Getting Healthy in San Diego one bone at a time!

Sunday, February 8th — On Thursday I received the graph of my tenth re-exam, which took place last Wednesday.

“Drat ‘n’ damn!” as my dad used to say, at appropriate moments. I was unhappy to note that not only had I not gained anything in the past month, but I had even lost a bit.  This would be great if we were talking about weight, but we are talking about Improvements. I was at 76% at the January exam; now I was back to 72.3%, right where I was in December.

The problem was the hips, once again: the left one was pushed a little forward, while the right one was pushed a little backward.

How silly to be disheartened at a little line that points ever so slightly downward, instead of ever so slightly upward! But I was, and I am. Just a bit.

I’m not ready to stop improving. Okay, here’s how I’m going to rationalize it: my “attendance” was irregular since the last re-exam, partly because DK was away for a week, partly because I had to put off a couple of appointments. Now, I’m bracing for a straight line at the March re-exam, because once again Dr. Klein will be away for a week, the week of February 16th; so I’ll be thrown off again. But there are still almost 30 points to go! I insist upon improvement!

Do you have any idea how tiresome it is to be a perfectionist? I’m exhausted!

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Monday, February 2nd — Well, yesterday, as most of you know, was the Super Bowl game. I’m not much of a football fan, so the day would have meant nothing to me except for two things. First, I always call my daughter Sarah on Super Bowl Sunday, to tell her how delighted I am that she and her wonderful husband of ten years met at a Super Bowl party 13 or 14 years ago. And second, because of the following incident.

Ever since last Friday, I had been having increasing pain in my right upper back, down under the shoulder blade. It felt the way I remember strained muscles feeling, except that I hadn’t done anything to strain a muscle. It got worse and worse; I slept badly Friday and Saturday nights, and by Sunday, I have to admit that a few tears squeezed out when I moved too quickly a couple of times. (Oh yeah, I am not above crying when I hurt unexpectedly!)

So I finally decided to ask my Beloved Spouse to give me a little bit of a back-rub right on the sore spot. Here’s how it went:

ME:     Robert, would you mind rubbing my back really hard just for a minute?

HIM:   (getting up from the sofa and standing behind me) Okay, here?… Here?

ME:     Yeah, right there, right under the shoulder blade. Oh, jeez, it’s so SORE! Could you please rub it really hard?

HIM:   (wiggling his knuckle briefly in the right place) There, how’s that?

ME:     Is that all? That was all of about ten seconds!

HIM:   I have to watch The Game!!

Okay, now we know where Helping the Helpmeet falls on a scale of importance: One to Ten, with Ten being highest, probably about a Three, with the Super Bowl Game at perhaps a Five. 

The next morning, when Kelli came for my yoga therapy, the Beloved Spouse made a point of saying, “Kelli, did Betsy tell you about that muscle that was falling out of her back last night?”

Huh?? Were there any holes in my back? Any bits of muscle tissue on the floor? Anything hanging out from my shirt?  “Yes,” said he, “I was really upset because there was this muscle falling out of her back! She was in terrible pain! She couldn’t even stand to have me touch it!”

Do we live in the same universe, he and I?

Kelli did a physical-therapist-style check of my back and said she found no straggling muscles or unexpected holes. She did feel that the intercostal muscles were more developed on the right side than on the left, but that’s to be expected since I’m right-handed. I could hardly wait for my appointment at 1:00 with Dr. Klein. Surely he could figure out what was wrong. (And it was still hurting, by the way.)

Of course, it had to be a day when he was rushing a bit. As I lay on my face on the table, I tried to explain the problem, but it’s hard to make much sense when your face is crunched up with that crispy paper that keeps your makeup off the vinyl upholstery of the table. Next thing I knew, I was yelling OWWWW! as DK pushed on a rib. He stopped: “I don’t want to adjust you till I’m sure you’re okay,” he said. “Roseanna, take Betsy in the other room and check her back, see if she’s all right before I continue.”

