Advice is good when it is followed correctly

I am getting along pretty good these days. I have two specialists caring for me, another doctor in between those two and lots of family members and friends who give me all sorts of good advice. I don't resent this at all because many of these people have had similar ailments, or have read an article, or looked it up in the Internet so they are well informed. I have asked friends and relatives who have gone to the doctors with me to take notes so that when we get home we can check to see if we both went to the same doctor.

In spite of all this care Lester and I each got the 24-hour epizudy, and we wouldn't let any of our other family in to help since we were selfish. We didn't want to share that wonderful experience with anyone else. I probably had mine a little longer than Lester was sick. I got it first anyway and he thought he had escaped it all together. But no such luck.

Both of my specialists have said I shouldn't drive so that ended 88 years of good driving. I learned when I was 11 and have had very few problems in all those years. No one has told Lester he shouldn't drive, so he is still doing the going to town things.

My daughters can take me quite often and a special friend has taken me quite a bit also. Each of these people, as well as my daughter-in-law who can't drive for me very often because of her job, take me where I need to go and I appreciate it. They also give me advice as they drive me. Eat more protein; fruit juice has too much sugar in it. Wear socks designed for diabetic patients to keep your legs from swelling, bananas have too much sugar in them. Don't sit still so long at a time; be careful about where you walk. Take your cell phone with you when you leave the house.

Since we both got very dehydrated with our epizudy all of these people kept telling us to drink more water. I replied that I kept a tall glass of ice water in one of those sport mugs right next to my computer, where I sit to read and by the bed, but they thought there were still signs of dehydration. Do you suppose you are supposed to drink from those glasses? I really got almost ill if I drank very much water, but I could drink my Dr. Pepper, one can a day, and it didn't bother me.

I have listened to all of the advice and acted on some of it. I'd say that so far most of these words were helpful, but until I reach 90 (in June) I'm going to be cautious about just jumping in to follow other people's advice. Doctor's advice I will always follow.

Except every day I am disobeying one of my doctors. My medicine bottle says, "Take ˝ tablet oral twice daily. I just couldn't do it. It got so slippery and nasty after the first time I couldn't do it the second. So I took another ˝ tablet so I had a fresh one each time. Do any of you have instructions like that on your medicine bottles?

I can remember back to Dr. Amerman and I think my mother would have done anything that he told her. She really liked him. Later I went to Dr. Pasco with my own children and felt that he was great also. I saw Dr. Pearce when Dr. Pasco was gone for some reason. I took my father to Dr. Wray, so that ends my list of old-time doctors, but I felt very old when I lost both my Dr. Thompson and Dr. Bunton the same year. Then I began to get things I didn't want. Maybe my age had something to do with it, but it all came at once.

So my message is, appreciate your doctors and dentists and appreciate their nurses also. But when all else fails, listen to your friends and relatives and follow their suggestions too.