With the new car to occupy the freshly swept floor of the garage and remain leaf and frost free to greet Carolyn as she starts back to work there are certainly changes afoot again. YES, as some of you already know that once familiar face is gracing the hallowed halls of the grand institute once again. It's SAIT I'm talking about. :) Albeit for a meager few hours each week this may appear to be an innocuous step in her health and recovery therapy, but a step in hopefully a forward direction. During the first few weeks she will spend a couple of hours at work and gradually increase the days and hours spent nearer December when another check up and decision will be made.

The medical segment. Carolyn has been fatigued for quite some time and the most recent concern is her "iron" count. This is nothing new but an ongoing concern. I have done research of course and have a snippet:

[Many people suffer from iron deficiency, but they do not need to be treated with iron pills unless they are also anemic.

Less than 50% of the iron in your body is in your red blood cells. Most of the iron is in your iron reserves in your liver, spleen and other tissues. Your body needs iron to make red blood cells and if your body does not contain enough iron, it won't be able to make as many as you need and you will become anemic. However, you will not become anemic from iron deficiency until you have deleted all your iron reserves. So, you can be iron deficient but not anemic, when you have an adequate supply of red blood cells, but no iron reserves.

Iron deficiency does not make you tired unless you are also anemic. On the other hand, having too much iron may harm you. LDL is the bad cholesterol that forms plaques in your arteries. Before this can occur, the bad LDL cholesterol must be converted to oxidized LDL and iron can convert the bad LDL cholesterol to oxidized LDL. So, lack of iron reduces your chances of forming plaques in your arteries and suffering a heart attack.]

Mother Nature might be playing a card or two here. Since she is "Iron Challenged" it might be a good thing from the snippet above, but it is best to have this corrected just the same. She has been tested several times to determine the extent of anemia by getting a simple blood test called a CBC and iron deficiency test called ferritin. You have likely heard these terms shouted out during an episode of ER when they bring in someone who seems to be extremely weak or pale faced. (I'm pale faced but that is my Pool Hall Tan I've been showing off.)

Iron and calcium supplements are required to combat the situation due in part because they fight against each other. Since she has a problem with dairy and the lactose component, extra calcium is required but it is not ingested quite the same because iron is also required. They are not absorbed by the body equally nor should supplements be taken at the same time. The reasons for this are complex and I'm not sure you want to be put to sleep reading it.

In all, the strength and high spirit that we once knew will slowly return in time. As I have said before she has had good days and other days. This relationship could in fact be closely related to the iron story as well as any other. She has said several times she is despondent about the last year through all the major changes that altered her life and yet the natural instinct to instantly recover is strong. This is a good sign she is coming alone fine but has to remain steadfast that this is a time to recover and not rush into thinking things are 110% This has haunted her for years and learning to understand the altered posture is still in a state of change and recovery. Now does that sound like something Jerry Springer would say at the end of his show or what?

As before and always, thank you again for your kind words of concern and of course the attention to detail shown by SAIT and staff for her recovery and inviting her to return this soon.

(SAIT)

**Tomato - the name that described perfectly and stuck for the candy apple red truck that has been neglected for at least 11 years now.

(Telus)

991023 - The pesky Home Depot has bathroom vanities and sinks on sale. This is good and bad. The main bath has a new fixture and new plumbing that is quickly becoming a larger project than planned. I had difficulty with the sad state of the metal (brass) P trap that actually disolved in my hand when I removed it. Several more trips to the hardware store of course fixed this.
There is no such thing as just take out the old sink and pop a new one in it's place. I also made it very easy to do this again (heaven forbid) in the future with the purchase of flexible and valved connections. No more "house without water" for this guy.

(D2M)

To be continued...