Mid-May I noticed a red patch on my right hand. I thought perhaps it was a bite of some kind, it was about 1/3 inch in diameter. Weeks later I suddenly realized it hadn’t gone away, or gotten any smaller. I didn’t know what it was, and I remembered that “wounds” that do not heal should be investigated, so I took myself into the emergency ward, the ONLY available form of health care near the little house in the city, where I do not have a family doctor. The doctor at the hospital said it didn’t look serious, but decided to take a biopsy nevertheless, just to be certain.
I have been waiting to hear the results of the biopsy since the first week in June, which were to eventually be sent to my GP near the country house. It just so happened that I chose to call about the results when my GP was away on vacation, so I have been waiting for his return. I have been concerned that I would forget to follow up on this, as you never really know if these things are serious, or nothing. Last night the doctor’s office called while we were hanging out in the screened in porch, and left a message because we couldn’t make it up the stairs in time to answer the telephone. The person who called suggested I call the doctor’s office in the morning, and let me know that it was not urgent, which I appreciated very much.
This morning I called the doctor’s office and received official notice that all is well, there is no malignancy. As it turned out the information was never sent to my GP, they had to track it down through the other hospital system. It is grand news however long it took to get here, and even though I expected that there would be no malignancy, I find myself very relieved to hear it.
Our Kenmore front loading washing machine, which we bought from Sears, continues to stink. This is a known issue with this machine, it is poorly designed. I would never buy a front loading washing machine again, and I will never buy another appliance, or anything else, from Sears. Last night I did an empty load using baking powder and vinegar, which reduced the horrid smell, but did not eliminate it. I will continue to do the baking soda/vinegar wash every few days, to try and keep the odour under control. We talked about buying a new washer/dryer set, or even just a new washing machine, but cannot afford it, so we will just keep on battling the smell.
I have gained a new skill. I can now fall asleep at the drop of a hat! This morning I drifted off while typing on the computer, with a partially consumed cup of coffee sitting beside me. I fall asleep while Attila is talking, while reading, while lying on the couch resting my wounded behind, while typing on the computer. I even fell asleep while reading the weather report, before copying and pasting it into this entry. This is new, and so far I am finding it quite pleasurable. It is probably just the Tylenol 3s, so I am enjoying it while I can, as today I will be taking the last of the medication.
Since I returned to the country house Attila has been taking his lunch breaks, rather than working through them. He really does need to do this, to take that break from the frenzied pace of his job. He is so fortunate that he can drive home for lunch, as we live quite near where he works. Sometimes he even has a “power nap” while he is here for lunch. I do enjoy having contact with him during the day. We are not “cell phone” people, in that we do not communicate by cell phone or texting when we are apart, barring emergency situations, so Attila’s lunch breaks are a great way for us to touch base. Also, while I am here for the summer, Attila will not be working at his second part-time job during the evenings, which is great.
I had better get this entry posted before I fall asleep again! 🙂
Worldly Distractions
Weather
20°C
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Tuesday 7 July 2015
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.0 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 19.7°C
Dewpoint: 16.8°C
Humidity: 83%
Wind: SSE 15 km/h
Quote
“To resist the frigidity of old age one must combine the body, the mind and the heart – and to keep them in parallel vigour one must exercise, study and love.”
Karl von Bonstetten
1745 – 1832
Glad the hand is well.
I don’t suppose you have developed narcolepsy. Years ago some friends and I were drinking at a bar when a guy at the next table took an extreme dislike to me for mysterious reasons. Usually people have to know me to dislike me. Anyway, he kept making threats of violence and I was wondering how to make a graceful exit, when he instantly fell asleep! His friend said, Don’t worry, he does that all the time.
You crack me up Steve-Paul!
“Usually people have to know me to dislike me.” As if!
Narcolepsy, can there be sudden onset narcolepsy? Something to bring up with the GP, could have hit my head on the way down the stairs, or maybe I just don’t like the neighbourhood here, 🙂
When Paul was taking that Keppra for his concussion he was falling off to sleep all the time too. It’s probably the Tylenol 3… my guess. Of course there are other things, like thyroid problems, but you seem a healthy sort in other areas… good news about the skin spot.
