Even though there is a long-standing Red River rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas, at times like this week, my heart goes out to all the folks in the area, no matter which side of Lake Texoma they live on. I've spent years acclimating to the cold. My house is well-insulated. I generally don't worry about my pipes freezing. Can't say the same about the people across the old country who are struggling with record cold. It sounds like power is being restored to much of Texas now, but there will be weeks, maybe months, of recovery yet to come. Good luck, cousins to the south. You've been through the wringer with this.
I got to see my favorite doctor today. I check in with her every three months, and the last time was via zoom. I like being with her in person much more. We continued our conversation about hypermobility that I started last time, and as we chatted, she walked around me, hyper-extending my elbows, checking to see how far my pinkies bent back (and she probably noticed I didn't yelp when she did), and moving other things. I volunteered showing my double-jointed knees and touching my thumbs to my forearms. I think if I had been barefoot, I could have flattened the heels of my hands on the floor when I bent over. As it was, only 90% of my hands were palming the floor. The result of this exercise was she now says she is comfortable confirming hypermobility. However, she does not diagnose Ehlers-Danlos (apparently that is the realm of geneticists?), but I'm not worried about that. Mostly I wanted the diagnosis I got, so that when things go wonky I can just say, "oh, yeah, that's a thing that happens," and not waste time and money chasing down mysteries that regular doctors can't solve. That said, she is interested in imaging my hip that just won't stop hurting, the one the doctor at Tinker AFB told me in 2002 "just goes out." Putting all of the above together might finally explain what he meant by that.
As a side note, they checked my height as well as weight today. Weight reflected months of stress eating over the holidays. Yeah, whatever. Height, though... Am I old enough to already have lost 7/8 of an inch? It read 5' 6 1/8". That was humbling. Older daughter teased me that soon Valerie will be taller than me. I guess I always wished I were shorter, back when I was younger and feeling self-conscious about wearing heels when my dates weren't very tall. Now I mostly wear Chucks or Vans, and I don't care who is taller than I am. It's about to be everyone, at this rate.
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