Telemedicine

So I am sitting here in the Green Barn with my phone next to me, and I am also in the waiting room at Kaiser.  A couple of days ago the nurse who works with my internist called me and said it was time for my annual check-up.  And then she said how about Friday at 8:20 AM?  I said, okay, that's kind of in the middle of the day, but that can work.  It wasn't a regular appointment, it was to be a video chat.  So I had to set up my phone with the right app, etc.

(I have just had my video appointment, so I am actually not in the waiting room anymore. But I was going to say that even when you don't physically go in to Kaiser, you still have to wait...)

This morning I started earlier than usual so I would be able to stop at 8:20. I was in the zinnia patch by 6:00. Perfect temperature, sunrise just about finished, normal soupy humidity. (I think we failed to break the record for consecutive 90 degree days because yesterday was overcast and it didn't quite get there. So I think we only got to 20 days in a row. Now we have to start over to try to break that nasty record.) Finished the flowers right on schedule so I could get the tractor that Jon had set up for me to dig potatoes.  Just as I was finishing the last row of potatoes, I got a call from Kaiser saying it was time to check in.

The good part is, I didn't have to stand on the scale in order to have a check-up.  The news has not been good lately in the weight management department -- no swimming pool, no acupuncture, and Jon has been cooking every single night. His repertoire is extensive and he has raised the bar for himself because we have Rebecca and Isaiah to feed too -- not just the two of us. So dinner has become the meal that we eat the most, and that has always been a bad idea.

Another side note -- this week the pool opened up again, reservations required.  You have to navigate a rather cumbersome system but in the end you get a reservation for your own lane for a big block of time. It is heaven. On my first lumbering lap, I actually said a Shechechyanu aloud. It was that momentous. Just the feeling of the swimming pool water on my bare feet was enough reason to say a prayer of gratitude.

So I just had my first dabble into the world of telemedicine. Not memorable but there are many aspects to appreciate. You don't have to go through all the rigmarole of transporting your entire body to a place that is hard to navigate on your stupid knees. You don't have to even take a shower and you don't have to be with lots of other people who make you nervous, just by breathing. I just sat here in my unsavory clothes and had a nice conversation with a doctor I like and know. I told her I had been unexpectedly dizzy the other morning (it went away) and she told me all the ways I can work with that, and to drink more water.  My mother would completely agree with that advice. We give it to everyone all the time, but none of us drinks enough water right now to make up for the amount that pours out of us.

Anyway, it is time for morning meeting so I need to pay attention again. People have dug potatoes, picked squash, spread wood chips, picked herbs and it is just 9:00 in the morning.