow when they heard about his demise. Some of course would say "but he was only a cat". To us of course he was Henry.
What worries me is this....are we being desensitised about what happens to humans, particularly adult ones? There is so much violence depicted on TV (if you choose to watch) and in movies (which I definitely choose not to watch) and then there are those dreadful videos games that young people play where they seem to have the desire to put someone or something to death. On top of all that we hear daily of people being blown up by terrorists and the like; all to what purpose one can't help wondering.
I am beginning to despair about the future of the human race, apart from global warming, because of all the events that are taking place everywhere. I personally cannot understand why people hate each other because of race, religion etc., but then I have always tried to live by the philosophy of "live and let live". I try to respect other peope's beliefs even if I don't understand or agree with them but feel they are entitled to believe what they will as long as those beliefs don't impinge on the lives of others.
I think most of my family members are reasonably tolerant of others but even then there are exceptions which I feel is a pity but it happens.
I don't have many years left on this earth (I am now 77) but I would like to think that there is hope for the human race for many centuries to come and that peace and understanding will take over before total destruction of all that I love about this world takes place.
I have no control over any of it but wish I could leave my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren a legacy of loving each other and living peaceful lives for many years to come.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

WHERE IS MY LIFE HEADING?

I began this blog some months back with the intention of airing my thoughts and even going through my life with a series of What If's? It is now one month since I last wrote and I am beginning to think my brain has run dry of worthwhile thoughts. Sounds a dreadful thing to say but when I read blogs by others, including my daughter and granddaughter, I find the words no longer come for me. My daughter writes of being inspired by the seasons as they change and similar things. Why do I not have thoughts of that kind. I guess one day is much like the one just gone or the one that will be tomorrow.

Where exactly is my life heading? I plod, and I mean plod, along day after day getting nowhere in particular and feeling rather useless to myself and to others. I can sit here in front of my computer and have loads of fun but where does that really get me? I am not going anywhere and nor is my life. There are so many household tasks I should be doing but 'cos I can only stand for short bursts I don't tend to do them because I know it will hurt. When sitting here there is very little pain so it is tempting to do this all the time and forget those chores that cause me to ache. Not a wonderful way to look at life but at nearly 78 years of age I begin to wonder......what am I still doing here? I have lost so many dear ones over past years that there's only really me left of all my close friends and relations and my family are great but they are always very busy with many other things to attend to. I am only one person and cannot expect constant attention. I have a wonderful, loving husband but he is approaching 80 years of age so cannot expect him to be on the go all the time either. We are so fortunate to have each other and I in particular to have him. We both have our health problems but together we manage to get on with life, such as it is. We help each other all the time. We seldom have visitors nor do we have anywhere to go that attracts us. They say we should get out and socialise to keep healthy but why must we do so if that is not what we want to do. I keep my mind active if not my body all the time so what else should I do?

This may sound like lots of moaning and groaning but it is not meant to be as I am a quite happy person my nature and love to laugh. Unfortunately these days there is not so much to laugh at as there once was....not even any really good comedy shows on TV. I mean straight comedy not people constantly taking the mickey out of other people and being rude and using bad language. Guess you can say that all this does show I am getting old and I won't say the good old days were always the best but......perhaps in many ways they were.
I sound depressed but I am not but I'd best stop here in case anyone who may bother to read this become depressed on my behalf. Please don't be as I am grateful to have been granted the number of years I have been on this planet but it is going to be an uphill battle to reach the age of 95 but I shall keep on keeping on as well as I am able. The house may be a little dustier than in previous years and the weeds in the garden not dealt with as they once were but they are incidental to what life is really all about. We will get on with it and plod along until....................

95 you ask.........I have always said I would be around that long just to he an annoyance to others. I think the old mind just might last out but not sure about the poor old body but with today's medications who knows??