It's been three weeks since Christmas and it's been a whirlwind of activity for me. I announced my retirement at work and will officially "retire" on January 31. I will, however, be working very reduced hours going forward for some length of time.
In conjunction with my working schedule and getting ready to retire, I have had several doctor's appointments. My primary care doctor ordered a stress test for me and told me that my "efficiency fraction (EF)," or the way my heart is pumping blood in and out is at 30%. It should be at 50% (low) to 75% (normal.) He sent me to a cardiologist and I had my first appointment yesterday. He is not so sure that the EF from the stress test is correct, so he has ordered another echo cardiogram and a test that measures my heart calcium level. My primary care doctor wants me to have a 3D mammo and I am doing that on January 26. Finally, I have been seeing a therapist for a few weeks, mainly to gain some behavioral self insight and address my depression, and have my next appointment on February 22. So, as I said, it's been doctor, doctor, doctor, work, work, work, stress, stress, stress.
In the middle of all of this, yesterday, I found out that I don't have Part B Medicare, which I need to have before I retire. I have spent a few days on hold with Medicare/Social Security ("your estimated wait time is one hour and fifteen minutes....") trying to get everything nailed down before January 31.
I think I am finally on the downside and have my ducks in a row so that in February, I will start drawing my social security benefits and will have supplemental and drug insurance in place. At any rate, come January 31, I will not work full time any longer. That statement is both exciting and scary for me. Ever since Bill died, I knew I would have to work full time and for the most part, I have. Now, I can think about yoga, reading books, hanging out with Tony or whatever I want to do. There are days when I'm not sure what that is, but I will find out.
On a happy note, Donna and Bob are down from Cleveland and will be here through February. Donna and I had our first shopping trip last week and had a blast. We will again, be celebrating Tony's birthday in February, but this time, his other sister, Rose and her husband, Joe will be down, too. The older he gets, the bigger the celebration is!!
Tony and Marie's third son is due February 3, so I'm guessing that a trip to Charlotte is also on the horizon. Brenda went back to work recently, which means that she and David will soon be enjoying the germs of an entire day care class.
Dixie is the same--funny, cute and entirely in charge! Tony got her a set of steps for Christmas. Actually, they are more for us than they are for her. We can put them up against whatever chair she wants to be in and she can climb up instead of us having to bend down and pick her up. She sleeps contently in my office chair as I write and every once in a while, I get the impression that my typing is getting in the way of her "nap!" From time to time, she gets locked in my closet. She likes to go in the back corner where my wedding dress is and sleep on the lace. She blends right in, so I don't see her and I shut the door and turn out the light. After a while, Tony will hear her barking and set her free. Actually, now that I think of it, he is setting my wedding dress free!
And so, I end on a hopeful note...hopeful that my Medicare/Social Security mess will be cleaned up by February 1, hopeful that all of my doctor's make me well and whole again and hopeful that it gets warm down here soon. We didn't move south to have northeast weather!
Sleep well, Dixie!
"Excuse me, a little piece and quiet would be appreciated here..."
No comments:
Post a Comment