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Nope, I wasn't camping, or on vacation since June 16. I went to bed at 10 or so on the fifteenth, and by 11 p.m. I had such a pain in my gut that I couldn't remain lying down. Long story short.... (at least this part of it), I ended up at the emergency room (after typical male procrastination)at 2 a.m., and after whatever they did there (that I no longer remember) they tied my in an ambulance and took me to the nearest larger hospital. It was dawn when I got there, but that's about all I remember about that. Somewhere along the way I ended up in ICU for a few days with an IV and PBA (I think that's what it's called) for Demerol on demand.
This condition is understandably painful, since the enzymes the pancreas produces begin to "digest" the pancreas itself. Anyway, after I became somewhat rational last weekend, I began to think about a lot of things. One of which is to use this experience (instead of a heart attack) as a wake-up call and change my eating habits before it's too late (Yup, I wouldn't want to live through that experience again!).
And living an experience like that was one of the other things I remember thinking about. There is probably some old geezer confined to a bed in a "care" facility somewhere who has no expectation of recovering from his situation, who is forced to lie there, day after day, dealing with pain and waiting to die "naturally". I was always a firm believer in quality over quantity and I realize now, more clearly than ever, that I want to be in as much control of my demise as I am of my life. But that's another blog....
You'd think I would have lost at least a few pounds after not eating for days and then eating a liquid diet for a few more, but NOPE! I weigh as much tonight as I did when I went in. Unfortunately, it's all water. So now that I have the mental energy to get back to life, I can't do the physical stuff without risking a heart attack until I drop some of the fluid. The lawn was waiting for the first dry day to be mowed before I left, so there's about 3 weeks of growth there now. Little trees and all sorts of new things sprouting up! It's been hotter then hell and humid (Ok, so the time away wasn't a total waste) and all the shrubs and bushes need trimming--most of that I can safely handle!
Donna did what she could to keep up, and the boyz told me that she took good care of them (although Buster was pissed at me when I got home). Now I have to catch up with online bill paying and delete a few hundred more email that came since Donna cleaned up the machine, and restock the kitchen freezer, and well, no sense whining about the routine stuff...
Hopefully I'll get time soon to tell you some of the more interesting stories from the last 3 or 4 days when I was conscious. For example, there was the motor oil-like fluid that flowed uncontrollably from my... Ok, well that one might be a bit too gross for a blog... but there are others. Happy summer, Happy Father's day, and Happy everything else I've missed!
