Can You Hear Me Now?

Oh man did I ever have a weird dream last night.

I wandered into this salon, asking if they do bikini waxes, and was told yes. Then I said I’d actually rather have a full Brazilian wax done if I could. The staff hemmed and hawed and told me that since they’ve only ever done two Brazilian waxes before, I’d be better off going somewhere else, because they weren’t very experienced in that. So I settled for the bikini wax, but was told I’d have to wait. It was 1:00 and I knew I had to be home by 3:30 because Access Calgary was picking me up at 3:40 to take me I don’t know where.

So anyway, I wait forever and then I finally get taken into this huge back room and told to lie on this bed with my legs up in the air (okay, I’ve never actually had a bikini wax, but I’m pretty sure there is no legs up in the air involved). So I am lying there, totally exposed, with my legs up in the air, while the aesthetician prepares the wax. All of a sudden a TON of people, all men, come flying into the room and are milling about as if they’re having a party. I quickly cover myself up and scream “get out of here! Every man in this room, leave immediately!!” After they leave, the aesthetician tells me that was very rude of me, and I didn’t need to do that. I reminded her that I had been waiting for two hours, it is now almost 3:30 and I have to go, so this better be quick!

So I am back in position with my legs up in the air, and she starts pouring the wax on me, carefully using a paint brush to get the wax in the right places. As she is painting away, Matt Dillon leans over and says “ouch, that’s gonna hurt”. Matt frickin’ DILLON?? Then the aesthetician puts the wax strips in place and I place my hands over my mouth to muffle my impending scream and start deep breathing to prepare for the big riiiiiiiip. Just as she’s placing her hands on the strips to rip them off, I wake up.

Analyze that, Lisa!!

I went to see my doctor today. I told him about my recent tummy troubles, and he set me up for an ultrasound next week to find out if I have gall stones. He did say though, that even if I do, we will hold off on surgery for at least a year and see how I’m doing then. He rolled his chair over to me, placed his hands on my knees, looked me in the eyes and said: “we want you to eat better, so it’s a good thing if greasy food is making you sick”. Hehe I love my doctor. LOVE him. He also told me I look like I’ve lost a bit of weight since he last saw me and that I’m looking great. The medication changes he made for me at the end of December have played a huge role in how great I’m feeling these days. I don’t know if it’s the medication, the fact I am keeping a daily gratitude journal, the Psych-K therapy I am doing (very cool), the great weather we’re having or everything combined, and I don’t really care!! I just want it to continue.

On a sad note, I found out my doctor’s nurse, who has been with him forever and is the greatest, (I’ve been going there about 17 years and she has always been there) is battling breast cancer. I noticed her hair looked a little shorter and she was all dressed up today, so I commented about how nice she looked. She told me she was taking off at noon to go away with some friends for a few days, right after she gets her medication from the cancer clinic. I was shocked – “you have cancer?!?” She has had breast cancer for over a year and I had no clue, she’s always there when I call or visit and looks great. She’s had many rounds of chemo and radiation and now she’s taking some new “miracle drug” every three weeks. She has lost all her hair and toe nails and the whole bit. I just can’t even imagine what this past year has been like for her. When I told her that, she responded with “oh, you have had your own fair share of rough times the past few years”. That may be true, but even my worst days with MS have got to be better than chemo.

To put my own situation into even more perspective, when I went down to the lobby to wait for my ride, there was a man sitting there with no legs from the knee down. He had two prosthetic legs standing up beside him, which he put back on shortly after I sat down. I asked him how long it took him to get used to those, and he said “a couple months”. I asked him how long he’d had them, and he said “about 10 years” and then he wandered off. I guess not everyone likes to talk about it. I’m never afraid to ask someone about their disability, because I’d rather someone ask me why I have a cane, walker or scooter, than stand there and stare at me wondering. I should probably stop doing that though, because a lot of people are very sensitive or filled with bad memories they’d rather not be reminded of. This one guy in my building had a car accident when he was driving drunk, hit someone and killed them, and ended up brain damaged and disabled himself. Not the greatest memory for him. We share Access rides a lot, so when I innocently asked him once “what happened?”, he probably wanted to punt me upside the head. Oops.

So, yeah, I guess I can understand why most people just stare.

I came home to a $400 cheque in my mailbox from our provincial government. “This $400 per-person rebate is being provided as a non-taxable, one-time bonus to all Albertans in recognition of their role in building this province”. I think that just rocks. And so does my chiropractor, because he’s the one getting mine. Yay for being an Albertan!