Somewhat to my surprise early last evening, my wife announced that she was going into Vancouver to work at a friend's Thai restaurant.
To preface this, she underwent the imposition of a three-month driving suspension because just the evening before, she had gone to see a different friend who also owns a Thai restaurant, but well to the other side of the Fraser River. My wife got nabbed by the fuzz while she was coming home afterwards.
She was also ticketed for speeding on top of the driving prohibition.
As it turned out, she happened to be driving her eldest son's car, so that vehicle is now impounded ─ for 30 days, apparently, and at our expense. I'm unclear on why she was using her son's car and not her own ─ perhaps her youngest son had use of it?
Regardless, yesterday was the first day in which my wife has been grounded, but at least her two sons can still get about in her car instead of the older lad's vehicle.
Normally Fridays are a full working day for my wife ─ she has been employed on a part-time basis at the restaurant of the friend whom she visited two evening ago, but Fridays have been reliably the one full working day that I am aware of (and I really do know very little of my wife's doings).
So last evening she readied to head on in to Vancouver, and her youngest son then apparently drove her to one of the SkyTrain stations here in Surrey. But before she left, she passed over her three pages of paperwork related to her 'criminal' activity behind the wheel the evening before, and asked that I see if I could pay online the two present financial penalties she is faced with: the $196 fine for speeding, and a "monetary penalty" of $500 for her "90 days FAIL" related to her Breathalyzer results.
Of course, I would be doing this with my VISA credit card.
Well, I was able to pay the speeding ticket ─ the fine was dropped to $171 for prompt payment; but the larger amount was a different matter. It seems to require payment in person.
She phoned me later in the evening, and said not to concern myself with the $500 penalty. I don't understand what's going on, but she said one of her friends ─ the downtown restaurant owner? ─ was somehow going to take care of it with her own credit card.
My wife has no valid credit cards ─ her credit card debt is being managed through a consolidation process by one of those credit management outfits.
At least I knew that she got to her destination. And it was apparent that she would of course not be returning home ─ I would be able to sleep undisturbed where she was concerned.
I napped through most of the latter evening, and got up again late into the midnight hour, if I am remembering correctly. My younger brother had just gone to his bedroom for the night.
I got some work done here at my computer, and even managed to do a set of 211 of my version of Hindu squats.
And then I embraced iniquitous behaviour and instead of returning to bed around 4:30 a.m. like I could have, I sat up until well beyond 6 a.m. before concluding my reprehensible conduct and finally going back to bed.
Sure, I got to sleep well enough; However, I was awake again and checking the time just after 8 a.m., which was too ridiculously soon to be starting my morning.
I managed to drift from full consciousness, but by a little after 9 a.m. I was wrestling with getting up and wondering how well I would be able to fare over the morning. My brother had to go somewhere yesterday morning shortly after 10 a.m. and thus deprived us of watching any of our usual fare on T.V. via our Android TV Box, so I was keen on getting back into our routine at 10 a.m. this morning.
Thus, I finally did rise and I came here to my computer to bide some time before joining my brother around 10 a.m. Most unfortunately, though, I was to hear him in a cellphone conversation with the same guy he went to see yesterday morning, and it was clear that my brother was once again going to be taking off from here early.
I got some clarification this time, but I am still a little fuzzy. I think that this other guy is having his "work truck" repaired somewhere, and my brother seems likely to be chauffeuring this fellow to wherever the work is being done. Perhaps yesterday my brother's purpose was to follow the other chap when the truck was being taken to the repair specialists, and then the chauffeuring officially began.
Of course, all of my brother's friends are drinking buddies, so he never did come home yesterday until after 9 p.m., I believe. Consequently, I have no idea if he will be back today before the evening, but is is already 11:56 a.m. ─ there is no time for any serious T.V. If he does return home soon, he will likely only have time for some restorative bed rest ere he heads out to resume his daily drinking somewhere.
This narration has effectively brought my day up to date, so I am going to take a break now and see about having the day's main scheduled exercise session, which specifically is a workout I will be tackling out in the backyard toolshed. I'll have a meal thereafter, and then catch as good a nap as I can manage.
That meal was a little later than anticipated, for once I had finished my dozen or so minutes of exercises, as I was returning to the house, it struck me that the day was nicer than even yesterday was ─ and yesterday I had sat outside for just over 40 minutes in a lawn- or deckchair, my bared feet on the ground, and facing directly into the Sun.
So I gave that a whirl again, and beginning at 12:47 p.m. put in at least 41 minutes. I was wearing a tee-shirt beneath my sweater, but I bet I could have just had on the tee-shirt ─ and my jeans, of course!