Wait a minute! That’s what I was hoping he would do, check my back and tell me what the problem was! But he was off to the other table and another patient who was awaiting attention. And Roseanna and I were in the other room, me steaming a bit with frustration, and her calming me down and asking about the back pain. Roseanna is wonderful at calming people down; she has a way of making you feel you are the most important person in the world at that moment, and your problem is the only thing she wants to think about. I don’t quite know how she does it, with the fast pace of the Seaside office, but she always does.

We had pretty much decided that it was probably a rib slightly out of place, if it wasn’t a strained muscle; and I had pretty much done all the venting I needed to do… when David opened the door and popped his head in, beaming, and said, “”Okay, Betsy, come on, I’ll finish your adjustment now.” We then did a little Courtesy Dance, bowing heads to each other, each of us being slightly apologetic for having been steamed up, while he got me on the table again and proceeded to do a wonderful, wonderful adjustment. No haste, no hurry, just perfect attention. And when he got to the rib just under the right shoulder blade — CRACK! –and no more pain!

Apparently the whole problem had, indeed, been a rib that was slightly out of place, and pressing wrongly on the muscle.

I don’t really know what the moral of this one is, except that not even DK, my guru, is perfect, and does occasionally get a bit tetchy when he’s in a rush. And I already know that I myself get tetchy when I’m being rushed along. And Robert gets tetchy when he’s asked to give a back-rub during the Super Bowl. So the only one with perfect balance and equanimity in this scenario was… Roseanna!

Thanks to you, David, for getting that rib back in its proper place and instantly removing the pain. And thanks to you, Roseanna, for being the one who balances everything at Seaside Chiropractic. You are both irreplaceable.

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Tuesday, January 20th — One of the people who has made a true difference in  my life is Dr. David Klein, my chiropractor, friend, and mentor. David was the one who suggested I could be writing and editing online to earn some $$$. David offered me a chance to blog through his website, and I had no idea that blogging could be so much fun, even if few people read the blog. David makes me laugh, has taught me an enormous lot about chiropractic and the Internet, and is gradually helping me return my stiff and painful body to a state of new flexibility and normality.  I admire him tremendously.

And David Klein, like so many other people in America at this time, is bubbling like the best champagne with hope, and determination, and pride, and conviction that Something New Starts NOW.

Our 44th President, Barack Obama, was sworn in this morning. If you’re a prayin’ kind of person, you might spare one for this courageous young man who is taking on probably the biggest job in the world. 

I have been almost completely apolitical my whole long life, unable to work up much enthusiasm for either American or Canadian politics over the decades. I’m registered as an Independent, which usually gives me a chance to pick and choose instead of being tied to a party line.

But this time… THIS TIME, I found myself fascinated by the presidential campaign, and thrilled by the idea that Change was definitely on the horizon. What really interested me was the way people seemed to be waking up from a long sleep, coming to life in a new way. As the time rolled on and Election Day passed, this wave of enthusiasm, optimism, hope, and — how corny is it to say “dedication”? — just seemed to grow and grow.

I’ve just read a blog post of David Klein’s on another website of his. In this post, he describes how he recently did a complete turnaround in his feelings about being an American, and about how we can, together, as Americans, make the new change happen. And he asked anybody who “gives even half a rat’s ass” for him to take up the challenge, blog about our own thoughts and feelings at this pivotal point in our country’s history, and exhort all our readers — no matter how few they may be — to think about how we could change the world if each one of us tried a little harder.

Well, David, I tell ya, I DO give more than half a rat’s ass about you. I’d say I would give you the whole damn rat!

Let me briefly quote from David Klein’s blog: “Are you ready again to be proud of your country, and proud to be an American?

“Let’s do this thing! Let’s work hard and proud! Let’s go to sleep exhausted after working so hard all day. Let’s encourage the masses to do the same. Let’s be fair, and honest, and true to our own ideals.

“That will solve it.”

I love seeing someone I know and care about put it right out there. There is no way to improve what has looked like a bad situation, whether on the micro-personal level or the macro-global level, except to do exactly that. Can you imagine how life would change for all of us if we knew that each person, including ourselves, was being fair, and honest, and true to his or her own ideals?