I think you are right Bex, probably the Tylenol 3s. I won’t be taking them tomorrow, so we will see if the drowsiness goes away over the next few days. All this sleeping did start with the Tylenol 3s, but at the same time, I think I needed the sleep, to help me recover.
Personally, I suspect it’s a combination of the Tylenol 3s and your body telling you to sleep so it can heal. Healing is hard work and bodies need extra rest to recover from that work!
I broached this question to my sister Karen, who also has a front-loader. She says it doesn’t have a smell and adds: “If you leave a cloth in the door to keep it from closing all the way it stays fresher. There is always a little water in the rubber seal. Or you could just wipe it every time. Easier just to do the other.”
Wendy, healing seems to be very hard work! This fall, and the aftermath, have taken me completely by surprise, as I guess accidents do. It has been more than two weeks, and I am still not feeling my old self. It is slow going. Part of that is down to my age, and the other to the severity of the fall. I feel the sleep is doing me a world of good, and as you point out, I need it to heal properly.
Glad to hear your biopsy came back okay.
Your washing machine problem sounds quite bothersome. There might be a filter screen in an output hose. Have you checked to see there are no small articles of clothing caught in any filter screens?
I’d agree that your sleepiness is probably a combination of the Tylenol 3s and your body needing the rest to repair itself.
It’s nice to hear that Attila is coming home for lunch and not working his second job while you’re there!
Kate, thanks for checking that out with your sister, and I am glad to hear she doesn’t have a bad smell, and that leaving the door ajar works at her house.
Oh that that were the case for us! We bought this machine in October of 2008, followed all the instructions, used the right detergent, left the door ajar, left the soap tray ajar, cleaned the machine regularly, cleaned the seal, wiped the seal, and it wasn’t until last year that the problem odour materialized. We have tried everything we could think of to get rid of it, and everything that anyone else could think of too, to no avail. I guess we were lucky it stayed fresh as long as it did.
There are a lot of people like us, who can’t get a grip on the smell no matter what they do… some examples, of many, http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sears-kenmore-elite-h3-washer-c1958.html
We are wondering if this machine will right itself when we move it to the little house in the city, where the tap water is chlorinated. We certainly hope so!
Teri, it is lovely to have Attila home for lunch. I think it has a cumulative affect, that over time it is lowering his stress levels.
If the sleep is healing related, which I think you are right, that it is, I am doing a whole lot of healing. I had a nap this morning, and a nap this afternoon, and a little lie down after supper. Loving it!
Tylenol 3 can cause you to fall asleep if you are not use to it. As your body gets accustomed to it, that tendency will decrease. Since you will not be taking it any longer, you don’t need to worry about that. In the meantime, a midmorning, midafternoon and an evening nap all sound delightful! And will truly help your body to heal.
It is fantastic that Attila can come home for lunch. Really breaks up the day, and the naps!
Hi Maggie,
That is good news about the patch/sore. A big relief. I got bitten (?) by something last time out and it left two bright red circles. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I just kept dousing it with tea tree oil. They did itch like mad but eventually stopped. They are almost all gone now.
My sister had the same problem you are having with your washing machine. We leave ours open after we do a wash. So far so good.
I have never heard of Tylenol 3. I think I am going to get some!
I wish hubby could come home for lunch. I am glad Attila and you now can have that time to share.
