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Thread: My year in health

  1. #1
    Senior Member The Storyteller's Avatar
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    My year in health

    Well, year and a half.

    It's been an in interesting time. In the spring of 2016, I started having angina. I went to see my cardiologist and they ran tests to find I had blockage. I had a massive coronary in 2003, and had avoided surgery until now. They put me under the knife, and what had been planned as a triple bypass turned into a quintuple bypass in May of 16.

    Then I had a heart attack while on vacation in CA in July. (And here I thought the point of the bypass was NOT to have one) Two stents later and I'm ready to go.

    Then a month later I contracted a major case of shingles. I was pretty much incapacitated for a month and a half. [NOTE TO EVERYONE: GET YOUR SHINGLES SHOT!]

    Everything went great until March 14 of this year. I took a break from work to go home and let my dog out. On the way home, a lady in an SUV ran a red light and t-boned my Toyota Carola on the passenger side. I was completely out and she tried to pin it on me but they found they had surveillance video seeings it was a block north of the police station. They choppered me to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

    I had three brain bleeds, three broken ribs, and a fractured vertebrae. I was so messed up I didn't even notice the fractures until almost 3 weeks later when I laid on the wrong side in bed. I ended up mostly okay in the end, except for the permanent brain damage.

    And that, kids, is the story of my year in health and why I have decided to retire. I would ask "What can happen next?!" But I'm afraid I might get an answer.
    "There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." --Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

  2. #2
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Geez, you've had a year (or so), Storyteller! If I were you, I wouldn't be walking under any ladders or by any black cats. I'm glad you're (largely) back!
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  3. #3
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    Wow Buster! Let's hope better days are coming.

    I had a blockage requiring a stent several years ago and last year a woman crossed the center line and hit me head on, luckily with no injuries to either of us outside of our totaled cars. I count my blessings every day, I'll start counting yours too.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  4. #4
    Yppej
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    You're a real survivor.

  5. #5
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Wow. So happy to hear you are scaling back and enjoying life after all that!!

    This may or may not be relevant, but as many know, I'm in healthcare market research, and I have done several shingles projects. And one of the questions my client wanted me to ask for one of the projects was "how old is 'elderly'?" and they would say "65 and older."

    I'd shudder (being 65) and then I'd ask "Why 65?" And the doctor would inevitably say something like "Because that's when everything starts going bad." Sheesh!

    As for shingles, I agree that a vaccine is a good way to go. Shingles is not fun. Merck has a vaccine, which is reasonably effective, but there will be another one out in a few months that has been proven to be more effective. The reason they wanted me to find out what "elderly" means is because as you get older, your immune system declines, and the varicella virus, which has been lying dormant all those years, suddenly has a little wiggle room to attack your nerves.

    Please relax and enjoy life!! You deserve it!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  6. #6
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    You will find life rich just savouring all the good going on right now so take time to enjoy it.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  7. #7
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    That is quite somethng, heavens. Good for you to get out of punching the time clock to do what youwant to do.

  8. #8
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    Seems like often in our lives, all the bad stuff happens together like that. Hopefully, you have endured enough and can rest easy now.

  9. #9
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Wow. What a lot to go thru! Definitely enjoy slowing down.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    Man, that's a rough year! I hope it will be clear sailing now. Sometimes we take good health for granted until something happens to us or someone around us. It's a good reminder for me to be thankful.

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