So here is my exhortation, to show that I do indeed give a rat’s ass for Dr. David Klein. If an apolitical old geezer like me can find an epiphany in the climate of hope and change that pervades America today — can you? I don’t know how long the champagne bubbles will last, but I, for one, intend to work a little harder at what I’m doing in the world; be a little nicer to people I come across; try to help a little more when I see somebody who needs help; and blog a little more often as well. I’m going to be a little tougher on myself and a little easier on the other folks.

Starting today — an auspicious day for America, and the day after my 71st birthday, so not a bad day for me to make a change, as well.

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Sunday, December 28th — At Seaside Chiropractic last Monday, I noticed that the three beautiful huge poinsettia plants ($40 each if they were a dime!) were looking a bit droopy. I mentioned to Roseanna, also to Jenny, that they looked as if they could use a drink.

Tuesday, the last day before vacation for DK and the ladies, they (the plants) looked even sadder. I could tell my hint about water had gone un-acted-upon. So, while David was working on my shoulders, I asked oh-so-casually, “So — you’re going to be away for ten days; who’s looking after the poinsettias?”

DK:  Oh, I’m sort of a disposable-poinsettia kind of guy. We decorate for a couple of weeks and then I throw everything out.

ME:  Oh, NO! They’re so beautiful! Hey, let me take them home and take care of them, and then I’ll bring them back on January 5th, how about that?

DK:  You can keep ‘em! I won’t be thinking about Christmas decorations when I get back from Yellowstone. Just keep ‘em.

ME:  Wow! Thanks! That’s terrific!… Hmmm… how about the wreaths?

DK:  I’ll just toss those in the garbage when we close up tonight.

ME:  Can I take those too?

Shameless, right? Especially since we never do much in the way of decorating for the holidays. It’s just me and the Beloved Spouse; I make a really great Christmas dinner and we eat ourselves senseless, do the exchanging presents thing, and take a nap, and it’s a perfect day. 

We arranged for Roseanna to take the goodies next door to Anita, who runs the La Jolla Mailbox; I would come by next morning and pick them up. About 6:30 that night, I had a call from Roseanna, who said that Anita had closed up before Seaside was ready to go. David had wanted to stay decorated till the last patient left… the last tidbit of festivity to be gleaned…  Roseanna said she’d put the plants and the wreaths on the red bench outside the office, and we’d hope nobody would take them. I figured, if anyone wanted them that badly, fine — at least they’d get watered.

What to my wondering eyes did appear (so to speak) the next morning at 9:30, when I pulled into my favorite parking spot in front of Seaside? There were the three huge poinsettias, with the three beautiful big balsam wreaths stacked neatly beside them, all waiting for me on the red bench! I could hardly believe no one had picked them up.

Anita helped me load them in the car, and home I went (ho ho ho), full of the ol’ holiday spirit. So what if it was only two days before Christmas? I don’t really celebrate Christmas anyhow! But the front of our house now looks more seasonally festive than it has for years: beautiful red poinsettias in a group near the front doors (there are two, side by side), and balsam wreaths hung on the screens outside the doors. The other wreath is lying on the round glass patio table with my potted Christmas cactus blooming madly in the center. I like the look. Maybe we’ll do it again next year.

Maybe we’ll leave the whole thing in place for a month or so. Or maybe my Beloved Spouse will get all traditional on me and want to take it all apart on January 6th. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Obviously, I am late for wishing you all a Merry Christmas, but I hope you had as relaxing a day as we did; and that your New Year will be full of everything that makes you happy. Thanks for reading — Betsy

Wednesday, December 17th — I guess I ask a lot of questions. I know I often want to find out more about whatever’s the topic at hand, and by now, at my advanced age, I am not shy about asking about what interests me. Maybe I irritate people by doing this, maybe not… but I no longer consider that as my first criterion.

So today I arrived a few minutes early for my appointment at Seaside. There were no signs of other patients, for the moment. DK was just telling Jenny and Rachel that they would take the opportunity for a few minutes of “staff meeting.” I offered to go out and come back in a few minutes, or at least stay in the waiting room; but he told me I could sit down and listen, if I didn’t say anything.

