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Interim Report from the Poopdeck. No, I do not know why it was called the poop deck, or why a water fountain is a scuttlebutt, or a bathroom is a head, but the Navy has it\u2019s very own special language, probably to confuse the Barbary Pirates. Even the Marines have their own special language!<\/p>\n
I find this particular FHCC to be a very good place to go to if you’re nearby and need real help. Alert staff, docs answered all my stupid, uninformed “what did I do?” questions, patient as all get out and personable people. I would go there in a heartbeat.\u00a0 It’s directly connected to NS Great Lakes, population large, including recruits.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>There is a gallery of some real MOH recipients from WWII up to Recent Times (e.g., VN in-country) with their bios on the walls going to the Family Practice\/Womens’ Health departments. I will copy their names down next time I go, and forward them to our editors and ninjas so that their stories can get out to our audience.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Additionally, but certainly not least important, I am officially an airhead because not getting on the net meant no pin codes\/passwords in use and they all leaked out of my head. That proves that truth of \u2018use it or lose it\u201d. I am also a butthead about being sick and confined, period. Stubborn as a Missouri mule. But if I have to go for another stay (and there is at least one more planned, possibly more), I am allowed to bring the laptop along. I did finally figure out how to crank up FHCC’s internet connection, but the screens are up on the wall and the type is too small at that distance to be legible (to me, the nearsighted Rear Admiral) so the laptop may accompany me as a fully-charged guest when I have another “overnight” stay, which is planned for next month. <\/span>And yes, I will take my phone charger cord along! Theirs at the charging stations (nice freebie!) are the wrong size for my antique phone.<\/p>\n Punkin now has her very own kibble dispenser and water dispenser (no cost to orphaned cats) and she hates my boots because she is quite sure they are responsible for my disappearance. She’s sensitive! Those boots took me away from her for a week! They have to be Bad, Bad Boots, right?\u00a0 Cats are very logical critters. Has to be the fault of The Boots. ? She was in the bathroom staring at them last night, and muttering until I said \u201cSleepy time!\u201d<\/p>\n On Sunday, a couple of volunteers brought me cards and a pretty red rose in a vase. Couldn\u2019t figure out how to transport the rose in the freezing cold, so it was reluctantly left behind, sitting on the window sill.<\/p>\n Best part is, I had so many blood draws I look like I’ve been mainlining chocolate ice cream.\u00a0 I don’t know if I should reveal that I pulled off the classic “tossed my lunch” in Radiology, but that’s what happened. I gave the radiologist \u2018that look\u201d and said \u201cI think I\u2019m going to toss my cookies.\u201d He gave me a deep bin and reported me.\u00a0 Also, I have to keep a scorecard on the pills I’ve been ordered to take in order to keep track. Nothing related to cancer or cardiac, just a puzzler that has them scratching their heads. All gastric and I have an ulcer the size of a trout (or a bluegill) lurking well past the stomach\u2019s domain. No food restrictions, so I will return to mainlining chocolate ice cream and cheeseburgers and Polish sausages on a poppyseed bun with mustard, relish, pickles and chopped onions. I was told fish is good for this, so I’m going to try to find the Friday Lunch Ladies (6th grade) salmon casserole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yesterday before my PCP appointment, I met a man with a really sweet female German Shepherd service dog-in-training, a rescue dog from the Florida hurricane. I hope I see them again next time and will try to get the full story, as in how he got started on that and what you have to know to do that.<\/p>\n Everybody at the FHCC was professional, really truly nice, explained a lot of things, did not think I asked stupid questions or anything else. The food was not too bad for hospital food and with no restrictions, I could have BACON!!! for breakfast. But I have to have Ensure to gain back the 21 pounds I lost to this mess since last fall when I couldn’t pound cheeseburgers down my piehole. Down to my weight as a teen right now: not good, but as I said, no food restrictions of any kind. And Ensure needs to be buried under the flavor of chocolate syrup because it\u2019s kind of \u201cookie\u201d unless it\u2019s covered. (Thank you, Lawdy!) And the social service gal brought me a Health Care POA to fill out and get witnessed\/signed, because the FHCC wants one on file now, which is fine by me. I think it’s a good thing to have in place, too.<\/p>\n Also, if you’ve been in the rack for a week or so, don’t get up at 6AM and hustle on over to Walmart to pick up stuff. Wait until you’ve walked around a bit and your large muscles don’t start dragging on the floor.<\/p>\n And finally, (last bit), the guy who pushed me around here and there and to the front door \u2013 er, starboard gangplank – is an Army vet, very good-natured fellow, told me about piloting a fellow down to the Hemo lab, who declared himself to be a “former skipper” and therefore, must have been piloting the USS Minnow, but that Gilligan could have driven the Minnow better. The crew of Corpsmen at the desk there immediately began singing the theme from \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d.<\/p>\n I told my helmsman the story about the Navy\u2019s worst Admiral EVER, who crashed more ships than there are cars at a wrecking derby, so the Navy gave him a desk job which took him off the deck to the desk, writing up theory of naval warfare and sundry other technical subjects. I also asked my helmsman if he could decipher my dogtags, and he knew the serial number was OLD – like 50 years OLD! – and when I said I got them in 1967, he gave me a hand salute, which I, as a Rear Admiral (his joke), immediately returned and then he pushed me down the hall – er, passageway – while I hollered “Hard to port! All ahead full! Make a hole! Make a hole! Regular Navy coming through! Let\u2019s kick this pig!” He didn’t know how to pipe someone overboard, but that’s not his fault.<\/p>\n That’s my sea story for this month.<\/p>\n This ain’t over yet, but I got to spook my sister, (brilliant at teaching and counseling undergrad and grad students on career programs and plans, but sometimes has the common sense of a cabbage, but she’s my sis and I love her) and let her know signif stuff without giving away too much.\u00a0 She will never, ever retire from her job. She had two classes last night plus her regular counseling of career-oriented students at all levels, undergrad to post-grad, and another night class this PM and two on Sunday, and it is probably snowing like a banshee down south of my kingdom. She will probably shut off some day in the middle of a sentence with both hands glued to her lectern, staring into space.<\/p>\n This episode of “Wake Up, Idiot!”<\/strong> was brought to you by Naval Station Great Lakes, and the snowstorm going on outside my windows now.\u00a0 I will never take chicken soup for granted again. I had borrowed AW1Ed\u2019s recipe for this week\u2019s menu but he’s going to post it and we ALL need hearty soup in this weather. It\u2019s even better than he said it is!<\/p>\n And an enormously large\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09 <3 to the entire bunch of you!!!!<\/p>\n If anyone at all has heard from or about Willie, please post it. Just keeping tabs on Those Missing In Action!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Punkin-Squawkypants-I-300x187.jpg\")
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