My very dear Seven Samurai:
During my most recent hospital adventure, I realized that I should not be home alone day after day with no one checking on me.
When I was delivered to the hospital by ambulance on Friday, October 21, I was diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis. (By Dr. Sam Tolman.) I had a fever of 104. When I was discharged the following Wednesday, October 26, I was told that I did not have meningitis, nor had I ever had meningitis.
When I asked what was wrong with me, I was told, "We don't know."
That means that I could black out again without warning. That's pretty scary. I do have a cheat sheet of things to watch for, and I will share that in a future e-mail with those of you who are my samurai.
The basic commitment is this: The samurai have agreed to call me once a week on "their" day.
They may make this call from anywhere in the world, as long as they can afford the phone bill. They need to keep calling me on the house phone or my cell phone until they reach me.
Right now, I cannot access messages left on the house phone. I worked on this with the phone company for two days last week, but we were unsuccessful in fixing the problem. I have a rant about the-phone-company-formerly-known-as-Qwest that I will post soon.
It's OK to leave a message on my cell phone asking me to call back, but if I don't do that within 15 minutes, the samurai needs to try me again, then call 911 and then Younger Son.
When they talk to me, they need to establish:
1) I have eaten that day.
2) I have taken my morning meds.
3) I am coherent.
If it's a question of my not eating, they need to take the first pass at getting me to eat something. Ask me what is in the fridge. Bring me a milkshake, or some vegetable soup. I don't eat much these days, but if my helper pushes too hard, I am likely to refuse to eat at all or to vomit on their shoes. (Sorry.)
If I am not coherent, they need to call 911 (script for that is coming) and then Younger Son. YS has my medical power of attorney and will have a copy in his backpack at all times. There will also be a copy in the house.
Here's the list of who has what day.
Sunday: Younger Son
YS has been coming over on Sunday afternoons for months now. He helps with the chores I can't do--vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the bird cage and the cat's litter box, and taking the trash down.
He also usually takes Constant for a walk and then we have dinner together--could be take-out, delivery, or a restaurant. Lots of choices in our part of town. Sometimes we cook together.
Monday: Ufuk
Ufuk and his lovely family appear on my blog once in awhile. Both Ufuk and his wife are college professors, and their 3-year-old son recently let me transform him into a clown.
Tuesday: Teri
Wednesday: Maggie
Maggie left the first of 13 comments on this post: Back in the Hospital, Comments
That was around the time other readers started leaving comments saying, "I agree with Maggie," and so on. One reader asked if Maggie would be the "designated commenter."
Now, I thought that was pretty funny, but still ... Here is my reply:
"Maggie--my readers LOVE you, make no mistake. And you have an incredible talent for saying the right thing to an admittedly touchy woman.
"That doesn't mean the rest of you are off the hook however. This is a call for e-mails and comments of support to get me through this one.
"Thanks. Jeanne."
Thursday: Martha
Martha has been my friend, helper, and jewelry-making buddy for about two years now. Even though she is 12 and could probably handle emergency phone calls to 911, I would rather that her mother do that.
So I will ask her mom, Gretchen, to call me in the morning on Thursdays, and then Martha will come over after school to help with her usual chores--bird cage, cat box, walking Connie (with me), and then working on jewelry.
Martha and I need to get our holiday earring-making workshops organized within the next week.
Friday: Linda
Today, Friday, Linda drove me to my appt. with Dr. Lee. Then we did a series of quick errands--the bead store; to drop off a year's worth of scans of my brain and spine at Dr. Chamberlain's office at SCCA; and to the drugstore to get some new prescriptions filled. A quick panini sandwich at Starbuck's for lunch.
Linda had to head home after that since she had a piano lesson. I picked up my meds and walked home, using Cane No. 2.
Linda can't do this for me every week, because she's pretty busy. But on days she can't drive me to do errands she will at least call and make sure I am OK.
Saturday: William
Someday soon, I need to have a contest for my funniest friend. I think the contestants are William, Teri, and Cathy (from Maryland).
Here is William's acceptance of my request to be one of my samurai:
"I'd be honored to be one of your Seven Samurai, and will make my call on Saturday. In fact, I think calling once and then making a second call later in the day would a good idea. I could call at 10 a.m., for example, and then again at 6 p.m. -- or whatever times work best for you.
"Kimura plays the noblest of the seven samurai. More to the point, he also survives the final battle."
Works for me. Jeanne
Sometime while my back was turned--I think it was September--the Amazing Martha turned 12.
