by Pa Rock
Old Timer
My favorite cousin emailed this morning and reminded me that I haven't posted any recent medical updates. The short response is that I am home, taking regular naps, and getting better.
I was released from the hospital a week ago yesterday after a two-night stay and have been home recuperating ever since. I suspect that the doctors would have kept me there a third night, but after enjoying the facility and hospitality for two nights, there was no way I was staying for a third - and the medical staff seemed just as adamant in their desire to see me go!
I was tentatively diagnosed with a "tick-borne infection," and as of today the "tick panels" have not come back so that diagnosis remains unofficial. Now I am supposed to call my doctor on Monday and hopefully get the actual results.
My regular doctor, who is a very bright individual, made the original diagnosis. I saw him on Tuesday after doing another round of blood work, and he said my "numbers" are returning to where they should be. He also told me that the Missouri Ozarks is the epicenter of tick bite diseases in the U.S., something that I did not know.
ADVICE for AVOIDING TICK BITES: The doctor told me that anyone working outside in a tick area should wear long sleeves and long pants - preferably with boots. Shirts should be tucked in, and the legs of the pants should be tucked into the boot tops. Use tick spray, and the best practice is to spray the clothes before dressing rather than spraying the skin directly. Then, after returning to the house, strip, throw the clothes in the washer, examine yourself, and hit the showers!
I had two physicians to deal with during the tick ordeal, my own regular doctor who made the initial diagnosis and booked me into the local hospital - and the "hospitalist" or hospital doctor who managed my care as an in-patient. My own doctor walks on water, but the other did not know me or have a working knowledge of my health history - and he'd proceeded to change some of my heart and diabetes meds to meet the lower numbers that were brought on by the illness. I had a regular session scheduled with my cardiologist for last Monday, and he made corrections to the new regimen, but I am still putting along with the new diabetes routine. I will endeavor to set up an appointment with my endocrinologist within the next few days and get those meds readjusted as well.
The lesson here is that too many doctors can spoil the salsa. Over the past five years I have slowly and carefully developed a team of doctors that stretch across much of the Ozarks. They have me figured out - but when a new doctor enters the mix, confusion can ensue.
The basic treatment that I was on - after being re-hydrated in ICU, was a kick-ass antibiotic which I had to take for ten days. It is the standard treatment for tick-borne diseases. A necessary condition for taking that particular medicine is that you must remain out of the sun, so I have been an in-home wallflower. Fortunately my son was able and willing to step-in and take over the mowing, and Amazon has some great old movies on Prime that have kept me entertained.
Last night I watched the 1984 version of Red Dawn, the good one, and was shocked to discover that Jennifer (Nobody puts Baby in a corner!) Grey played one of the two young female rebels opposite Patrick Swayze. That was a full three years before she and Swayze set the nation's movie screens on fire with Dirty Dancing!
I also re-learned while watching Three Days of the Condor that Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway have some serious acting chops to back up their pretty faces. And actor Jon Voight, while he may be a sad shill for Donald Trump today, was an amazingly good actor fifty years ago when he starred in Midnight Cowboy, the only X-rated film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. (Voight's talent and boyish charm aside, it was Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo who actually carried to film to its ultimate glory - but Jon Voight as the hustler, Joe Buck, was awfully good as well.). And as for that "X" rating, the same film probably would receive a PG or PG-13 today!
I finished the high-powered antibiotics yesterday, and will probably be back on the mower next week. Today, however, I will likely watch the film version of Hair and have another nice nap!
I'm good - and getting better!
Old Timer
My favorite cousin emailed this morning and reminded me that I haven't posted any recent medical updates. The short response is that I am home, taking regular naps, and getting better.
I was released from the hospital a week ago yesterday after a two-night stay and have been home recuperating ever since. I suspect that the doctors would have kept me there a third night, but after enjoying the facility and hospitality for two nights, there was no way I was staying for a third - and the medical staff seemed just as adamant in their desire to see me go!
I was tentatively diagnosed with a "tick-borne infection," and as of today the "tick panels" have not come back so that diagnosis remains unofficial. Now I am supposed to call my doctor on Monday and hopefully get the actual results.
My regular doctor, who is a very bright individual, made the original diagnosis. I saw him on Tuesday after doing another round of blood work, and he said my "numbers" are returning to where they should be. He also told me that the Missouri Ozarks is the epicenter of tick bite diseases in the U.S., something that I did not know.
ADVICE for AVOIDING TICK BITES: The doctor told me that anyone working outside in a tick area should wear long sleeves and long pants - preferably with boots. Shirts should be tucked in, and the legs of the pants should be tucked into the boot tops. Use tick spray, and the best practice is to spray the clothes before dressing rather than spraying the skin directly. Then, after returning to the house, strip, throw the clothes in the washer, examine yourself, and hit the showers!
I had two physicians to deal with during the tick ordeal, my own regular doctor who made the initial diagnosis and booked me into the local hospital - and the "hospitalist" or hospital doctor who managed my care as an in-patient. My own doctor walks on water, but the other did not know me or have a working knowledge of my health history - and he'd proceeded to change some of my heart and diabetes meds to meet the lower numbers that were brought on by the illness. I had a regular session scheduled with my cardiologist for last Monday, and he made corrections to the new regimen, but I am still putting along with the new diabetes routine. I will endeavor to set up an appointment with my endocrinologist within the next few days and get those meds readjusted as well.
The lesson here is that too many doctors can spoil the salsa. Over the past five years I have slowly and carefully developed a team of doctors that stretch across much of the Ozarks. They have me figured out - but when a new doctor enters the mix, confusion can ensue.
The basic treatment that I was on - after being re-hydrated in ICU, was a kick-ass antibiotic which I had to take for ten days. It is the standard treatment for tick-borne diseases. A necessary condition for taking that particular medicine is that you must remain out of the sun, so I have been an in-home wallflower. Fortunately my son was able and willing to step-in and take over the mowing, and Amazon has some great old movies on Prime that have kept me entertained.
Last night I watched the 1984 version of Red Dawn, the good one, and was shocked to discover that Jennifer (Nobody puts Baby in a corner!) Grey played one of the two young female rebels opposite Patrick Swayze. That was a full three years before she and Swayze set the nation's movie screens on fire with Dirty Dancing!
I also re-learned while watching Three Days of the Condor that Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway have some serious acting chops to back up their pretty faces. And actor Jon Voight, while he may be a sad shill for Donald Trump today, was an amazingly good actor fifty years ago when he starred in Midnight Cowboy, the only X-rated film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. (Voight's talent and boyish charm aside, it was Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo who actually carried to film to its ultimate glory - but Jon Voight as the hustler, Joe Buck, was awfully good as well.). And as for that "X" rating, the same film probably would receive a PG or PG-13 today!
I finished the high-powered antibiotics yesterday, and will probably be back on the mower next week. Today, however, I will likely watch the film version of Hair and have another nice nap!
I'm good - and getting better!
1 comment:
Good to hear! I say let the mower sleep for a while. Hopefully you got your results from the hospital back today.
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