Yesterday was my day off and mom and I ran some errands and saw three different doctors. The first is her foot doctor who takes care of her toe nails - diabetic care. That went well. Next dropped her off at the nursing home to see hubby and I ran to Wally world for stuff we both needed. From there to the next doctor for a bone density test. She has Osteoporosis, not real bad. She measured a 2 on the 3 point scale. Those results were then transmitted to her primary doctor which was our last visit. Doctor had a long conversation with mom and asked how she was doing, if she had any concerns etc. She explained to him that she was concerned about the muscle mass in her legs and the weakness as a result. He talked to her for about 10 minutes about her history which includes a stroke, heart attack and the diabetes. He also reminded her that he has tried for 6 years to get her to take a prescription for Cholesterol and explained to her how the muscles are fed by the blood that can or cannot flow through. My mom refuses to take the prescription. Says she has prayed about it (she has) and the answer she keeps getting is no. It amazes me that she always gets the answer she is looking for through her prayers. That's another matter though. He then turned to me and asked me directly what I was concerned with. I told him I thought she was too inactive and unsociable. That I was concerned about her being by herself too much and not being physically active. I was also concerned about her hearing and her moods. He asked if she was depressed, she wouldn't let me answer the question. He could see there was a conflict between mom and I and explained to mom that perhaps some of what I was trying to relay to her was for her own good and that she should give it some thought. She said she didn't have bad moods and was generally very happy. I had to remind her of the time just last month when she went off on me, got so mad that I wasn't sure if she was going to hit me and eventually threw some of my stuff down the stairs. Mom has a temper but I know she gets that way when she needs something and doesn't necessarily know how to express it. She is lonely and I recognize that. I can't honestly say that it is all about missing her husband. They've only been married since 1999. Yes, I'm sure she thought when she married that since he was younger than her he'd be there to take care of her and it didn't turn out that way. More than anything, I think she's a bit angry about that. I know my mom. I married for the first time in 1999 as well. Up to that point we had lived together for most of my life. She announced the marriage less than 60 days prior to my wedding and I had never heard of him. She never spoke of him until there was a ring on her finger. Many in the family think she married because I was getting married. We are going to start some in home physical therapy. That will help me to know what kind of excercises will help her and perhaps keep her motivated. Her nutrionalist say's her vitamin d level is low and has increased her dosage. We have checked into assisted living, I told her if that is what she wanted it would be fine with me. We looked at units but she has decided against it. I think being alone although surrounded by other people did not thrill her. She says she feels safe in our home. The stairs are getting harder so I did discuss the stair mover chair, she wants to think about that which is good. We just had a electric reclining couch delivered and she loves it. I am fortunate in that if I need a break I do have two brothers that take her for a few days to give me that break. Mom is generally ready to come back sooner rather than later. The boys have kids, dogs and alot of things going on their homes and that gets to be too much for her. She takes trips as well. Last year she took 3 trips and I encourage her to do more if possible. Most are through her church. We will keep trugging along, it's nice to be able to bounce things off of everyone here at the table. I'm surrounded by men so I don't get much feedback from them. Thank you again.

DH and I met with the oncologist today. She's delightful, albeit only a teenager. haha. Seriously, she's a year or two past her fellowship at Northwestern's downtown hospital. I figure she must know all the latest about treatments. She explained everything carefull -- even calming my Very Anxious DH. It is probable that I do have MM, but I'm still a relatively healthy 77 -- no other ailments as far as we know. I'm not anemic. My calcium is high, but not out of range. I have no known kidney or bone problems. My light chain kappa/lambda ratio is 37; high is 100. I will have the bone marrow harvest Monday -- and turn in a 24-hour urine sample. In my future are a full body skeletal X-ray and a PET scan. They'll look for any places where I may have a cancer or other growth on my bones or in my organs and soft tissue. They will look for any genetic marker known to be involved in MM (test takes weeks for resolution). Presuming they find no bone, organ or soft tissue problems, we have a plan. The plan is to find drugs that will put my MM in remission. I'll start with a shot and a beer...no, no...a shot and two pills for chemotherapy. I'll go into the hospital one a week for this for...however long it takes to achieve remission. I'm glad we liked this MD and that I decided to go with the new hospital. It's even closer than Costco! Ten minutes, door to door. Beautiful new facility. Thanks so much for 'hanging in there' with me!

So glad the results are negative. Now to get your strength back... Being so careful I'm a bit surprised you picked up something with the flu season so low last winter. Masking, etc. But it has taken many by surprise. A few new testing methods now. Maybe as new as this year., 2021..a quad and a multiplex and a few in between. One test can determine a few possible viruses and more in the multiplex. Article yesterday, HERE ...NYTimes has a paywall but as far as I know it is lifted for virus related material. "...Before the pandemic, people were not always as curious to know the exact pathogen causing respiratory symptoms, according to Dr. Alexandra Valsamakis, head of clinical development and medical affairs at Roche Diagnostics Solutions. “I think there was always this perception of ‘Oh, whatever it is, it’s not going to kill us,’” Dr. Valsamakis said. But the terrible toll of Covid-19 has changed that. “There’s this need to actually know what’s there, more than there ever was before.” ..." This is a comfort and welcome advance for the Fall flu season.

I'm thinking if you live in a zip code with little health care, poor education, high crime, etc. and subsequently have poor health, moving after a lifetime of poverty during your last years to a better zip code may not necessarily bring more years (although moving to an area with plentiful, available, affordable health care is a plus). On the other hand, if you do like my father did and live early years in poverty and move to a better zip code while you are young, you may reap benefits and he did, living into his early 90s. This zip code concept may be changing, what with free breakfast/lunch programs, free vaccinations, free or inexpensive health programs for children in some poorer areas. I certainly hope funding for such programs, and educational programs, continues, and that runaway inflation does not strangle opportunity for those living in desperate circumstances.