Hello Again

Okay, so I have been remiss.

It is now more than 6 months since I last updated this blog. All of you. . . Some of you. . . OK, two of you complained about this.

My problem was that I was pretty sure that I didn’t have anything to say. I had come through the surgery well and didn’t have anything else I wanted to comment on. And unlike some people on the internet, if I didn’t have anything to say, I was damned well not going to say it.

Ah, but since this is a blog about my health and my health—or lack of it—has again reared its ugly head, it is time to blog about it. And please, someone tell me if I am whining.

The good news is that I only have a hernia. The bad news is that it is a very big hernia, which is actually good news because small hernias are the ones that cause problems.

When we last left our heroine, she was cheerfully recovering from an abdominal hysterectomy and her scar had healed quite nicely. For those of you who need an anatomy lesson, or at least one on my anatomy, the external scar is what is called a bikini line incision and is horizontally across my abdomen at the level of the top of a bikini bottom, if I wore a bikini, which I don’t.

However, the internal incision, where they cut through the muscles and into my abdomen (and repaired a moderately sized umbilical hernia while they were at it) is vertical. This incision has apparently given way. After the surgery, I was pleased as punch that I had a flat abdomen for the first time since I was around 32. I had no potbelly to speak of, or to run your hand over, not that anyone has tried lately.

But a potbelly developed. First, it was just a little pooching out above the exterior incision. But within a month or so, it got bigger and bigger. I saw Dr. Schwartz. He said it was a hernia. I saw Dr. Caputo. He said same.

Sigh.

So, I am now in the process of checking out good hernia repair people in the Putnam area because this time I want to stay closer to home.

In other news:

* My house is for sale. It has been for sale since early summer. It went on the market about a week before news reports appeared that the real estate market was tanking. (Sigh) It has been seen about 15 times or so. I was thinking it would not sell before spring, since no one usually shops for houses in winter, but this has been a very warm winter and it has been shown twice in January. I would like to stay in this area, but that depends on where I get a better paying job. (I had sworn to myself that I would not sell the house for at least a year after Bernie died. This was a wise idea that bit me on the ass. I knew by the fall of 2005 that I should sell the house but waited anyway. I could have sold it easier then. Sigh.)

* I am looking for a better paying job. What with the surgery, my freelance writing career took it on the chin and I have realized that I need a nice paying full time job. (Note: Please, someone hire me. Just don’t ask me to carry heavy objects, cf. hernia.)

* Is there anything in the universe as dismal as the dating situation for women my age? I had my profile on a couple of dating sites and have gotten nowhere. In a year, I have gone out on two blind dates. I did get turned down by one guy who found out that I had a blog and said that he did not want to be blogged about. As if I would. The worst experience was with eHarmony. Soulmate, my ass. About twice a month, I would be told that I was a good match for some guy. I would be instructed to contact him through the site. By the time I got to the site, he had already said “No, thanks.” I could understand this happening once or twice. But seven times in a row? Even I am not that revolting and these are men who are supposed to be looking for someone just like me. I complained to the management of eHarmony and asked why I was being matched with men who did not want to be matched with me. They wrote back and told me to put up nicer pictures of myself and punch up my profile (which I thought was fine). So, instead of that much-vaunted personality profile matching they say they use, it still came down to how well I photograph. (Big sigh)

* Wait, here is something more dismal! Another health problem! My thyroid has been acting up a bit. I am hypothyroid and take a thyroid supplement. About twice a year, I get my blood tested and they adjust the dose. During this check up, my endocrinologist said she thought she was feeling a node on my thyroid. This got checked by ultrasound last week, but I have not idea what is what yet. She also raised my thyroid dose, which left me feeling jittery and having trouble sleeping over the holidays. Instead of merry, I was cranky.

So, in general, all the parts of my life are up in the air. And I am so lousy at juggling.

Oh, and on a side note, early in the fall, my suscom.net, my ISP, was taken over by Comcast. There was supposed to be a period where mail sent to my old suscom.net address was to be sent to comcast.net. This did not happen. Several people thought I dropped off the face of the earth or some such thing. If you want to reach me, email me at valdeben@comcast.net.