I then had my meal, which included a 250-mg tablet of niacin. The niacin flush is nothing new to me ─ I first experienced it almost 40 years ago back in (I believe) March 1981. I even introduced the experience to my father, and then we pranked a younger fellow who had taken to visiting my father.
The young guy was terrified when he began reacting to something as simple as a B vitamin, but he calmed down when my father and I assured him that it was a harmless experience that we had both undergone, and it was only temporary.
Perhaps I had even had the experience before then, so it may well be more than 40 years ago.
Anyway, I have thus known ever since that it was harmless; but then earlier this year I read a January 20 Mercola.com article titled Is Niacin a Missing Piece of the COVID Puzzle?
The article referred to research done by Dmitry Kats, and specifically to a preprinted research paper titled Sufficient Niacin Supply: The Missing Puzzle Piece to COVID-19? There are numerous locations where that paper can be found, but the one linked to in the article was at OSF.io here.
Section 6 beginning on page 9 of that paper delves deep into what is taking place with the flush, but the Mercola.com article quotes an earlier key passage that encapsulates the activity:
The 'niacin red flush' in fact is this thermodynamic exfoliation of ensuing disease, toxins, and (restoration of) free radical-damaged compounds being H+ (potential energy) pumped out the body.
It represents the anti-inflammatory or thermodynamic (i.e., energy transfer-like) therapy in action that only and exclusively sufficient oral intake of immediate-release NA is capable of (readily) accomplishing with potency.
So the niacin flush denotes a therapeutic cleansing. This is my own selected quote taken from that paper's section 6:
With continued consistent dosage, flushing will not be as prominent as before with each subsequent dose and ultimately reach a point where it will not occur, which can be explained as energy flow and its modulation into/out of the body approaching closer towards thermodynamic equilibrium as a result of previous flushes having flushed out inflammatory free radicals/ROS so therefore less remains to flush out with consecutive doses. This represents perhaps the ideal state that should be worked up to and maintained thereafter—in terms of NA dosing—to respectively reverse out and prevent inflammation, barring validation through further experimentation and epidemiological surveillance.
It seems to me that I've been taking 250mgs of nicotinic acid practically every day for maybe a couple of months, and I still almost always undergo that flushing response sufficient that I turn red and my clothes become most uncomfortable due to the wretched pricking action. I find that it is best if I just undress and go to bed, lying upon my side and remaining still, and perhaps drifting into a nap until I have again normalized.
Today, It was 2:22 p.m. once I was into bed. And following a short nap, when I then checked the time, it was 3:33 ─ I thought that those two readings were coincidentally rather peculiar.
My memory of earlier this year taking the first 500-mg whole tablet from the bottle that I bought will likely never be forgotten. If I had not known what was taking place, I would have believed myself facing death. Even after seeking bed fully naked, my condition lasted a couple of hours, I would say.
From that time, I have been cutting the full tablets in half. There is a most convenient groove across the middle of each of them, but only on one side. I find that groove and place a knife or edge of a scissors along it, and then covering the capsule with my hand to avoid either of the two parts flying away, I apply the pressure required to create the two halves.
Granted, I do not enjoy the continuing flush that 250mgs result in most of the time, but it's almost nothing like what that first 500-mg flush did to me.
I want to have a bath and then watch some T.V. while enjoying a can of strong (8% alcohol) beer or two, so I intend to bring this post to a close. However, I first want to reproduce exchanges I have had today with a woman I have been corresponding with via E-mail for maybe a decade or more. I won't identify Glenda beyond saying that she is American, and married to Mike, a Vietnam War veteran. I am also removing the full names of anyone else.
She had implied a couple of days ago that something was presently amiss in her life, and she promised to follow up and be more clear.
I received this at 8:41 a.m. this morning:
Yesterday, on FB, I asked for unspoken prayers. I truly believe in the power of prayer. Mikey and I have discussed it, and he and I have decided to explain what we are asking you to pray for. Mikey has a large "mass" on his left thigh that goes from his knee to his hip. It is causing him pain. X-rays show that there is no bone involvement. Yesterday we met with Orthopedic Oncologist, Dr. Nathan G. and part of his "Team"; a well-oiled, professional, friendly and comforting "team". Before the end of the day, we had a CT Scan scheduled for the 18th and a surgical biopsy scheduled for the 29th of this month, both at *** ******. Dr. G. refused to speculate on what this mass might be because, as he said, it could be any one of dozens of different things, and he needs to see pictures. I respect that. We are relieved to have an initial "plan". Once we know what we are dealing with, Dr. G. assured us that we will make a plan of action "together" and we will do whatever is necessary. At that moment a feeling of Peace came over me and I knew that God has got this, and that we are with the right Dr. and his "team". We will walk with Faith through this journey knowing that God hears all prayers, and we are confident that God never leads you to it without leading you through it. We thank God for His Blessings. I will update Mikey's condition when there is something to tell. Thank you so much for your prayers.
