…sometimes you’re the hammer.
Sorry I missed last month’s Musings, lovelies! Before I get into the wherefores, I’d just like to put a wee request here at the top: if you’ve been listening to my podcast, would you please give it a rating on whichever podcast platform you’re listening on? I know the show has hundreds of regular listeners so far, but on Apple podcasts, for example, there are only two ratings. (Both 5⭐ in case you were wondering lol) Thank you!

I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome at the end of March. This came after at least a couple years of symptoms which I hadn't known were symptoms. (I’d also been told by an acupuncturist whom I trusted, and who’d been the only one to alleviate my chronic back pain, that I didn’t have carpal tunnel syndrome. Sigh.) So by the time the issues were bad enough that I went for a medical opinion, and then made it through the waitlist to get actual nerve testing, the specialist who analyzed the results told me, “We’re going to jump straight to surgery for you, there’s no point in trying any of the milder mitigating treatments.” In other words, mine was categorized as a severe case.

Here in Alberta, surgery assignments are sent in, by a regular degular family physician or similar, to a central clearinghouse or list of approved surgeons able to do the procedure. Someone(s) triages the requests, prioritizing the most severe, and then assigns surgeons based on availability. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

So here is where I state without hesitation or qualification that I’m grateful that this surgery is completely covered by my provincial healthcare. I haven’t paid anything out of pocket for the doctor’s appointment, the nerve testing, or the surgical consult—other than parking lol. And I won’t have to pay for the actual surgery, either. That makes a massive difference, esp. in this economy! I don’t think we can understate that point, ever.

The issue, of course, comes from wait times, and, in my opinion, a total lack of communication about them, so patients can manage their pain/symptoms/expectations accordingly. I’m fairly certain Alberta Health Services used to give people estimates on wait times for treatments like surgery or chemo. Maybe when it’s serious, they still do. For this procedure—outpatient, 20 minutes, max—they do not. I waited semi-patiently for six months, as my symptoms worsened. Then, suddenly, I got a phone call at the beginning of October and had an appointment for a surgical consult the following week.

Everything abruptly sped up. They booked me for surgery on October 28th. At the time, I was in the middle of prepping for Bouchercon in Calgary, and a multi-author event there I’d been organizing for months. I’d planned a post-convention getaway for a break, which I’d have to cut short for this surgery. Our older daughter was still in recovery mode from her surgery…etc. etc. There were a lot of moving parts to coordinate and re-coordinate, configure and reconfigure. Which we did, including a stressful stretch of long-distance parenting for our youngest. (She’s okay now.)

I was quite proud of us, actually; we scrambled the jets successfully and made it work.

Then I got another phone call, literally while I was en route to Calgary: the surgeon was no longer available Oct 28th; they had to reschedule me.

I was so disappointed, and frustrated, especially after all the effort we put in to make that earlier surgery date work. Don’t get me wrong: I didn’t get bumped lower on the list or anything like that. I just…I felt so demoralized. So I decided to focus on making my Bouchercon experience a positive one, and that event a success. I wouldn’t fret about the October Musings. I knew you’d all understand.

Now, I’m scrambling a bit to get this out to you all anyway. Because my surgery date is Nov 12th aka this Thursday. Recovery times aren’t consistently stated. Some places say 1-2 weeks before returning to repetitive work, like typing. Other literature says 6-8 weeks. I guess I’ll know when I get there. Which means…

I’ll see you when I see you. (Said with love, of course. 🤓)

Joyful Things

• Bouchercon was so much fun! I reconnected with friends I hadn’t seen in person for years. I made new friends. I deepened other friendships. The event I organized was a smashing success. I even really liked my hotel room lol. It was my little oasis from all the people and busy-ness and noise. It was the best convention experience I’ve had yet. I think partly because it was the first one since I made the choice to stop “hustling,” if you know what I mean. I was able to be fully present with my friends, and to be present for whatever I was doing. It was a true gift, especially after so many unwelcome surprises in the preceding weeks.

• I did the final podcast recording for season two last week. Despite temptation, I’m not going to spoil who my guest was, but I think everyone will be delightfully surprised. Given the circumstances, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make this season finale available Nov 25th, as originally planned, but I hope by mid-December!

• I’ve started watching a British series from the ’90s called Pie in the Sky. It’s got that interesting blend of whimsy—usually in the form of the main character’s restaurant-centric storylines—with serious policing issues and cases, that’s actually really hard to pull off. I’m not entirely sure this show does manage it consistently, but I keep watching to find out and to dissect its attempts. I guess, overall, I’d call it cozy cosy-adjacent. If you know it, or start watching, drop me a line to let me know what you think.

• The premise for a supernatural thriller came to me in late September, and I’ve been noodling on it since. I’ve started drafting very slowly, without an outline; just trying out new-to-me ways to write, since the usual ways aren’t workable anymore, with my worsening chronic conditions. I’m going with an entirely new-to-me narrative POV with this one, too. Because apparently, I like to write in hard mode. LOL
  Fear not, though; the scifi horror has not been forgotten. It’s not even been relegated to the backburner. It’s more like…I’ve slid it over to a side burner. It’s still burbling away.

• COLUMBO! My older daughter and I have made it through the first two seasons, thanks to library DVDs, and we love it. I really enjoy catching sight of well-known character actors, too, esp. when they’re relative “unknowns” at the time of the episode. I never watched when the series was originally airing, so another wonderful discovery has been the subtextual class commentary. Who knew? As I had occasion to say during the chat with my latest podcast guest, there’s a straight line from COLUMBO to LEVERAGE. I think that’s pretty nifty.

Oh, there’s just one more thing...

Something that’s been useful for me to remember, as things in my personal life as well as in the world around me seem determined recently to throw me for far too many loops:

Hope is a choice. Joy is a practice.

Take care of yourselves, lovelies! I’ll be back with you soon.