Clusterf*ck!

The beginning of what we have to traverse to cross the border.


 So I've not written or posted in a month. This month has mostly be fear filled. We were routed down to San Jose to one of the country's better urologists because of Jim's one kidney, copious kidney stone problems in the past and the fact he has just one little nubbins of a parathyroid gland.

I did sort of snicker uncomfortably when Jim got the up the butt examination of his prostate. He is 71, soon to be 72, and right in the age when the prostate starts to act stupid. Turns out his is highly infected, to the point where the doctor could not say after a sonogram and feeling of the organ if there is or isn't cancer present. It's swollen up 3 times bigger than normal. Now its a waiting game, a months worth of Bactrum to deal with the infection, a pile of other drugs for prostate health and repeat all the tests a month from now. Doctor did say he only found one hard small lump that might be cancerous but he cannot say anything for sure until the infection is dealt with first.

As a result I've not been my most social. Add in a snafus involving my Skype app, new phones, serious working out and recovery from my own nonsense of a wrecked house and torn bicep and I'm just, as one of my kids used to put it, exhausterated. 

Yesterday was our 90 day border run to Nicaragua, mere days after Costa Rica extended the visas to 180 days on the new visa stamps. Sadly we're flying out for Stateside in 90 days, but, thankfully that means we will not have to chance the hot mess that is Nicaragua till June of 2024!

I had the dumb/bright idea that I would use my rollador and walk the roughly several mile border crossing. What I was doing post stroke was walking the Costa Rica side, and then getting into a Nica peddle cab for the Nicaragua section of the trip. Part of the reason I've been doing the peddle cab is because it puts money into the hands of the very needy. Nica has turned into a financial flaming pile of poo with endemic poverty.

We were begged so many times yesterday for money, including by the Nica peddle cab guys, dropping their prices to ten bucks to take us to the immigration building. I felt bad. When people tell you they haven't eaten for days its hard to listen to and not want to open up your wallet. We just only carry enough cash on the border run for the fees.

So I walked it. Jim kept saying he could not believe how fast I was walking and how he usually ends up way ahead of me on the long trek between the two countries along the no man's land. Yes, fast walking. I kept telling him all this time the problem is balance, not a dysfunction with my legs. Some folks just don't get it.

The walking would not have been a problem except on Monday I didn't swim/walk in the pool the usual hour. Heck I walked the mile plus in the Atlanta airport before I started working out two weeks ago. On Tuesday I was listening to the "Behind the Bastards" podcast on Ocean's Gate founder Stockton Rush. They don't always get everything right on the podcast but hit enough truths that I'm satisfied. Part two ran something like one hour and forty minutes. Usually I only do an hour and their podcasts are roughly an house. So I was in the pool moving for almost double the time I usually do. I've been hurting and limping a bit since then, it's affected my left stroke addled side, causing a lot of significant nerve pain. Nerves jangling and misfiring. What I did yesterday turned the nerve pain up to 12. Doubled my Lyrica dose and laying around right now. I cannot walk without my cane, I'm all crippled up. Gonna be a day in the sewing room trying to work on the quilt that won't stop.

Thank f*ck Jim bought pizza last night at Price Smart! I cannot stand without pain long enough to cook.

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