Country Life The Retirees:
My Journey through KidneyStone Land
A beautiful d...: My Journey through Kidney Stone Land A beautiful day in March 2012 I was having a wonderful time choosing new chickens for my chicken...
Saturday, May 18, 2013
My Journey through Kidney
Stone Land
A beautiful day in March 2012 I was having a wonderful time
choosing new chickens for my chicken coop .
Suddenly I felt something moving within my body, kind of like bad gas
pains starting on the left side of my back at my waist line. I tried to ignore it but it continually got
worse. It slowly moved around to the
front of my abdomen. By the time I got
to my vehicle I was in trouble…extreme agony.
The pain traveled to my lower abdomen.
I was grabbing at my stomach with both hands, digging into the skin and
squeezing as hard as I could as I moaned and groaned loudly. My husband was driving and I was in the front
passenger seat, bent over backwards with my head in the back seat. When we arrived at our house it took
everything I had to walk into the house.
I was bent over and kept falling to my knees in the driveway. I felt extreme pressure in my lower abdomen
and was doubled over wondering if I was taking my last breath. And then the pain began to ebb. I had no idea what I had just
experienced. I’m an RN and yet I was
thinking everything except “kidney stone”.
It was like an animal had just clawed its way through my body. The pain was gone and I had no further
symptoms. It left as fast as it came,
except for the soreness and bruising on my stomach from my vice like grip.
Fast forward a year later to March 2013. I began to have problems urinating. It wasn't anything I couldn't deal with. I had recently become a vegetarian and
thought possibly the change in diet was irritating the lining of my bladder or
maybe I had a urinary tract infection (UTI).
I’m not prone to infections and don’t believe in 64 years I've ever had
one, but in menopause I have learned that anything can happen to my body. I did
everything I could to take care of my problem, drinking cranberry juice, taking
large doses of granular Vitamin C by the spoonfuls. It was not improving. I was savvy enough to know that if it was a
UTI that the Vitamin C should take care of it.
I made an appointment with my general practitioner, saw the physician
assistant who prescribed antibiotics and took a urine specimen. My first pee in the cup began my long journey
to diagnoses and wellness. A week later
the PA called to tell me I did not have an infection…which by now I had figured
out on my own.
I spoke to a friend about my problems and she informed me
that she strongly suspected a kidney stone because she had been through the
same thing. She recognized my
symptoms. I began to read about my
symptoms on the internet (oh how I love technology). I knew what was wrong with me. I made an appointment with a urologist in San
Antonio, Dr. Haverkorn, a woman. I
wanted a woman because women listen to women and understand a woman’s body more
than a man. I researched her
qualifications and felt like I had chosen well.
My appointment was at 9:40am on April 5, 2013. I arrived early and was greeted by a rude
receptionist. She asked for my insurance
card and driver’s license. I handed her
my license telling her I did not have my insurance card. She informed me she had to have my insurance
card. I told her I did not have it, that
it was being mailed to me. She asked me
if I had lost it. I ignored her and told
her again it was being mailed to me. I
also informed her that I had given her all my information several days earlier
over the phone. She asked me if I had
filled out the papers she mailed to me.
I told her I did not receive the papers…..(3 weeks later I still have
not received them) . She was clearly irritated
and handed me a clip board with several forms to fill out. Even though I rarely go to doctors and for
obvious reasons, I am fast at filling out their paper work, mainly because I
take no meds, have had no history of medical conditions to speak of and stay as
far away from doctors as I can. I did
it in record time and gave them back to her.
I would like to mention here that there are many doctors in our family
and I mean them no disrespect. They are
young and just starting out in their profession. I hope the blog of my journey will stay with
them as they grow in their professions.
The purpose of this blog is not to complain or criticize but to not
remain silent. Silence will never change
anything in this world and my goal here is to make a change no matter how small
it may be. “One small voice for
mankind.”
As I mentioned before I am an RN. I’m not a doctor but I paid attention in
nursing school, especially to the part where I was taught to “listen” to my
patient. To treat the patient, not the
disease, in other words to take a holistic approach to their care.
Back to Dr. Haverkorn.
My appointment as I said was at 9:40, I was already livid with the
treatment I experienced from the receptionist.
I should have listened to my intuition and walked out but I was in
pain. Two hours later at 11:45 I was
ushered into an examining room after having peed in my second cup. I’m getting good at that. I waited for 15 minutes before the doctor
arrived. She apologized saying she was
“on call” and had an emergency procedure.
I was polite. I went through my
complaints, told her I suspected a kidney stone. She did not hear me. It was after 12 noon,
she was hungry and her staff had already gone to lunch. She
did not examine me. She decided the lining of my bladder was irritated. I’m
assuming she meant interstitial cystitis but she did not give me enough credit
to even offer up that term. She gave me
a list of foods to eliminate from my diet.
Being a vegetarian it meant I would starve to death if I followed her
list. She also gave me a prescription
for a med that would numb the urinary tract and turn my pee purple. I had already been using a similar over the
counter med AZO which turned my pee red but didn’t help much. I left her office feeling slighted and angry,
asking myself why did I waste my money?
I knew the list of foods was not my offender but I vowed to give it a
try. Again my pee test was negative for
bacteria or white blood cells. I went to
the pharmacy to get the prescription and was informed it would cost over $100. I did not purchase it. I went home and read some more on the
internet and began drinking more water and thinking.
