July 2014

 

It all started the weekend of New Year’s 1999/2000 when I was 64. After eating a 4 pound ham all by myself and drinking about a dozen diet sodas I was rushed to the hospital with congestive heart failure!! Since then it has been downhill!

Recently I read a post on another site by someone who was afraid to go to doctors of any kind and I thought back on my medical history. I have become very gratful for the doctors, and yes meds, that have taken care of my health the last 16 years and I am sure I will be seeing more of the former and getting more of the latter but, at least, they are there for me.

When I was younger I had the usual hospital visits liking getting my tonsils out--I remember being rewarded with ice cream! I went to the hospital twice after that for stitches above my right eye when I returned to Memphis from New York to an ice storm and being drunk slipped on a step going up from the garage to my townhouse and for appendicitis  in the 1980s.

I spent most of my life eating what I wanted, smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day for 60+ years (I started at the age of 12 so I would look sophisticated--thanks Hollywood!), drinking alcohol until eventually I had blackouts. It seems the body is not so forgiving as I thought losing 100+ pounds in 1967, stopped drinking in 1981--okay, I didn’t stop smoking until 2008--all would be well.

And then that New Year’s Eve weekend came!!! Since then I have been diagnosed with COPD, PAD, gout, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, A-fib, neuropathy, not to mention going to the hospital over the past 15 years for:

Putting stents into my legs--6 over past 15 years

Angiography/angioplasty--June 10 and July 18, 2014

Arterial blockage and peripheral artery disease   May 26, 2014

Aorta (pig--in a Jewish boy!!!) valve replacement July 21, 2008

Cellulites hematoma  December 6, 2013

Patella Fracture May 27, 2015

Cataract surgery October 10, 2013 (left eye) and May 8, 2014 (right eye)

Skin ulcer May 18, 2014

Broken Knee cap October 2, 2015

Carotid endarterectomy (right side) October 19, 2015

 Among some of the visits, or what I call ‘vacations at the hotels Broward and Holy Cross hospitals!!

 All in all at the age of 80 I feel I have come through all the ‘sins’ of my youth in pretty good shape--heck my insides may be a mess but my outside in still good looking!!

I live in a senior citizen residential area and I look at other 70 and 80 year olds and they are using walkers, carry oxygen tanks, are dependant and behaved themselves when they were younger--at least I have the memories and am still independent! Okay I take 12-14 medicines but I can still go to the movies, theatre, restaurants, shopping, drive a car but most of all enjoy life!

If I had to do it all over again, would I change any of the bad habits I had? NO! I enjoyed the smoking, drinking, eating all the ‘wrong’ foods and for what I consider the ‘small’ price I am paying now I would do it all over again.

And as my favorite song says: (Sadly she isn't)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFzmVYNItjU