Medical Matters and Boiled Sweets

There are still colored leaves out there, looking a little more tattered and trodden with every passing day. I would like to say that I intentionally and cleverly included my feet in this photo, but that would be a lie. That was a complete accident.

I endured my neurodivergency training yesterday. Neurodivergence, as many of you guessed, is an umbrella term that means people who process and/or express information differently from "normal." (I'm putting that in quotes because I'm not sure any of us are truly standardized in that respect -- we all have our quirks.) This includes people diagnosed with autism or what used to be called Asperger's (but now apparently is not, partly because of Hans Asperger's involvement with the Nazis), as well as people with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and other conditions.

The training only lasted an hour and a half and I did learn a few new things. I suppose my awareness was raised even if I may not practically apply that knowledge every day.

Then I went into the non-fiction section and spent about an hour shelf-reading, which was peaceful and satisfying. I found several books that were way, way out of place. This speaks to my own neurodivergence, which probably includes a touch of OCD.

Dave had a doctor's appointment yesterday with a rheumatologist, who thinks he has something called Anti-TNF Lupus-like Syndrome. He's been struggling with facial swelling, rashes, red eyes, vision issues, eczema, ear problems, fatigue, you name it -- and apparently all this can be triggered by treatment with Infliximab for inflammatory bowel disease. He's been taking Infliximab for years. So the doctor gave him some steroids and is going to recommend to his gastroenterologists that he be switched to a different drug for his Crohn's.

He also learned that his hernia surgery has been scheduled for Dec. 6. This has been on the horizon for ages and he's glad to finally get a firm date -- especially since he can use Winter Break to recover. We figure he can recover just as well in Whitstable as here, so we don't think it will affect our holiday plans. He will need to stay several days in the hospital after the operation, though.

We're in for some fun times here at Chez Olga.

Dave's medical literature sternly warned him that he was not to eat for several hours prior to his surgery, including chewing gum and "boiled sweets."

"What the heck is a boiled sweet?" I said.

"I think it's hard candy," he said -- and indeed it is. If I ever knew that hard candy was boiled, I'd forgotten it.

Several nights ago I put the garden cam back out, to see what's wandering around out there in the wee hours. (I gave it a break for several months.) Here's the result -- some good shots of foxes, a couple of neighborhood cats, and of course Olga.

This afternoon we're off to Bray, so I'll be coming to you tomorrow from our hideaway in Berkshire. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!