Diary of lucille iacovelli

Time

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:29:54 +0530

I find myself in an incomprehensible position... a situation real enough to kill me, should I lose my balance on a loosening tightrope. Yet so surreal I sometimes think my death will be nothing more than an instantaneous vaporization of the molecules I call my body.
I am dying... we are all dying.

But for most of us, living life prevails over the ever present pull of entropy.
This is as it should be. We are born to experience life to its fullest until our death. But like breathing, it is that space between the breaths which sets the tone for what follows.

I do not fear death, nor do I invite it.

I reside in a world full of high tech medical miracles and doctors who perform them. It is, therefore, inconceivable that amidst these doctors and their state-of-the-art 3D scanners capable of turning the human body with its every secret and function inside out; to see how things work or might be fixed when they don't, that the simple mechanics of what is killing me remains a mystery.

I am dying in real-time,
begging at the same-time,
to be fixed, or at least, that an attempt be made,
before there is no-time.

Doctors.. made of special stuff, or so we think.
Different from us.
Different from each other.
Different.Technorati Profile

~ Lucille Iacovelli

Wild Turkey Families

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:43:21 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

Please excuse this post! Silly, I know, but still cannot not resist. (Yes, I love this tune Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo : )

~ Lucille Iacovelli

A Special Kind of Medicine

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:22:30 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

iLanders who have read my earliest posts may recall my negative experience with cosmetic facial surgery. I was left with serious functional disorders which have progressed to a life threatening degree. I will not reiterate the details here which can be found on my website Losing Face. Put simply, I was blacklisted as a patient by the most competent surgeons here in US after going public with my story. There were a few truly compassionate doctors who tried their best to help me, but not being plastic surgeons, their hands were tied to a great extent.

One of these doctors is my primary care physician. She is from India, and I could not hope for a more highly skilled, kind, compassionate doctor. I had the good fortune to become her patient when she first arrived on Cape Cod, as patients gravitated to her like bees to blossoms. My situation has been deeply frustrating to her, as she does everything within her realm of speciality in seeing that I receive every possible diagnostic that might convince a surgeon I am in need of corrective surgery. However, the politics involved in the medical profession in this country, particularly in the realm of plastic surgery where surgeons' egos tend to expand to phenomenal proportions and the brethren of this specialty tend to "protect their own", even when that means allowing patients injured by negligent colleagues to remain untreated for serious conditions.

As my condition has essentially disabled me to the point where surviving every 24 hours has become a toss of fate, and I struggle to accomplish the most needful things to maintain Independency, I literally begged a surgeon I know to be highly skillful and good hearted to agree to examine me. This required months of e-mail communication, and I am certain he agreed to help me against the judgement of his colleagues, who warned him against any involvement with my situation.

After an appointment date was made, I had to see my primary care physician and told her about this long awaited breakthrough. I felt very hopeful that day, and my heart felt lighter than it had for years. This was the first glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy state of being. I am rarely able to leave my flat these days, and my monthly visit to my doctor is understandably frustrating for us both. I am acutely aware that my condition has made her feel helpless and my heart aches for her because she is so sensitive to her patients' distress. On this day, however, I knew our visit would be brighter than she could know. I decided to wear a lovely muted gray-green sari to mark the occasion. I usually dress very simply and plainly these days, as adornment becomes the last of ones' concerns when all one's energy is necessary to manage the needful.

As I draped my sari that morning, I worried, just for a moment, that it would not be done perfectly to her eyes! But I am used to wearing a sari, which I believe is the perfect garment for every woman, versatile as well as beautiful. One can wear a sari for every occasion. Dr. Gour's eyes lit up when I walked into her examining room in my sari. When I told her about the appointment with the surgeon, the room felt full of hope.. my hope of possibly being restored enough to live a normal life, and her hope for me.

She then began the practical part of her exemplary doctoring and gently but firmly reminded me of the possibility that things might get worse if I have surgery and asked if I was prepared for that. We discussed the status of my health, and again expressed her happiness about the appointment.

Then she said something that will stay with me forever.. just recalling that moment fills my eyes with tears of great emotion. She pressed her hands together in namaste and said "I will pray for you". I do not know if this beautiful ex-pression of faith and hope is often spoken by Indian doctors to their patients, but this is the first time a doctor ever said they would pray for me. I was overwhelmed with her heartfelt ex-pression of caring. Her words and compassion went from her heart to mine will remain with me always. I have had doctors who expressed true compassion and a deep desire for my well being, but never have these words been said, and hearing them expressed with such openness and sincerity, one heart to the other, is truly the most special medicine my exceptional doctor could have provided. Prayer...a treatment to last a lifetime. On my way out of her office she turned to me and said "Thank you for wearing the sari". I left there with my heart so full! May your life be rich in blessings, Dr. Gour.

Lucille Iacovelli

Help Free Greenpeace Activists

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:04:29 +0530

Japanese police have arrested two Greenpeace activists for exposing a whale meat scandal involving the government- sponsored whaling program. The two activists, Junichi Sato, 31, and Toru Suzuki, 41, are being investigated for allegedly stealing a box of whale meat which they presented as evidence. Sign the petition

Thanks to my lifelong friend, Charles, for this entry-
lifted from his blog The Big Matress.

