October BP

 

Praying for Will Power

I started the month weighing 239 pounds. I decided to dedicate myself to losing twenty-five pounds. That would get me down to around 215. At that point, I would work on the other 15 pounds. I would like to maintain myself at 200 pounds.

But that is a loooooooong pipe dream away.

On October 18th, I managed to get to 230 pounds. I hovered there a few days but now on the 26th, I'm back to 239. I'm quite disgusted with myself. I have such little will power. I blame it on Halloween Candy. I love me some candy corn.

So, I'm starting over and just trying not to eat crap. Protein is my goal and avoiding the carbs and the sugars are my other, more important goal.

Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers!   

Fun with Air

I did an experiment today that I should have realized in advance what the outcome would be. I walked around the park without my Oxygen Generator and then I walked around again with the O2.

I both cases I wore my Oxymeter on my thumb to gather the needed data. Obviously I did better with the O2. I was hoping that would not be the case but now I know.

Both trips around the park took about 20 minutes.  The first trip without oxygen, my O2 average was 88%. The second trip with O2 , my oxygen level averaged 93%. Anything below 90% is bad.

There was some other data but it essentially confirmed that I’m better off walking with oxygen than without. Again, I should have known this but I had to confirm it with empirical data…because I’m soooo scienterrific.

Blog Review and the SSA

I had a little time yesterday and started reading this Blog from the very beginning. It’s interesting to look back and see how I totally failed all of the goals I set for myself 14 years ago. 

Here I was, struggling to lose weight when I weighed 207 pounds. Now I’m 232 pounds, unable to run anymore, on oxygen when I walk, trying to get on the heart transplant list and dealing with the same issues.

I’m trying to think ahead another 14 years and wondering what sort of condition I will be in. The most likely condition will be worm food. But just in case I beat the odds and God decides to keep me here a bit longer, I see myself in a Rascal Scooter, talking into my iPad as it converts speech to text, with the constant thumping drone of my artificial heart filling the silence as I watch reruns of Matlock, the one with Kathy Bates, complaining about trying to get down to 275 pounds and reminiscing about my glory days when I weighed 207. 

I’m actually looking forward to that!

Right now, I’m waiting on a return call from the Social Security Administration concerning a phantom payment that showed up in my account. I want to make sure it is a legitimate payment that won’t be recalled by them in a few months.

They said the wait time was 120 minutes and I’m well past that now at 148 minutes. That’s two and half hours to you and me.

Stand by and hopefully I’ll have an update for you shortly, at least by the next paragraph.

12:25PM: I finally got the return call from Fidel at SSA. It took about 2 1/2 hours for him to call back. That must be a bitch of a job. No wonder they’re humorless. In this case however, Fidel was very helpful and said the one time payment was an adjustment and I should be getting a letter confirming that.

So, I guess I’m okay to accept and spend this money. However, being the horrible saver I am, I’m going to attempt to keep most of this as a buffer for as long as I can.

I am going to go out a buy me a new shirt however.

 

Lament of the Wealthy American

 I am going to have to have another session with Social Security on the phone.

I was checking my bank account on Friday and the balance was way off from what I was expecting. Way off to the good. Upon further investigation, which means I looked at the account, I discovered I had a payment from Social Security in there that I had not expected. 

I got on the website and logged in to find out I had indeed been given an extra payment of about $1,200. It was listed as “One time payment”.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining.

However, I’m very suspicious of SSA when it comes to “Free Money”. I want to be sure this is legit. When SSA discovers they’ve made a mistake, they don’t just say “I’m sorry” and move on. They take back the money. RIGHT NOW!

I don’t want to wake up a month from now and find I have a $1,200 hole in my account.

So, it’s Monday morning and the first thing I did was jump on the phone to SSA. While I was working my way through the phone tree, I got myself logged on to the website and into my account. I also had planned to record the phone call. I want all the backup I can get.

At the end of five minutes of announcements and instructions, the recording said the offices are closed today due to the Federal Holiday.

Damn you, Christopher Columbus!

So I have to wait another day. It’s not as though this money is burning a hole through my pocket. I can wait. It’s nice having an extra buffer in there. It makes me feel like a wealthy American.

SSA Help Line

I just got off the phone with a woman from Social Security who has to be one of the most humorless people I have talked to on the phone.

