Post by drlj on Jul 12, 2011 14:01:28 GMT -5
I last posted here in 2007 and, while I have been lurking about for the last few months, I have not been able to bring myself to post because I assumed most people would react with “Ah, LJ who?” and might wonder who this handsome young upstart was who had posted.
As a short story version of what has gone on, let me just say my wife, starting in late 2006, began having some serious heart related health problems. We spent the next couple of years in and out of emergency rooms, electro physiology labs, hospital rooms and the offices of several different doctors. Because she was having some pretty serious problems, she retired from work and we spent a lot of time trying to get things under control.
In early 2009, the only option left was surgery. We met with heart surgeons from Loyola and even made a few trips to the heart hospital at the Cleveland Clinic to explore possibilities. By this time, she was in A-fib almost constantly and had zero energy.
I was told surgery would last 3 hours but 6 ½ hours later, I was still in the waiting room. About 30 minutes after that, I met with the surgeon who told me she had a new mitrial valve, a repaired bicuspid valve, a new pacemaker and that they had done the Maze procedure to control the electrical impulses of her heart and, hopefully, stop the A-fib. She spent the next week in intensive care feeling like she had been hit by a truck but she recovered nicely and was on the mend. All parts were working like they were designed to work for the first time in quite a while. When I felt her hands after surgery, they were warm for the first time in many years.
Just when everything was looking good, in 2010 she had a stroke. Thankfully, it was mild and she recovered from it completely with no lasting effects.
She is doing great now, works out 3-4 days a week, lifts weights, does cardio rehab workouts and, to be honest, she could easily kick my tail but then, she always could.
During all of this, I got away from posting anywhere to any extent. When things were at their worst, I really had no interest and later, it seemed too much time had passed.
While there are not nearly enough “80/20 vs. PB’s: Which is better?” , “Martin vs. Taylor: Which is better?” or , “Millring vs. Howard Lee: Who is taller?” threads, I find this a rather interesting place to visit.
Since I have not been around in such a long time and this is a pretty established group of posters, I did not want to simply jump into some thread and leave you all scratching your heads about it.
So, with all of that said, and a lot unsaid, if you folks don’t mind, I would like to hang around a bit and maybe even throw my 2 cents in every now and then. I retired last year because I learned life is short, so coming up with more than 2 cents at time would probably be difficult for me anyway.
It only took me 14 tries to remember my password!
LJ
As a short story version of what has gone on, let me just say my wife, starting in late 2006, began having some serious heart related health problems. We spent the next couple of years in and out of emergency rooms, electro physiology labs, hospital rooms and the offices of several different doctors. Because she was having some pretty serious problems, she retired from work and we spent a lot of time trying to get things under control.
In early 2009, the only option left was surgery. We met with heart surgeons from Loyola and even made a few trips to the heart hospital at the Cleveland Clinic to explore possibilities. By this time, she was in A-fib almost constantly and had zero energy.
I was told surgery would last 3 hours but 6 ½ hours later, I was still in the waiting room. About 30 minutes after that, I met with the surgeon who told me she had a new mitrial valve, a repaired bicuspid valve, a new pacemaker and that they had done the Maze procedure to control the electrical impulses of her heart and, hopefully, stop the A-fib. She spent the next week in intensive care feeling like she had been hit by a truck but she recovered nicely and was on the mend. All parts were working like they were designed to work for the first time in quite a while. When I felt her hands after surgery, they were warm for the first time in many years.
Just when everything was looking good, in 2010 she had a stroke. Thankfully, it was mild and she recovered from it completely with no lasting effects.
She is doing great now, works out 3-4 days a week, lifts weights, does cardio rehab workouts and, to be honest, she could easily kick my tail but then, she always could.
During all of this, I got away from posting anywhere to any extent. When things were at their worst, I really had no interest and later, it seemed too much time had passed.
While there are not nearly enough “80/20 vs. PB’s: Which is better?” , “Martin vs. Taylor: Which is better?” or , “Millring vs. Howard Lee: Who is taller?” threads, I find this a rather interesting place to visit.
Since I have not been around in such a long time and this is a pretty established group of posters, I did not want to simply jump into some thread and leave you all scratching your heads about it.
So, with all of that said, and a lot unsaid, if you folks don’t mind, I would like to hang around a bit and maybe even throw my 2 cents in every now and then. I retired last year because I learned life is short, so coming up with more than 2 cents at time would probably be difficult for me anyway.
It only took me 14 tries to remember my password!
LJ
