February 10, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: xxxx 2025, WIP
Five years ago today: xxxx 2021, WIP
Nine years ago today: xxxx 2017, WIP
Random years ago today: xxxx, xxxx, WIP

           It is day 13 in the ICU and that is enough. No distractions, not even magazines. Just that rotten TV. It does little but remind you of your own fatigue and exhaustion, with the same commercials every eight minutes. I have a daily walk around the hallway, some 500 feet. It is more than a task, I can barely make it holding fast to the therapy lady’s cart and resting every 30 paces. The good news is this is much better than last week. I comment the patience of Merissa, the lady who makes me use the deep-breathing Voldyne 4000.

           This measures lung capacity, $6 at Wal*Mart, $36 on eBay. I can manage 1000 ml, about half normal adult volume. To be used many times daily, I honestly did forget it behind a week later at extended care. Honest.
           A lady came by to fit me better with the LifeVest. Good, first time was a mighty foggy event. I seem to have got it mostly right. The reason is still a mystery, since I had no intention of lugging the five-pound transmitter around for months. But they implied it is a condition of my insurance coverage and I won’t tinker with that.

           Larger meals now arrive and I’ve learned to order, especially the vanilla ice cream. It is a delicious slurry by the time I get it, but just right. My digestive tract is still a concern, I have been “dry” for some days in a row. The suspicion is ulcers and the test is tomorrow. So just you enjoy that ice cream while you can.

           And you may not believe this but a full 12-pack of Canada Dry diet ginger ale appeared overnight on my side table. Somebody out there is an angel. Whoever you are, I will never forget this act of mercy. Seriously, because the effect of the bubbles is truly loosening up my tummy better than any of the pills.

           Again able to hold a pen up to 15 minutes, I was able to write two letters. A few folks out there are wondering if I made it. That includes JZ and family, but they can still wait longer as there is no provision for mailing letters from here. It seems writing in general is also another thing that no person on staff at this hospital has ever seen before, certainly not full pages of writing before. They are like deer in the headlights over it.

Picture of the day.
Royal Mile, Edinburgh (Scotland).
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Deciding to make the best of the TV, I’ve noted the two channels that show movies. It is ancient and/or boring, and frequently interrupted by the staff. I’ve begun to reject medications such as laxatives, sleeping pills, and any diet supplements. I did not have any such conditions when I arrived here. So what about TV? As in 1972, I find some commercials have information. I watched one with the Nespresso coffee machine.

           There are ads for self-publishing, another thing I keep telling myself to look into. My total blog readership is well over a half-million, though my lapse in daily publishing just cost me 76% of my daily regulars. And I see there are some on-line stock trading apps that finally follow traditional logic. There was no getting straight answers out of the GenX traders who seem fascinated by their ability to believe their own gobble-dee-goop.

           One commercial that drove me ga-ga was Dairy Queen plugging their spicy chicken burger for $6.99. It became all the things the hospital chow was not. Same with the Chick-fil-a float. Neither chain has an outlet near where I live. Nearest is out on Havendale.

Last Laugh