I called because today is the day my Social Security posts to my bank account. It wasn't there when I checked my account this morning.

You may recall I have had some difficulties with my accounts because of a Low Life MoFo Scammer that tried to rip me off.

In the course of trying to repair the damage, I had to redirect my SSA Direct Deposit to a new account. That account number is 509 3825 968. (If you use the corresponding letters on the phone to those numbers, you’ll get a message that tells you I’m not giving you my account number.)

So I called the SSA Help Line and gave them my number for a call back. I'm glad I didn't wait on the line because it took an hour and 39 minutes for the lady to return my call. 

During that time, I called my bank and learned that the money was there, but in the old, closed account. They would move it to the right account by the end of the day.

So the humorless lady from Social Security called me back and I told her I had resolved the problem with my bank but I wanted her to help me with a new login system that SSA is changing to.

While she was on the phone, I went through the process of signing up to the new program. The website would not let me create a new account. It kept saying there was already an account associated with the email address I provided. 

OF COURSE THERE WAS AN ACCOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EMAIL ADDRESS I PROVIDED. IT'S MINE!!!

We got to the point were she was not able to help me,. Nor could she direct me to anyone who could help me.

For the time being, I have access to my SSA account on line but I'm not sure what will happen when they switch over. And the wonderful sourpuss on the phone had no idea when that transition would happen.

Needless to say, I left an unflattering report with the after call survey. I wonder if anyone will follow up on that.

Not holding my breath.     

PFT Number One

Today we had an appointment with Lance at the Providence Pulmonary and Sleep Disorder Clinic. We have been looking forward to this appointment because it seems to be the last hurdle to get over to get on the Heart Transplant List.

I had to be there at 7:00 for a PFT. That's Pulmonary Function Test for those of you without lungs.

It turns out that the test was all for naught because nobody told me to discontinue Trelogy for 48 hours before the test. Trelogy is an inhaler I suck in every morning. It's supposed to open my airways.

Anyway, I had the test and then Susan and I waited for about 45 minutes for the meeting with Lance.

Lance is a nice affable guy who is a respiratory therapist, I think. He's also a very large man with an artificial leg. That doesn't bother me at all except for being treated by a guy who has some pretty big health issues in addition to me.

Lance went over the results of the test and they weren't great. I definitely have some lung issues being able to exhale strongly and some other stuff. I do not feel very confident for the results of the upcoming test since I will be off the Trelogy which is supposed to be helping me.

Stand by for NEWS!

DumbAss!

What a dumbass I can be! It’s really quite amazing. I don’t know if I can attribute this problem to bad eye sight, lowing cognitive skills, or just plain stupidity.

I’m in a portion of the year with my Prescription Insurance they call the Donut Hole. I can’t figure out why they call it that and I don’t really care. What I do care about is that the Donut Hole is making one of my drugs suddenly cost $187.00 for one month.

Supposedly, it will go back to normal next month and be affordable again. But for this month, I had the to bite the $187.00 bullet and get the drug.

I was refilling my weekly pill supply last week and when it came to my Jardiance pills ($187.00), I couldn’t find the new bottle. I looked all over. I pulled all the drugs off my shelf and looked at each one. I even threw away some that I no longer use. I reorganized that shelf at least three times. No Jardiance. Shit! Did I mention what it costs? 

So I have gone this last week without it. I can’t say I’ve felt any ill effects being off of it, but who really knows. It’s a diabetic drug that they have found has some good effects on heart patients.

I was refilling my weekly pill supply this morning and suddenly, from out of nowhere, there was my Jardiance bottle.

What a Dumb Ass!

I think it was there all along and I glossed over it. That has been happening to me a lot. I’ll be looking for something, look straight at it, and keep looking.

The long and short of it is that I’m back on my Jardiance and I am a DUMBASS!

Weight Loss Update

I just returned from my walk and it was a tough go. I did the mile around the park and stopped briefly about half way through to catch my breath. I should also note there was some ever so slight tightness in my chest. We will be keeping an eye on this.

I've been behaving myself pretty well the last couple of days and have not lost a pound. If I'm making the sacrifice of giving up beer and wine, I had better see some results on the scale.

239 Pounds

 I finally got in to see the Liver Doctor. Dr. Seth is a friendly woman I would estimate to be in her late 30's. She told us she didn't see any problem with my liver that would preclude me from getting a heart transplant.

