Wherel's Howard?

Easier to find than Waldo, I suspect--tuches firmly planted on new couch or at one of what seems numberless branches of the hospital's cancer center. 

The holiday season was pleasant, quiet with several visits from out-of-town friends.  We missed the ice storm that paralyzed so much of Kansas, but it's been gray and often rainy, so somewhat depressing as winter worms its way slowly through.  We gave ourselves a nice present for the new year.  We both spend a lot of time on the couch facing the TV.  We eat there, read there, write blogs there--and that's when I'm alert.  We had a sofa with a chaise longue on Mohamed's end, and it was nice looking and fairly comfortable, but it was too low to the ground to get out of easily, so we decided to replace it.  I could manage one furniture store a day, which turned out to be exactly one week's worth of venturing out.  Eventually we settled on one that represented everything I'd always been snobbishly condescending to: it's a reclining loveseat, and a power recliner at that.  It's got cup holders.  We stopped just short of the precipice and didn't get the most comfortable one that had noticeable stitching.  It is dark blue leather, and much to my surprise, it's not only comfortable (that's not the surprising part), but rather handsome.  It makes staying awake even more difficult.

Healthwise, while Dr, Hashmi may be focused on the big picture, more small problems at different levels arose, so we were back to visiting specialist after specialist, all of whom seemed to lack a gestalt, each of whom had a vested interest in his'her specialty.  The ear ache had continued unabated, so we went off to the hospital's ENT to see a new doctor.  The doctors for all of the last six years, have never had a problem with our relationship and have always treated us as a married couple, even before we were legally married.  They may have been curious, but they were also discreet.  Dr. Barnes was more direct: "Just what is the nature of your relationship?"  I said that Mohamed was my husband, and he seemed confirmed in his assumption, but added that he had been uncertain because of the "large disparity" in our ages.  He gave me an antibiotic, but I had tried that before with no success.  The problem, he said, wss that the ear wasn't draining, so the fluid would build up again.  His solution was to insert a drain in my ear ("the Bold Look of Kohler"); he drilled a small hole in the ear drum, put in the teeny drain, and watched the fluid run out.  It was only a little painful.  The drain should fall out on its own after a year or so, and then things should be fine.  In the meantime, the ear feels much better.

The next problem is that I've been having a lot of trouble swallowing.  I've been losing weight, and though it's not been too hard to find soft foods, they're still not completely satisfying.  I  can just chew and chew, it seems,, and the bolus, instead of diminishing, just increases.  Chewing is difficult, and I have hard time initiating swallowing.  So off to another division of the ENT, where I had x-rays of me eating.  The tech would give me food laced with barium, and we would watch me chew on the x-ray machine.  I mean, we'd watch on the machine; I wasn't actually chewing on the machine.  It was very very strange.  The suggestions seemed common sense (eat ground meat, drink a lot while eating) but there was no hint of a cause.

Finally, in a temporary answer to which muscle will hurt next, it's one in my neck.  I've been wearing a neck brace for the last several days, and we went to a physical therapist who has scheduled some meetings and a few mild exercises.  What he doesn't want to do, he says,--and who am I to disagree?--is to fire up too much muscle activity in the areas where the tumors reside. 

I think that's a pretty comprehensive look and what's going on.  The constant fatigue is like the basso continuo in the background--always there, droning on.  I've used up my energy writing this, and I'm sure it's full of typos.  I'll fix it tomorrow, so you can suffer through today and give yourself a break and wait for a more polished version.