Misc.

We Live In Hell

Christmas Lights made of shot gun shellsWe have a bush that is a little over 2 feet out from our front window, about 18 ft. long and over 4ft wide. The master bedroom is upstairs and has a 3 foot overhang over this bush. I kept hearing noise down there and eventually saw someone disappear and not come out either end. This meant they were somewhere underneath where the upstairs level has the overhang.  KRP was downstairs watching TV. I got dressed fast and headed downstairs.  Downstairs I distictly hear someone along the wall where the large living room window is.  I looked out and all be danged if someone was not out there looking back.

I grabbed my long mag light flash light and went out. Annie dog was banging at the front screen door and barking. As I looked between the bush and the wall there he was. WTF do I do now? Crap what the heck was I thinking. So in the nastiest voice I could muster I say “what are you doing there in my bushes?” No response. Louder “what the f#@k are you doing?” I get a mumble and then I realize this guy does not have any pants on! “WTF are you doing leaning on my wall and hiding in my bushes!!”  The guy obviously caught with his pants down and trying to hide against the wall behind the bush says ” ugh umm nothing” I shine the light on him and he then says “I am ugh I am taking a shit”.  At this point I have realized that he was not taking a dump as his is small little worm was a tad too large. Oh my God what do I do now? So I very loudly state “well you have about 5 seconds to get off my wall and out of there”. I then turn and boogie into the house saying to KRP load the gun while I get the dog.

I get back out there with my “flashlight”  and he was long gone.  No crap there either – like yeah that was what you were doing after peeping in our window.


So can you give us a discription?

Under 30 black male with his pants pulled down and his willy out?

Did you see which way he went?

No after I got back out with my flash light and dog he was gone.

Going to go buy draps to cover the faux wood shutter blinds we have – I put a sheet up for tonight.

Ok another day in hell.

Acrimonious Acronyms

I keep forgetting to write about my last Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results probably because they are the good/bad type. Good that nothing in the brain has changed in two years! Still numerous lesion but no new ones. I have been to enough talks and seen enough charts and graphs to understand that in secondary progressive (SPMS) or let us just say a progression from relapsing remitting ms (RRMS) the lesion load stops gaining while disability levels go up based on Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

The baffling portion was the results from the spinal MRI. I did get a copy of the MRI scans and the radiologist’s initial reports. I spent a lot of time squinting blowing up the spine series pictures and scratching my head. In my previous MRI, the spine was full of lesions. They were obvious. No real techno knowledge needed they were obviously there.

This time I could not see them. The radiologist report said “no imaging findings of demyelinating disease in the cervical spine”. I am not imagining this woo hoo. However, if this is so then. …

That said I did spend a few days in a state of bliss where I allowed myself the belief that the MS was going away. That was in October. On December 1, I had an appointment with my Neurologist. We went over the MRI results. I like my neurologist she is one of those Dr.’s that is not afraid to admit an error or when she is as confused as I am LOL.

She told me that she had taken my brain MRI to the other neurologists and they all agreed that the lesions in my brain were MS lesions and with my medical history, I had MS. Umm I am thinking I thought this was settled a few years ago. When I asked about the spinal lesions not being there she thought that the original MRI might have been flawed something about artifacts. I just looked at her and said – but they were there, lots of them, in different series- how can that be? She admitted it made no sense and that was why she had taken my records to the other neurologists.

Therefore, I came home with the reaffirmation that yeah you still got MS dingbat. Bummer.

The next day I received an email from my neurologist . … since I was also mystified (wow, my neuro. is mystified) … cervical spine MRI images. … presented both of them at neuroradiology conference . … the lesions on the first MRI were real and not artifactual and the lesions disappeared on the second MRI . …

It then went on to say they agreed that spinal lesions generally do not disappear like brain lesions sometimes do but that once in awhile it happens like in my case.

I emailed her back after researching more and asked for clarification about how lesions are picked up on MRI:

“If I have this right there are 3 types of lesions. Active – seen using the contrast dye , in the process of healing lesions with high water content shown on MRI, and then missing/disappeared lesions. If spine lesions don’t usually show dye and the fatty myelin is replaced/fixed the MRI no longer measures high water content so does not show but some damage is still there from when myelin was missing but is not measurable?’

Response:

You’re correct as to the 3 types of lesions.