She suggested I loose some weight. Ten percent of my body weight, which is about 25 pounds. I'm am going to dedicate myself to do it. I've been eating chocolate and ice cream lately. Time to buckle down. Plus, I think loosing 25 pounds would show the transplant people that I am serious about my health.

She also suggested I cut back on my alcohol consumption. I love my beer and wine but I like breathing even more. So I'm going to cut waaaaay back on my drinking.

Check back here to see how long it takes for me to ignore this post.

September BP

 

Sleep Study

It’s 7:30 PM and I am sitting in the lobby of St Luke’s Rehab, waiting to spend the night here for a Sleep Study. I’ve been here for 15 minutes and I’m here in the lobby with about 9 other people. They told me to get here at 7:15 and here we all sit. That’s pretty damn efficient. But that will end up being my only complaint of the evening.

This is my second sleep study. I did one about four years ago and it ended up with me sleeping with a mask on my face, attached to a BiPap machine to prevent me from stopping breathing at night.

The first sleep study was done at a place out in the valley called Aspen Sleep Center and it seemed much more efficient than this. I remember I walked in the door and they led me to a room. They got me wired up and then left me alone to watch TV for a while before I decided to go to sleep.

Then I got woken up several times during the night to put different masks on me and see what worked best.

Oh, here comes a team of nurses. Maybe it’s time to go in.

Nope! False alarm. They took pretty much everyone else but I’m still sitting here typing away.

I guess I shall just continue to sit here and wait.

8:15PM: Okay, right after I wrote that last sentence, a guy came and got me. 

I’m in a nice big room with a large bed, maybe a double. It has a TV but I can’t get the Mariners game. 

9:13PM: Josh has been spending the last 45 minutes getting me wired up. Here’s what I look.

Pretty! Huh!

I guess I’m about ready for bed. I really don’t know how well I’m going to sleep with all the wires on me. It will be an interesting night. I’ll complete this post in the morning.

6:27AM: I made it through the night. I don’t feel like I slept very well but then again, I don’t feel any different from when I normally wake up after a night of sleep. I'm surprised they didn't wake me up at all during the night. There was no clock in the room so when Josh walked in and said it was time to get up, I was happy it was over. I had survived!

I’m getting out of here and going to breakfast.

8:18AM: After enjoying a nice morning meal at the local Waffle House, I am home and fresh out of the shower.

All the electrodes they put on my head were held in place by some waxy goo that Josh painted on. I was able to comb some of it out while getting dressed at the facility this morning.

But a shower was required to really get it all out. Now I’m pretty again and happy to be home.

The best news I learned from Josh this morning is that my oxygen levels were good all night. That means I don’t have to sleep with an oxygen tank going. The other thing he told me was I have fewer problems with my breathing when I don't sleep on my back.

All that news makes me happy.

How to Breathe Update

I think I'm really starting to lose it. If we have to pick a space in time for losing it, let's say it's right here.

I was positive that I wrote a post the other day that updated stuff with me and my health...or lack there of. But it is not here and I don't know where else I would have written it.

I guess it doesn't matter. I'm here now and I'm damn sure aware that this is me writing this. Save!

Last Friday I went in the Sacred Heart for a scheduled Right Heart Cath. It's a procedure where they insert a catheter in my neck, and stroll around down to the heart where they can read pressure and get some information.

Apparently, they were not happy with the information and sent me to a hospital room. 

They decided to up the amount of milrinone I'm getting and do a follow up pulmonary function test. Since it was a holiday weekend (Labor Day) and nobody was going to be around to run the tests, they decided to let me go home and figure everything out in an outpatient setting. 

So I spent Friday night in Room 632 and got out Saturday afternoon.

Since then, it feels like a switch has been thrown to screw up my breathing. I'm am using my O2 generator a lot more when I walk and I regularly dip below 90% in my oxygen levels.

Whether my deteriorating heart is causing lung issues or my lungs are just turning to crap on their own has yet to be determined.

But that's where we are for now.

In Bug Bite news, I'm happy to say that my wrist has healed up nicely since I last wrote about it and I am now longer wrapping it. Here is a picture to affirm my statement of healing.

I've been hitting it with moisturizing cream because it is kind hard and crusty. I believe it is helping but I'm keeping an eye on it.