Several days passed and I was getting more and more
miserable, peeing 10 or 11 times in the middle of the night….unable to pee
during the day. I knew something was
blocking my ureter. I finally decided
to make an appointment with an OB/GYN.
My daughter suggested the clinic she uses. Female doctors. I figured since I had not had a gyno exam in
over 15 years that maybe this was a good time to do it and possibly rule out
any problem in that area. This was a
good doctor…Dr. Karen Hasty, she listened to me. She did what a good doctor should do. She spoke with me in her office, listened,
really actively listened to my problems then took me to the exam room and took
a look. I was in great shape for an old
lady who had delivered 5 full term babies.
But she was stumped, what was causing my pressure and pain. I began to think “tumor”. She had an ultra sound done on the spot and
discovered a large foreign object sitting on top of my bladder where the ureter
enters the bladder. A stone and a large
one, 2 inches in length. It looked like
a stalactite hanging from a cave. She
said I needed to see a urologist and I moaned.
I told her about my experience with Dr. Haverkorn and she suggested I
see a Dr. Hvlanka, Urologist/OB , he was was great, so sweet. Ok I didn't want to see a male doctor but I
agreed with her recommendation. I heard
her call him and tell him I had a 2 inch stone on top of my bladder. I was able to get an appointment with him on
Monday, April 29 almost a week later.
I went home and read more on the internet…I was
learning. I forced myself to drink a lot
of fluids hoping to make a difference but judging by the ultrasound picture of
my foreign object I didn’t think it would help much.
An hour and a half drive into San Antonio on Monday morning
to see this “sweet, good doctor” was going to fix me. I’m an optimist
sometimes. I filled out more forms, peed
in another cup, had an xray , another ultrasound, a cystoscopy, and the doctor didn't find much. Bladder was clear but
ultra sound revealed a blockage somewhere.
I tried asking about the results but was treated like an idiot who was
incapable of understanding. He ordered
blood work and a CT scan with dye contrast.
Blood was taken and I understood them to tell me to go to the waiting
room and wait again. I waited 30
minutes. My dear husband went around the
corner to the OB’s office to get the copy of my ultrasound exam from her
because it showed the obvious foreign object which did not show up on the
urologists ultrasound. I gave it to the
receptionist and she wondered why I was still there. She told me I was finished for the day and
should have checked out and made an appointment for the CT scan. If she had not seen me sitting in the waiting
room again I would probably still be there.
I saw the doctor standing at the counter inside the office and
approached him to show him the results from the OB. He clearly was not interested. He was done with me for the day. I tried talking to him, I had many questions
for him but he was not having it. I
showed him the picture of the strange object in my abdomen and he dismissed it
saying the ultra sound was not good, he could not use it….he needed the CT
scan. I just wanted him to acknowledge
it and make a suggestion as to what it might be. I suggested it was a large stone. He would not commit and became obviously
irritated and walked away from me. I
went to his nurses who were standing around waiting for something, probably
lunch which was being delivered and smelled very good. I said I had questions. They were irritated, what was I still doing
there? I asked if this could be caused
by the well water I had been drinking for the last six years. They would not commit, said they couldn't tell me because they didn't know what my UFO was. I said, “Well suppose it is a calcium oxalate
stone, would you suggest I drink soft water or bottled water.” They said, “We can’t tell you that, again
because we don’t know what it is.” I was
about to go through the ceiling at this point.
I said, “What about the pain, I've got another week before I come back,
what am I suppose to do, how about a med that might dissolve the stone. It says here in your pamphlet there are meds
for that.” They said, “We don’t know
what it’s made of so we can’t give you a med.”
I said, “What if I drop down writhing on the floor screaming in pain,
then what”. They said, “Go to emergency
room”. I said, “And they will give me
morphine”. They agreed. I turned around and left.
What the hell? If I
had treated a patient like this during my years as working as a nurse I could
not live with myself. I could not go
home at night and sleep a peaceful sleep knowing that I had not done my best by
my patients to ease their pain or address their concern. I was disgusted, livid and feeling a myriad
of emotions I could not even express.
This is why I don’t go to doctors if I can avoid it.
These are reviews of Dr. Hlavinka and his staff that I found
on the internet:
“Knowing that my husband was obviously in pain
and scared, the Dr. showed no sign of compassion or willingness to help him
with his problem.”
“Staff will play on computer internet and ignore
you. They will send you walking uncomfortably for no reason down long hallways.
Urinary problems they just don't get...they enjoy watching a patient struggle
and wait. They will spill urine on you. Doctor won't even be there. What's
next? Don't waste your time there to stomach the incompetence.”
“Dr. Hlavinka and his staff are uncaring and
RUDE. The communication from the office would go a long way to alleviating
patient fears and distress. However, they don't care what you need or want.
Losing test results and not returning phone calls is par for the course with
this office. Then when we finally did get a call from the Dr. He was rude and
unapologetic for himself and his staff. The patient is your client (customer)
and you will not stay in business this way. Peoples lives are important!!!!”
