Time for a Change

I've decided to shift my posts to a new blog. Hope this changes my luck since 2007 was a bad year and 2008 hasn't been a great year yet. So, here it is - the link to my new blog. All future posts will go to the new blog. Here's the link:

http://duaineslife.blogspot.com/

Hmmmm?

I saw the doc today about the "abnormal" nuclear stress test. He said that there was a blip on the test results that looked like some reduced blood flow where the heart attack was. He said it could be an aberration in the test which is less than perfect and there could be nothing wrong at all. But, he's concerned that the stents don't gather blockage. So, the next step is to undergo a "cardiac CTScan" after they get pre-approval from the insurance company. The test of last resort is the old catheter where they run the cath up into the arteries from the groin. I don't want that because it is invasive and will require some hospital time. We'll just see what the CTScan shows and go from there...... It's a bitch gettin' older.

Doctors! @#$%&#$

I took a follow up nuclear stress test on July 3rd and expected to get the results the next week. Well, I had to wait until this week because the doc was out; then he was backed up; etc. Got the call from the nurse finally and bang! She says the results were abnormal and the doc wants to see me. What the h#$@ does that mean? She says abnormal but stable. Did she mean for that to reassure me? Well, it didn't work. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon and will hopefully walk away with some not so bad news.

Beauties & Baseball

Mandy & Megan (aka Swee Pea & Jelly Bean) at the Ranger game last night. We took the girls to the game and they were great little troopers! But they had to have the obligatory junk food - hot dogs, french fries, etc. They made it through the whole game and chatted like a couple of magpies on the way home..... I also learned that Papa is chopped liver as they both much prefer the company of Gran. But that's okay because I learned that Mom & Dad don't count much either when Gran is around.

Ho Hum.... Another Year Gone

I celebrated another one of those "zero birthdays" yesterday. It's depressing to get old! ..... But lots of fun because Shawn & Kelly hosted a little party for family and a couple of close friends. It's always fun to get our group together. Shawn grilled fajitas (chicken & beef) while Kelly made some great fixin's - especially the guacamole, yummmm!

Today, Gran & I took Jelly Bean for the long promised visit to the movie theater to see Wall-e. Jelly Bean did exceptionally well but Papa got bored with a definitely mediocre movie. But the Bean enjoyed it. We followed that with lunch at Jelly Bean's restaurant of choice - McDonald's - and a quick shopping trip to WalMart for a Wall-e / Eve (one of the characters in the movie) t-shirt. A fun way to spend a day off work. Who would ever have thought that I would be doing this stuff! Dang! Grandkids have a way of getting me to do things that I wouldn't do for anyone else. :o)

The bad news? It's back to work tomorrow.

Grandsons @ Rangers

After a big day with a visit to and a 4th birthday party at the Fort Worth Zoo, we took Austin (aka, Booger) to see the Rangers play the Philadelphia Phillies along with cousin Kyler (aka, Butch). After much eating - hot dogs, peanuts, ice cream sandwiches, french fries, etc. - and a thunder storm, we took two bushed grandkids home early (5th inning). And, they crashed pretty hard.

Early Dad's Day

The clan got together yesterday at Jeremy & Erica's to celebrate an early Father's Day for me. I'll take any excuse to get everyone together - what a cool family! .... Jeremy did the honors at the grill and lunch was followed by yummy cake (yes Mr Cardiologist, I ate a piece of cake) along with the grandkids - all six. They can be so messy that Gran found a way to contain the mess! .... A great Father's Day - thanks to my sons & daughter-in-laws & grandkids.

Boy's Night

Papa and the boys at the park.






Cutting loose at the park!







Attack of the pirates!







At the movies - home style.

Saturday night was boy's night at Gran and Papa's house. All three Grandsons - Kyler (aka Butch), Austin (aka Booger), & Gage (aka Scooter) came to spend the night. They were great! We even took them out for breakfast Sunday morning with Bob & Pam. Two people stopped by the table as they left to compliment us on how well behaved they were! ..... They played hard both days; in the yard Saturday and at the park Sunday. They were as tired as Gran and Papa when we took them home on Sunday..... We'll do it again boys!

