The Continuing Sagas

Three sagas to report on this week. The first is the continuing problem of the open sore on the bottom of my foot – now 4+ years. Last week I had a skin graft put on the remaining hole – which was 9mm x 7mm. That meant that I had to stay off my foot as much as possible while it healed. My recliner (which my children bought for me at Christmas) is getting a lot of use. I went back to the doctor yesterday. We’ve made some good progress and the hole is down to 5mm x 3mm! They put on a second graft – this time of “live” cells instead of the non-live product they used last week. He’s hopeful that when I see him again next week that the hole will be gone. Then we can put together a plan for keeping it that way. I’ll still have to wear special shoes and avoid too much use, but if we can get the hole to be sealed up that will be great! So, I’m staying off my foot as much as possible this week as well. It’s a little frustrating as my foot is all wrapped and I’m wearing a surgical shoe to prevent damage.

 

The second saga is my continuing involvement in Alzheimer’s studies. I was just notified yesterday that I’ve passed all the screening criteria so far and have now been approved for the next testing phase – a PET scan of my brain to determine the level of amyloid plaque I have. That is scheduled for early January. So far they have determined that I do have the APOe4 gene which makes me susceptible and the results of all the mental/physical acuity test have confirmed that I have no mental impairment. So this PET scan is the last hurdle before I become qualified for the study.

The final saga is my decision to turn my Fred Forchelli story into a three-book series. In the first book, “The Case of the Piece of Paper,” I had made the title page as follows:

Fred Forchelli

World-renowned

Well-known

Investigator and Lawyer

 

The Case of the Piece of Paper

 

I’m not sure why I did this, but when someone asked about it, I realized that it made for a perfect opportunity to turn this book into a three-part series. In the second part – currently being written – the “Well-known” is not crossed out. The subtitle of book two is “The Case of the D.A.’s Dilemma.” I hope to have it done in the next week or so and then it will join the first book on Amazon. The third book will follow shortly thereafter and the “World-renowned” will not be crossed out. I’m not yet sure of the subtitle, but I have some preliminary thoughts as to where it will take place and the opening chapter.

 

So, as I sit here in enforced offloading of my foot, I’m trying to use my creative “juices” to my advantage through this writing project. Three ongoing sagas at once! Who said that life is boring?