August BP

 

General Update

I had a nice walk this morning in the midst of a gentle rain. I walked out and the rain was falling and I decided to be a MAN and continue the walk. I did the mile in 23 minutes, which is about what it usually is. I have a goal of breaking the 20 minute mark.

I got myself an Oxymeter, which reads my oxygen level. I use it on my walks. I have also been using the portable oxygen generator. 

The first part of my walk seems to go well and I feel like I'm walking at a pretty good pace. On the second half of the walk, the oxymeter vibrates... A LOT! When my oxygen level drops below 90%, that's when the vibrating starts.

I am continuing to have issues with the spider bite on my left wrist. I think I'm on the road to recovery. I went to seek medical care for it last Saturday. They gave me some antibiotics to take for five days and a cream to lather over the wound.

I can already tell it's improving.

The Doctor there gave me a really good tip. I have been using this gauze wrap that you buy at the drug store. He told me to go to Big R and go to the animal supply area. They have the same stuff but it's much cheaper.

Still Waiting…and Likely To Be For A While

I got a call late yesterday from Lisa, the coordinator of the Heart Transplant program. She said that after looking at the results of the breathing test I did yesterday, they are not happy with the condition of my lungs. They need to work on some therapy or new meds before they can present me to the board for a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Apparently, right now, I’m a thumbs down.

The other news I got was the Liver Doctor I’m supposed to see, can see me sooner that October First. Now, she can see me on September 30th. That’s right, a whole day closer.

I took my first walk with the Oxygen Generator this morning. Susan and I walked a mile around the park and I was quite spent when we got home. I can’t tell that it made a difference but I’m sure it didn’t hurt me. Except that it’s kind of heavy.

In other health issues, I’ve been dealing with this bug bite on my left wrist for about a month now. The first picture I took of it was back on July 26th. 

Since then it got pretty angry but it was improving.

Here’s a picture taken last week.

I left it uncovered for a couple of days after that point and that might have been a mistake.

Here’s what it looks like today.

I’ve be wrapping it up for several days now but it does not seem to improve…or get worse. It is not showing any signs of infection. It is not warm and there are not red streaks traveling down my arm. It just oozes a clear fluid that really soaks up sterile pads quickly. 

The nurse is coming tomorrow to change the dressing on my PICC line so I’ll have her take a look.

Update: Oxygen Man

Susan and I have been cruising along this Summer, dealing with the heat, the house projects, my PICC line and changing the Milrinone bag every two days. Plus we are dealing with a cat who requires an IV bag boost every three days, andthere have been lots of Doctor appointments where they check  the PICC line and my general health. They are still evaluating me has a heart transplant qualified kind of guy. I'm not on the list yet but we are hoping for a decision, one way of the other, by the end of the month.

Last Thursday I met with Dr. Fatima Ajaz, who is a Pulmanary Specialist. She was not happy with my oxygen levels and wants me on an oxygen generator when I walk.

I have another appointment with her office on Tuesday and I am going to have one of those torturous breathing tests, and figure out more about the oxygen generator.

A guy showed up on Friday and dropped off this huge oxygen generator for around the house, a portable oxygen generator for when I go walking, and a large emergency backup tank of oxygen for when the world explodes and I need to breathe.

At this point, I am skeptical about how badly I need this apparatus. I generally feel okay or at least, not any worse than I've felt for the past few months.

On Friday, before I had the appointment with Dr. Ajaz, I took a test ride on my neighbors e-bike. Lou got this bike a few months ago. He hasn't ridden it a lot and had an issue with the battery shortly after getting it. 

Anyway, I have been researching e-bikes and he let me take his for a spin. I ended up going on a four mile trip down to the river and back. It was very enjoyable and I really like his bike...right up until the time that the battery died.

This bike has those really fat tires and it's pretty heavy, so the ride home took a while and involved many stops to catch my breath. 

That's why I am wondering how bad I need this oxygen boost. I pretty much wore myself out prior to the appointment. I hadn't really thought about the connection until now. 

I guess we'll wait and see how the breathing torture test goes.

 

 

Waiting for the Waiting List

We are through the process of meeting everyone on the transplant staff that we have to meet and finished all the tests and appointments they require of us.

That means we should be hearing from them within the next couple of weeks if we made the list. (I’m using the Royal “We” in this instance because Susan is as much a part of this as I am.)