“Dr. R. Snitzler referred me to you. I will not
be coming. Over a two month period no one has answered the phone,I have called
all day long from 8:00am on. No one calls to confirm appts.,when I arrived at
your office I was accused of never being at home so they could cancel my appt.
as you weren't coming in that day. I said I am home every day and have a
message machine.The desk clerk checked and said your office did not have a
phone number for me. Your staff is incompetent or lazy--they are rude,
disinterested,and not suitable for the line of work they are in at present. It
is your reputation. One good and well paid RN could run that office with
efficiency and care for worried people with health problems.”
“Very unhappy with the care given by Dr.
Hlavinka. He caused more problems than what I started with. It is hard to get
an appointment and the staff are not friendly and caring like you would expect
especially dealing with many older patients and patients with cancer.”
On May 1, 2013, I went for the IVP, Intravenous Pyelogram at
San Antonio Urology, next door to the Uro’s office, all part of the same
system. The technologist, Rene was a
wonderful, compassionate human being.
He’s at the top of my list as a human and believe me you gotta be pretty
good to get to the top of that list! He
was normal! He knew his business and was
not so busy or so threatened by questions that he felt the need to be rude or
defensive. This man sat me down with my
husband present and began explaining to me everything he was about to do to me. He walked me through every step telling me
what would happen and how it would feel.
He assured me he had a crash cart nearby and knew how to use it in case
I developed an allergy to the dye (such as anaphylactic shock). He told me how the machine worked and that it
would be talking to me telling me when to hold my breath and when to
breathe. At some point I asked a
question about results and he assured me my doctor next door would inform me of
the results. I assured him that I was not
so sure I would be able to get any information from the doctor or his staff
because they were incredibly rude. He
was surprised and empathetic and told me that he was going to make up for that
and walk me through this test imparting all the knowledge he could to me
without actually diagnosing me because he was not allowed to do that! Fair enough.
The test was a walk in the park and the machine was so fascinating. As I lay there I thought about the brains
behind the making of this machine and I was in awe. I appreciate how extremely intelligent humans
can be and how advanced we have become since days of the covered wagon and
surgery without anesthesia. After the
test was complete, maybe 15 minutes all total, this wonderful gentleman, Rene
extended his hand and helped me from the table.
He led me into the computer room and showed me the results and how the
machine “dissected” my body. The last
segment showed my unidentified object, the foreign invader lolling around at
the entrance of my bladder….kind of stuck in the door between the ureter and
the bladder.
My next task was to call the Uro’s office and ask the nurse
what to expect next Tuesday when I see the Uro again. She informed me it would be a consultation to
review the IVP CT Scan and decide how to get the invader out of my body.
I stopped at the local grocery store to purchase
lemons. I figured lemons are acid and
maybe drinking lots of lemon juice over the next few days I might be able to
wear down the edges of the stone in order to help it pass through the door to
my bladder.
Thursday morning May 2, I called the Uro’s office again to
ask if they could prescribe a medicine to dilate the ureter and perhaps the
juncture to the bladder. I spoke to a
nurse named Patricia. She asked me how I
knew about such a thing and what was the name of the med. I told her I did not know the name but knew
there was such a thing. She then asked
me how I knew about it and who told me about it. Why did she ask me such questions? What difference did it make. She was clearly being rude and trying to
intimidate me. She informed me the
doctor was not in and therefore she could do nothing for me. After my call
ended with this little twit, I was
verbally chastising myself for forgetting the name of the med so went to the
computer and looked it up, “Flomax”, of course and she knew the name of it, she
was one of the “bad guys”. Why do these
people go into medical care? Why?
A week later I returned to the Uro for the results of my CT
Scan. I waited in his waiting room for 2
hours before being ushered into an exam room.
Apologies were offered for the long wait. The doc had been at the hospital. After about a 20 minute wait in the exam
room, “his majesty” entered. Again we
were into the lunch hour. Having had
experience with this I knew he was hungry and this was going to be a rush
conference. I could feel it, it was in
the air, his need to escape. So he asks
me how I have been feeling. I tell him
the stone is gone, that I have been symptom free for five days. He agreed and said it was probably pushed out
by the dye contrast from the IV during the CT Scan. I did not tell him that I had consumed
massive amounts of granular Vitamin C, fresh lemon juice and hydrochloric acid
since last seeing him. I knew I had
dissolved it on my own. Thanks to my 20
year old son who is a geography/archaeology major. He told me that since we live on limestone
rock which was once an ocean bed that my stone was most probably made of
calcium and the best way to dissolve calcium is with acid. I had read many conflicting testimonials on
the web regarding lemon juice cures. I
decided to give it a try. Within a day
of starting the lemon juice I began to notice a difference in my urine stream
and the pressure and inflammation was obviously subsiding.
The Uro suggested I make another appointment in a couple of
months for another CT Scan. I knew I
would not. I asked him about well water
and he suggested I do not drink it but instead drink bottled water. I asked him about the safety of vaginal
estrogens and he babbled his speech about them being safe with no side effects
that he was aware of with any of his patients.
Of course I knew I would not be using them. I asked for samples which he gave me. I will be giving them to a friend of mine who
swears by them. I came home and read
more on the use of these hormones and decided it would be a cold day in hell
before I injected such a thing into my body.
I would rather age naturally instead of take my chance with breast
cancer, endometrial cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, hair loss, dementia
and weight gain. Next I caught a glimpse
of his white coat as he flew out the door.
