I feel better right now than I have all day. Maybe this plague will end?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 10:56 pm: Edit

Wednesday 10pm: I am better but still missed work today and will again tomorrow. Weak, dizzy, hard to focus. Leanna came down with my cold so that just makes it even more fun.

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Thursday, September 25, 2025 - 12:28 pm: Edit

Glad to hear you are on the mend. Hope you continue to improve. Best wishes to Leanna.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 26, 2025 - 01:49 am: Edit

Thursday at 3am I woke up to go to the bathroom. Finished, I stood up and suddenly had a major dizzy spell, the worst since July of last year when a fall broke my hip. I called to wake up Leanna, who struggled to help me back to bed without both of us ending up on the floor and in the hospital. I made it to bed and passed out, waking up four hours later. Still groggy from anemia and the cold, I took things easy all day. I should be back to work Monday or Tuesday.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 26, 2025 - 06:38 pm: Edit

Friday 6am, another dizziness episode, had to wait hours to be steady enough to microwave a food pack.

I basically spent the entire day in my recliner except for trips to the bathroom. I would get very dizzy after may be five minutes standing up. I did speak with my doctor who said there had been a paperwork issue but I would be called Monday to schedule the iron infusions.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 27, 2025 - 04:19 pm: Edit

Saturday 3pm: no dizzy spells today, still get exhausted in just a few minutes. The cold took a lot out of me. Spent most of the day in the recliner trying to build strength. Not really accomplishing that.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 09:04 am: Edit

Good to hear that your current doctor found the cause of the anemia at long last!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 09:30 am: Edit

I have, I think, 15 doctors. Typical for my age, I am told.
Primary, attending, hernia, urology, renology, weight loss, skin cancer (two of those), cardiologist, veterinarian, infusion, eye, bone, dentist, oral surgeon.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 10:18 am: Edit

Seems like there should be a punch card with that; at 20 you get a free doctor. ;)

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 11:18 am: Edit

I think the Republicans refused to include that punch card in Obamacare.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 03:06 pm: Edit

Move to Canada and get all your doctors for free.


Garth L. Getgen

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 27, 2025 - 07:55 pm: Edit

I had my first iron infusion today. It took two hours, not the one hour I was told, but I did not have any negative reaction.

It haven’t had any good results yet, but I was told by the doctors that in my case it would take a few days.

We will see if I can make it to work tomorrow.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 27, 2025 - 09:17 pm: Edit

I had a minor and temporary dizzy spell, but it went away. Right now I think I am just tired from not getting enough sleep last night.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 08:36 pm: Edit

INFUSION REPORT
This is supposed to fix my “iron poor blood” and will do so. But not today.
Some people feel better immediately, some people take an extra day. My niece Angela and Leanna’s niece Amy had them and felt better right away. I didn’t. They are twenty years younger.
I am going to stay home today and let my body adjust.
UPDATE 7PM
I feel a little better than this morning. The foggy-fuzzy feeling is gone, but I'm not any stronger than before the infusion.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 04:48 pm: Edit

I survived surgery. They cut a chunk of cancer the size of a quarter (one inch wide, 25mm) out of my left temple. They said it would be seriously uncomfortable due to the stitches pulling the skin tight, and they didn’t lie. I am home on heavy duty opioid painkillers. I will not go to the office tomorrow.

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 05:40 pm: Edit

Rest easy. See you back on your feet soon.

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 06:13 pm: Edit

They left Your brain alone, I hope. We need you to still have that.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 07:53 pm: Edit

The perfectly normal surgical swelling is now affecting the vision of my left eye.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 09:36 pm: Edit

Get well, Steve.

For my part, I don't have skin cancer yet. However, I do have actinic keratosis (precancerous cells) all over my face. I get to go through my fourth treatment of chemotherapy creme on the face (making me look like one of the Nazis who died at the end of the end of the 1st Indiana Jones movie). That will be in January right around the new year. Then I do a fifth treatment in February.

Anyway, all that is to say, "I feel your pain," at least in the sense of understanding it.

By Vincent Solfronk (Vsolfronk) on Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 09:57 pm: Edit

Hoping for a speedy recovery. take care and Happy Holidays!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, December 19, 2025 - 02:00 am: Edit

Thanks everyone for the warm thoughts. It hurts, more when I laugh or yawn. I slept for an hour then woke up when I rolled over. So I came into my home office (a new thing after Leanna rearranged the house and turned my old office into the Butler's Pantry and banished me to the library, which anyone would consider to be one of the spare bedrooms). I thought maybe I'd play computer games a bit while the second round of opioids kicks in.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, December 19, 2025 - 10:20 am: Edit

I made it through a difficult night, getting three hours of sleep in small chunks. I had not planned to go to the office and that’s a good plan. Pain is bad enough, more extreme discomfort than outright pain.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Friday, December 19, 2025 - 03:04 pm: Edit

May the discomfort pass soon. While it may be a bit much to hope for a pain-free Christmas WEEK, it is still my hope that such is the case.

If the pain and lack of sleep are enough of a bother, you may wish to do something that's kind of a Christmas tradition for me; if I'm in a bad mood near the holidays, I just tie a sprig of mistletoe to my back belt loop, and for some reason, that helps me feel better.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, December 19, 2025 - 05:31 pm: Edit

I will avoid the obvious joke about mistletoe in the back belt loop.

I find the best way to feel better is to go do something nice for a total stranger.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, December 19, 2025 - 11:29 pm: Edit

It wasn't a terrible day. The pain is fading. I got enough sleep in small chunks. I managed to make it to KFC for lunch, then to the grocery store to be sure Leanna gets the breakfast stuff I want, then home, then a long nap. I was going to go to the airsoft arena tomorrow and use my new rifle but the doctor told me not to. If I BB hit the surgical site and bruised it, that could be bad. I tried to argue that my goggles would cover that spot but he thought the goggles would irritate it.