Post about Post Reading Covenant of Water and Hip Update

 “There are moments when you stand on the brink of a new experience and understand that you have no choice about it. Either you walk into the experience or you turn away from it, but you know that no matter what you choose, you will have altered your life in a permanent way. Either way, there will be consequences.”

― Dennis Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia

I think some  books  are like this.  You will never been exactly the same after having read them.  Kundera is like that  for me.  Eumenides'  The Marriage Game  and  also Middlesex. Demon Copperhead.  Gone with the Wind.  Hawaii.  There are many, many more I could mention but  sometimes  you just don't leave the book.  Or your live is just forever marked by the read.  Also,  Bird by Bird. 

Books are just a forever part of the landscape of your mind. 

The most recent  transformative read was  Abragam Verghese's  The Covenant of Water,  What an incredible book.  It is beautifully written and narrated by the author.  It is  pretty long and there are a lot of plot lines, but they weave together in very satisfying ways.    I also learned a lot about India history and, in many ways, feel like I immersed myself in India, without actually having to go.  It was also quite interesting reading about the St. Thomas Christians in India.  Also, lots of strong female characters. 

I will say, however, that there is  A LOT of tragedy and death in it.   

Another thing I like about really good books, is there's just a period of time, not long, but a distinct period where I don't want to pick up anything else yet.  It is like I want to stay in the world of the story just a bit longer.   

I also liked all the water imagery throughout. Very Heraclitean (and Christian).  Meander River on way to Miletus. 

Anyway,  it has made for a very engaging commute the past three weeks.   I have now started,  at Michelle Meredith's  recommendation Remarkably Bright Creatures.  by Shelby Van Pelt.  It is  charming, particularly the  Octopus Marcellus. 

Big news on the medical front.  I decided to do Regenerative Medicine on my left hip.  Which has really been paining me  but  it is not at a state where they would do surgery yet.  So yesterday,  we went out to the Center for Healing and Regenerative Medicine  (CHARM)  and  they drew a lot of  blood and got platelets out of it and then drew some  bone marrow out of my back and mixed all that together then injected it into my left hip,  front, back, and side  and also my left shoulder because it was not much more to do the shoulder too.   It was a rather painful process  but  it stimulates your body's regenerative process and  can "rescue" many joints from surgery.  I have never done the bone marrow part before  but have done prolo (just injection of saline) for plantar facisitis  and PRP  (the plasma) on my right shoulder and have had good luck.  I waited to long for it to have much likelihood of  success on my right hip, but I decided to give it a go on the left  since there's only mild degeneration there, though lots of tears and  ligament stress.   

The main hesitancy around doing it  is simply that insurance doesn't cover it  so it  was  over three thousand to do the hip and the shoulder.  I also got a laser treatment added on  which is supposed to help with healing.  I am quite optimistic it is going to help the left hip a lot, once the pain of the procedure subsides.   They  gave me better pain  meds than I had post right hip surgery  so that is nice. 

I can't swim for a week  because of where they take the marrow out and they want to avoid infection there. 

Jeff has a dry eye procedure coming up which is also not covered by insurance, so another expensive medical year. 

In other news,  had a great couple weeks of  teaching.  Had a wonderful guest speaker last week.  Zara Amdur who is in her first year at  Texas Tech.  She came to talk about Diotima for my Plato class and  also talked to Lenore's feminism class.   It was a great time.  We ate at Milo  where I learned that on  Wednesdays they have half price appetizer/small plates and  margs and paloma's.  So  I went back this week and got brussel sprouts and  mac and cheese.  

Carolina's playing right now, but I am too nervous to watch.  

We are making fish tacos tonight and  going out to Canje tomorrow night with our  Christmas gift card from Marc and Kris.