Too funny Lee Ann, breaking up my naps! I took the last of the Tylenol 3s last night, now to give myself a few days until they are out of my system. If this morning is any indication, I am healing. Now all I have to do is prevent myself from doing something silly to set myself back. 🙂
Nora, the mark on my hand has faded a wee bit, but it is still there. The biopsy is almost healed. I now suspect that I grabbed a handful of grass with an undetected stem of wild parsnip in it, while I was tending the garden in May. All these new environmental hazards! West Nile from mosquitoes, wild parsnip in the lawn, giant hogweed…
Tylenol 3s are strong tylenol with caffeine and codeine added. In Canada you can only get them by prescription. The emergency doctor didn’t prescribe a lot of them for me, and hopefully she prescribed just the right amount. I think one of the concerns they have in emergency rooms is that people who are seeking prescription drugs to take because they are addicted, or to sell, show up with stories. The doctor did “forget” to fill in the amount, then told me she forgot and wrote it in, watching to see my reaction. I wasn’t really thinking about the possible scenarios they face in a hospital emergency ward, so I didn’t react at all, just assumed she would give me what she thought was best for me. Which it seems she did.
The coming home for lunch thing is wonderful! This is the first summer Attila has been willing to do it, until now he has always worked through his lunch all summer, and overtime, so that I would only see him for a few short hours each day. This is much better for both of us.
I’ve heard of stinky washing machines – luckily I’ve never had one. I used to wonder why others left there’s open when not in use – now I know. I now leave my top open just in case. 🙂
I’ve always been under the impression that Tylenol 3s were quite effective – packed a punch. I might be wrong, but I think they’re only available by prescription in the states too,
Hope all is well – improving. Love.
I also think Tylenol-3 is available by Rx only. Not sure, but that’s my gut feeling.
We used to leave the washer cover “open” until one day I went to throw in a load of clothes and way down in the tub, looking up at me, was a tiny mouse! Alive… trying to figure out how to get out! We rescued him/her and put outside… but after that, I always try to keep that cover closed! The thoughts of running the wash with a little living creature down in there is terrifying to me.
Reenie, those Tylenol 3s really do pack a punch! I am still napping, and yesterday I didn’t take any painkillers at all. I like the naps though, such a luxury!
Our front loader needs to have the door left ajar. This is the first time I have ever had a problem with odour from a washing machine, it will be back to top loaders for me when it comes time to replace this unit!
A mouse in the washing machine! Well Bex, that would be a surprise, and I certainly wouldn’t want to run a load with a poor creature trapped in there. It sounds like a top loading machine.
Funny thing, now that Mist is relegated to the mud room, where the washing machine sits, with the door open, she has taken to sleeping in there. We can’t talk her out of it! She will have nothing to do with the comfy cat bed I brought home for her, she likes the stinky stainless steel barrel of the front loading washing machine. It is actually very cute to see her peering out at us. I have taken to putting a towel over the open door, so that we don’t just through clothes in the machine, or shut the door by mistake. Mist is such an odd old thing, she continues to surprise us, after 19 years it is still possible!
Hi Maggie,
Glad to learn that your hand is getting better. My spots are almost all gone. Still a mystery.
Tylenol 3s are strong tylenol with caffeine and codeine added…..I could never take them then. I can’t do caffeine or codeine. Drats. I wonder why caffeine in part of the combination? Seems odd.
Has your washer problem gotten any better?
Nora, glad your spots are almost gone. Getting older seems to involve a lot of unsolved mysteries!
The washer problem is ongoing and hasn’t improved. We printed out information about the class action laws suite for this particular machine and put in on the counter beside the machine, to let potential buyers know where the smell is coming from. Hmm… I wonder if they think it might be Mist, the cat who keeps guard in the washing machine! 🙂
Maggie, this discussion has confirmed my apparently innate dislike of front loading wash machines. They’re interesting to look at but they’ve always felt wrong to me, somehow. Perhaps because of the idea of the kind of seal necessary to maintain water in a container with an opening in its side just feels wrong to me.
I get the same feeling when I see one of those walk in bathtubs with the door in the side.
So Mist is loving her new wash machine hidey hole, is she? Well, a girl’s gotta have some privacy and she’s waited a long time. 😉
Teri, I think your intuition was spot on with the front load washers. The seal has to be tight to prevent leaks, so it also prevents evaporation. To boot, the drainage system on our machine does not work as it should to drain the water completely out of the machine, so that the drainage system stays wet all the time, even with the door wide open all the time. The top loaders do have these problems. They use more water though.
Mist is having a great time!