Since I am no longer walking to work or running up and down the stairs at work, I decided to walk home from my volunteer job this afternoon. Block and a half from my house, I tripped and landed on my face. I considered calling for help but I knew I could get home sooner than rescue. There was a fence handy so I got to my feet and staggered home. The folks at the walk-in clinic were VERY attentive when I staggered in bleeding. Two huge goose eggs making the left side of my face swell plus three stitches in my lip. At least I didn't break an arm so the bones are holding their own. I will now lie down for several days.
So, my older brother gave up caffeine partly due to an annoying eye twitch. