June BP

 

Heart Event 2021

 I was getting ready for work this morning and felt a little dizzy spell. As it passed, my defibrillator shocked me. Then it went off again within 30 seconds. About a minute later it went off again.

We decided it would be a good move to go to the Emergency Room.

Dr Kadel, my cardiologist, retired last year. I still have Dr. Byazrova, who installed the defibrillator, but she only practices out of Coeur d'Alene now.

So we thought it was prudent to go to Cd'A and have someone familiar with me on scene. I went through the ER pretty quickly and they put me in a room. The plan was to schedule a Heart Cath for the next day and see what's going on.

I was stable with an occasional dizzy spell, which meant an occasional bad heart beat. (Ventricular Tachycardia) Susan left me to return tomorrow. 

Throughout the afternoon, my nurse, Charles would come in and ask me if I felt that. It was a dizzy spell and a thump in my chest. I said that I usually felt it. 

Suddenly he comes in the room and says, "You're about to get hit!"

Sure enough, the defibrillator went off. And then it kept going off. Seven times with a 30 to 45 second interval in between shocks. Plus, they shocked me once externally.

I remember being concerned, but not scared. There were people working all around me including the guy giving me CPR.

They finally got me stabilized and moved me to ICU.

We had trouble getting ahold of Susan as she went in to work and turned her ringer down.

She ended up spending the night in the ICU with me.

So now, my chest is very sore from the chest compressions. AND, we were told after we got to the ER that Dr. B had suddenly retired for medical reasons.

So that was Day One.

Trudell Diane Harvey Burke Robinson Jensen

 

Reasons Not to Buy A Truck

I came across another reason NOT to buy a truck. 

Before buying my truck, I considered all the pros and cons of truck ownership.

The main con was the added expense of gas. It has a larger tank and gets lower mileage. I've gone from a $40.00 weekly fill up to a $60.00 weekly fill up. That's only $20.00 a week but it's $80.00 a month.

A con I didn't think about is how much more difficult it is to park. Parking lots aren't too bad but you have to be much more careful and I find I'm going slower.

The con I came across today involved the tires. Well, one tire. The flat one!

I have been lucky over the past few years. I cannot remember the last time I changed a tire. Mark today as the last time I changed a tire.

I was able to figure it out. I already knew where the jack was. I had a little trouble getting to the spare but the manual helped me out.

At the time I was changing the tire, it was raining.

The only real difficulty I had was getting the flat tire off the axle. It was on there tight. I ended up putting the lug nuts back on but loosely, lowering the jack and moving the truck forward and back in hopes of coaxing the wheel off the hub. Even after that, I had to give it a few swift kicks to get it to pop off.

The main reason this is a con is because truck tires are heavy. Lifting it and throwing it into the back of the truck took some effort. Effort my 64 year old body is not happy to offer. 

There is a big bolt in the tire. I'm afraid it's not fixable because the tread is pretty worn on this particular tire. I knew I was going to be buying tires soon. It just got sooner.

No Phone

I have come to a horrible realization this morning. I left my phone at home and it kind of distresses me. I'm really out of contact with the world.

I never have wanted to be the kind of person who depended on his phone and was really out of sorts without it.

I'll be okay today but I don't have my podcasts to listen to. That is the worst part. The phone diverts my attention when I'm doing mindless repetitive stuff.

Those little devices are sneaky.    

May BP