Taking cue from him I did the same.
I couldn’t wait to be out that door, into the bright sunshine and be
done with that office forever. As I
exited, I looked up at the sky and inhaled deeply, as I shouted, “Free at last”. Yes I felt free from the stone, free from the
illness. I had regained my power which I
felt being slowly stripped from me as I dealt with this illness and the
incompetent medical people I had been surrounded by.
I called the Uro’s office a few days later to ask for my
test results. A week later the bills
began to arrive for the numerous testing I had subjected my body to. $$$$, it was adding up fast. I received the results of my tests and was
absolutely flabbergasted at the Uro’s report.
What a liar he is. I can’t even
be nice and say that he embellished his report because that would be lying on
my part. This man actually said he
counseled me on the use of vaginal estrogens and to call his office for any
questions about possible side effects or reactions and reminded me of the
continuing need for breast cancer screening. On my mother’s ashes, those words never came
from that man’s mouth. Also he did not
address the fact that I might continue to make kidney stones and that it might
be beneficial to me if I increased my acid intake my drinking lemon water. However I must give him credit for having a
brochure regarding that in his office that I might or might not have picked up
while waiting patiently for him. Perhaps
that’s why we are called patients?
Patient beware is my advice if you are dealing with any type
of illness which surely you will be as you age.
Always ask for your reports. Read
them thoroughly over and over. They are
not easy to understand but you can always research the meaning of words or
phrases you don’t understand. In my
case, reading the report from my CT Scan I discovered that I do have other
issues that were not addressed by this doctor.
These issues may be just normal signs of aging or could possibly be the
beginning of serious medical problems, however how would I know? The Uro was treating a kidney stone, not the
patient. The ball is in my court again
to find out what these issues are. I
will have to take this report to an internist I suppose and spend a lot more
money. I’m hoping my family doctor can
interpret this for me. What I’m trying
to emphasis here is that if I had not asked for the report and read it myself,
all of this would have gone by the wayside and perhaps I would begin having
symptoms and eventually after much repeat testing and scans an astute doctor
would recognize a problem and begin treatment if it is not too late….or better
yet it is just part of the aging process as the body begins to rot like a piece
of fruit and I will live well into my old age, rotting slowly!
I had to write and publish this blog for the world to
see. Maybe one doctor will listen and
feel guilt. Maybe one doctor will change
and listen to their patient, treat the whole person and not usher them in and
out like cattle in a chute. A copy of
this blog will go to all the doctors involved in treating my kidney. Perhaps they won’t even read it. But maybe one will and maybe that one will
remember their teaching in medical school.
Maybe just one.
A big thank you to Dr. Karen Hasty of Four Seasons OB/GYN
for her “holistic” treatment and to Rene at San Antonio Urology for being such
a gentleman and explaining each step of the CT Scan process and what I would
experience.
Stay well and take care of your bodies and take the lead in
your medical care.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Fork or Knife?
A couple of months back my husband watched a documentary in my absence. I suppose I was off caring for my granddaughter at the time. When I returned home he told me about the documentary, "Forks Over Knives". He said it was about eating meat vs not eating meat. Immediately my back went up and I informed him that was against everything I have ever believed. Of course I have known many vegetarians and always felt they were weird or missing out on protein and some awesome food. Two weeks passed before he convinced me to watch the documentary. I'm no genius but neither am I stupid. It all made total sense to me. I wanted to be healthy and I could lose a few pounds also so I agreed to give it a shot. One week of vegan eating to see how I liked it. I could just imagine my three son's reaction to me giving up meat. They totally embrace good food. They are all excellent cooks and so is my daughter. My daughter would be more accepting but those boys will think I've lost my mind. They are always on a quest to cook the perfect steak, ribs or brisket. "Mama has lost it!"
At the end of that week I had dropped several pounds and felt great. I felt light and different. I don't know how to explain it but there was a difference. So I embraced the vegan way for a month. At the end of the month I had lost a few more pounds, still felt great but decided cooking without eggs and cheese was not satisfying my need to create yummy meals. I added eggs and cheese in small portions. I replaced my dairy milk with soy, almond and coconut milk...coconut being my favorite for making curry. The almond is delicious with our homemade granola. I was hooked....so now I'm calling myself a vegetarian.
I love animals. I believe we all descended from them. Sometimes I look at people and think they look like some sort of animal. I've known lots of T Rex type humans. By the way, they eat meat! I have a flock of 10 chickens that I talk to on a daily basis. They think I'm their mommy. I don't eat them, never have. I eat their eggs and observe them. There is a lot to be learned from watching animals. Hens can teach you much about women. If you ever have the opportunity to sit and watch chickens for an hour you will see they are not dumb birds. They problem solve.....I have rearranged their home several times and each time they must figure out how to get to their nesting box or perch. They sit and study it and attempt and study more until they figure it out....and they always do.
I have shot and killed deer a few times and couldn't believe it was me at the trigger end of that rifle. I still don't know how I did it and I still feel guilt. If you are a hunter reading this I know exactly what you are thinking. And if you are of a religious nature you are probably thinking God put animals here for our survival. Well I'm neither hunter or religious. I believe in science because it's a tangible proof.