“so does not show but some damage is still there from when myelin was missing but is not measurable?” – that’s what we think.

I am going with Remylenation but I gotta wonder – maybe MS is the catch all when they can not figure anything else out.

I have gone from your faking it, your depressed, you have lupus, you do not have MS, you have MS, your RRMS, your SPMS, your lesions were fake, your lesions were real, your lesions are gone . … along with tests that showed I should not be walking, my eye sees better than it should . …

Good grief. I am glad I trust my neuro. And always being the work it while you can type I got my request to test for Lyme disease granted. It is the only differential that has not been ruled out – so what the heck!

Ripples (updated)

It is hard to explain the change the buzz, the feeling, the atmosphere, of our neighborhood that lets me know – something is going down.  It starts suttle, small changes in sound, the tones of voices, a noise that is silence, only to erupt as voice get louder, gas peddles hit harder, like I said hard to explain.

Then the sirens wail and you wait to see which way they go. Away? Closer? I peer out the windows watching, waiting, wondering what is up.  Sometimes I hear the helicopter heading closer. The noise of the PD copter and the life flight copters are different.  Soon the ghetto bird ( helicopter  in our hood)  will circle the trouble area is marked. Cars start hauling ass down the street, some heading away from the trouble – some headed toward it.

After what seems like forever I might hear a message over the loud speaker. If the local news is aring a reporter may cover whatever the ‘it” going down is. Today the PD website was actually updated: open line from 911….air1 preempted for possible shooting….ground units continuing…. just as the news story hits the net:

A teenager was shot near a high school in South Sacramento on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

The Sacramento Police Department said the victim was shot in the arm near Valley High School at about 3:40 p.m. and was taken onto the campus for help.

The school was locked down while police search for the suspect. The campus has been cleared and the shooter has not been located.

Officials at nearby Consumnes River College advised students and staff to shelter-in-place. Consumnes River Boulevard between Center Parkway and Franklin Road has been closed due to the search.

Authorities have surrounded a home on La Amendra Way after receiving reports that the suspect is holed up inside.

A description of the suspect has not been released.

Ok, so listening out my window I am already know that the kid was shot on Ehrhardt / center parkway near the High School and what roads are closed down.
As the ghetto bird circles up there it seems my street gosip is about 5 mins ahead of the news casters.

It is all quite now the copter is gone. The silence that is actually noise – it is not over tonight ummm . . … 5:31pm
Oh yeah we are blocks away from this a little under 3 miles but the ripple effect is real.

Oh Center Parkway is where some of my bike video was taken

5:52 the copter is back it is the quiter one so must have changed birds? neighbor gals are hollering I am thinking the know the victim? At least from what I over hear.

hey at 4:11 my college sent me this email:
CRC EMERGENCY: An armed subject possibly on campus. Students and staff should find shelter and remain in current location until further notice.
Thank you,
CRC Admin

Though The Trees

sunset coming through the tree leavesI spent most yesterday pissed off. They slashed more tires in the hood going down the street we saw another 6 vehicles with two or three flats. I hope they catch these fools soon.

It was a windy and rainy day. I did get out an tried to catch the sunset light rays as they made the tree leaves look almost translucent.

I probably should have used the tripod as when I looked up the wind would cause me to tilt and then I started getting kind of dizzy.  Leaves whipping around in the wind swirling all around me – yes, Winter weather has come early.

Last night I became facinated with all the webcams that CalTrans has.  Interstate 80 was closed from from Applegate to the Nevada/Calif state line.  Looking at the Hwy with no traffic and watching the snow fall – I have no idea why this amused me so?  It usually does not snow like this and as low an elevation as it did this early in the season. Glad I have power and not snowed in.

I am such a valley whimp.

I bougth a little security camera on sale.  It came with 100ft of cable. So even if the  camera sucks the price was worth the cable alone.  When the weather calms down I will need to figure out where to mount it so that it captures the carport.  It hopefully will save me from going outside in my jammies to check on ever little noise. The area is the only one we can not see from any window or peep hole. Then I will have to route the cable and figure out where to have it enter the upstairs.

Then I will move onto coputer cards so I can store the video on a drive.

Systems are just to dang expensive so I figure why not try to create my own?

Right now I have the camera working via the television and watching Catfish sleep – sigh. I might just end up watching the trees if I can not get it mounted somewhere LOL

Tree Security!