An improvised life

I attended my 25th high school reunion in Boston last weekend. High school for me did not involve pep rallies, parties, sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. Alas no, I attended an uber-academic, all-girls, 8-year prep school. I don't even try to describe to Alaskans the bizarre over-education I got, with highlights like mandatory declamations (that's speeches to you mere mortals) in Latin on Exelano Day. That would be March 4 -- a homophone for "march forth," or exelano in Latin. Of course. The reunion was intimate and inspiring. There was no scramble to compare notes about money and accomplishments, to flirt or one-up each other. I felt instead genuine warmth and openness in the vignettes and insights my classmates shared in our too-brief time together. One told me she felt lucky her husband turned out to be such a great match for her because she married him for all the wrong reasons -- she liked his smell and how hot he looked in his beach-style attire. One told me abo

Alder and I had a rockin’ dance party in the living room this afternoon. I looked and felt like a cross between the Tin Man and a shy sixth grader at her first dance [i] , but it felt great. We blasted CDs made by Brian and Nell and, when those ran out, we blasted top-40 on the radio. I got so sweaty I had to take a break on the balcony. When I got tired, I laid on the floor and danced with my legs in the air. Then I sat and accompanied Katy Perry on our new garage-sale drum.     I’m sure we looked ridiculous, Alder doing running flips onto the couch and showing off his “moves,” me needing my hips oiled, but my body and soul rejoiced. I thought of Deborah Cohan, whose video went viral after she and her surgical team danced in the operating room (OR) before she hopped on the table for her double mastectomy. I don’t know Deborah, but she’s my age and had surgery about the same time I did (and it turns out we have mutual friends). Several people sent me a link to the video of

My pericarditis broke through yesterday, to use my cardiologist’s term. I noticed the subtle but unmistakable chest pain on inhalation, and didn’t need to see a doctor or even have my vitals checked to know what was going on. Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, or sac around the heart. In its moderate form, it causes pain on inhalation; in its more severe form it can cause tamponade. This is when the pericardium is rigid or inflamed enough that it squeezes the heart, restricting the heart’s ability to pump. Consequently, blood pressure falls, and heart rate rises as the heart tries to compensate for reduced efficiency by pumping faster. I first contracted pericarditis in February, when it landed me in the hospital for two extended-stay-deluxe visits. This is my fourth recurrence. I have become so familiar with the symptoms I can almost guess my blood pressure and heart rate. So I’m starting the cycle over with high-dose steroids to beat back the symptoms, and t