Thursday, January 1, 2015

2015

I am blessed to start the new year with close to perfect health other than my bum leg.  Pulse, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level, and blood work all looked good during my stay (except for one anomaly where my potassium level was low - rectified with a couple of horse pills...and a brief stint of constipation due to the hydrocodone).  Other than that, all I got was a bunch of bags of IV antibiotics for the first week and a daily shot to avoid clotting in my legs, a morning stool softener pill, and 24 hour TLC.  My nurses were all surprised that a man of my age wasn't already on some form of medication due to a pre existing condition.  At the time, I was the only patient on the floor that had no other drug interactions for the nurses to be concerned with.  There but for the grace of God I go.
Proverbs 3: 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
36,45,23,T,B

17 comments:

Unknown said...

May you always be so fortunately blessed. Happy 2015 to you, and the boys!

Rita B. said...

Continued excellent health to you and a very Happy New Year.

edobnek said...

all that clean air and good living JW. Happy New Year

Margery Billd said...

Happy New Year's Day and new year. When I,did what the policeman said after the accident and went to emergency, the doctor seemed surprised and impressed to say that I have good bones looking at the x-Ray. But then he had a wry smile and said - but just wait 10 years.

Margery Billd said...


Well again this year there is beautiful music (Strauss now) and pictures from Vienna. I guess I should like it since I am 1/4 Austrian. I listen to it on XM radio too when I drive.

Margery Billd said...

(The Austrians ruled Czechoslovakia for many years where gypsies from India lived and Batu Kahn, grandson of Ghengis Kahn ruled (total 256 years). Then the Germans fled to America in the 1800's when the Slavic people took over. Thank goodness for the asylum of America for so many.

rpm said...

amen.

Unknown said...

When I was 76, I cracked my leg just below the knee. Minor compared to your leg,but I have never had a hurt as bad. Lots of ice was the only thing that seemed to help. So glad to have back home. Really enjoy your blog and hope you get that darn stove to working.

Unknown said...

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:..."

Psalm 139:14

WhyR said...

Really? Is it that unusual to not be on meds at 55-60 yo? (I'm guessing your age).
I just got the first prescription of my life last year when I had a root canal done, at 67. They had to make sure there was no infection left before they cemented a real beauty of a crown on that crater they'd dug.
I'm an atheist, by the way and have been since my early teens. Just decided that this born-again stuff wasn't working for me and dropped a lot of angst when I let it go.
I picked my parents very carefully- they were non-smoking, non-drinking Amish farmers back in the day when everyone farmed organically. My Mother, bless her heart, had me on a daily Unicap multivitamin as soon as I could choke them down, at age 4, and I've pretty much continued taking vitamin supplements all my life. I recommend them to everyone who will listen. Don't believe this idea that you don't need multivitamins if you just eat a balanced diet- nobody gets all the needed micronutrients that way. Seriously folks, you will feel a positive difference. Best money you will ever spend. (No, I'm not selling them, for money, that is).

WhyR said...

@Margery Bills: you are so right- I think of America sometimes as a huge lifeboat where people in great danger can save their lives, and America benefits greatly by providing a refuge of stability and safety.
My employers, for instance, are Iranians of the B'Hai faith, which will get them imprisoned or killed in Iran today. In fact, the Lady's Father WAS killed by revolutionary guards after the ayatollah took over, before they were able to get the rest of the family out. Here, they have developed their own business and become quite wealthy.
America benefits from accidents of geography: its huge moats, called the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the world's longest undefended border to our North, which mainly defends Canada from us. I sometimes think we do not fully appreciate just how lucky we are.

WhyR said...

@Margery Bills: If I may be permitted one more comment, the thinning of our bones is a risk we all face as we get older, women perhaps more than men.
One of the most dangerous environments human beings inhabit these days is on the International Space Station, and not just because of the radiation present in space- the body senses the absence of gravity and shuts down production of bone, putting its available energy where it is "needed" more. Astronauts coming back from six months in space have a deficit in bone density that they will never fully make up for the rest of their lives, no matter what they do.
Gravity is our friend- to maintain bone strength, we can lift weights, and also, jump down from benches:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/why-high-impact-exercise-is-good-for-your-bones/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A8%22}

OK, shutting up now with all the advice.

K1MGY said...

Not particularly remarkable that you are in such good health in that you get plenty of sun (vitamin D), exercise, and seem to have abandoned at least one of the major antagonists: smoking. Light on the meat eating also helps some, but there's always genetics which in my bloodline, and likely yours, is quite favourable.

Low Potassium may well have been stress (gee, wonder why), over-watering, or a combo.

Congratulate yourself for the good choices. You deserve it.

Now, I think you might be smart to have a means of calling 911 within short range of your home. You could get your Amateur Radio license too, which would - if there are any fellow hams out that way - give you a lifeline.

Margery Billd said...

Oh yes, KIMGY, amateur radio would be such a neat thing to do (a little expensive). Also short wave radio is fun too. All it takes is a short wave radio from Radio Shack (around $100.00 or more now) and stringing some wires around a room (probably up higher near ceiling). It seems like you could get reception there. I don't know for sure. I hope you have some crutches, John, if you ever need to use them and also a cane or two. But fortunately you have some friends to help you. And how did Ben and Bud react when they saw you?

Dale said...

Just a layman's opinion but that rack-o-bones could use a little photo shop love.

THORNWALKER said...

Good to hear that. If the corner store has them, maybe include bananas in the diet for potassium, but don't monkey around about it. See what I did there? :)

Unknown said...

Continued blessings on your daily path.