Presentation is everything
My one year follow up with my cardiac surgeon was today. All is well and the PVC’s (a relatively benign arrythmia as far as arrythmias go) I have been experiencing are, well, benign. Cardiac function improved. Size remains a bit smaller than pre-op. You see, when your heart grows it is usually a medical problem.
Clearly Dr. Seuss threw caution to the wind when he wrote “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”.
So in conversation, I queried about my condition (technically: subaortic stenosis with aortic regurgitation). Apparently the condition in itself is somewhat unusual, and my presentation of this condition and when considering the extent of the repair needed…well, it would seem he doesn’t do them frequently. The next one he is doing since April 11, 2007, is tomorrow. Making me the only other patient who has been the recipient of said repair in the past 13 months. It’s so infrequent he calls it “The Jennifer Procedure”. Considering this guy does several operations a week, I find this factoid amusing. (more…)
Romance?
OK so I have a nighttime ritual of reading online celebrity gossip. It helps put things in perspective. For real…check out this one….
Pete [Wentz, one of the greasy haired, emo girl jeans wearing 'guys' from Fall Out Boy] sings the praises of his future bride’s [Ashlee Simpson] organizational skills in People’s 100 Most Beautiful issue.
When Ashlee tells the mag how she’s become adept at packing both their bags while on the road, the Fall Out Boy boasts, “She’s kind of like a super-assistant that you can have sex with.”
Now why can’t I get a classy guy like that?!?!
Why I do what I do
This weekend was a Donor Family Ceremony where families were recognized for their gifts of helping others. The families I met this weekend are among many who chose donation and at a tragic moment, demonstrated indescribable compassion towards other families.
Like any job, some days at work aren’t the most exciting. But even on the most mundane of days, I hope someone’s reality was changed for the better. I think we all long for that meaning in our lives. At least, I hope.
So when the day is complete, I eventually realize that having any small part in this whole process is an honor and there’s not much else I’d rather do.
Here’s what kept me busy last weekend….
Control freak
A friend’s sudden, serious illness has brought my own chronic (and acute) medical issues into perspective.
My friend’s a younger guy - an otherwise healthy runner, who developed what could have been a life-threatening infection in his lower extremity. Though the hospital screwed up and it wasn’t explicitly diagnosed as such, the most reasonable theory names community acquired MRSA, a drug-resistant bacterium previously unseen outside of the hospital environment, as the culprit.
During his hospitalization, it was surreal being on the other side of a hospital bed. The extent of my non-recreational hospital visits are usually limited to the nurse’s station. Sometimes, things get a little crazy and I venture to a staff lounge (or two), and then there is the rare excursion to a patient’s room during the donation process. So, sitting beside his bed, I felt overdressed and plain, considering my lack of hospital issue garments and plastic IV tubing. (more…)
Memory…not alone in the limelight
Lots of donation stuff in the news this day. We would prefer to think it is in honor of Donate Life Month, but that’s optimistic. Unfortunately until another unwed celebrity gets knocked up or Britney Spears does something interesting, I suspect more [negative] donation stories will come to the forefront.
Lately in the media, the topic of cellular memory (the article link is new age rubbish, but you get the point). The ineffectual, yet far-from-ugly, Jessica Alba made both cellular memory and corneal blindness sexy when her character received the gift of sight in the movie The Eye. The formerly blind violinist now sees dead people. Original.
The exploitation of corneal transplant as a movie plot is frustrating, at best. But I’m confident that undergoing such a procedure is less painful than 90 or so minutes spent watching that movie. (more…)
It’s that time of year…
April is National Donate Life Month.
But first, my employer requires the disclaimer that my inane ramblings are my beliefs and not necessarily shared by my company. Well, except for the registration and donating part. (I read this week in an SOP that we’re supposed to have that in our blogs. I didn’t write it in black, indelible ink so it may get kicked back to me as noncompliant. Details….)
Donation and transplantation is amazing, when you think about it. Not only that, but it’s the right thing to do. (more…)
Quote of the day
“I am having a hard time seeing an educated, attractive man looking for an over-weight single mother (2 year old girl) who also has the joy of wearing a full face mask to bed,” one 27-year-old woman wrote.
Some things are better left unsaid.
Hooked on a…something
Oddly enough, this video was a predecessor to this epicurean masterpiece from last year.
True Christianity
Such a great poem sent to me by my friend Carla today. This explains the truth of Christianity, not the faultfiding vision some impose on themselves, and others. (more…)
