Roscoe's Story

health

Today is the first day following my 2nd Pfizer covid vaccine shot and, as sort of expected, I'm experiencing the common temporary side effects. There is the soreness in the arm that received the injection and elsewhere (shoulders, etc.) and more than usual tiredness.

Most folks who report these say the symptoms pass quickly. So I also expect all will be returning to normal over the next few days. Given my age, this may take a little longer than is the case with younger folks.

So I'm not overly concerned. But I am adjusting by dialing down my level of activity, I'm rescheduling chores, and I'm resting.

All is well, and better days are coming.

Posted 21/Apr/2021 ~ 10:20 Central Time #blog #health #vaccine

by Roscoe

today's adventure

Earlier this afternoon she and I received our second (of the two-shot series) Pfizer covid vaccine shots.

Now the waiting game proceeds until we achieve “official immunity.” Some folks say that ten days after the second shot we're as immune as we can be, others say it takes two weeks until we're there. I think I'll play it safe and go with the longer estimate. That'll put May 4th as the date I can relax a little and begin mingling more in the outside world.

And the adventure continues.

Posted 20/Apr/2021 ~ 15:00 Central Time #blog #health #vaccine

by Roscoe

When I moved from Indiana to South Texas twenty years ago I was struggling (yeah, right) to get and keep my body weight down in the 220's. It was pretty consistently in the low to mid 230's then and I did not like that at all.

During the intervening years from then to now the weight increased slowly but steadily until it peaked at 255 lbs. Every time it got up into the 250s I'd begin trying more seriously to lose some until the body weight dropped down into the mid-240s, which I mistakenly considered my “normal.” And I held onto that mindset until as recently as this past December.

This morning the bathroom scales registered 232 lbs. after several days of moving steadily down through the 230s. And I'm feeling so much better! So after twenty years here in San Antonio I'm finally twenty pounds down.

If (when!) I drop another twenty pounds I'll be the same size as when I moved from Bloomington to Indianapolis. And another 10 or 15 pounds beyond that I'll be back to the man I used to be when I was zipping around in a UPS package car.

And the adventure continues.

Posted 29/Jan/2021 ~ 11:30 Central Time #RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #health

by Roscoe

Good news / bad news

First the good news: This is probably meaningless to anyone other than me and my doctor, but the bathroom scales were surprisingly kind to me this morning. The body weight has finally, for the first time in many weeks (months? I may check that.) dropped down into what I consider my healthy, feel-good range! Yay! Go me!

Then the bad news: It's really not so terribly bad, and not that unusual. But at 06:20 I'm up from one of the most insomnia-filled nights to come my way in a long time. This particular insomnia was most likely due to my disappointment at watching so many folks falling blindly for the psy op (psychological operation) and shenanigans being perpetrated by those attempting a coup against America.

That coup will collapse of course, in time. I suspect weeks, maybe months for the legal aspects to straighten out. But my disappointment and sadness at so many shallow-minded people falling for it will linger. And my tendency toward misanthropy finds justification.

At least my body weight is headed in the right direction. There is that.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 08 November 2020, ~06:50 Central Time.

#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #health

by Roscoe

As I move through the chores of this day...

medicine bottles and brother-in-law

.. I note that there are so many more bottles arrayed in front of me now than when I posted about filling my pill boxes earlier this summer. Yes, filling the morning and evening pill boxes is a chore that will probably be on my task list for the rest of my life. And it seems the older I get the more bottles I have to contend with. Most of the new additions are vitamins and supplements that have come as recommendations for strengthening the immune system to better ward off the covid pestilence that is among us.

I also note that someone is peeking at me from across the room. That would be my brother-in-law Rico, an engineer on a tanker ship, looking around the big boat anchor on my TV screen. We keep a family photo album set as the screen saver on the TV, and it cycles through the photos in the album when we're not watching any shows.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 17 August 2020, ~16:05 CDT, this is my post number 57/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #blog #RoscoeEllis #health #family #SevenTwoProject #photograph

by Roscoe

“Well, I see you've got the Covid 7.”

My doctor said and chuckled when he walked into the room where I was waiting this morning. “Yeah, I know,” I replied, smiling behind my face mask. I knew he was referring to the seven pounds I've gained since January, when he saw me last.

When he asked how my exercise program was working, I just shook my head and told him it wasn't going nearly as well as I'd hoped it would. Rather than lecture me, he consoled me. He knows I'm a walker. He said, “I know it's terribly hot out now. Heck, it's supposed to be 104 today! And tomorrow! Just remember, whatever exercising you can do will help your overall health tremendously.”

All in all, it was a great doctor's appointment. After examining me he told me that I looked good. He wanted me to continue what I was doing and he wanted me to see him again in three or four months. As I was checking out, his staff scheduled my next appointment for early December. And I walked out with a smile.

What a nice way to start the weekend!

And the adventure continues.

