Energized by a cane-assisted lunchtime stroll up and down the cul-de-sac on which we live, and a three-hour nap a bit later, I feel better now than I did this morning. With a little luck, the boost in my energy will stay with me for at least a few days. Last Thursday’s lab work revealed my blood potassium level is out of whack, according to a phone call from my oncologist’s office late this morning…so, I return to her office just after midday tomorrow and again Thursday to get IV fluids. Apparently, dehydration does something to one’s potassium level. Then, I go in for a PET-scan on October 16, return for more lab work on the 18th, and additional labs and a meeting with my oncologist on my birthday, October 21. My assumption, of course, is that the doctor plans to celebrate my birthday by giving me good news from the PET-scan. We’ll see.
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Tomorrow night, a monstrous hurricane, Milton, is forecast to slam into Florida’s west coast, bringing with it huge tidal surges and fierce winds. This new, very powerful, storm comes on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which caused severe damage in Florida and catastrophic flooding in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Among other towns and cities, Asheville, North Carolina was ravaged by floods that washed out roads and bridges, swept houses away, and left victims scrambling to recover from unimaginable wreckage. More than 200 people have been confirmed dead from Helene. Meteorologists and governmental authorities warn that Milton will bring devastation on an incredible scale; an exodus from Florida is clogging the state’s highways as residents attempt to flee for their lives. Is this the hoax right-wing Republicans talk about when dismissing climate change? The refusal by the Republicans in Congress to consider additional funding to enable FEMA to better respond to two back-to-back crises is yet more evidence: Members of that Party are more interested in political gamesmanship than in the well-being of their constituents.
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The world around us could be a happy place, if people allowed it. But it seems, today, to be designed for pain, depression, and destruction. Why would anyone want to carry on under those conditions? Those with hope, I suppose.