In just about five minutes, he had asked each of them to summarize in her own words the “product” of Seaside Chiropractic, state how she felt about that, and describe how they go about ensuring that this “product” is turned out. What would be your guess as to the product? Right: it’s (essentially) healthier patients, whose spines have been restored to a normalized condition, free of subluxations. (Did I get that right, Dr. Klein?) And then there were more questions for them, such as, “How do we determine whether subluxations have been eliminated?” Answer: by means of the monthly re-exam, and the graph of the results of the re-exam.

By this time, my hand was itching to be raised: oooh, oooh! I have a question!  So I wiggled around a bit, and sort of hummed, and David said, “Do you by any chance have a question, Betsy?” OH, YEAH! Did I ever!

Down the side of the graph that is produced for each re-exam, there’s a list of all the Objective Findings that have been noted by Dr. Klein: in other words, all the things he has found that are not normal. As each one is found to be normalized, the date of that re-exam is entered. Sometimes new Objective Findings are noted, and entered. Under the graph itself are the words, “Corrective Care is completed when three consecutive re-exams have the same score, or when the progress score equals 90 points.” And my question was: WHY 90? ISN’T IT POSSIBLE TO DO BETTER THAN 90?

(You may gather from this that I am… oh… let’s say, somewhat competitive, even with myself. I have never been satisfied with 90. Why should this be any different?)

I was very happy to learn that indeed it is possible to score higher than 90, in the fullness of time. Unusual, but possible. It’s probably not very likely, in the case of a geezer like me; a 25-year-old would have a better chance; but hey, he said POSSIBLE. That’s good enough for me.

Funny how I was just considering this same matter in my previous post, and now here it came up again today. Yes, as I said last time, this is going to be my first Goal for 2009.

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for reading — Betsy

Sunday, December 14th — I had my ninth re-exam at Seaside this past week. The last couple of months’ exams have been a little disappointing: not quite no-progress flatline graphs, but very  slight progress indeed, hence only an infinitesimal creeping up of the line on the graph.  I figured this time might be better, since I had that Instant Miracle loosening  of C7 during the past month. I was delighted to discover that  as of now, I have recovered 76 of a “possible” 90 points!

Each time now that there is improvement, it’s on a small scale: for example, this month, the “head tilt left” that was brand-new on November 5 had righted itself again; and “limited lumbar range of motion extension,” or bending over backward from the waist, had finally come within the range of normal. This was also almost the first time that some new something hadn’t shown itself out of whack — which makes sense, when you think that every time two vertebrae become “unstuck”, they may be pushing an adjacent vertebra out of the correct position. Might it not be possible to exceed 90 and push on to 100? I am certainly going to try!

Dr. Klein and all the gals will be off on their respective holiday vacations for ten days pretty soon. That’s quite a space of no-chiro for people like me. So I’ll be trying to practice stretching and bending and all that good stuff in between, to be certain I don’t seize up again before the new year.

I gave up making New Year’s Resolutions some decades back, when I realized I was just setting myself up for failure by setting target dates for huge changes. You know the stuff: “I will lose thirty pounds by March 31st,” or “I will never eat chocolate except on Wednesdays”…? Now I just set general goals and do the best I can, without beating myself up and relapsing big-time if I don’t manage to meet them.

So for 2009, I’m thinking — I’ll give myself the whole year to recover 90 points, and then I’ll keep going as far as I can. Who knows? Miracles do happen.

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Tuesday, December 9th — You haven’t heard me mention the extremely scenic young ladies at Seaside Chiropractic lately — not since I listed the Ten Things I Really Love about Seaside Chiropractic, a couple of months ago at least. That’s because the scenery has been changing.

It’s sort of like a train trip, where you look out the windows as you ride. For a while perhaps you’re in the mountains, and it’s really breathtaking; but after a while you begin to get used to it, and it seems as if it’ll be mountains for the rest of the trip. You start to read your book, now and then looking out the window again, and then going back to the page.

All of a sudden, when you look up from your book and check the window, you find that the mountains have disappeared and you’re suddenly in very different country. Maybe it’s a wooded area, with a river rushing along beside the tracks… or maybe you’re almost into desertland, and there are cacti now and again instead of pine trees. You take your pick: anyway, it’s different. Still gorgeous, the scenery, but different.

