Just To Let You Know

I haven’t felt good lately. I got a new PCP and went in to meet him and see if he needed any new test for me. You see, I have been having chest pains and a sore arm for about three months now. Nothing serious, just like a pin prick in my chest and a slight pain in my left arm. The EGK showed some slight problem on the right side of my heart, so he sent me to a Cardiologist. He agreed that there was a slight problem, but he wasn’t too concerned right now. I’m glad he isn’t concerned because I am concerned enough for both of us and there is no use in him being upset. After all, it isn’t his heart.

Next week Sweet Tea (I think I am going to call her by her name, Judy, from now on. The handle fits, but she is Judy to me.) and I are going to Charleston, SC, next week for my Navy reunion. So I will enjoy the fellowship of some true heroes and swap a few lies as sailors tend to do. But the following week I will start my heart test.

I am scheduled to have a Nuclear Stress Test. Umm! I guess that is a test where they put a virtual visor over my head and set off a nuclear explosion with full sound. I then imagine they check to see if you shit your pants or have a hard-on. I’m not sure how I will react, but to be safe I will be wearing a pair of Depends.

I am also trying to pass a kidney stone. This little bastard is beginning to get the best of me. It is stuck on the lower left side and is in a location where nothing can be done. I have had lithotripsy twice before to get rid of stones. One on each side but several months apart. What they do is put pads on the body, one in front and one in back and send sound wave pulses though the body that burst up the stone. It is painless, but does leave a red spot or burses. They can’t do it with this one because the stone is in front of my pelvis and the echo impulses cannot go through. So I have to wait it out.

It is difficult to stand straight up. It is like someone has put an ice-pick in my gut. I have been in bad pain for the last two days, although the stone has been stuck for over a week. Yesterday I could only walk a half a mile to my normal three miles at the track. The pain cause me to walk differently and thus caused my legs hurt. So I decided after the first lap that I was beautifully fit enough for one day, so I went home early. Today I made two miles before I quit. I’ll do my three miles tomorrow or die trying - or maybe not.

Anyways, I feel like shit. But there are those of you out there that are suffering a lot more than I am. My friend, Jim Latchford for example. He is recovering from bypass surgery and is having a bit of a time of it. I read about others of you that are not in the best of shape, so I could be worse off. So I’ll stop complaining now.