Published on 14 August 2020, ~17:00 CDT, this is my post number 56/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #blog #RoscoeEllis #health #Covid

by Roscoe

Today's healthy exercise in the fresh air was ...

bushy fence

... provided by my backyard fence.

Part of the backyard that borders the alley behind my property is secured by a six-foot chain link fence inside of which are some really big and monstrously dense bushes. I like the extra security those bushes provide, but their branches tend to poke through and reach over the fence. If I don't trim back the protruding foliage every so often, those darned bushes would overwhelm the fence and block the alley. And we can't have that.

At an earlier work session I trimmed the corner and first two sections of fence. The result of that work can be seen in the picture at the top of this post.

Late this morning and into the early part of this afternoon I took my trusty hedge clippers and rake back into the alley and finished the job. The photo below shows the much cleaner length of chain link fence we have now.

clean fence

And I can log this as today's fresh air workout. As those of you who use the old fashioned manual hedge clippers know, they do work the arm, shoulder, and chest muscles.

The adventure continues.

Published on 01 August 2020, ~18:15 CDT, this is my post number 51/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #SevenTwoProject #photograph #yardwork #blog #RoscoeEllis

by Roscoe

As July 2020 ends...

... and my end of month review winds down, there is more satisfaction than concern in my thoughts. And I like that.

I have adjusted rather well to the new lifestyle forced upon me by the CCP-flu and its somewhat related near worldwide lockdown / quarantine.

Financially, my income streams have remained steady and my expenses, especially as this month ends, are lighter than they have been for years. Baring the unforeseen, I expect my budget over the upcoming months to become increasingly easier to handle.

Healthwise, I have no major complaints. During this lockdown I have gained about ten pounds. But most people have gained some, and some folks have gained much more than me. Though I keep myself pretty seriously self-quarantined to avoid the Covid, I can exercise at home and get plenty of fresh air and sunshine working on my yard. Sylvia loves to cook so we eat healthy meals every day. With email, Zoom meetings, and social networking sites, I have all the social contact I want. An introvert by nature, I am very comfortable with what solitude this lockdown affords me.

As far as long term life goals are concerned, our move to the Philippines (which we would have been making next month had not the pandemic lockdowns happened) will not take place until late next year at the earliest and maybe not for two or three more years, depending on international economic and political realities that are out of my control. Of course, the longer we have to wait the more time we will have to prepare. And the move, when we do make it, will be that much easier and less stressful.

So July 2020 ends well in the Roscoe-verse. God willing, my end of August review should find my situation even better. I'm looking forward to it.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 31 July 2020, ~21:00 CDT, this is my post number 50/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #RoscoeEllis #blog

by Roscoe

They decided I should take a test.

Home test

A week or so ago my Health Insurance Company sent me a letter to inform me that in their opinion I should take an HbA1c test. They said they were sending me a home test kit that would be arriving soon, and that I should take the test and return the blood sample to their lab as soon as possible.

My first thought on receiving this letter was WTF? There's been so much hooplah in the news and social media over the last several months about the Covid CCP Flu, I automatically thought this test was somehow related to that. Some quick Internet research showed that wasn't the case at all.

HbA1c refers to glucose and haemoglobin joined together (the haemoglobin is ’glycated’). Haemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. The amount of HbA1c formed is directly related to the amount of glucose in your blood. Red blood cells live for up to 4 months, so HbA1c gives an indication of how much sugar you’ve had in your blood over the past few months. It’s different to the blood glucose test, which measures how much sugar you have in your blood at that moment.

So it's a diabetes/prediabetes test of sorts. My doctors check my A1c number regularly and they've never (yet) diagnosed me as diabetic. But I am older and pretty overweight, so it makes sense that the insurance company would want a close look taken.

Anyway, this morning I poked my finger, collected the blood sample, filled out the little form, and this afternoon I'll mail the collected material up to the lab in Dallas.

My next scheduled face-to-face appointment with the Primary Care Doctor is in a few weeks. This will probably give us something to talk about.

And the adventure continues.

Published on 28 July 2020, ~11:56 CDT, this is my post number 49/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #health #SeniorLiving #RoscoeEllis #blog

by Roscoe

Very good advice, this.

AirQuality

And I intend to follow it.

The National Weather Service warns me through a widget on my phone that the air quality is “Low” here in San Antonio, and I am advised to stay inside under air conditioning from 11:00 this morning until Noon tomorrow.

Luckily for me, I finished my yardwork (trimming bushes and soaking up healthy vitamin D) this morning and the only planned foray out my front door before Noon tomorrow will be to check the mailbox in a few hours.

So don't yell at me for spending so much time stretched out in my recliner. I'm only following orders, avoiding the dust blown over from Africa, and trying to stay healthy.

The adventure continues.

Published on 27 June 2020, this is my post number 38/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.

#100DaysToOffload #SeniorLiving #health #weather

by Roscoe