I should be very anxious at this point in time. I am not, and I don’t know why. There are a few things up in the air, and this should be causing me angst.

Today I met up with Pete in the Three Bears parking lot. Three Bears is a Costco type store. We were to travel together to Valley Imaging, and once there get our respective MRIs.

Pete got out of the Tundra and immediately announced that the surgeon said that he needed carpal tunnel surgery. I think it dawned on me before it dawned on him that this is going to be a very serious matter.

Pete’s going to have one hand, then the other done. This is going to take ten minutes for each one. It’s the after-surgery stuff that’s daunting. All total, it is going to take six weeks before he again has full use of his hands. Six weeks. I most likely am going to have to cook and do the dishes after he has surgery on his right hand. He says no, but I say yes. He also won’t be able to do any heavy lifting.

One of about 250 photos of Pete's knee

So immediate priorities. Pete is going to need to focus on getting wood and hay, this before the snow flies. And we are going to have to get books off to the villages because he won’t be able to lift them.

First things first – he’s been working on putting in a wood floor in the hay shed, so that the bottom bales don’t mold. He has to finish this before we get hay.

All this, prior to our both getting MRIs. Pete has a bum knee. I have a bum hip. His appointment was before mine. All they did was do an MRI of his knee. Me, it was a bit more complicated. I had a shot of lidocaine, then contrast dye was injected into my hip joint. The radiologist was from India. He had very gentle hands. He and his assistant did work hard to make me feel comfortable. I did look and appear anxious. I was worried that because the hip has been problematic, that having the dye injected would hurt. It did some.

I hobbled out of the radiology room, into the MRI room. Two women made sure that I didn’t have any metal on my person, had me get on a flat bed and this bed moved me into a tunnel. Beforehand, one of the two tied my two big toes together. I was told to squeeze a black rubber ball attached to a cord if anything seemed to be amiss.

I attempted to think like a writer when I was in the white tube, by putting my mind on record. I failed miserably in coming up with anything revelatory. The bed I was on moved forwards and backwards. I had headphones and ear plugs, so the noises that I heard were not overly loud. There was a lot of pinging, humming, and other worldly sounds. I made note of the imperfections in the white paint, and when I felt panicky, I pretended that there was an opening right behind my head.

I did wonder what would happen if the power went out? Did they have a way of getting me out of there?

The twenty minutes went by fast. Both Pete and I will meet in a few days with the orthopedic specialist, who will inform us as to what the problems may or may not be.

We both got souvenirs of our visit: CDs with images of our respective knees and hips.

Next: 260. 9/24/24: Sister’s Birthday