So this documentary "Forks Over Knives" has a lot of scientific reasons for giving up meat. Honestly I wish it was one way or the other but it's not. I'm thinking the cattle industry brings in a lot of revenue producing meat, milk, cheese, butter yogurt, etc. Killing the animal for it's meat is not something I want to be a part of any more. I watched another documentary that showed how animals are raised and slaughtered and it made me cry. Calves taken from their mothers, put in small cages and fed special food to make their meat tender, hence "Veal". I have driven past our local slaughter house when a truck load of pigs were being led to slaughter. Hearing their screams as they were hit in the back of the head and killed instantly made me cry. Pigs are very intelligent animals. Chickens raised in tiny cages on top of each other, never being allowed to roam or do the things chickens do thus becoming deformed.
I can't change everything but I can change what I do and make a tiny little difference in my corner. I feel good about it. I have lost weight, my blood pressure went from 130/80 to 117/70, my blood sugar stabilized at 80 and stays there and my stomach doesn't hurt any more. I have also learned to cook some amazing new dishes. I never get hungry because I eat all day but I eat good, real food.....apples, peanut butter, almonds, oranges, bananas, stir fry, beans, all veggies, tahini and my new meat is "mushrooms". I create something new every day from a wide selection of vegetables and spices.
The deer on my property now roam safe and free. Thank you "Forks Over Knives".
One of my favorite recipes:
A few hands of baby spinach
2 eggs
Any seasoning of choice
Whisk together
Pour into a heated frying pan with a little olive oil
Cover, reduce heat to very low and cook still egg sets
Remove lid, cut into fourths, flip each piece and brown the flip side without the lid on.
I also add mushrooms to this sometimes.
You can do the same thing with a grated potato and two eggs. It's like eating hash browns.
This makes a quick meal any time of day. Add a big kale and avocado salad on the side and partake of a nutritious, yummy meal.
At the end of that week I had dropped several pounds and felt great. I felt light and different. I don't know how to explain it but there was a difference. So I embraced the vegan way for a month. At the end of the month I had lost a few more pounds, still felt great but decided cooking without eggs and cheese was not satisfying my need to create yummy meals. I added eggs and cheese in small portions. I replaced my dairy milk with soy, almond and coconut milk...coconut being my favorite for making curry. The almond is delicious with our homemade granola. I was hooked....so now I'm calling myself a vegetarian.
I love animals. I believe we all descended from them. Sometimes I look at people and think they look like some sort of animal. I've known lots of T Rex type humans. By the way, they eat meat! I have a flock of 10 chickens that I talk to on a daily basis. They think I'm their mommy. I don't eat them, never have. I eat their eggs and observe them. There is a lot to be learned from watching animals. Hens can teach you much about women. If you ever have the opportunity to sit and watch chickens for an hour you will see they are not dumb birds. They problem solve.....I have rearranged their home several times and each time they must figure out how to get to their nesting box or perch. They sit and study it and attempt and study more until they figure it out....and they always do.
I have shot and killed deer a few times and couldn't believe it was me at the trigger end of that rifle. I still don't know how I did it and I still feel guilt. If you are a hunter reading this I know exactly what you are thinking. And if you are of a religious nature you are probably thinking God put animals here for our survival. Well I'm neither hunter or religious. I believe in science because it's a tangible proof.
So this documentary "Forks Over Knives" has a lot of scientific reasons for giving up meat. Honestly I wish it was one way or the other but it's not. I'm thinking the cattle industry brings in a lot of revenue producing meat, milk, cheese, butter yogurt, etc. Killing the animal for it's meat is not something I want to be a part of any more. I watched another documentary that showed how animals are raised and slaughtered and it made me cry. Calves taken from their mothers, put in small cages and fed special food to make their meat tender, hence "Veal". I have driven past our local slaughter house when a truck load of pigs were being led to slaughter. Hearing their screams as they were hit in the back of the head and killed instantly made me cry. Pigs are very intelligent animals. Chickens raised in tiny cages on top of each other, never being allowed to roam or do the things chickens do thus becoming deformed.
I can't change everything but I can change what I do and make a tiny little difference in my corner. I feel good about it. I have lost weight, my blood pressure went from 130/80 to 117/70, my blood sugar stabilized at 80 and stays there and my stomach doesn't hurt any more. I have also learned to cook some amazing new dishes. I never get hungry because I eat all day but I eat good, real food.....apples, peanut butter, almonds, oranges, bananas, stir fry, beans, all veggies, tahini and my new meat is "mushrooms". I create something new every day from a wide selection of vegetables and spices.
The deer on my property now roam safe and free. Thank you "Forks Over Knives".
One of my favorite recipes:
A few hands of baby spinach
2 eggs
Any seasoning of choice
Whisk together
Pour into a heated frying pan with a little olive oil
Cover, reduce heat to very low and cook still egg sets
Remove lid, cut into fourths, flip each piece and brown the flip side without the lid on.
I also add mushrooms to this sometimes.
You can do the same thing with a grated potato and two eggs. It's like eating hash browns.
This makes a quick meal any time of day. Add a big kale and avocado salad on the side and partake of a nutritious, yummy meal.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Country Life The Retirees: Daddy's Girl
Country Life The Retirees: Daddy's Girl: August 24, 1919 - on a prairie in Webster, Texas in a little wood frame house my father was born. If he had not gone to the great beyond 1...
