Monday Evening In London

Thank You, Troop 104

Handle is hickory from our woods where they camp.

On The Ring Of Kerry, Ireland

I have spent years trying to get this picture right. This is the best I can do with it.

Heart Attack

Normally I post here first and then link to Facebook, but with only a phone at the hospital I could not do that. On Thursday I had a colonoscopy at Madison County Hospital. In the middle of that procedure, I was told I had a heart attack. I didn't believe it because I had no pain. The procedure was ended quickly (yes, I have to go back to finish it), and I was rushed to the ICU. Seven hours later, the local heart doc told that 1) I had a heart attack, I had significant damage to the heart and I needed surgery. He then went into this thoughtful pose, so I asked: "what time frame are you thinking of?". I thought a week, maybe 10 days... HA. He responded with: "I am trying to decide between tonight and tomorrow morning". "Tomorrow morning" says I as I do not want tired people working on my heart. Besides, I still do not believe I had one. "OKAY, tomorrow morning" and the decision was make.

What I did not know realize was how alarmed everyone else was. I was cool and calm because I didn't believe I had one. In fairly short order I was shipped to Mt Carmel which pleased me no end. I like our local hospital and their food is several steps above Mt Carmel's offerings. During the ride over, a med tech rode with me and he was going over the info pack they send. He showed me the EKG from the operating room and 11:51 was hand written on the strip identifying the time of the heart attack. I had woken up then and was watching them remove a polyp in there (the clarity and resolution of that camera filled a huge flat screen TV with the best picture I had ever seen... astonishing). The time was on the screen and it was 11:51. The tech also showed me the spike in that heart enzime that identifies a heart attack. But even tech gave me the same disbelieving look that everyone had given me when I told them I felt no pain.

I did luck out in the Mt Carmel ICU with the best nurse I have ever encountered, Jessi. When all the questions were answered (after midnight now), I said that I was get little sleep, she offered a sleeping pill and I did get 4 or 5 hours of sleep over all. Here, now, are the sequence of messages I posted as I went through this heart attack business.

11:13PM Thursday: Had a procedure in MCH this morning. Had a heart attack during it and am now in Columbus scheduled for surgury at 9 AM tomorrow. I will get some word out later tomorrow. It was painless heart attack

5:51 AM Friday: Morning is here and so am I. In Mt Carmel, which claims to a top 50 heart hospital. Stent will be installed starting at 9. If u can safely do so, iight a candle for me.

10:10 AM: It appears I will be waiting forever to start.

12:28 PM: Out of surgery and in recovery. One stent. Heart damage they saw yesterday has repaired itself! Be still my heart. Thank you one and all!

8:13 AM Saturday: Hospitals are strange places. This morning I did what little yoga I could do and took a brisk 15 walk. Immediately they took my blood pressure and it was too high. Now l have to stay in bed for an hour to get a more normal hospital reading, meaning comatose!

9:24 AM: Hope is fading fast to escape today.

10:50 AM: I have a smile on my face. I get to go home at 2 today!

1:30 PM: Sprung

I spent the time between the last two messages thanking everyone I could. I could not have imagined that I was able to go home 42 hours after I arrived with only minimal restrictions over the next few days and none after that. It is magic!

Fasting Is Interesting

I have never fasted before, so this is a new experience. The first half of the day was fine. After that every food I saw I wanted! But as a diabetic, all I could have was tea, sugar free Jello and broth. Pretty thin scoffins. As night fell, I became really cold, and yes, I was still in the house. I just ran out of input into that internal furnace and it shut down. after about two hours of being wrapped in a down quilt and singing the chorus of the longest Hindu chant on my iPod, I finally warmed up! And I am fine now.

Fasting for a diabetic is interesting. I was advised to not take any of my diabetes meds, as there is no real food to operate on. It felt funny to do that. Mid afternoon I was feeling woozy, so I took a blood sugar reading: 102. So if I didn't have to eat, my blood sugar would be fine. Again it must have been no fuel in the furnace. Most of the things on the list I could have are loaded with sugar. And the sugar free substitutes are mostly sucralose (Splenda) which is just as bad as sugar for this diabetic. And others as well. The vitamin waters are okay, as they have stevia as the sweetener. Stevia actually helps stabilize your blood sugar and is the only sweetener I use any more.

At 9:30 I am feeling fine, though my stomach is growling.

Hawk Hunting in Old Shaw Elevator

Good bye, Kodak

I started using Kodak cameras and film in 1963, but quickly moved to Japanese cameras. By the turn of the century, I stopped using their film and paper. I am sad to see the company go.