It seemed only fitting that I share this photo from Halloween, as my blissful recovery bubble has burst! For whatever reason the back of my tongue seems to have decided it is going to dominate all other sensations for the time being. Anyway - I had the dubious pleasure of serving as Doorman at the Yacht Club, as we always fill to capacity and it gets quite nutz in town, and this was this year's costume - and no Mom, that's not a wig!
I don't want to give the impression that I'm complaining, about the pain that is - not so, as I'd still have to say this procedure has been more or less NBD, other than the current issues with the tongue. One thing I can tell you for certain, you DO NOT WANT PRUNE JUICE after oral surgery! For whatever reason that really burns. Well, I don't think I'm gonna blather much today about the Tonsil thing, and let it suffice to say, I'm doing OK.
But, I've a real shocker to share, which I think helps put this all a bit more in perspective for me, and perhaps will for some of you as well. Many of you know that I'm very fortunate to have stayed (and in some cases recently become reacquainted) close to several of my High School Classmates from ol' LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL - VALIDIAN'S Class of '66 (Go Lions!) In fact, many of them came to my rescue in the past couple years, helping with some remodeling requirements at my Parent's home, but I digress - we'll visit some of those tales another time.
Well, Sunday morning, while I was still feeling pretty chipper, I went to have a whirl at catching up on my e-mail, only to discover I had a message from my good Friend JC Agajanian, letting me know that on the previous Tuesday, another of our Friends, CARL BELKNAP, had been whisked to the ER with chest pains, only to discover he had 3 totally blocked arteries! As you probably know, "The Big One" is often a way worse life threatening issue than Cancer, and Carl's plight immediately kind of made mine pale by comparison.
The GOOD NEWS though is, Carl did receive treatment in advance of any actual heart attack, and appears to be doing pretty good. Evidently he had two stints put in immediately, and then another couple the following day. Mind you now, Carl is neither a smoker nor a drinker and is the Drummer for GLASS (JC, Carl and a few others played in High School, and have continued to stay with it, which is, yes - "another story" -) in other words, he's a pretty active guy, and "he" has arteries closing up on him. YIKES. I think Carl Win's the "most pain" contest so far... if you call that winning. He expressed the pain as being equivalent to watching UCLA lose a Divisional title game to USC, he being one of the lone UCLA fans left on the planet, and JC and most everyone else being of the Maroon & Gold.
I have to say - dwelling on the well being of someone else, is a great way to get beyond one's own dismal state of affairs. I'm glad Carl seems to be doing well - and I'm guessing DIET is his big enemy of health and heart... we'll find out more down the road.
And speaking of "general health"... Let me just share the results of my 11/13 Pre-op check-up; If the general pre-op physical is anything to go by, aren’t I in great shape!! BP was 110/80, my pulse was 78, Oxygen was 98, and EKG shows my Heart is strong and steady. On top of that, I’ve lost 10 pounds in the past two months and am down to 225. Well, so much for being "healthy." I think what was most reassuring was the Blood Pressure, as mine tends to run a little high. It must be all the good wishes and moral support I've been getting, because I seem to be as relaxed as ever - so thank you all for that. And on that note, here's my thought for today:
"We all lose friends… we lose them in death, to distance and over time. But even though they may be lost, hope is not. The key is to keep them in your heart, and when the time is right, you can pick up the friendship right where you left off. Even the lost find their way home when you leave the light on." -Amy Marie Walz,
I don't want to give the impression that I'm complaining, about the pain that is - not so, as I'd still have to say this procedure has been more or less NBD, other than the current issues with the tongue. One thing I can tell you for certain, you DO NOT WANT PRUNE JUICE after oral surgery! For whatever reason that really burns. Well, I don't think I'm gonna blather much today about the Tonsil thing, and let it suffice to say, I'm doing OK.
But, I've a real shocker to share, which I think helps put this all a bit more in perspective for me, and perhaps will for some of you as well. Many of you know that I'm very fortunate to have stayed (and in some cases recently become reacquainted) close to several of my High School Classmates from ol' LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL - VALIDIAN'S Class of '66 (Go Lions!) In fact, many of them came to my rescue in the past couple years, helping with some remodeling requirements at my Parent's home, but I digress - we'll visit some of those tales another time.
Well, Sunday morning, while I was still feeling pretty chipper, I went to have a whirl at catching up on my e-mail, only to discover I had a message from my good Friend JC Agajanian, letting me know that on the previous Tuesday, another of our Friends, CARL BELKNAP, had been whisked to the ER with chest pains, only to discover he had 3 totally blocked arteries! As you probably know, "The Big One" is often a way worse life threatening issue than Cancer, and Carl's plight immediately kind of made mine pale by comparison.
The GOOD NEWS though is, Carl did receive treatment in advance of any actual heart attack, and appears to be doing pretty good. Evidently he had two stints put in immediately, and then another couple the following day. Mind you now, Carl is neither a smoker nor a drinker and is the Drummer for GLASS (JC, Carl and a few others played in High School, and have continued to stay with it, which is, yes - "another story" -) in other words, he's a pretty active guy, and "he" has arteries closing up on him. YIKES. I think Carl Win's the "most pain" contest so far... if you call that winning. He expressed the pain as being equivalent to watching UCLA lose a Divisional title game to USC, he being one of the lone UCLA fans left on the planet, and JC and most everyone else being of the Maroon & Gold.
I have to say - dwelling on the well being of someone else, is a great way to get beyond one's own dismal state of affairs. I'm glad Carl seems to be doing well - and I'm guessing DIET is his big enemy of health and heart... we'll find out more down the road.
And speaking of "general health"... Let me just share the results of my 11/13 Pre-op check-up; If the general pre-op physical is anything to go by, aren’t I in great shape!! BP was 110/80, my pulse was 78, Oxygen was 98, and EKG shows my Heart is strong and steady. On top of that, I’ve lost 10 pounds in the past two months and am down to 225. Well, so much for being "healthy." I think what was most reassuring was the Blood Pressure, as mine tends to run a little high. It must be all the good wishes and moral support I've been getting, because I seem to be as relaxed as ever - so thank you all for that. And on that note, here's my thought for today:
"We all lose friends… we lose them in death, to distance and over time. But even though they may be lost, hope is not. The key is to keep them in your heart, and when the time is right, you can pick up the friendship right where you left off. Even the lost find their way home when you leave the light on." -Amy Marie Walz,
225 wow! your almost svelt - better be careful, or pretty soon you'll have to run around in the shower to get wet. Keep it up - Your chubby chum- Craig
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