One of the things “we” had to do was go in to “our” Dentist for an exam. In the course of that appointment, he found “we” had a couple of cracked fillings. “We” have an appointment this afternoon to ameliorate that problem, but just “I” and my fillings shall be going.

Other than that, we are just going about our days, working a little on the kitchen and cleaning the house in preparation for a visit from Susan’s sister, Margaret. She gets here Friday and then the pressure is off me for a good week to do much of anything. 

We have a concert in the park planned and a baseball game to go to. I’m not sure what else Susan has planned but for the most part, it doesn’t include me. Which is fine!

June BP

 

Life with a PICC

I am now a good week into living with an IV bag tethered to my waist. It's a new life style that is going to be with me for a while. 

To recap. I have had a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line implanted in my right arm. The PICC line is attached to a pump which delivers a continual dosage of a drug called Milrinone. My doctor calls it Rocket Fuel for the Heart.

One bag lasts about 50 hours. We have gotten in the habit of changing it every two days at noon. Today is a bag change day. In about an hour. As I check the pump, it says I have 4 hours and 43 minutes before my bag is drained.

I have gotten used to wearing it around my waist like a fanny pack. I generally keep it in front of me. If it's off to the side, it gets in the way when I sit. It also wants to pull my pants down.

It's a little odd in the shower as I have to wear this long plastic glove over my hand and arm. The PICC line must be kept clean and dry at all times to avoid infection. They are crazy obsessive about infection. And so, I must be as well.

Sleeping has not been a big change. I have plenty of line from the pump to allow me to toss and turn. In fact, I think I've been sleeping better since I got the PICC.

As far a s the comfort of the PICC line, it's okay. Sometimes it gets itchy and sometimes there is a slight burning at the site of the line. But for the most part, it something I'm aware of. There is a slight pressure on my arm and if I were to concentrate on it, I could see it being annoying. 

But this is my life now and I'm going to make the best of it and go with the flow.

    

Going Home

It is now Wednesday, Day Five of my semi-involuntary incarceration. I am getting out and let me tell you, life is going to be different from here on out.

I’m not there yet, but I’m close to being considered to get on the heart transplant list. There are still people to meet and more tests to take but it seems we will be hearing a decision in about a month.

In the meantime, I am going home with a pump and an IV bag strapped to my waist. I do not know how long I will be tethered to this but I think it will be awhile.

Susan and I have been going through training on how to change the bag every two days and how to keep everything clean to prevent infection.

We are waiting now for the infusion team to show up and watch us change from the pump in the hospital to my new portable pump I will carry. After that, I believe I am being discharged.

I say that because they have let me get dressed and they have brought me most of my discharge papers.

So here I am in my final moments in Room 630, Bed 1.

Incarceration

I am currently in my third day of semi-involuntary incarceration at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

I had a scheduled right heart cath on Friday morning. It's a procedure to measure pressure levels in various parts of my heart. I've had at least one about a year ago and I think this is part of the process to find out if I'm a viable candidate for a heart transplant.

Dr. Mooney was not happy with the numbers that came back so she decided to put me on a new drug called Milrinone. It's supposed to make my heart pump harder, more vigorously.

The reason I'm in the hospital is because this drug must be administered by I.V. That means they have to have me here to figure out the dosage, insert a PICC line, (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) which is a more permanent I.V. line and train me on the use of the pump. So they say I'm here until at least Wednesday.

The bummer of all this news is my swimming days are over. The pump is not waterproof and the pik line is prone to infection if not kept clean and dry. I love swimming. It's one of the best things about Summer. Plus, I'm a Pisces!

So I feel absolutely fine but I'm stuck here in Room 630 with not much to do. I've been using the time to learn how to operate a new digital sign we have at church, thoroughly read the newspaper, do a little drawing and take endless walks around the halls of the sixth floor.   

May BP

 

The First Tests

I checked into the Radiology Department at Sacred Heart Medical Center at 10:15 this morning. I was there to begin testing to determine if I’m a viable candidate for a heart transplant.

I was greeted by Jeff, who was the first technician to deal with me. He was performing ultrasound scans on my veins. I was laid on a bed and he put blood pressure cuffs on both my wrists and both my ankles. Then he proceeded to take a bunch of reading while putting the ultrasound scanner all over my arms and legs. The hospital posted some records on my on line chart but I  have no idea what the tests determined but I suppose I’ll find out when I talk to the doctor.

