30) COVID-19
I spent from March 2020 until March 2021 working from home. I didn't find it much of a strain at all. In fact, I enjoyed it and it was a bit have a shock having to go back. Everything I do at work is to do with computers and it doesn't really matter where I work from so long as I have internet. I had my first shot of the Moderna vaccine on March 25, 2021 and the second on April 22.
Working from home
If more people had taken COVID-19 seriously to start with I truely believe there wouldn't have been sp many deaths and the virus wouldn't have been able to reproduce so fast as to have produced the variants it has. It's now July 2021 and infection rate among the unvaccinated is climbing again. Everyone has to do what they feel is safe. It may turn out there are long-term effects from the vaccine but at the moment it seems to be protecting people from the various variants. Conversely, not getting vaccinated is also a choice, so I'm not unduly upset if those people get sick.
COVID vaccination stickers
A few people I know died from the disease, some were very ill. One woman I know was in hospital for 8 months with it, but I was last tested in June 2023, and it seems I was never exposed to it.
31) Colonoscopy
In June 2021, my stomach seemed more upset than usual and so I actually went and saw my doctor. He sent me to see a specialist and on July 15, 2021 I had upper and lower colonoscopies. The worst thing about these is the amount of preparation. Nothing to eat at all the day before and drinking a gallon of Golytely, Nulytely or something similar to absolutely clean you out.
The surgeon found and removed 3, 5mm polyps in my colon. These were simple, relatively safe hyperplastic ones. These very rarely develop into any sort of cancer. The other type of polyps are called adenoma and those carry a slightly higher risk of developing into cancer.
Colonoscopy images showing two of the polyps
One of the ingredients of Golytely, Nulytely and similar preparations is something called polyethylene glycol or PEG. This is interesting stuff. According to Wikipedia one of its uses is to preserve wooden and other objects that have been underwater. Apparently it replaces water in wooden objects, making the wood dimensionally stable and preventing warping or shrinking of the wood when it dries. Another uses for it is as part of the propellent in Trident II missiles. If you've ever had to drink the stuff as preparation for a colonoscopy, that seems an appropiate use for it.
32) Sciatica or Something Like It
In June 2023, my whole right leg felt it was on fire. The worst pain was on the back of my upper thigh, just under my bum and the upper calf, just below my knee. Some days were better than others but it was painful and I couldn't find a position where I could get comfortable. On good days a couple of Tylenol (Acetaminophen) would take care of it, other days it would not give any relief at all. It was much worse when I tried to lie down at night.
There was no quick fix and my doctor prescribed physio-therapy twice a week for six weeks. Some days the pain was so bad I could barely do any of the exercises but there were two very simple ones that seemed to help and are easily done at home. One was a Back Extension using one of those soft 10" exercise balls in the small of my back. The other was the Piriformis and Hip Stretch or Seated Faber Stretch.
By mid-August 2023, the pain slowly receeded, but I was warned that it could come back at some time.
33) Crushed Fingertip
On September 28, 2023, I did something incredibly stupid and dropped a 38lb concrete cinder block on my finger. It bled a lot and at first I was scared to look at what I had done to myself again. It took a couple of hours to completely stop bleeding then I covered it with antibiotic ointment and a couple of band-aids which I changed every day. A fortnight later, on October 12, new skin had grown but it still aches when touched.
My finger after crushing it, October 12, 2023
34) Lungs and Another Nodule
After not going to see a doctor for a couple of years, Patty made an appointment for me to see him in November 2023. As I hadn't seen him for a while, he made me have every test he knew of done - bloodwork, x-ray's, breathing tests and a CT Scan that I had in January 2024. Everything else was great apart from the last. The found a little 3/8" nodule in my upper right lung that shouldn't be there. Hopefully it's nothing more than the fungal nodule they found and removed in July 2014. It's a bit worrying this time, not because of the surgery if I need it, but because this time I know about the painful couple of months of recovery afterwards I'm going to have.
I had a PET Scan in March 2024 and the Dr. and I have decided to have another scan in June and see if the lump is growing.