Daddy's Girl
August 24, 1919 - on a prairie in Webster, Texas in a little wood frame house my father was born. If he had not gone to the great beyond 10 years ago he would be 93 years old today. He was a great man, a good man, an intelligent man. For most of my life he was my hero. I thought he had super powers and could do anything required of him and more.
William Luther Lindley did not have an easy life and he worked very hard to make it better. When he was very young he killed rabbits and anything else he could to help feed his family. At some point the family moved from Webster to Friendswood, Texas. In Friendswood there was a fig cannery where many of the towns inhabitants worked. There he worked canning figs where he developed contact dermatitis on his hands from the figs. Till the day he died though he loved figs. He could eat them but not pick them. He also made money by saying he could drive a vehicle which was a pretty new item in his neighborhood. This would have been in the late 1920's when he was about 11 years old. There was a wealthy couple who had purchased a vehicle and they needed a driver. He said he could do it although he had never driven before. He knew he needed the money so there was no doubt in his mind that he could or couldn't drive, he just did it! He did a good job of it too! The vehicle might have looked something like this:
He married my mother which was a total disaster except for producing three children. She was a wild spirit and didn't want to be tamed! They divorced when I was very young and eventually after living in many places with many relatives we settled to live with my father and his mother. He was a good father and a good teacher. I had a wild spirit I guess I inherited from my mother. I didn't like being told "no" and he recognized that....so he never did. Well in retrospect he did once. I was only 5 years old and insisted on following my brothers to the "hole". It was a cliff with tall trees hanging over into the creek. The boys had tied ropes to the upper limbs of the trees and would swing off into the water. I was forbidden to go there but I took a chance and ventured out following my brothers like a little puppy dog. When my father arrived home from work and learned of my jaunt he felt he had no choice but to make a lasting impression on my little behind....which he did. I never went back to the hole. However I did almost drown in the lake right next to our home by falling off the pier. My brothers realized I had disappeared and noticed bubbles rising to the surface. They reached under the surface of the water grabbing my hair and pulling me to safety. I wasn't breathing so they performed their version of CPR on me saving my life. As I said before he was not in the habit of telling me I could not do something. He would instead talk to me. He would give me all the reasons why something I wanted to do was not a good idea and then let me make my own decisions. I didn't always make the right decisions but I learned much from the man and am alive and well today!
My father tried hard to make a living working in construction of houses and highways. He was an inventor. He actually invented the first hydraulic jack and the flashing red lights on saw horses indicating road construction. He didn't have the money to patent these items and never received credit for creating them. Another of his inventions was round concrete houses for which he never received credit. This seemed to be a pattern for him until he invented a wheel insert for automobile tires.
At the time it was called "Posi-Trac". I remember when the idea formed in his mind. I was about 9 or 10 years old. It seemed that he formed the idea from making concrete Christmas tree stands. He made a prototype to fit inside an automobile tire. I don't remember the entire story of where and how it progressed from there. Apparently he found backers and was able to actually create a real prototype from steel and rubber. It attached to the wheel base on a vehicle and the tire was installed around it. If a driver had a blowout or flat tire the vehicle could continue to run comfortably with little notice of a flat until a service station could be found. If the vehicle was travelling at high speed such as 80 mph which was the top highway speed in those days and the tire should blow and shred the vehicle would remain under control again with little notice of a problem. It saved lives. I am here to testify to that. I was a teenager at the time and my father had these inserts installed on all his vehicles. I never adhered to the speed limit, even when it was 80 mph. I figured the vehicle had an accelerator, breaks and a steering wheel....what else mattered? I also knew I had my father's invention on the wheels and I trusted anything that man did. I was travelling 90 mph down Interstate 45 South when my tire blew. It sounded like a gun shot. The vehicle did not even swerve but I knew what had happened. I pulled onto the shoulder of the highway to check it out and yes, I had a blowout....my tire was all over the road. I just shrugged my shoulders, got back in my vehicle and easily drove to home! Now that is just pure genius! http://www.google.com/patents/US3394749
In the 1960's these inserts were installed on LBJ's and JFK's limousines. My father was a hero. He never received a heroes credit although he certainly deserved it. He went on to manufacture these inserts in Detroit, Michigan, and contracting with BF Goodrich to market the device through the Goodrich retail outlets. The insert was complicated to install and took expensive equipment to do so. Most service stations could not be equipped with attendants to be able to handle such a thing. As years went on service stations became self help "gas stations" where not much service could be found. The idea was to equip all new vehicles with the insert in order to save lives. Just as a seat belt became mandatory so should have the wheel insert. For lack of funds and greedy people his idea never fully materialized. Actually at some point in time Lee Iaccoca was given credit by a New York Times reporter for having invented this. I sent the reporter a letter setting him straight, however he never did correct his error. Probably because Lee Iaccoca was a famous man and my father was not. This was my father's greatest invention to help mankind in my opinion.
However he had another invention that he and my stepmother felt was far greater and altruistic. With her by his side as his ever faithful partner he invented a device to strengthen the back and virtually eliminate back pain. He tried for years to market this item but he needed to have orthopedic studies done. Not only did he not have the funds for this but no one in the medical community wanted him to succeed because it really worked. With this device on the market many surgeries would be eliminated. He left a good legacy for his family though. Many people did not believe in the device known as "The Rocker" but I do, his wife does and my youngest son does. The young man uses it on a regular basis to stretch out his muscles thus relieving his lower back pain. He swears by it and he doesn't have to. He gains nothing from testifying to it's validity except that it keeps him free of lower back pain.
