So a relatively busy week here in the Tropics. First the bad news: D1 has it on good authority that one of my favorite delis, Bagel Emporium, will be soon homeless. The strip center where it's been for probably 40 years is being torn down to build luxury high rise apartments for "UM Nepo babies."
We're headed there for lunch today, before a trip to the cemetery to honor my suegra -- today is her yahrtzeit -- 2 years gone. I guess I'll get more of the scoop about how much time the Emporium has left.
In old man medical news, I've had shoulder pain for a few weeks, and for the past week a parasthesia (pins and needles) down my right arm for a week. I figure it's probably a pinched cervical nerve, but wanted to rule out worse things like ALS and sarcoma, so went to my affable doc yesterday.
He ruled out ALS, since those symptoms start in toes and fingers and work up or down, and so I won't, happily get to give a "I am the luckiest man alive" speech. Gary Cooper killed that, anyway.
But he wants to be sure it's not a herniation, which would need follow up, and so prescribed 2 CT scans for me -- shoulder and cervical spine. Karen, the affable manager, set me up at a new Baptist Diagnostic Center that opened across from the Falls.
Within an hour, Baptist called to confirm and tell me my "patient responsibility" was $3100!!! For 50 year old technology!!!! I told them to hold off, and went online on Florida Blue -- they suggested a provider in West Kendall, and I called them. The nice, heavily accented clerk told me they would charge $400 for the two tests, and I could come in July 5. Fine -- I took the appointment.
But Karen persisted -- she called another free standing Center, literally in the shadow of Baptist's main campus, and said self pay they charge $200 for the 2 scans! Wow. I can under stand something costing half of Baptist -- but 5% for the same thing???? They're taking me Monday, so hopefully nothing exotic turns up, and the radiation from the test gives me a nice glow. At nearly 63, I don't plan on having any more kids, and figure I'll probably leave the earth because of something not related to radiation. Hell no. I won't glow.
And last night was a most memorable one. Barry and I met for dinner, and then met Norman over at the temporary Chabad Center for an adult ed class. Barry agreed since it was given by Rabbi Yossi's son, who Barry had met telephonically.
Moishe is, as I texted Yossi right after class, a taller and smarter version of my dear friend. He was great. The discussions, centered around a real case study of a girl dying from a genetic disease who sought compassionate care exception from the FDA for a possible life saving treatment, was fascinating.
The class had a retired JMH administrator, who was Black and Jamaican and Jewish. I loved his accent. I decided it's the best accent there is -- everything a Jamaican says sounds like a party involving ganja and reggae music is about to start.
And things got real at the end. Lois, a Peds occupational therapist who I worked with on a case decades ago, shared a crisis she is going through -- she has lymphoma. But the issue is that her trusted doc blew off her complaints and a positive CT scan, saying "I treat PATIENTS, not SCANS."
Well, his hubris may have killed her -- she went for a second opinion and is soon starting treatment at UM's Sylvester Center -- and the issues we discussed hit, literally, close to home for her.
So now we have a rooting interest in one of our classmates over the following 3 Tuesdays. As Norman and Barry and I debriefed following class, in the parking lot, I brought up a critical issue: where to meet for dinner next Tuesday before class?
It will be one of the many restaurants in the center across the street, which contains Roasters and Toasters. As far as I know, there are no plans to raze that place any time soon.
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