At the End of your Rope

then tie a knot and hang on! 

Dear Readers --- I'm back! 
I last wrote in March on "Who's your Support Team?" and how ironic as exactly 2 weeks later I was thrown into the hospital with heart trouble, resulting in a transradial angiogram.

I am not qualified to offer medical advice, so I'm speaking strictly from my, the patient's, perspective........BUT please get a second opinion for any major medical procedure or surgery.   I was in a very vulnerable state in the hospital and allowed the doctor and nurses to convince me that the 'wrist' angiogram was much safer than the 'femoral' approach and that I needed it immediately.

At first, everything seemed OK especially since I was thrilled to find out I have clean arteries, but within a few days I had a total blockage of the radial artery resulting in a massive blood clot in my right arm.   I was immediately rehospitalized facing a possible heart attack and the loss of the use of my right hand.    I was a basket case!    I just didn't know how I could handle all this having just had knee surgery 2 months before.  Then, when released I had medical treatments I wasn't sure I could endure, but thank God I'm back and feeling about 95% well. 

So, if you're currently facing a medical crisis, I just want to encourage you, that when you're at the 'end of your rope', to keep pushing on.    It's never easy to find that inner strength or ask for help, but know who you can rely on and ask for their help; then use whatever techniques you need to reduce your stress (I listen to Yanni and watch funny movies); and realize that you can survive this period!

Why are you still smoking?

As we age, the two most important things we can do to improve our health are lose weight and quit smoking. I'm working on the weight and luckily, I've never smoked....never even tried one.

I won't allow smoking in my home. In my foyer is a sign "If you're smoking, we will take appropriate action and put out the fire."

It's always been a pet peeve of mine as I grew up in a household with 6 smokers! It was disgusting. Even though I didn't smoke, everything I owned still smelled like I did. The worse part was that my body and hair stunk. I hated it.

Smoking took my father at an early age - 58. Not cancer, but heart disease. Yet, 4 of my 5 brothers continued to smoke. Now, one of my brothers has been diagnosed with Buerger's Disease which is directly caused by smoking. He is going to lose the tips of 6 fingers. So, while he's finally forced to give it up 3 of my brothers continue to smoke even though they have seen the illness firsthand

So, what about you?
What has to happen to you personally before you quit? If you can't do it for yourself, please think about your loved ones. I would've loved to have had my father around longer.

Just check out this link for more info on yet another disease that is directly caused by smoking. It literally occurs overnight without warning and by that time it's too late to do anything other than surgery. http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/buergers.html

P.S. Yes, his fingers look as bad as on the link.