Another Day

 A woman on TikTok has been having endometrial problems. Lots of bleeding. Her doctors were planning on an ablation, but they wanted to change the name of the procedure ... so there would be no ... problems. 

Another woman has a form of birth control that she has inserted into her arm. It's the only form of birth control she can use without getting blood clots in her head. Her doctor isn't prescribing it anymore.

Neither of these women were trying to have an abortion. 

Madness. 

The only side effect I've had from any of the (Moderna) vaccines I've had has been mild headaches. 

Shrug.  

Pin Cushion

 I got my second booster today. I'm fully vaxed. I never leave my nest. Only two people come here with any kind of regularity. They are both fully vaxed and wear masks when they are in the world. It seems like I'm safe. 

But I don't really believe in safe. 

I haven't had any rection to the vax before. Knock wood. 

I also got Cortisone in both knees, a brace for what might be carpal tunnel and blood work to see if my liver and pancreas are ok.  

Older. 

What is Going On

 I remember when the capitol was being overrun by a group of mostly white men. I had the TV on, but I wasn't watching. It was background noise. I'd look over every once in a while, and wonder where the DC police were. Or the national guard. 

Yesterday, in Arizonia, law enforcement used tear gas to disperse a group of peaceful abortion rights protesters because they banged on the door of the capitol building and may have vandalized a statue.   

In LA a group of officers in their Darth Vader outfits knocked down the actor who played a part on Full House as a kid during a largely peaceful abortion rights protest. 

It feels very ... disproportionate. 

Or something. 

First Day

 This morning a nurse on TikTok posted about her night in the ER. A woman came in with an ectopic pregnancy. They were in a state where a trigger law had already gone into effect. The doctor was on the phone with his lawyer. The woman's ectopic ruptured. She didn't get treatment for nine hours, while the doctor was on the phone with his lawyer. Her abdomen was filled with blood. 

First day. 

I had an argument with someone about whether they would try to make ectopics illegal. Her position was that it was a lifesaving medical procedure and doctors wouldn't allow it to be blocked. Mine was that this isn't happening in an environment of wisdom. I had already listened to legislators argue that the "babies" in ectopic pregnancies had a right to life. 

 Here we go. 

Flailing

 Rage. 

Grief. 

Concern. 

Somehow, I managed to read a chapter of my book. It was hard to break away from the news. I'm not sure why. It had already happened. 

There were so many people in the streets.

I chose to stay with my feelings today. I could feel my brain filling up with expletive laced bombast. Nothing wrong with that but it felt like flailing. 

Rage.

We had a right taken away by the court. They did a lot of that right after Jim Crow. 

Grief.

I feel violent. 

We have an Abortion Access fund in the Pacific Northwest Fund. I had no idea. It's a problem. If it's not an issue that matters to you it lives in the shadows. I know now.  

Ramble

 This little chunk missing from my knee is annoying. Knees bend so the bandage keeps pulling away. I just redid the whole thing and it looked great. For a few minutes. It hurts a little bit every once in a while, but it's not a big deal. Just annoying. 

The last piece of cake is on the counter. Probably a little dry. I'll eat it later. 

I am 69 years old. But 69 is one of those numbers that makes middle school kids giggle. I'm just going to say I'm 70. I'll be 70 for two years. I feel like I might need that long to accept being 70. 

The hearing is on. It is scathing. 

I got HBO +. Reluctantly. I don't want to pay for more streaming services. But I wanted to see the documentary about the Jane collective. Which was really good. And then I saw the series based on the Elena Ferranti books referred to the Neapolitan Quartet. The HBO series is called: My Brilliant Friend. Movies and TV series made from books (particularly favorite books) are a worry. But this series is amazing. 

I am reading The Love Songs of W.E. Du Bois. There is a young woman in the book and young women in the TV series. I keep getting confused because I'm always worried about someone, but I don't always remember who, or why. 

Heh. 

Blood, Books and Cake

 I had a nice birthday, but it started off a little weird. I was using a reacher (you know those things old people use to pick things up) to pull up my pant leg and somehow (I really don't know how) it snagged my knee and tore out a big piece. There was blood pouring down my leg. I grabbed my Kleenex, which was the only thing close by and tried to compress the area but there was too much blood. I finally got it to slow down and got to the bathroom. I got a paper towel and managed to use it to apply compression and put two bandaids (I only have Hello Kitty bandaids) in a way to stop the bleeding. There was blood everywhere. All over me. All over the floor. 

Sheesh. 

I think I was in a little bit of shock. Mandy was on her way. 

The rest of the day was mellow. Mandy brought lunch. She'd been able to get me the cake I wanted (all I want is a simple chocolate cake but (as I mentioned in an earlier post) Trader Joes thinks chocolate cake is seasonal. I'm not a fan of butter creme and finding cake with fudge icing is (oddly) difficult. But she got me one and brought lunch and a stack of books. Cleaned up the blood. 

Another friend had given me flowers from the farmer's market and a cool wall hanging. Another sent me books. Kristina (of course) Sent five books from a series called object lessons. I'm a big fan of sets. 

So, I'm book rich and cake sated. Recovered from my blood loss. 

Older.