The next technician was Ben, who did ultrasound on my Carotid arteries and my abdomen. He checked out my liver, my spleen and various other organs. I looked at the reports on those tests, and while they were still mostly indecipherable, I don’t think there was any news there that indicated problems. Again, we’ll find out more from the doctor.

The next scheduled test was a CT scan. This is the test where they stick you in a tube and run tests through the scanner. It was quick and easy and I was out of there pretty quick.

Finally, I had a couple of hours before I had to be back for an Echo Cardiogram. I’ve had lots of those in the past so there were no surprises there. The only thing I got from the report is that my Ejection Fraction has dropped from somewhere around 30 percent to 20 to 25 percent. That’s a little distressing but not surprising considering how quickly I tire during activity.

Stand by. More testing and meetings to come.

The Saga Begineth

Back on May 15th, I had an appointment at Providence Medical Center for a Stress Test. The test involved a bunch of breathing sessions where I have a mouthpiece and breath normally until the technician tells me to take a deep breath and blow blow blow blow blow blow blow blow blow until I almost pass out. That goes on for an hour. 

After that torture, they put me on a stationary bike, mouthpiece firmly in mouth, and make me peddle until I almost pass out.

All of this was a precursor to an appointment I had on May 17th with Dr. Diedre Mooney, my Cardiologist. I started seeing her a couple of years ago. She is one of the lead doctors at the Heart Institute office of Heart Failure and Transplanting.

I have asked her in the past whether I’m a candidate for a transplant. She has said, “No, not yet.”

At this appointment she said, “It’s time to put you on the transplant list.”

My stamina has not improved since they implanted the pace maker last September. My blood pressure has been all over the place. A few days ago, it was 90/63.

So the saga begins. I have many appointments coming up in the months ahead. I have to have all kinds of tests to determine my viability for a transplant. I shall be stepping up my posts on this site in order to keep track of everything that is going on, something I should have started after my heart attack 33 years ago.

Stay tuned!

Colonoscopy Preparation

I have one week to prepare for a Colonoscopy. It's next Wednesday, the Eighth. I have to change my diet to low fiber. Basically, no nuts, seeds or fatty meats. There's more it than that but that's what I took away from the instructions.

Of course, I'll have the great joy of drinking the prep solution and then spending the day in the bathroom.

Finally getting this appointment has been a journey. I got a notice last summer that it was time to get the colonoscopy. It had been a few years. I called Spokane Digestive in August and they told me I was ready for one until November.

I called Spokane Digestive in November and they said to call back after the first of the year.

I called Spokane Digestive after the first of the year and they said that the Doctor had reviewed my information and because of my heart condition and all the accompanied factors, he wanted to do my colonoscopy in a surgical setting rather than an office setting. 

That means I went on a waiting list in which I was 43rd in line.

While golfing last Thursday, I got a call just at the end of the round from Spokane Digestive. They said there was an opening on the Eighth of May. Known to some as Outdoor Intercourse Day, I now know it as Surgical Up the Ass Day.

I'm very excited!

April BP

 

Update on Stan

 It's been a while. What the hell is new with me.

I'm typing with an injured index finger. I was helping out prior to Easter Sunday, cutting potatoes with a mandolin. Not the instrument, but rather the instrument of mutilation. It's a slicer that cuts all matter of fruits and vegetables. As stated, I was cutting potatoes when my finger got too close to the cutting surface and I nicked the tip of my index finger. It bled a lot and now it is tender five days later as it slowly heals.

The ski season appears to be over. Mt Spokane closes this Sunday, April 7th, and I don't think I'm going to make it up again. I only skied five times this season, perhaps my worst ever. However, the winter was also the worst ever. It has been a very low snow year.

I need to make a new video about my voice change. I think I'm back to normal because I stopped using this prescription inhaler called Trelogy. It was literally making my voice change to an old man. Well, older man. So I stopped using it and I think my voice returned to its former greatness. I probably need to notify my doctor. 

We have just finished Lent which means I'm drinking beer again. I have just kegged a batch of home brewed honey ale which I shall be drinking much of, and sharing as well.