"I go home with you!"

We celebrated Memorial Day with Jeremy, Erica, & Megan (aka Jelly Bean). While remembering the significance of the holiday and being forever grateful for all the veterans who gave their lives for our freedoms, we had a cookout with all the fixins' - ummmm good. After a leisurely afternoon, Gran and I are out back watching JB play in her pool when Gran says it's time for us to go. OMG! JB asks / demands to go home with us. I tell her to go ask Mom and Dad. She marches into the house and "informs" Mom that she's going home with Gran - okay? After some quick negotiations that would make a diplomat proud, she's packed and ready. We're good to go. She then tells Mom and Dad "I'm NOT gonna miss you!" What is it about a two year old's thought processes that possess her to say that? ..... Anyway, here we are enjoying the company of our granddaughter on a fine Monday evening..... What a great Memorial Day.

What Next!!!???

I went for a "routine" check up for my eyes yesterday. Missed last year for obvious reasons. No big deal - right? Wrong! The technician ran all the usual tests and the doc did the machine. Vision still 20/20. Great news.... Then as he looked through all the test results, he decided that the Vision Field Test didn't work right. So, he called the tech and back I go for a retest. Next, he looks at the 2nd set of results and proceeds to show me the chart from my last pre-accident exam - perfect vision. And the two new tests - not very good. Substantial loss of peripheral vision - especially in the right eye.....

Doc (with a worried look): It's normal to have some loss of peripheral vision as we age but this is too significant, too fast.

Me: What else can cause that?

Doc: It's usually some sort of head trauma resulting in loss of blood flow to the optic nerves.

Me: I had a near-fatal motorcycle accident last year with significant blood loss and the heart stopped three times due to the blood loss. I had 34 units of blood transfused to replace the lost blood. Can that explain it?

Doc: (speechless for a few seconds) That could definitely explain it. Tell me about the accident.

So, I give him the story. Conclusion, I have permanent loss of some peripheral vision because the optic nerves die quickly without adequate blood flow and usually die from the outside first. That explains the findings. He wants to retest in 3 months to be sure that there is no further deterioration of the vision.

This was an unexpected side effect of the accident. Makes me wonder what other effects will be found in the future. How will the injuries from the accident manifest themselves over the coming years? I don't know.

Another Year Down

In spite of the long odds of 2007, we made it! Connie and I celebrated another anniversary yesterday - 39th. So how did we celebrate? I left work early and we drove to A town for a t-ball game. Booger & Butch played with Shawn & Kyle coaching - what a hoot! Who won? I don't know..... But we got to see 5 of the six grandkids and their parents. That makes it a good anniversary. But wait! We missed a grandkid - Jelly Bean. No problem, we just drive up to B town and meet Jeremy & the Bean for a light dinner at Panda Express followed by Gran giving Jeremy a haircut at his house. I managed to catch some of the Ranger game on TV thanks to Jelly Bean who kept waking me up when I snoozed! No sleeping around Ms. Bean - perpetual motion and constant chatter. But we missed Erica who got a night off (which I know she needs because JB wears you out!) to go scrap booking...... What a romantic anniversary! What a fun family!

Girls' Night @ Gran & Papa's

The three granddaughters - Alex (aka, Sissy), Megan (aka, Jelly Bean), & Mandy (aka Sweet Pea) had their first all girl cousins' night here with Gran, Papa, & Gran's sister - Nana Cathy. Gran bought the girls matching pink princess nightgowns & pink crocs which they proudly wore from the time they arrived 'til they got dressed to go home. We watched movies (Cinderella II, Shrek); Papa played the ogre; they ate popcorn and jabbered a lot. Sunday morning they helped Gran feed Miss Kitty (our adopted stray kitty who might never be the same) and then we all loaded up for brunch at McDonald's before taking them home...... Papa was seriously outnumbered for this one, but the next one is boy's night. Ha! That'll be right in my sweet spot.

