Blake Kirk

Blake Kirk

@blakekirk.bsky.social

73 followers 60 following1.1K posts

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Veal and ricotta meatballs. It was what there was for supper. Kneading 2 lb of ground veal, ricotta, grated Parmesan, panko, 2 eggs and seasoning obviated the need to do OT exercises for my neuropathy today. 2 meatballs, some warm homemade marinara, a salad, and a glass of wine made a nice dinner.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

So, I have been diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. Me being me, it’s a complex one. So the vascular surgeon here referred me to a more specialized specialist at the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. Dr. Beck specializes in the endovascular repair of complex aneurysms. 1/2

@blakekirk.bsky.social

2/3 What that means is that a customized dacron-and-wire graft is introduced into the femoral artery, slid up into the aorta, and emplaced from the inside of the vessel. Less risk to the patient, and much shorter recovery time than if they had to open the patient up like a fish.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

3/3 My initial meeting with Dr Beck in Birmingham is set for the 29th of April. Hopefully we’ll set a surgery date at that meeting.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

We had a special election here yesterday to fill a vacant seat in the Alabama House of Representatives. It’s been a fairly safe Republican seat for some considerable time. Yesterday the Democrat won the seat. And while victor Marilyn Lands is crediting women for the win, the fact is that she…

@blakekirk.bsky.social

…her campaign staff, and especially her volunteers, worked their butts off to make this happen. We saw old-fashioned door-to-door canvassing, flyers, phone calls. By comparison, the Republican candidate was absolutely silent. Complacency claimed another victim.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

If you see this, post a bridge. Die Steinerne Brücke, in Regensburg, Germany. Constructed in the mid-12th Century, this was until the Industrial Revolution the only road bridge across the Danube between Ulm and Vienna.

Marc "Candy Corn" Criley@marcc.bsky.social

If you see this, post a bridge

@blakekirk.bsky.social

This was the menu at a tiny sandwich place about a block from our hotel in Rome when we were there two years ago. Why can't we have this kind of sandwich joint in the US instead of endless iterations of Subway or other sandwich chains? The Autumnno, BTW, was totally awesome.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Has anyone else noticed how certain busts of the Roman Emperor Vespasian resemble Lyndon Baines Johnson?

@blakekirk.bsky.social

A Boulevardier to finish off the evening: equal parts whisky, Campari, and sweet vermouth. I used Templeton Rye as the whisky. It is a smoother cocktail than the Negroni, of which it is a variation.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Because of something a friend posted on another site, I now want to see a reboot of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” done as a Hallmark Holiday Special, with the two principal characters’ ostensible occupations being covers for their being spies in competing intelligence agencies.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

So, the results from the bone marrow biopsy came back, and my oncologist guessed right: I have a bunch of abnormal white cells taking up space in places that my bone marrow needs to have to make new red blood cells. So we're waiting for insurance to approve the chemo drug my doc wants to use.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

This is the sixth different instance of cancer I've dealt with in the last ten years. Fortunately, it appears to be easily treatable. Y'know, I'm beginning to think the gods have decided I'm some kind of badass or something.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

People entirely unclear on the underlying stories:

@blakekirk.bsky.social

I have a couple of invite codes to the cerulean heavens site if anyone needs one.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

We were driving home from the cancer clinic just now, and we stopped at a light, and the blue Toyota in front of us had a bumper sticker reading “Fish want me.” And my first thought was “Now that’s a kink I’ve never heard of before.” I suppose it shows where I keep my mind when I’m not using it.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Just tried a new convenience food: Beecher's Cheese "Mexican Street Corn." Vegetarian, not vegan, serves 2-4. Heats from frozen in the microwave in 10min. It's nowhere near as good as the elotes con vasa I can get at Rosalita's Tamale Trailer at the Chevron station. But, really, it aint that bad.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

I should have known better. But between chemo and radiation therapy my judgement has gone to hell. Post on Nextdoor this morning. Entitled woman somewhere is complaining that her breakfast sandwich at Panera was “too skimpy,” and the evil manager would not refund her $9.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

I know, I should have stopped there. But therapy-addled brain clicked on the link to see the entire post. Turns out she’s also mad at her local Applebee’s because her hamburger was “too skimpy,” and she couldn’t get a refund there, either.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

So then, addled brain clicked on the link to the comments, and now I not only need brain bleach but also a buffer I can get inside my head and about 5 gal of that red stuff with the awful smell that we used to clear 5 years of accumulated wax off barracks floors.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

@stjepansejic.bsky.social Saw this elsewhere on the web and immediately thought of some of your characters.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Oh, great. Not only do I have to put up with the side effects of chemotherapy, but some of the damaged parts of my right facial nerve are regenerating, which means that the numb part of my right cheek hurts today. Ah well: "embrace the suck" it is. Again.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Just for the record, chemo brain is a real thing, and having it sucks mightily. Want words for story make, but no brain words.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

The wife just came across an online video of a cantor in a synagogue singing "The Banana Boat Song." In Hebrew. It has been a long time since I had the privilege of being at a Jewish service and hearing a cantor sing. I had forgotten just how much skill that vocation requires.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

So, went to the oncology clinic to start chemo for the squamous cell carcinoma in my right parotid gland that my EENT removed at the end of June. So far, I've been dosed with a steroid, a 2-drug anti-nausea cocktail, an immunotherapy drug, a drug called carboplatinin, and they sent me home...

@blakekirk.bsky.social

..with a portable infusion pump that overnight will be ever-so-slowly infusing me with a drug called Fluoracil. Rinse, lather, and repeat every day through Friday. I start radiation therapy on the 14th. I have a great care team who I absolutely trust. My doctors think that this course...

@blakekirk.bsky.social

...this course of treatment will give me a really good chance of beating this. A lot of it is going to suck, but I started out as a light infantryman. In that line of work you get REALLY used to things sucking. Quitting is not an option, so the only way out is to go all the way through.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

It is really annoying when the numb part of my face starts itching.

@blakekirk.bsky.social

Had to take a couple of days off for mental health. Dealing with cancer is harder on some days than on others.

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