Lucille Iacovelli

Just for fun!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:38:00 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

Bomono

Click on the link above and begin "fancy doodling". Whether you use it as a creative tool or simply for fun, this program can become addictive! Best to set a stop-time alarm if you are unable to tear yourself away from your computer. ( *Note: Bomono will not work with Internet Explorer. At present, only users of Foxfire, Opera and Safari are able to enjoy using this online application.)

I recently started using Foxfire and find it faster than IE. Actually, I use both.. some online applications work better with one than the other. You can download Opera, Safari and Firefox for free. Firefox also has versions in Gujarati ગુજરાતી and Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

You can save your masterpiece as a .jpg or screencapture it and save it in other image formats.

Bomono is by Phillip Lenssen, the blogger/owner of Google Blogoscoped. He is seeking submissions of bomono works of art. Once you have finished your piece, just click on the @ sign button in the bottom corner to send your work to him.

Return of the Cicadas

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:27:41 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

Mother Nature has turned up the volume on my tinnitus to a nerve-wracking cacophony. The "Peridiocal Cicadas" known by entomologists as Brood XIV are emerging here on Cape Cod right on schedule. Every 17 years, these cicadas complete another life-cycle when nymphs buried under ground emerge to molt and mate in unimaginable numbers. They remain in the nymph stage for 17 years and because of this are considered the longest-lived of all insects.

I first witnessed this remarkable phenomena when I moved to Cape Cod in 1991. I awoke one day to a deafening noise. I opened my door to investigate the source of this racket. The shock! I thought I was still asleep and in the midst of a nightmare! There were *thousands* of these HUGE insects in various stages of shedding their armour-like shells, emerging into winged creatures of spectacular proportion and coloring. With their bulging red eyes contrasted against plump black bodies and veined transparent wings, their sheer number made the sight and SOUND surreal and unforgettable. I had never seen anything like this before (except in horror films.) Since earliest memory, I have had a "phobic" reaction to large insects. It has taken a conscious effort to bring this irrational fear reaction under control over the years. Gardening helped in this regard, and I learned to appreciate the uniqueness of the insect realm, but I confess there are some insects I still prefer to observe from afar, and the cicada is one of them.

After my cicada initiation in 1991, I forgot about them... until now. As I write, their unrelenting "singing", which will continue for another month, pervades my auditory sensation...akin to the nerve-grating scratching of fingernails on a chalk board, to a meditative-like white noise. The return of the cicadas mark my 17th year on Cape Cod, where flora and fauna give rise to endless fascination.

Visitors' Return

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:04:02 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

With the warm weather comes the return of my wild visitors. Right now, the furry variety seems to have overpowered my flying feathered friends. In an attempt to divert the squirrels from devouring seed intended for the birds, I thought I could entice them away from the bird feeder with tiny crackers spread with peanut butter. I offered this in addition to their usual ration of cracked corn.

My plan backfired. Now they have increased in both number and appetite with a newly acquired taste for peanut butter...and so spoiled as to leave the cracker behind after licking off every molecule of peanut from its surface. I will allow them their peanut butter feast until the jar is empty. After that, they will have to eat the corn or find another human willing to indulge their extravagant taste!

I cannot resist sharing this silly video with you!

For Anulekha & My iLand Friends

Sat, 24 May 2008 22:17:51 +0530

I recently sent an e-card to my dearest friend Anulekha. However, she was not able to open the card, perhaps due to some glitch in the system. So I am posting it here, hoping it will open from this blog. .

I enjoy these animated e-cards and hope you do as well!

~ Anulekha"s Card ~

~ Another Amusing Animation ~

You don't have to be Irish

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:20:16 +0530

..to enjoy a St. Patrick's Day Greeting!

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~ Shweta in Chandigarth ~Fixed My Computer & Brightened My Day.

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:05:11 +0530

Lucille Iacovelli

Yesterday I had occasion to contact Dell tech support online as my new printer/scanner was not working properly. What I thought might be an ordeal, turned out to be the highlight of my day. I was so impressed by the friendly manner of my Dell Representative, whose name was Shweta.

While we were waiting for files to download, I asked if Shweta was in Hyderbad, as I recalled reading in 'Planet India' that Hyderbad is known as the second Silicon Valley. As it turns out, Shweta was in Chandigarh. I mentioned that I was reading 'One Night @ the Call Center' and she replied that she also read this book and found it enjoyable. I responded that reading it gave me a better appreciation for the work she was doing in helping computer-ignorant Amerikans like myself ;-) She responded with a :) and said it was her pleasure to help me.

As we waited for a large file to download before she could install it to my computer, we had a lovely chat as she graciously answered my many questions about India and exchanged opinions about books and other topics until the file download was complete.

What could have remained a dull and silent interlude turned into a delightful interaction with this highly efficient, enormously courteous and friendly person half way across the planet. After Shweta solved my computer/printer problem, I was almost sad that our chat had to end. I was most pleased, however, when she asked if I would be willing to take an extra minute while she transferred me to her supervisor, who would like to know if there was anything she could have done better to serve my needs.

With great pleasure, I assured the supervisor that Shweta could not have done anything better as her assistance was perfect in every way. My computer problem turned out to be the most enjoyable part of my day. Thank you Shweta... Dell is lucky to have you!