He also invented the "Ortho Spinal Chair", which I have in my exercise room today. This was the prelude to "The Rocker". http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/4739749
He invented "The Ledge Bed" http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/4435861
William Lindley also invented "The Super Stuffer" http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-92-Super-Stuffer/dp/B000CO018A which he sold the patent for. It is now being sold in retail stores and on the internet. It safely pushes wastes such as peelings and left over food down the garbage disposal protecting fingers and hands. In my opinion this was another genius invention of his.
I always believed his back device, "The Rocker" was pure genius also but humans are very lazy. We don't believe anything cheap or easy can fix our problems. If we have not paid hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars to a medical doctor then we don't believe we have been healed. I always felt that if he marketed "The Rocker" as an exercise gimmick that it would have been more successful. He had his own ideas and he was the genius. He went to the great beyond still trying to market this wonderful device taking it with him.
Today is his birthday...I want to remember him as the genius he was, my hero.
William Luther Lindley did not have an easy life and he worked very hard to make it better. When he was very young he killed rabbits and anything else he could to help feed his family. At some point the family moved from Webster to Friendswood, Texas. In Friendswood there was a fig cannery where many of the towns inhabitants worked. There he worked canning figs where he developed contact dermatitis on his hands from the figs. Till the day he died though he loved figs. He could eat them but not pick them. He also made money by saying he could drive a vehicle which was a pretty new item in his neighborhood. This would have been in the late 1920's when he was about 11 years old. There was a wealthy couple who had purchased a vehicle and they needed a driver. He said he could do it although he had never driven before. He knew he needed the money so there was no doubt in his mind that he could or couldn't drive, he just did it! He did a good job of it too! The vehicle might have looked something like this:
He married my mother which was a total disaster except for producing three children. She was a wild spirit and didn't want to be tamed! They divorced when I was very young and eventually after living in many places with many relatives we settled to live with my father and his mother. He was a good father and a good teacher. I had a wild spirit I guess I inherited from my mother. I didn't like being told "no" and he recognized that....so he never did. Well in retrospect he did once. I was only 5 years old and insisted on following my brothers to the "hole". It was a cliff with tall trees hanging over into the creek. The boys had tied ropes to the upper limbs of the trees and would swing off into the water. I was forbidden to go there but I took a chance and ventured out following my brothers like a little puppy dog. When my father arrived home from work and learned of my jaunt he felt he had no choice but to make a lasting impression on my little behind....which he did. I never went back to the hole. However I did almost drown in the lake right next to our home by falling off the pier. My brothers realized I had disappeared and noticed bubbles rising to the surface. They reached under the surface of the water grabbing my hair and pulling me to safety. I wasn't breathing so they performed their version of CPR on me saving my life. As I said before he was not in the habit of telling me I could not do something. He would instead talk to me. He would give me all the reasons why something I wanted to do was not a good idea and then let me make my own decisions. I didn't always make the right decisions but I learned much from the man and am alive and well today!
My father tried hard to make a living working in construction of houses and highways. He was an inventor. He actually invented the first hydraulic jack and the flashing red lights on saw horses indicating road construction. He didn't have the money to patent these items and never received credit for creating them. Another of his inventions was round concrete houses for which he never received credit. This seemed to be a pattern for him until he invented a wheel insert for automobile tires.
At the time it was called "Posi-Trac". I remember when the idea formed in his mind. I was about 9 or 10 years old. It seemed that he formed the idea from making concrete Christmas tree stands. He made a prototype to fit inside an automobile tire. I don't remember the entire story of where and how it progressed from there. Apparently he found backers and was able to actually create a real prototype from steel and rubber. It attached to the wheel base on a vehicle and the tire was installed around it. If a driver had a blowout or flat tire the vehicle could continue to run comfortably with little notice of a flat until a service station could be found. If the vehicle was travelling at high speed such as 80 mph which was the top highway speed in those days and the tire should blow and shred the vehicle would remain under control again with little notice of a problem. It saved lives. I am here to testify to that. I was a teenager at the time and my father had these inserts installed on all his vehicles. I never adhered to the speed limit, even when it was 80 mph. I figured the vehicle had an accelerator, breaks and a steering wheel....what else mattered? I also knew I had my father's invention on the wheels and I trusted anything that man did. I was travelling 90 mph down Interstate 45 South when my tire blew. It sounded like a gun shot. The vehicle did not even swerve but I knew what had happened. I pulled onto the shoulder of the highway to check it out and yes, I had a blowout....my tire was all over the road. I just shrugged my shoulders, got back in my vehicle and easily drove to home! Now that is just pure genius! http://www.google.com/patents/US3394749
In the 1960's these inserts were installed on LBJ's and JFK's limousines. My father was a hero. He never received a heroes credit although he certainly deserved it. He went on to manufacture these inserts in Detroit, Michigan, and contracting with BF Goodrich to market the device through the Goodrich retail outlets. The insert was complicated to install and took expensive equipment to do so. Most service stations could not be equipped with attendants to be able to handle such a thing. As years went on service stations became self help "gas stations" where not much service could be found. The idea was to equip all new vehicles with the insert in order to save lives. Just as a seat belt became mandatory so should have the wheel insert. For lack of funds and greedy people his idea never fully materialized. Actually at some point in time Lee Iaccoca was given credit by a New York Times reporter for having invented this. I sent the reporter a letter setting him straight, however he never did correct his error. Probably because Lee Iaccoca was a famous man and my father was not. This was my father's greatest invention to help mankind in my opinion.
