We have a new puppy

8/1/12 Wednesday

          We start another month. Looking back I see the last post I made was a week ago, plus one day. I read about the issue with the Veteran’s Administration drug tests so figure that would be a good place to start updating things. I had expressed my frustration in writing several times, making sure it got to more people than just my doctor. Finally I found a certified laboratory in Midland, that does drug tests for the court system as well as a variety of businesses. The cost is $200 bucks for either the hair test, that goes back 90 days, or the blood serum test. So I wrote the doctor and explained that we were planning on paying to have that test done, despite the hardship that would cause, in order to prove that I am taking the medications as prescribed. The doctor called me.

          He explained that it would not matter because the only tests they were allowed to accept are through VA approved facilities. Nuts. But my insistence on verifying I was taking the medication, to the point making the 46 mile drive twice a day in order to take the medication in front of witnesses, seemed to have gotten through. Last week I went in to once again submit urine and blood samples and also to talk with the heads of the pharmacy as well as the laboratory. They had a big meeting with my doctor and the acting commander of the VA hospital regarding this. The conclusion was that I am obviously not a drug abuser, I presume due to my insistence regarding this. The head of the pharmacy talked with me. He suggested my metabolism is so high it burns off the residue of opiates quickly, thus it not showing in the test. That doesn’t add up for me, because I can’t see how the urine sample, taken minutes after the blood, can show opiates but the blood sample does not. But I am not a doctor and also understand our bodies are amazingly complex organisms and that none of us are exactly the same.

I also know my metabolism drastically changed after the brain injury and subsequent coma. I can go out in the snow wearing only a t-shirt and be fine. However part of that is from my-self training to ignore and not allow things like pain, hunger, cold, heat, or other discomforts, to hinder me in any way. This training goes way back to include the many hardships I have endured in my life. There was leaving home and living on the streets, hitchhiking around the country after Vietnam, and next the hard field labor I experienced in the Texas prison system at 19. All that and some of the self-discipline taught in martial arts toughened me up pretty good. But I digress.

So I went in for more drug tests yesterday. You can bet your boopy (Don’t have a clue what a boopy is or where that came from) that, knowing there are questions regarding my use of this medication, I have been diligent to take it as ordered and in fact took one of the quick release pills that are to be saved for what they called “breakthrough” pain despite the fact I did not hurt that bad. I had to go back at 3:00 because the one blood sample did something called “hemolysis” so wasn’t good. I made sure to send a note to  the doctor and document that I took a pill at ten the night before, six in the morning, and a third one at my normal time of 2:00, just an hour before the test. It will be interesting to see what the test results are. Meantime they are just releasing this medication in ten day supplies. What a pain that is.

Our new puppy is doing well. Hang on while I go back and see if I even mentioned that puppy in the last post. Nope, not a word. So here is the announcement, “We have a new puppy!!!” Let me explain how this happened. One of the sweet lil ole ladies we care for had been out with Cherie to get some groceries and her prescription filled. There was someone giving puppies away at the Walmart so Geneva impulsively decided to get one. We knew that this puppy might be more than Geneva could handle and sure enough it was. Geneva tried to find a home for it and finally called me. She mostly wanted to pour out her heart regarding this puppy she loved but could not keep. When she told me that she would have to take it to the pound, were it would be put to sleep if not adopted in 3 days, I knew we had to help. Geneva has plenty of other problems on her shoulders without the added guilt that would come with this scenario. So I talked with Cherie. We agreed to take the puppy and work to find a good loving home for it. Understand that I already knew what could and probably would happen. Sure enough it did. Cherie was adamant that we could not have another animal at first but it only took a few days for her to say “I think we can keep her”.

The puppies name is Maisey. (I don’t have a clue if I spelled that right) She is supposed to be a Border Collie and Labrador mix but you can never be sure about things like that. She has a sweet spirit and gets along with the other dogs very well, though her constant energy and rambunctiousness does get on Rascal and Trixie’s nerves and they “correct” her. Our big concern is that highway in front of the house but she stays with the other dogs and so far has stayed away from that road. Our hearts have been broken many times losing our loved pets and I sure hope we will not go through that again. We keep a close eye on her.

The concoction I painted on the watermelons did nothing to prevent coyotes from eating them. Every morning I find more that have been destroyed. I have gone out several times in the late hours or early before the sun rises to try and catch a coyote eating my melons so I could pepper their butts with some buckshot but to no avail. They are slick for sure and sure earned their reputation for being wily.  

I’ve been out with the mower for days trying to mow these weeds down. That poor mower has seen some hard use. I engineered a way to put the wheel that broke back on but the other wheels are all pretty wobbly. We need to get yet another blade for it. I have lost count how many blades we wore out with that mower. I keep having to clean the spark plug but yesterday and today the mower would only run about an hour before it refuses to start again. Eventually we hope to find a more powerful mower, perhaps even a riding one.

Started training for another Kairos prison ministry event. Here is where the rubber meets the road as far as our Christian faith goes. It is the difference between talking and doing. God is not impressed with talk. Not even a little. There is a scripture that says “Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. I have seen many who put on a veneer of Christianity but when you get past the veneer there really is not much to see.

Now it is Thursday. Will be hot again so heading out early to get some work done. Always so much to do. There is 3 acres of wheat I have been unable to harvest and much of the rye has lost the grain from the heads as birds probably eat it. Sure wish I had a scythe to use on the wheat. I hope to build a rack that will hold the wheat I already harvested off the ground and let air flow through as much of it has turned dark from mold or something. Cleaned the air filter for the lawnmower as best I can and hope that will allow it to start and work better. That’s it. Work to do.