Fun Day

Today is Connie's birthday and the whole brood showed up. We started the day with all six grandkids participating in a neighborhood Easter egg hunt followed by a cookout at our house. Not a quiet moment was had. What fun! ..... While Jeremy & Erica took off for errands, we spent much of the afternoon with an outing to the playground at the local elementary school. Everyone was getting tired before we quit that (especially me) and some lessons were learned. The two year olds, Gage (aka, Scooter) and Mandy (aka, Sweet Pea) both learned the hard way that head first down a slide makes for a difficult landing. Good news - no injuries..... They then ordered pizza for dinner except Kelly & Taryn had salads and I had a buffalo burger. In fact, I had a buffalo burger for lunch too. This CAD (coronary artery disease) really sucks! Oh well, maybe I can tack on a couple of more years before I check out for good..... What a wonderful family we have. I know that Connie was more than pleased with her day. And, it was the best Saturday that I've had in a really long time.

Sweeet!!!

How sweet it is! Window tint, accent stripes on the hood, & chrome custom wheels..... Looks sweet - runs sweeter!....... It's a blast to drive and looks good to boot. My treat for myself after surviving 2007 - what a year!

Corvette - "Tweaked & Tuned"

Took my Vette to 21st Century Muscle Cars for a bit of work. Lingenfelter CAI & long tube headers w/ x-pipe, hi flow cats, & Borla cat back exhaust. After the installation, they dyno tuned the new set up getting 382 RWHP & 381.9 RWTQ. That's versus 339 RWHP & 328 RWTQ for a stock 2005 Corvette. Yep, that's +43 RWHP & +54RWTQ. It runs more awesome than ever now. Plan to pretty it up a bit & then will post pictures.

*** Life as a Model ***

I mentioned in the last blog about the photo shoot done by JPS Hospital. The photographer was kind enough to send a CD with the pictures that he took. I don't know which shots they will use in their Annual Report - they might even choose not to use any of them. But here are some samples of what he shot.

One Year & Counting

This past Monday, 2/4/2008, is exactly one year since "the accident". What an eventful 12 months! The accident, then MRSA, then another major surgery, then a heart attack, then being laid off! And I am still alive! What a 12 month run of bad luck! Gotta get better from here..... JPS Hospital asked us to help them with a promotional video. They sent a production crew to our house last Wednesday to shoot the video. Pretty simple. Just set up Connie's bike, dress up in riding clothes, and tell our story including of course the part about the JPS trauma team saving my life, etc.... Then the PR dept called again. They sent a photographer to the house on Thursday to shoot some pictures - again including the bike & dressed in riding clothes. He tells me that we will be included in the JPS Annual Report...... Both shoots were interesting and fun..... Hard way to get a few minutes of fame!!!! How could I say no to either - after all, they did save my life.

Empty Nest - Again

Jeremy, Erica, and Megan have moved into their new house and out of ours. Actually, they sorta just disappeared a couple of days ago spending the night at Erica's parent's house. So it is eerily quiet around here now and a bit roomier. So we are adjusting to the empty nest once again.

Critter Infestation !!!

We trapped another Raccoon last night & Jeremy carried him to a semi-rural area and released him early this morning. Think we have at least one more to trap. Who'd have thought that we would have such an infestation?

Critter Alert !!!!!

We've been hearing a critter rumbling around in our chimney for a few weeks now. So we borrowed a varmint trap from a friend and set it out. It only took two nights! Second night about 10:45 Jeremy hears the trap outside their bedroom window & went out to find the furry little raccoon in the picture. After being in it all night, the little #@$%&@# appears to have damaged the trap trying to escape. Guess I'll be buying a replacement trap! Connie called Grand Prairie animal control who is supposed to pick it up today. If they don't show up, I'll handle it myself. :o)

Heart Update

I got the results from Wednesday's nuclear stress test today and good news! There was minimal damage done by the heart attack and the blood flow is good to all parts of the heart. The EF (ejection factor) is 65% (anything above 55% is considered healthy according to Wikipedia) so I lucked out again! So, it's life back to normal except that I have to continue the meds (like a cholesterol drug, aspirin, etc.) and stick to a heart healthy diet.