However he had another invention that he and my stepmother felt was far greater and altruistic. With her by his side as his ever faithful partner he invented a device to strengthen the back and virtually eliminate back pain. He tried for years to market this item but he needed to have orthopedic studies done. Not only did he not have the funds for this but no one in the medical community wanted him to succeed because it really worked. With this device on the market many surgeries would be eliminated. He left a good legacy for his family though. Many people did not believe in the device known as "The Rocker" but I do, his wife does and my youngest son does. The young man uses it on a regular basis to stretch out his muscles thus relieving his lower back pain. He swears by it and he doesn't have to. He gains nothing from testifying to it's validity except that it keeps him free of lower back pain.
He also invented the "Ortho Spinal Chair", which I have in my exercise room today. This was the prelude to "The Rocker". http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/4739749
He invented "The Ledge Bed" http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/4435861
William Lindley also invented "The Super Stuffer" http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-92-Super-Stuffer/dp/B000CO018A which he sold the patent for. It is now being sold in retail stores and on the internet. It safely pushes wastes such as peelings and left over food down the garbage disposal protecting fingers and hands. In my opinion this was another genius invention of his.
I always believed his back device, "The Rocker" was pure genius also but humans are very lazy. We don't believe anything cheap or easy can fix our problems. If we have not paid hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars to a medical doctor then we don't believe we have been healed. I always felt that if he marketed "The Rocker" as an exercise gimmick that it would have been more successful. He had his own ideas and he was the genius. He went to the great beyond still trying to market this wonderful device taking it with him.
Today is his birthday...I want to remember him as the genius he was, my hero.
Country Life The Retirees: Loving My Granddaughter
Country Life The Retirees: Loving My Granddaughter: I have been caring for my infant granddaughter for the past several months while her mother, my daughter is working. She is now 6 months o...
Loving My Granddaughter
I have been caring for my infant granddaughter for the past several months while her mother, my daughter is working. She is now 6 months old and beginning to develop a really cute personality. Actually I thought her personality was evident from the day she was born. She let it be clear from the beginning that she was the boss. When I hold her in my arms as I'm rocking her to sleep I feel an over powering love for her. It's the same love I felt for my own 4 infants as I rocked them many years ago. As it surges through my heart and veins I'm wondering if they can feel the love over the distance. I asked my younger son who is now 20 if he could feel my love coming to him through the love I was expressing for my granddaughter. I wasn't surprised to hear him say "Yes Mom, I can feel it". He is such a passionate person. I knew he would not think his mother was crazy.
Grandchildren bring out something very special in us. I can't really put my finger on it. I think it's too complex to put into words. Whatever it is, it has opened a whole new realm of feelings in me. It's like it has awakened something in me. Instead of feeling old because I'm a grandmother, I feel young again. It's like I have discovered the fountain of youth. I am ignoring the aching joints and dry skin. I'm thinking maybe it's the "feel good hormone", serotonin. It seems to be surging. Perhaps it's because we have such unconditional love for each other.
I respect that she is a baby and can only make her needs known by frowns, grunts and screams. I try so hard to read her "language". When she bites me with those two new bottom teeth and tears at her blankets with them she is letting me know her little gums are really bothering her. She is a good sport though and quickly finds something to distract her. When I let her know it hurts by giving a little squeal myself, she looks at me in surprise and then smiles. When we are sitting for too long or she is laying on the floor she arches her little back and yells at me to pick her up. If we are sitting together she pulls my blouse and yells or sometimes pushes on my chest, indicating she wants me to get up and move! She loves to be carried around at eye level on her little perch the "Baby Nari" http://www.babynari.com/ ...which by the way is the best investment my daughter ever made. It allows me to hold her for hours as we clean the kitchen, prune roses, water the dogs or cook dinner. As I sway back and forth all over the house her little body moves in sync with mine. She is absorbing everything I'm doing and never uttering a sound sometimes falling asleep mid stride! She is a light sleeper and I find myself rocking her and myself to sleep morning and afternoon. When she wakes from a long nap she is in such a sweet talkative mood. I'm not sure what she is saying but it usually starts with something that sounds like, "hi!" From there she gurgles some of the sweetest sounds which certainly are sounds of approval and pleasure. This mood lasts about 2 hours before it's time to nap again. She has not learned patience for receiving her bottle yet. She wants it on demand and I do mean on demand!
As I'm leaving for home in the evenings it's not easy making an exit. I hate parting with her. When I return on Monday mornings after three days away from her I can see the progress she has made in development in such a short time. Her back and arms are stronger. She is more aware and communicative. I can't wait to get her in my arms and give her a squeeze again!
I would like to think that when she is grown she will remember our days together. Even though she gets much love and attention from her parents, I hope she will know that there was an old lady that loved her unconditionally. I hope somehow this love will make an indelible impression on her life!
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