Okay, that’s the end of the metaphor. We’re talking Seaside Chiropractic. Li’l Ms. Emily, the Georgia Peach, left us suddenly a while back to return to the Sunny South for a family emergency. The emergency smoothed itself out, but Emily stayed back east. She will become a mama in April, and decided it was better to be where her mama could enjoy this experience with her. I miss her a lot, we all do: she’s beautiful and smart and kind, and had become very special to me.

But the scenery changes, and the new view is lovely too. Jenny came aboard almost instantly, and is not only mighty easy on the eyes, but has a snappy wit and a great way with Game Questions. Jenny’s getting to be pretty special for me as well. Do I bond easily? Well, only with really extraordinary people. I am fortunate to find so many of them at Seaside. There is really a kind of magic there that seems to attract the right people as staff members, for the lucky people who are there as patients.

Now, it appears, we also will be seeing Rachel on a regular basis. How does Dr. Klein find all these beautiful young women — beautiful as people, as well as extremely decorative? The office is embellished by its staff members just as much as by its orchids.

And of course there is Roseanna, who is the thread who holds it all together. She sets the gold standard for the rest of the staff in every way, and she is a hard act to follow, believe me. I’ve never met anyone who was so tactful and encouraging with all kinds of patients! I’ve learned a lot from Roseanna, not just in Patient Education sessions, but also by watching her deal with various people. (Another beauteous creature… oh, DK, you must have connections with the Fairy Godmother or something!)

I guess the moral of this piece is: don’t mind if you get attached to the scenery, but don’t let yourself think it’s the only lovely view there’ll ever be!

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Sunday, November 30th — We are quite a motley crew, our family. Robert is a member of the Anglican Communion, called in the USA “an Episcopalian”. Janet and her sons are Roman Catholic, Alison is a Unitarian. And I am Jewish. (And that’s only his side… mine is just as convoluted.)

All that is a preface to my conversation with Roger, when he returned from going to his Grandpa’s church with Grandpa and Mom on Thanksgiving morning.

ME:        So how was church?

ROGER:  It was okay… it was really different.

ME:        Different in what way?

ROGER:  Well, in your church, you have to go up to the front to Get It. That’s not like in my church.

ME:        Oh? And how do you Get It in your church?

ROGER:  You just stand there with your hands open like this (demonstrating), and that’s how you Get It.

ME:       You mean, they Bring It to you?

ROGER:  Yeah, that’s right, that’s how you Get It. And another thing that was different — that was the first time I’ve ever seen a priest that was a woman.

ME:        That’s because in the Roman Catholic church all the priests are men.

ROGER:  Wait a minute, you mean you aren’t Catholic??

ME:        Well, actually, I’m Jewish; but Grandpa is Episcopalian. That was an Episcopalian church.

ROGER:  (looking horrified) You’re JEWISH? That WASN’T a Catholic church? Oh my God!

ME:       Oh-my-God that I’m Jewish, or oh-my-God that it wasn’t a Catholic church? As far as I know, Catholics and Episcopalians are allowed to receive communion in each other’s churches. Grandpa goes to your church with you when he’s visiting you, doesn’t he?

ROGER:  Yes, but… it’s just… that’s a lot of unexpected things at once. I think I better go sort out the money for CAT-opoly.

Yes, there’s nothing like sorting fake money into piles to ease the shock of learning that things you’ve taken for granted are Not As They Seem.

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Saturday, November 29th — Our Thanksgiving weekend is just coming to a close, and I am exhausted. My Beloved Spouse’s two grown daughters, Janet and Alison (one from Alameda, CA, one from Dallas, TX) have been with us, as well as Janet’s sons Eric (13) and Roger (9). The Alameda gang arrived Wednesday afternoon, and Ali came on Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day itself).

The Quiet Life

Robert and I really live very quietly with our two elderly lady cats. I forget how low-key and generally predictable our everyday life is, until something comes along to turn it upside down for a few days. Something like a heart attack, or wildfires not far away, or a visit from relatives…

Don’t get me wrong: I am not comparing the enjoyment level of a relatives’ visit with the enjoyment level of wildfires or heart attacks. It’s just the disruption level that compares. I guess we are really old geezers, after all, although I like to pretend I, at least, am not.

