AMASA » MARK • January • “There is a bill ‘2022-114’ — that would be very bad for Amasa” Dr. A says in her office. We always meet in person. It is much less tiring for me than the concentration I need during a zoom call. Telephones are even worse: I should be able to vocalize, but I have lost the coordination between my lungs and vocal cords. The slight telepathy (or whatever it is) with visual contact is a crutch that helps me a lot. “OK. That is unfortunate. And… ?” “We would like you to help kill it. Nancy is a proponent and major influencer in the state senate. We would like you to convince her to reconsider her support of the bill. It would make the gods ecstatic” • The bill is killed — after a few weeks of interactions with Nancy during our drives. It is slow because I am worried. Worried Nancy realizes what I am doing. Worried someone else will grow suspicious. Worried I will be exposed and likely ‘canceled’. It is also slow because I don’t always drive her home, and don’t have any good reason to meet up with her otherwise. But slow and methodical seems to do the trick. The gods don’t say anything, but I am scheduled back at my normal clinic. So they must be at least happy.
• History • Inserting dialysis needles into your arm — is painful for most patients. The needles commonly used for hemodialysis are ‘15gauge’, which means 15 of them will fit into an inch diameter, or each is about one-fifteenth of an inch in their outer diameter. For metric people that is a bit less than 2mm. I have heard of patients that use 14-gauge needles, which are more than 2mm. This is big - 51 -
