Three Beautiful Things 01-13-2025: Fractured Root, Transplant Team Approves, No Recipe Shrimp Curry Vegetable Soup

1. From the outset when I enrolled in the Sacred Heart transplant program, I've experienced it to be a cautious program, comprehensive in checking out and monitoring many aspects of my health in preparation for the kidney transplant (May 11, 2024) and doing the same post-transplant.

I am grateful for this program's cautious and comprehensive approach. 

One aspect of my health they paid close attention to, from the get go, has been my dental health. 

I remember back in 2018 when Sheri, my transplant coordinating nurse at that time, told me that one of the primary reasons they couldn't list quite a few patients for transplant was because of poor dental health. 

So, today, when I found out the tooth that's been bothering me a bit has a fractured root -- a root canal I had years ago is breaking down -- and that the tooth can't be saved and needs to come out, I immediately contacted Nurse Jenn to make sure the transplant team was good with me having this procedure and the follow up work performed. 

2. This evening, Jenn's answer arrived. 

The team is good with me moving forward with the dental work. 

My primary task will be to monitor any post-procedure infections by continuing to take my temperature twice a day and look for any other signs of infection. 

So I'll take a big amoxicillin capsule a half an hour before my January 14th at 1:30 appointment and the doctor will set this procedure in motion. 

3.  Dental visits, however long or short, big or small, wipe me out. 

I returned home, napped, got a few things done, napped again, and soon it was time to think of dinner.

I hadn't thawed anything and I didn't want to go to the store, so I took some time and imagined what I could do with what we had on hand.

I thought, hmmmm, we have a bag of shrimp. Coconut milk. Chicken bouillon paste. Yellow curry paste. I began to imagine a shrimp curry soup. I looked in the vegetable drawer -- Eureka! Half an onion, a red pepper, zucchini, plenty of carrots, a few stalks of celery. 

I was in business! 

I sautéed the celery and onion with some black pepper and added the carrot pieces and red pepper and later the zucchini. In a separate pan I cooked the raw shrimp in butter until they turned pink. In a separate container, I mixed curry paste, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and the chicken broth  I made from bouillon.

I poured this broth and the shrimp and the melted butter into the pot where I'd prepared the vegetables.

I added dried lime keffir leaves.  

That was it.

Debbie and I enjoyed a terrific no recipe shrimp curry vegetable soup for dinner.