Coffee Date | Summer 2022
If you and I had coffee…
We’d probably meet up virtually because it’s been a busy summer, but also, another COVID variant is on the rise. Since this seems to be the norm now, we are more than comfortable settling in before our laptops for a cozy chat in the air conditioning. I’d be drinking an iced passion tea or would skip the caffeine altogether and shake up a Liquid IV, which has been my jam lately. (Yay for hydration!)
If you and I had coffee…
I’d ask how 2022 has been for you so far. It’s been about eight months since our last meet up and I feel like so much has happened in that span of time. I’d tell you that I’m in the process of moving! My physical body has already been in the new place for a couple of months, but I’m still gradually moving furniture out of my old home. That process should be complete in the next week or two. Frank and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary and decided to combine our lives full time, which has been wonderful. He is my best friend and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
In other family news, I’d share that my father had a radical prostatectomy this spring after a cancer diagnosis. This was the first major health scare like this that my family has gone through, so it certainly shook us up, but his surgery was a success, thanks to an incredibly-skilled doctor. My dad will need to have labwork done every few months to check on his levels and scans frequently to make sure that he stays cancer free, but we are so grateful that we get to keep him around for a while longer.
If you and I had coffee…
I’d tell you that I’m obsessed with a new YouTube account that I stumbled on the other day. It’s called Tribal People Try and features four Pakistani (I think) men who try things from the United States, like popular foods and tech gadgets. Their responses are always so genuine and funny, and it makes me smile to see someone enjoying things that we, in America, often take for granted, like boxed macaroni and cheese.
If you and I had coffee…
I’d share that I am excited about how many indie bookshops are in my area or will be opening soon. Having been a Barnes and Noble patron in the past, I’m sad that I never checked out any of the smaller stores around me, because they are always gold mines for collectible books and my favorites, ones with handwritten dedications in them. Frank and I are visiting one every week or so and are always coming home with armloads of new-to-me books to read. Don’t get me wrong - walking through the aisles of a big chain bookseller still makes my heart pitter-patter, but I am even happier to give my money to the small businesses in my area than to one of the big boys or Amazon.
If you and I had coffee…
I’d tell you that I recently met with a new endocrinologist. The doctor that I had seen previously had a terrible bedside manner and didn’t treat my disease appropriately, often refusing to refill necessary prescriptions (that keep me alive) and gaslighting me when I shared some of the symptoms I was dealing with. I was so traumatized after my final visit with him last autumn, that I had to find someone new. I was blessed to be able to get in with a brand new doctor in the area, one that was highly recommended by several people I know.
When I walked out of my appointment and got in the car with Frank, I broke down in relief and cried the entire way home. This doctor listened to me and affirmed all of the things I had been feeling all along. He told me the proper way I should be medicating myself for the best outcomes, and he encouraged some simple medical interventions to help with the side effects that I often struggle with. Most of all, this doctor gave me the validation that this disease is real and life-altering, and that I am allowed to slow down and listen to my body more, something I have never been able to do.
I have a lot of friends who have disabilities or chronic illnesses, and I know a lot of them have had similar nightmare experiences with a doctor who doesn’t treat them with compassion, but certainly, anyone could have such an experience. If there’s one important thing I’d tell you today, it would be to not settle for poor medical care. Find a provider that you click with, one who listens and is interested in treating the person, not just the condition. I feel so much better knowing that I now have a physician who is on my side and will help me navigate this health journey. We all deserve to be treated with dignity, no matter what.
If you and I ad coffee…
We’d finish our beverages and prepare to sign off. The day is young and we both have lots to get done. I’d thank you for being such a special friend and tell you that I look forward to the next time we are able to clear our schedules for a little chat over coffee.
