“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Jane told me that Fred Kardon was in to see her this morning. He’s going away for a week —to Florida—just when we may need his cooperation. Fred hadn’t heard from Pete, she learned. Jane said she explained some of the insurance situation. Fred told her that the other places had rejected her because of the ulcers. No one had told us this—not even Andy Fife. Fred said the insurance hassle is “a matter of writing letters back and forth.” Jane wasn’t sure when he was leaving, but it’s probably tomorrow morning, or even tonight. I’ll have Pete try to get in touch with him first thing in the morning.

(“Really?” Phyllis asked. “Well, maybe....” I’m paraphrasing, of course. But the incident made me think that it’s a pity nursing students aren’t taught valid facts of life, instead of the medical dogmas that often prolong illness. And Jane likes Phyllis—she’s a good nurse, my wife said. But how nice if they were taught that the unimpeded body is only too willing to heal itself.

(This morning I called Pete Harpending, and passed on the information from Jane that Fred Kardon was out of town this week—on vacation in Florida. “Not bad, huh?” I told Pete about the prospective evaluation by the people from the infirmary a block away, and mentioned to him that Jane didn’t want to be moved. Pete told me that he’d called Mary Krebs back, or that she had called him, a second time on that first day last week—Friday. Then later in the morning I had to call him back to tell him about Ms. Murdock in social services, and the 16-hours-a-day private nursing proposal in connection with the infirmary.

(In between those calls, Steve Blumenthal called, and I told him that Jane and I had decided not to go through with the tape deal. It was harder for me to tell him than I thought it would be, since I didn’t want to hurt anyone, etc. Steve took it well, and is going to use up the retainer he gave the Ithaca lawyer to have her ask Prentice-Hall some questions, etc. It’s a free country, I said, he can ask them anything he likes, I suppose. I turned down his request to sign a letter of authorization. I said that I didn’t want the extra stress involved with the tape deal, that we’d dealt with our publisher for many years, and that I didn’t look forward to being in an adversarial position vis-à-vis them. I’m in enough adversarial positions now, what with insurance companies, doctors, infirmaries, and so forth. Steve is to keep in touch.

(Then Pete gave me some surprising news: Jack Joyce has gone out of business in Corning, and is working for a convalescent home down in southern Pennsylvania, I think Pete said. No word on what’s happened with Graciella—I’d thought that match was one of those ideal ones. Pete is going to ask Carnevale and Niles if they’ll do our taxes. Another hassle, I told Jane.

(Jane had read my summary of yesterday’s events, holding the pages up with both hands in what already seems like a more normal way for her—as if she’d been doing so all along. She also showed me how she could much more easily turn her head from side to side, and around, than she has been able to. Very good, I told her—another sign. When LuAnn was in she replaced the new nose patch that Georgia had put on to replace the one Phyllis had put on yesterday—the first one had been too big, the second too small, the third one was just right.

(4:20. She showed me how she could open up her legs more than before, and extend the right one down more. She’d done this in hydro today also. She also noticed the difference in length of her legs, from hip to knee. “I think Fred figured I’d never walk again, so it didn’t matter what happened to the right one after I broke it,” she said. I agreed. She’d never had the leg in a cast or sling, as she had the arm.

(4:40. She agreed to have me turn her over on her left side a bit earlier because I was tired. First she tried to do it herself, but couldn’t quite make it. She did do it this morning, though, she said. She’s tried it several times with me, but hasn’t succeeded yet. But she’s improving here also.