You have always been a good listener, G. I sometimes tell you things that I don't feel comfortable saying out loud to close friends and family, like all the coma dream stuff, that freaks my family out! Maybe it's because you are somewhat anonymous, and, maybe, it's because I don't worry about you judging me. I just feel free to be open and honest with you without worrying about what you will think of me, and I hope you feel that same connection. So, this is what is going on in my life. Thank you for always listening, G. I appreciate you and truly value that you are my penpal friend.
My reply:
Gosh, G.!
I can't even clearly gain a mental image of Mike's unwanted development ─ which I do not expect was generated overnight ─ let alone imagine how I would handle anything similar to it.
But if it did come on relatively swiftly ─ say, over the course of the past 10 days or so ─ then I can understand how it is that medical attention has only recently been sought, and nothing was ever done before (as in the case of some longtime and chronic progression).
If indeed it did develop remarkably fast, then this Dr. G. is probably correct about there being a fair number of causes quite unrelated to the main one that would pop into anyone's mind.
I haven't had an experience just like Mike's, but I have had my lowermost right leg and foot swell almost overnight as the result of what was first an oral infection that made all tissues in my mouth turn a fiery and brilliant fresh blood-red.
Certainly my mouth hurt like blazes, but so did my lower leg and the area around my inner ankle. But true to form for me, I hid the entire experience from everyone and never got anything checked out.
I even had to spend a lot of time in bed each day because I felt so infernally feverish, but I think that I just let on that I had a bad cold or flu or something.
What I believe happened in my case was that a bacterial oral infection managed to spread to my lower leg and foot in some bizarre fashion ─ the lymph nodes likely became infected. The ankle and the left inside of the lower bones of my leg were very sore to the touch.
That sensitivity lasted for weeks, if not months, even after the swelling managed to eventually reduce. I should have taken photos of myself, but I just wasn't interested.
The second experience I had involved what turned out to be the blockage of a major salivary gland over by my left ear ─ technically, it was a duct of the 'parotid gland'. The blockage became infected, and the swelling grew swiftly and was extremely painful ─ after three nights of barely any sleep, I finally got myself treated.
This time, I did take photos ─ even a few different members of the medical community did, for no one had ever seen a case as bad as mine. That was back in February 2017 ─ a couple of selfies I took outside of a specialized clinic where I was receiving antibiotic IV drips are here and here.
It was like I had a very large lemon embedded inside my face.
So there are definitely causes for mysterious swellings that have nothing to do with the big one that scares everybody ─ blockages and infections of various types are simply a couple of examples that I have personally experienced in the past few years.
Nevertheless, I am going to hold you guys in my thoughts and have those directed towards God. That's a promise.
I have since heard from her once more, and plan to respond back tonight. But here were her final comments:
G., I hope you never again ignore the first situation you described! That is how sepsis starts! And the mortality rate for sepsis is extremely high! You were very lucky! I am amazed at the huge swelling of your jaw and cheek with your second illness! Wow! But, still, it is the first illness you describe that is quite scary! You were very lucky, my friend. Thank you for your positive thoughts, G. Mike first noticed a problem with his left leg and his left shoulder about 4 months ago. He asked his primary care physician about it about 2 months ago, and he referred him to an orthopedic doctor, but it took weeks to get an appointment. The ortho doc took X-rays of his shoulder, looked at his leg, and sent him for physical therapy. It was actually the PT guy who realized the leg was a much more serious problem than the shoulder and it was the Physical Therapist supervisor that contacted the orthopedic doctor and insisted he re-examine my husband. That orthopedic doctor kind of dropped the ball in the first examination, but at the 2nd. exam he made a phone call and got Mike in to see Dr. G. in 2 days. So, the process took longer than it should have, but I refuse to look backward. Doctors make mistakes, they are as human as we are. By the way, G. You have kind eyes. Without the swelling, you are a fine-looking man!
Note that Glenda is well into her 60s, and I am now 71 ─ I was therefore 67 in the two photos. I have no idea what age her husband is.
Okay, it is a little after 5:30 p.m. ─ I must close today's post. Note that I have had no contact today as yet with my wife. Nor did my brother return since leaving this latter morning.
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