The weather still stinks here and no biking or hiking is happening, but at least we can update you on the status of our various health issues, a topic I’m sure you’re all keenly interested in.

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First, my sprained ankle.  The ankle is doing just fine, and nearly back to normal.  I can walk comfortably and naturally again, and I quit wearing the brace about four days ago.  If the weather were more conducive, the ankle wouldn’t be holding me back from a vigorous ride somewhere - maybe out to Sauvie Island again.

Second, Rachael’s cold.  Rachael almost never gets sick; and when she does, she rebounds quickly.  This cold though!  This is the ninth day since she came down with it, and she still has a lingering cough.  At its worst she spent several days just cooped up lying around under a blanket,  hacking and wheezing and impersonating a mucous generator.  Still, it’s just a cold; and by now she’s basically  over it and back to her normal energy level, spirits and activity level.  She went back to the gym yesterday, likely will today also, and if the weather weren’t so crappy she’d probably be back on the bike, getting ready for those hills in Sicily.

Third, Scott’s cold.  Scott is more prone to picking up respiratory diseases, and he loves them so much that he lets them linger longer.  He’s about four days into his, meaning he’s still in the disgusting hacking and wheezing phase.  So, even though his ankle is healing well, the crappy weather isn’t holding him back because he wouldn’t be going out anyway.

Fourth, a health issue we’ve been holding back on sharing because I’ve been too anxious and dispirited about it to be ready to talk about it: my arrhythmias.  You’ll recall that I had a significant episode back in Tucson at the start of my ride up Madera Canyon that I attributed to the fact that my medications were a half year past their discard date.  As it turns out that was a too optimistic conclusion.  

In fact my episodes have been coming more frequently and with greater severity since then, enough so that it was time to bring them up with my doctor.  He ordered a Holter monitor (a wearable device for monitoring your heart’s activity), which I picked up as soon as we returned to Portland and wore for the next 14 days.  I finished with that and mailed it in yesterday morning.  In those two weeks I had six episodes - three of them significant ones that lasted an hour or more - the last continued for three - mostly in the middle of the night.  If you haven’t experienced it, trust me - it’s no fun lying awake in the dark with your engine revving along at 180 bpm, anxiously wondering if/when it’s going to stop, wondering just what’s going wrong with your body and if things will ever be quite the same again.

The three hour episode disturbed me enough that I messaged my doctor yesterday morning, asking what I should do if this happened again.  It was gratifying that I heard back soon even though it was Saturday morning.  His advice was direct - go to the nearest Emergency Room.

I felt reasonable all day yesterday (well, except for this disgusting cold, which could easily be a contributor here) - energetic and with enough appetite to eat breakfast and dinner and sit on the couch with Rachael watching Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.  And I was fine again at night, until it started up again about 2 AM.  Two hours later I woke Rachael, and soon we were driving though the icy streets over to Good Samaritan’s emergency room.

Our experience at the ER room was outstanding, considering.  Everyone was so nice!  We were lucky to arrive just at the right time, and at first we’re the only patients.  Within five minutes of arrival they’d taken my vital signs (173 bpm) and had me on my back strapping me up for an EKG and dripping an IV into my arm.

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Andrea BrownHey, you're wearing my gown. Looks better on you though.
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1 year ago

Jen RahnI can see they carefully chose the gown colors and pattern to complement the faux wood paneling behind you.

Also .. glad you went in to get this checked out!
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1 year ago

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Andrea BrownOuch. That pony's at a gallop.
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1 year ago

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Not quite four hours later I was released to go home.  It would have been perhaps an hour earlier but we were waiting for the last of the saline drip to make its way into my veins.  In the meantime I had 3 EKGs, a chest X-ray, a variety of diagnostic tests, and a few consultations with the attending physician, and a new prescription.  We were home in time for breakfast.

So what’s the verdict?  We’ll, it’s mostly good news.  It’s still ‘just’ the SVT (Supraventrical tachycardia) condition I was diagnosed with about 30 years ago.  There’s no indication of scarier conditions like a-fib or a heart injury.  SVT is treatable by medications, but for whatever reason it’s not responding as well to the one I’ve been taking for decades.  I was prescribed a second medication to start taking on top of the one I already use, and the suggestion was made that I might be a candidate for ablation surgery.

So, good news, right?  Basically it’s an easy fix - just take a new drug, and carry on.  Or so we hope.  First though I have to follow up with my own cardiologist, who may or may not have other thoughts; and who may or may not have time to meet with me before we’re due to leave for Palermo in 16 days.  As hard as it is to think about, we’re at least beginning to entertain the idea that our trip plans will be overridden.

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Jen RahnOuch, indeed!
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesMa Rainey’s Black Bottom? Ah yes, with Chadwick Boseman.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesHe’s the man, alright. A remarkable actor, whom I don’t think I’ve seen before. It was startling to learn he barely lived to the film’s completion.
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonI am often surprised to find that cultural things that can be so much a part of one person's life are unknown to others. For example, how interesting it would be to survey the population on a city street and find how many have ever heard of Frank Sinatra, or Bob Dylan, or etc. But even with my head in the sand here in Canada, I knew of Black Panther (but not Ma Rainey!).
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1 year ago

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