Unexpected Bus Ride

Yesterday did not go as planned! First, I went out to the Museum of the Earth because I thought the art fair was being held there - I was a day early. Since I was so close to the Ithaca Anitque Mall, I decided to check out the vintage postcards. (This is just over seven miles from my house - not much in the car!) Once I'd made my purchase, I had to go to Greenstar to get some supplies for George. Alas, when I turned the key in the truck, nothing. Not even a sputter. To make matters worse, I had accidentally left my cell phone at home. I asked the clerk at the antique mall if I could use her phone, but George didn't answer. I was so frustrated with the situation, I just wanted to go home. Certainly, I could have made better decisions, but I had a single focus: getting home. I walked down to the hospital (2.5 miles) thinking that I could at least find a cab and pay phone there. Hah! I found neither. The pay phones had been removed. The nice woman at the admissions desk let me use her phone but the cab company had a message saying that they were completely booked and to call back in twenty minutes. The woman suggested I take the bus, which was making a stop at the hospital in just fifteen or so minutes.

It was my first time on a TCAT bus, and it was a pleasant drive. I felt like I was at least getting somewhere, away from the frustration of my car and closer to home. (If it were logistically feasable, I'd want to take the bus to work.) The bus stopped at the Commons, where I went to the library. A pay phone! Then I realized that George's cell phone is not a local call. By this time, it had been several hours since I'd eaten, and I was famished, but I was driven by inertia. I decided to walk the rest of the way home (1 mile). It went fairly quickly, but I got terrible blisters!

Meanwhile, George had received my message and driven out on his scooter to check on the truck, which needed a new battery. He had to come back into town to get tools from home, go pick up a battery, and then go back to the Antique Mall to install it. Since I couldn't ride on the scooter with him, he had to drive back home to pick me up, and then we went back to Trumansburg to get the scooter. He insisted I take him out for dinner for ruining his Saturday!

~Peace~

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Sticky Urethra and Spongey Kidneys

This blog post contains descriptions of medical conditions. Reader discretion is advised.

I've spent a lot of time in exam rooms the past month; I've had terrible pains and all kinds of other problems. When a week's long course of CIPRO did not alleviate the symptoms of a UTI, my doctor sent me to get a CT scan of my kidneys.

The scan showed a small kidney stone and indications of Medullary Sponge Kidney Disease, a condition that isn't dangerous but makes suffers predisposed to kidney stones and UTIs. Tubes in the kidneys collect urine to process it, but those of us with MSK have cysts in the kidney that keep urine from flowing freely. The condition is congenital, though not inherited. MSK doesn't have a cure or treatment, just treatment of the kidney stones or UTIs that develop because of it.

Though it was comforting to have a diagnosis, MSK doesn't explain the back and abdominal pain I'd been experiencing.

My doctor sent me to the urologist for a confirmation of the MSK diagnosis and to see if anything else was going on. My appointment was yesterday, and it was strange. The typical age-range of urology patients is not thirty-something. Also, the waiting room was decorated with a number of cartoons about urologists and urological conditions. Who knew there were so many cartoonists talking about the urinary tract?

The doctor did confirm that I have MSK. He said that, unrelated, I was also simply prone to UTIs and bladder infections. While I knew that women were likely to get bladder infections because the length of the urethra between the opening and the bladder is short, the doctor did give me new information. He said that there is a continuum, with some women never getting bladder infections on one end (lucky them), and on the other are women who get bladder infections all the time (lucky me). What seems to explain this is the "stickiness" of the inside of the urethra. If the urethra lining is slick, bacteria can't take hold and make their way up to the bladder; however, if the urethra is sticky, even slight pressure on the urethra opening can cause an infection. There really isn't a treatment for this, either. He gave me and antibiotic to take right before or right after any activity that might lead to an infection.

In six weeks, if I am not feeling better, he'll do another procedure to look inside my bladder.

Gay Friendly

Campus Pride, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the college experience for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students, released its 2010 climate index for gay-friendly campuses. Nineteen schools achieved the top rating, five stars, among them Ithaca College! The rankings are based on self-reported information about the schools' polices and programs.

I do my part with a "Safe Space" sign on my office door. Have you ever taken the IAT (Implicit Attitude Test)? This test was created by researchers at Harvard who wanted to measure people's unconscious and unspoken attitudes. Images and words are combined and the speed at which "good" words are matched with certain themed photos provides an indication of a subject's preference for one of two categories. Some of the paired categories are meaningless - like cats versus dogs, but others have to do with race, political preference, sexual orientation, and age. Research on the IAT is ongoing, and some feel the test is not as accurate as the authors claim. Regardless, it's interesting and thought-provoking. I've always been very proud that I had a preference for gay versus straight. (Sometimes in teaching stereotypes, I find students incredulous when I tell them stereotypes can consist of positive characteristics. This is a case for me - I attribute a number of good qualities to my gay friends and associates. Still, stereotypes, positive or negative, can be damaging, so I try to be careful.)

Despite the fact that I see myself as someone who is gay-friendly, I realize that sometimes I can be rather heteronormative. A few semesters ago, I read a tip sheet that reminded faculty not to ask students about their "mom and dad" - maybe they have two moms or two dads - instead say "parents" or "family members." Be flexible about calling roll - some transgender students may not want their legal name read aloud to the class. Let students know that GLBT topics are appropriate for assignments. Include relevant examples of GLBT issues in the curriculum. I know there are many other ideas as well, and as I come across them, I try to incorporate them in my own teaching practice. Any you want to share?

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