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joyfulguy

Ole joyful's thankful, these days

joyfulguy
12 years ago

It was a year ago last Sunday that a pain awoke me early and I found that I could take a slight sip of air without pain, then there was a little pain as I breathed in a little more air, which increased until I couldn't stand it.

En route to the living room to lay plans ... first things, first, I visited the bathroom ... and found that as I stood or sat, there was no pain.

Called nurse on 800 number, who suggested (my choice) that I call 911, and when I demurred, recommended highly that I go to ER. They took blood, X-ray, etc., told me that they'd found something in my blood, gave me a shot, told me that if I cut myself I'd bleed more than normally.

Being a fiercely frugal fella, I'd parked in a shopping mall nearby, rather than by the hospital (expensive).

I'd arived at ER just before 11, had been shown to a cubicle about 2 and it was about 7 when I'd received the shot and been released.

I had some discomfort if I took more than shallow breaths, so was walking rather slowly and figured, that since I had a bit of travel ahead and no jacket, with it being a bit chilly in late September, that I was in for a rather slow, chilly progress.

About 300 feet from the door of the hospital, I took a slightly deeper breath and there was a bit of a click in my lung, then I could breathe more deeply and without discomfort.

I have had no trouble breathing since and have not found any reduction in the things that I can do from before I got that clot in the lung. If it's in the brain, they call it a stroke, and in the heart, a heart attack.

I gave myself shots for a few days and started on Warfarin (rat poison), which I've been continuing on the same level for several months, so I guess they have the dosage stabilized.

When I spoke of it here at the time, I said that I understood that if I were on it for under 5 years that I didn't start looking like a rat ... and one of the denizens of the KT reported that her Dad had been on it for many years ... and that she hadn't heard of any tail sprouting, as of that time (don't know about since).

Anyway - this old fart is a really happy and thankful man to have got through that scrape so unscathed.

Visited doc last week: everything seems fine (so far as I can recall ... but the memory isn't what it used to be). Blood pressure 110/70, so that pleases him ... and me, through him.

Doc said that he's to retire in 2013... and a few minutes later, in 2014 ... so I asked whether he was sure that he knew what he was about.

Next time I think that I'll have to ask which it is ... as I figure that I'd better plan on dying first. When he asks the reason for that, I'll tell him that he knows how hard it is to find a doc, these days ... and one wouldn't want to be without one (as millions of Canadians are).

Doing the happy dance, these days, I'm just ...

... ole joyfuelled

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