Martha has been my friend and helper since she was 10, shortly after she and her lovely family returned from 18 months in China.
Her father was there for MS, the computer giant across the water from Seattle, and her mother was there to conquer the country and its institutions, such as eating dogs. Also the practice of abandoning both cats and dogs to roam the streets in uncountable numbers--sick, starving, and dangerous.
From what I've heard, Martha's mom nearly succeeded in her endeavors, and wrote a screenplay at the same time, and Martha is an awful lot like her mom.
The family has a young son, Charlie, almost as adorable and talented as Martha in every way, except that I've raised two boys and no girls. I gravitate to girls, especially tough, smart, athletic, and musically talented girls like Martha. (Charlie, I love you too.)
Since Martha's been my friend and helper, she's come over as often as she has had time for, usually once or twice a week, to help me.
She refuses to let me pay her, even though I can afford to pay a kid her age. The last time I mentioned money, Martha was 11, and she said, "I don't need your money." Now this girl lives a middle-class life, but her family is not rich. Not MS Millionaire Rich by any stretch of the imagination. Her dad didn't work at MS during those days.
When Martha and I are out in public together, usually with Constant the Wonder Dog, people sometimes ask if she is my daughter. I'm flattered. One, because I'd love to claim her. And two, because I am almost 57 and she is 12.
Other people ask if I am babysitting her. An insult to both of us--Martha is taking care of me and keeping me safe in public.
And then, there are the people who ask if Martha is the daughter of a friend of mine. Think about that one for a moment.
Martha is my friend. Who are these people who think children and adults cannot be friends? Sage was my friend in the same way, until his parents decided that our friendship was "inappropriate." (An update on Sage is coming.)
Martha and her mother, Gretchen, visited me in the hospital during the meningitis/C.diff. adventure, on Sunday, I think. Many parents would not let their child visit a friend in an isolation room at a hospital, even though there were gowns and gloves for them to wear.
Both Martha and Gretchen said it was fine, and I explained the basic risks to a healthy person from C. diff. exposure--virtually zero unless she had direct contact with my feces (blunt language alert). Was that likely to happen?
I don't think so. After all, I was wearing Depends, for the first time in my life. A post on Depends is coming soon also.
Martha was (properly) disgusted by the Komen-pink gloves--this was October, remember. Someone in the hospital had removed ALL THE MEDICAL GLOVES in the entire building and replaced them with pink, in three sizes.
Dr. Lee was so disgusted by the gloves that he sent over to his clinic's infusion room for some purple ones. I haven't been in there lately, so I can't tell you if the Pink Glove Fairy had arrived during the night over there as well.
Back to Martha.
While she was visiting me in the hospital, Dr. Tolman was there, and he said something about the woman in the midnight blue van who refused to call 911 having saved my life after all, since either the mother or daughter did call 911 once the daughter took her mother to task.
Of course, they didn't offer me any clothing or a blanket, or even wait for the ambulance to arrive, as most people would, even if they were from Los Angeles ...
Martha piped right up in response to Dr. Tolman and corrected him. She said something like this: "No, it was the daughter who saved Jeanne's life, not the mother."
I wanted Martha to be interviewed as part of the piece KIRO-7 did on this incident, in which I nearly died, but the TV crew and Martha couldn't make their schedules match. (She's in middle school.) Too bad. Martha is great on TV. (She gets that from me, I'm sure.)
A footnote: I have two gangs of kids--one of middle schoolers and one of high schoolers--out prowling the streets of NE Seattle looking for this van.
I have told them not to approach the car and not to talk to anyone in the car, just to get the license plate and e-mail it to me. If it's the right car, the prize is $20 plus a piece of unique jewelry made by me.
By the way, this offer is open to any kid in Seattle. A reward of $20 for the right license plate. I want to reward the "911 daughter." Just e-mail me the plate number.
I was planning to go over to talk to the principal of Roosevelt High School today, but I spent five hours trying to get an appointment with a neurologist and ran out of time and energy.
@ Jeanne Sather 2011.
Wednesday afternoon update:
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE INTERVIEW: KIRO-7 Refused to Call 911
I think they did a good job with the piece. I'm not sure if it gives a contact number, but if you know who this young woman is, please e-mail me: jeanne.sather@gmail.com
I haven't been able to access the voice mail on my house phone all day. The phone company is, supposedly, working on it.
****************************************************************************
I did an interview with a reporter and cameraman from KIRO-7 this morning and I liked them both very much.
