captainsblog | Oot and a boot...

Quite possibly soon, a walking boot for Eleanor, after a much delayed surgery may finally happen:)

My work week ended with a pretty dull day, me accomplishing just enough to make it through another week without any major fires in need of putting out. But that was OK, because for the first time in a very long time we'd gotten a process under way, and were looking forward to a night out with friends, Eleanor joining me for the kind of music that is so much a part of my sanity these days.

For years now- we can't even be sure how many, but at least back to 2018- Eleanor's been fighting degenerative arthritis. It's all over, but the knees give her the most trouble. That at-least-2018 practice has resisted even discussion of surgical options for it. Until last year, it was cortisone shots. They'd give her two days of agony from the post-injection amping up of her metabolism, then would take at least a month for any relief, only to wear off a month or so after that. Lather, inject, repeat. Finally, in 2022 the doctor switched her to a gel shot that promised better results. Which they did, to a point, but not nearly an acceptable enough one. Finally, we decided to get some second opinioining going. I reached out to friends with this Facepost:

Here's something for the hive mind. Fitting, because it's about the bee's knees.

Eleanor's, to be precise. She's been with the same orthopaedist for years, who has put her through a regimen of shots (first cortisone, more recently gel) to relieve the pain and stiffness in both of hers. He has not moved forward with anything toward knee replacement, and may be resisting that step. She's on Medicare with a pretty good supplemental plan, but she has some suspicion that their approval may be required for that step, and that they may not be willing to give it unless it's a last resort.

So, then, bees, or relatives of bees who've HAD knee replacement:

- Did you encounter this kind of trouble before you were able to get the procedure done?
- How long did it take to get it approved (if it did) and then scheduled (once it did if it did)?
- Most importantly, did it work?

In the meantime, she is seeking out a second opinion from a different ortho practice, but we thought I should toss this out there to see if any of you, or your elders, have gone down this road.

The responses we got were encouraging- about both the success of the procedure and about Medicare covering it. Several mentioned specifically the practice she's been with as being less than effective for them, and the one she'd reached out to for a second opinion producing better results. All very encouraging.

After getting the previous ones to send her records over, the new one scheduled her very quickly. Their first question was whether she wanted to meet first with a doctor with more of a surgery specialty or one more generally inclined to look at other options. At first, she picked Column B and was given an initial appointment date in mid-March. Then she reconsidered, called back to switch to Column A, and that appointment to begin the surgery exploration is later this week.

I think her just having the relief in sight made it easier to get up- in both senses of the word- for the outing we took on Friday night.

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The venue was new to both of us. Buffalo Iron Works is in the Cobblestone District next to where the Sabres play, and is not to be confused with Buffalo River Works. We’ve also never been to that one, but we had a better idea of where it was: down by the river (duh), and incorporating some of the silos that are part of the city's once dominant grain industry. Those factories are not completely gone: General Mills maintains a presence on that waterfront, and My City Smells Like Cheerios is one of the 716's identifying markers. We could smell the Cocoa Puffs in the air outside Iron Works when I finally walked in the other evening.

The main act was the band fronted by a friend we know from poetry circles, in which another poet friend also does vocals. I'd had it on my own calendar for weeks, but a few days before it, Eleanor was talking with other friends who were going and she sounded game. The ads for it said 7 p.m., not bad for the old coots, so we ate at home and found the venue with only a minor detour in time for that.

Cobblestone Districts weren't developed with a lot of parking built in, so I dropped the missus at the door and found a spot around the corner. I was then picked up by a car full of the friends we were planning to meet, who wound up in the Sabres' parking garage across the street from Iron Works. There, another car of friends were unloading- not music gear but a box of tools.

That's our friend Lissa, whose day job is running the Buffalo Tool Library. Farrow, lead singer of the headlining band, invited her to bring her tool and donation boxes to a table at the entrance, an effort they make to promote a community oriented group at their shows. Just like Springsteen does, only without the $2,000 tickets to get in.

The site had few tables, but Eleanor had managed to snag one of the free-range chairs next to a ledge a few feet from the stage. I stood, leaned, walked about for the ensuing almost four hours, for amazingly that's about how long we were there. Only after arrival did I see the schedule: Farrow wouldn't go on until 10, with two opening acts each getting 50 minutes starting at 8. For once, I was the one who wasn't sure I'd make it that long, but once the music got going there was no way I was going to be the one to call time.

First out was a local band also with Rochester roots called Miller and the Original Sinners:

Lead Sinner David Miller is up front on the guitar, with a full horn section behind and an amazing keyboardist to his left.

Then this woman, Curtis Lovell. Just her, that electronic keyboard and lyrics read off her phone. Stunning.

And we were still hanging in when Farrow, our friend Danielle to his right and the other five in his lineup all came out:

It was the release party for their newest CD, Educate, and we picked that up along with the prior one Agitate. Both were full of togetherness and hope as well as the title emotions. We didn't make it to the final encore but weren't sacked out until pretty close to midnight. It's encouraging that there may be more nights like this in both of our futures now.

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After that, the weekend was pretty sedate. Facefuck promptly woke me first thing Saturday with You have four events today! I laughed and sent my regrets to each (and to the three it told me about for yesterday). I did run a ton of errands Saturday and got in my first writing group with actual reading since I think October. Yesterday was spent mostly ignoring football and catching up on our latest list of binges. No new Woo that I've mentioned before, but the current goings include:

Poker Face on Peacock: Rian Johnson mixes his Knives Out craftsmanship with the style of Columbo and other mystery/road tales from the 60s and 70s. Natasha Lyonne, who we loved in Russian Doll, has a different affliction this time which drives the plots. We're two episodes in and are likely sticking with.

On the Verge and Standing Up on Netflix. Both have French elements: the former, mostly in English, was created by Julie Delpy and stars her and three other women going through the 40s of their lives and the verge of what COVID brought to us in 2020. The latter, entirely in French, is about four other people (2M, 2F) and the Parisian comedy club scene. It so far hasn't gotten into the extended family schticks that made us give up on the earlier-set Mrs. Maisel series after its first three seasons: this one apparently didn't make the cut after Season Un, so we'll just enjoy what's there.

Finally, beginning just yesterday, Shrinking. Jason Segel, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford are three therapists in a California practice, all dealing with their own shit in addition to that of their patients. Ford is in his standard Solo stance, calling Segel's Jimmy "Kid" and tossing off one-liners like he was on a comedy club stage. We've only watched the pilot, but I've got a good feeling about this.

Among other things:)