Finally, I don't think I have mentioned here that I have another website dedicated to cartoons. It is www.adventuresofretiredguy.com and it features cartoons I draw every day concerning being a retired guy. It's like they say in all the writing seminars, "Write what you know!"

March BP

 

The Saga of the Sliver

Back on March 3rd, Susan wanted to change the banners we have at church from the winter theme to the spring theme. We use this large wooden pole with a hook on it to lift the banners up to the wall hook about twenty feet up on the wall.

After I got the second banner hung, I let the pole slide down through my handle and caught a sliver in my right hand ring finger. There was a little tip sticking out and I did my best to grab it and pull it out. It broke off, leaving a lot of sliver still in my finger.

Throughout the week, I tried in vain to dig it out using a variety of non surgical instruments that I had on hand. Pins, tweezers, xacto knives, all were useless.

Last Friday, I finally made my way to Providence Express Care. I saw a Physician’s Assistant named Ashley. She shot me up with Lidocaine  and dug around in my finger but never really found anything. And believe me, she looked. I watched as she put those tweezers deep in the wound.

She sent me for an X-ray to see if it showed anything. I was later informed that an X-ray won’t show anything organic, so that was a waste.

I finally called my Doctor because it was suggested I need an ultrasound. An ultrasound would show an organic foreign body but I needed a referral from my doctor to get one.

So I trundled into my doctors office on Tuesday and saw another P.A. He wanted to refer me to a hand doctor and then see if they would order the ultrasound. I would hear back from him on Thursday or Friday.

Last night, I removed the bandaid to squeeze out the puss and put on a clean dressing. When I squeezed, I suddenly noticed a sliver sticking out of my wound. All the way out. I just flicked it off.

They all said the body would eventually expel it and the body finally did. Above is a picture of the little wood chip with a postage stamp for size reference.

The wound on my finger is still tender but I think I have been cured by my own self. Stan, heal thyself!

February BP

 

Voice Change Baseline

 

First Ski Day

I finally got in my first day of skiing for the 2023/24 season.

This has been the worst winter for snow in my memory. It’s no big deal when we are talking here in town. As much as I enjoy snow blowing, I can do without it just as easily.

But snow in the mountains is an accepted part of nature in Spokane. Mt Spokane didn’t open until just before Christmas and they just don’t have a lot of snow up there.

Nonetheless, it was nice to get up on the hill and it was a gorgeous day with nary a cloud in the sky.

As I always say, the worst part of my ski day is getting from the parking lot to the lift. We got a great parking space thanks to my Handicap Parking Placard and it was a fairly easy walk up the hill.

I put my skis on and moved toward the lift. My right foot came right out of the binding. I looked down and saw a couple pieces of plastic scattered around my ski. My first thought was my binding broke. 

On closer inspection it was my boot that broke. In fact, the whole toe piece had cracked and broken right off.

I should say that I have had these boots for well over 40 years. I looked at new boots a few years ago but didn’t find anything I liked. These boots are rear entry boots and they are really easy to get on and off.

Apparently, they stopped making rear entry boots a long time ago.

So I walked up to the rental shop with my skis and my sad broken footwear. I was told I would probably have to rent skis as well because it was unlikely the rental boots would fit.

So that added 45 bucks to my ski day.

So I will be tossing the boots later today and begin my quest for a new pair. 

Between this and my major snow blower repair, this has been an expensive winter.

January BP

 

Two and a Half Days of Frozen Hell

 We woke up Saturday morning to minus 11 degrees and frozen pipes.

I broke out all our space heaters, the heat guns and every extension cord I could find. We’ve had this problem once many years ago and I was able to thaw the pipes pretty quickly.

That was not the case this time. We’ve been borrowing buckets of water from our neighbors for the toilets and purchased a bunch of drinking water.

I’ve been running the heat gun over the pipes but had no luck.

This morning, Monday, I called a plumber. They got here about 3:30. I showed the guy system and the whole layout and like me, he was stumped.

In a Hail Mary sort of move, I asked them to stay for one hour and see what they could do. 

I was not hopeful. They just concentrated their heat guns on the area where the water line comes into the house and on the meter. With 18 minutes left in their hour, the water started running. 

A huge weight was lifted from me even though it cost $461.67. They didn’t really do anything Plumbery. 

But we have water again and no damage to the pipes.

I just took one of the best showers I’ve ever had.

Whew!