The cameraman, Brian Doerflinger, even braved the backyard, which had not been pooper-scooped in two days, to shoot footage of me playng with Constant, the Wonder Dog. I am happy to report that Connie was a perfect gentleman and did not jump up on Brian once, despite the fact that he was/is a large, unknown man with a camera on his shoulder.
This good behavior was, of course, reinforced by a pocket full of treats (my pocket, he's my dog).
I missed watching the program live because I slept through it. Busy day today--a one hour TV interview, followed by a hair cut by Chez, who works out of a shop in Wallingford called Spin. My lawyer was kind enough to drop me off at Spin on his way back to the office, since I am not allowed to drive, and have no working car anyway. See this page one story in the Seattle P-I: Wanted: Husband With Canadian Health Care
That's Chez cutting my hair in the photo above. Oh, for the days of the P-I, the little paper that tried harder. They kept the Times on their toes. In my opinion, the quality of the Times has gone downhill since the print edition of the P-I went away.
*********************************************************************************
Full disclosure: I have never worked for the P-I, although I have a friend or two there. ("Hi, Brian!") I HAVE worked for The Seattle Times on a three-month contract in the summer of 1998, and was working there when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. That was one of the the errors edited into Carol Ostrom's 9/21 story about me.
The Times story says I was a freelancer when I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. Not true: I was working for the Times on a three-month contract with no benefits. Before that, I worked for a year, full time with benefits, as managing editor of Washington Law & Politics. The Times referred to that job as "freelancing" as well. Who are they protecting?
***********************************************************************************
From there, I walked to the T-Mobile store to get a new charger for my cell--I believe the missing one was left behind at NW Hospital, but somehow I had no desire to go back there to ask about it, since I'm suing them and all. Besides, it's contaminated with C. diff.
Then I walked down to Fusion beads, looking for some orca beads, handmade if possible. I did get two sterling orca tails, which I thought were pretty cool, and I will order more on the Fusion Web site.
I will be making orca jewelry for the members of my pod, which now includes Chez, who has cut my hair for the past 10 years or so. He's given me free haircuts when he knew I couldn't afford to pay. In fact, about six haircuts in a row, including today's.
Supposedly, I am making Chez jewelry in return, but I am waaaay behind on that, as I am on most of my custom projects. Chez, like most people who know me, is not concerned. He knows he will get his jewelry before I die. Or shortly thereafter.
Note to media: If you are a member of the media and trying to reach me, e-mail is the only way, unless you are JuJu Chang. If you are JuJu, leave a message at this number --206-522-9560--and I will return your call.
Or Tim Egan of The New York Times. I have a book of yours I want you to sign in return for an interview.
All other reporters, writers, editors, producers, and whatever--e-mail me. I will not return your phone calls. I don't have the energy.
Also, you should know that I decided beforehand that I would only do one local TV interview, and I've done it--the one with KIRO-7 that aired today. There is no advantage to me in doing another local TV interview, and I will not be wasting my limited time and energy on this.
KIRO got this interview because a managing editor with news judgment was working on Sunday night when he received an e-mail from a mutual friend. The friend forwarded my e-mail to Jake Milstein.
A footnote about The Seattle Times: Jim Simon of the S Times declined to buy this story from me, despite his well-known good news judgment. Read what I had to say about the Times at the link above and you will see why he might have declined to buy it.
However, if Jim REALLY had good news judgment, he would have bought it anyway and also bought the syndication rights. He may point out that we attended J School (master's program) at UC Berkeley together, which is true.
We are not personal friends, in spite of this. I think I've had lunch with him--he paid--once in the past 10 or 15 years.
Tomorrow I will try to get up my post about the deliberate errors The Seattle Times' editors added to the story Carol Ostrom wrote about me recently. Page 1 of the S Times, September 21. You can find it online.
I discussed these errors with Carol on the phone shortly after the story came out. This was after I sent her an e-mail listing the errors. I listened to Carol's second-hand explanation of why her editor, Janet, made the changes, which were errors of fact. I did not believe Carol, but I knew they were not HER errors, so I let it slide.
Carol and I joked about the snarky post that was already written, but that I would not be pushing live, only out of respect for her and the quality of her work. Carol knows how well I do snarky.
Next question: Will Carol be assigned to write the story about my lawsuit against the UWMC, or will the S Times ignore that story now? They'll look pretty silly if they do. Plus, Carol has already started working on it, I happen to know.
Want to e-mail Jim? Do so with my blessings: Jim Simon
@ Jeanne Sather 2011.