Planning, and Cooking, and Feasting– Oh, My!

For the last five years, we have “made it easy on Betsy” by getting the Holiday Dinner from Ralphs supermarket. (I did not forget the apostrophe: “Ralphs” doesn’t use one.) You get a seasoned and partially-cooked turkey; frozen stuffing, mashed potatoes, yam casserole, gravy, and green bean casserole; fresh cranberry sauce (pretty good, actually, made with apples and pears as well as cranberries); dinner rolls, the ol’ Brown-and-Serve kind; and a very good, almost-homemade, apple pie.

You let the whole business thaw in its big box, in the garage, overnight. Then, on the morning of Thanksgiving Day, you take the box apart into its component foodstuffs and plan how to cook each item the requisite time so that everything is ready to serve at the same moment. That was most of my Thursday – oh yeah, and I baked Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, from scratch, just to show that I really do know how to cook.  My friend Tom and his family in Palo Alto called to say Happy Thanksgiving, and I was up to the elbows in pumpkin and cream cheese and eggs, and couldn’t even have a proper conversation!  (Sorry, Tom!) Janet and Roger and Grandpa went to church, and then to the airport for Aunt Ali; Eric slept an extra couple of hours,  then helped me set the table.

And then came the Feasting. How long did that take? Oh, probably an hour total, maybe less. Quite a bit less.

“Twilight” in the Afternoon

On Friday there was a movie, for Alison and the Spouse and me, while Janet and the boys went to LegoLand yet again. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a movie on the very first day it hit the theatres, but this time we went to see “Twilight” on the first day. Expecting the theatre to be jammed, we were presented with about 150 seats from which to choose at the 1:20 show. I have to say, Robert was damn good to go to a vampire movie with me, even though I know he would have turned me down if Ali hadn’t wanted to see it. (The book was better, but the movie was okay — I liked it.)

Getting up out of those awful low fold-up seats was some kind of hell, after the credits ran, and the lights came up, and everybody else had left. I struggled for a good five minutes, trying it this way and that way, and finally heaved myself up with an exhale and a little screech of pain, as my shoulders yelled WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING??  It was dumb to put that kind of pressure on them, and I should have remembered about the seats, but it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to a movie theatre. I guess it’s Netflix for me from here on in, unless Dr. Klein pulls even more of a miracle out of his hat in the next few months.

What’s the Why of Thanks Giving, Then?

Well, this year, for me it was seeing the boys again after about four years, and finding that each one of them was an interesting, funny, sweet, and smart individual. I can’t count how many games of “CAT-opoly” were played. I was amazed at how polite these kids were; really not what I had expected at all. It was good to get kid-sized hugs again, and to have a pink-cheeked, sleepy-eyed blond boy tell me he was going to miss me tomorrow. I’m grateful that I am as functional as I am — to be able to get a huge feast ready for six people, even if it was partially frozen to begin with, is quite an achievement for a person who couldn’t lift her arms above ground-parallel ten months ago. I’m thankful that Robert’s pacemaker is doing what it’s supposed to do, and that he is seeing David Klein for his back problems. I’m VERY thankful for David Klein, for that matter.

They’ll all be gone by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. The cats, having just gotten used to the hubbub, will be wondering what’s become of them. Amy was actually sleeping on Eric’s lap tonight, a first for her with anyone but Robert or me. This was a great weekend; tomorrow we’ll go back to being Quiet Geezers.

Thanks for reading — Betsy

Saturday, November 29th — I’ve been reading various posts from Sonia Simone on Copyblogger, and she insists that Subheads are the way to make your blog more interesting.

What Do You Think?

I’d love to make my blog so interesting that lots of people want to read it. I love talking about my experiences at Seaside Chiropractic, and what seems to me to be absolutely amazing progress for an old babe like me. Do you — yes, you, the person who’s reading this right now — think the use of Subheads would tart this blog up to the degree that readers would flock to it?

Let’s Have Your Opinion!

Let me know what you think. I’m happy to go the Subheads route, as suggested by Sonia Simone; so many of her ideas are really inspirational to the novice blogger. But your thoughts would also inspire me. Let’s hear what they are on this matter.

Thanks for reading — Betsy