Sunday was an epic day, as Deb spent nearly 16 hours at Met Hospital in Windsor. Last week a CT scan confirmed a kidney blocked by a 7 mm kidney stone, and it wasn't going anywhere. Dr. Shen, her family physician, arranged to hurry along a procedure to remove the stone. Originally Deb was scheduled to have it done on April 17th, but he did not want to wait that long, and neither did Deb. She's been plagued by infections for the past several months, and Dr. Shen's fine detective skills finally determined the cause.
He arranged with the on-call urologist at Met to have it removed on Sunday. We showed up at ER as told, arriving at 7 am. The doctor was notified of Deb's arrival, but we didn't even see him for three hours. So we sat in ER surrounded by sick people. We were masked, but it remains to be seen if we will escape that ordeal unscathed. Some people were quite sick, and spreading it around nicely by coughing and coughing and coughing. Once out of the waiting room we sat around in ER, but now inside, where the action is. We did not have to see an emergency physician, but Deb's urologist came by to introduce himself and tell her what he was going to do. Dr. Khalaff was a very nice man, and looked like he'd know what he was doing. We sat in a cubicle for about an hour while they searched for a bed in the hospital for Deb. There was a free bed in Maternity, so up she went. She was made comfortable, but had to wait. And wait. And wait. Deb's surgery was as an "add on", meaning that she kept getting bumped by emergencies that could not wait. That was understandable, and the nurses were terrific. Dr. Khalaff came by again and chatted with her for a time, explaining why she was being kept waiting. He was just waiting for access to an operating room. He was ready; Deb was ready. Finally, at just after 7 pm, Deb was wheeled in to have her procedure done. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since 11 pm the previous night, so she was feeling pretty low.
Previously, while she napped in the afternoon I went to a nearby vegan restaurant (Nooch) for lunch. I had an amazing omelette with hash browns, and a delicious 0.5 Pilsner. I was back with Deb right after lunch. Luckily there were no babies in her room, and it was in a very quiet wing on the floor. Only one other woman was in the room, and she was pretty quiet. Finally, after a very long day, it was Deb's turn. She was in the OR for about 75 minutes while they went in (up the wazoo, so to speak) to grab the stone and remove it. All went well, and Dr. Khalaff stopped by to see me in the waiting room afterwards, after talking with a groggy Deb (she was out for the procedure). She had to stay nearly three hours afterwards, to make certain her vitals returned to normal, and that all physical equipment was working properly. Today she is tired and sore, but seems to be recovering like a champ. I had to go to the pharmacy early this morning for her six (!) prescriptions she has to take for the next while. We are now on first names basis with our pharmacist, never a good sign. She is lovely. Jennifer is from Ghana. Now we are all hoping this will put an end to her frequent UTIs.
The day before (Saturday) was the first of three piano recitals for me and my newest program. I performed the pieces for Jim P. and Rob B., both exceptionally fine pianists. Jim is a piano teacher and Rob a physician. On Friday I will perform it again, this time for non-pianist friends, and then once again around the 23rd, when Paula is back from Florida and Jenn from Texas.
Michael Ethier
Piano Recital April 2025
“Simple Ingredients”
2-part Invention #9 in f minor
3-part Invention #9 in f
minor..........................................J S Bach
Sonata in C major (HOB.
XVI/35; L.48)
Allegro con brio
Adagio
Finale:
Allegro.........................................................F J
Haydn
***********************************************
Prelude #20 in c
minor.....................................................F Chopin
Third Gymnopedie
Third
Gnossienne.............................................................E
Satie
Prelude #6 Bk 1 (..Des pas
sur la neige)........................C Debussy
Etude
#20.........................................................................P
Glass
Mysterious
Barricades.....................................................F
Couperin
In TV news we are watching Season Two of Picard, which is not very good. The Borg want to take over the galaxy, and way too much time is spent watching very boring scenes from Picard's boyhood. Filled with the usual tropes that SF TV series all seem to use (Picard is nearly killed; the evil Borg Queen can do anything, and has a ton of helpers; lots of gunfights; a very in poor taste fast car driving scene; good old Q returns yet again; Data's creator is persuaded by Q and Borg to kill Picard) I can't wait for the final episode, but not for the reason it's producers hoped I would. We are also watching Season Three of Dark Winds, the Hillerman series about Navajo Detective Joe Leaphorn. We have two more of those left to watch. And we also began a series called Monsieur Spade. It's the 1950s and Sam Spade is living in France. The Algerian war of independence is in full swing. Spade gets involved in a horrendous multiple murder case. We are only two episodes into this one, but it seems to be pretty good.
More news as it happens.
Mapman Mike
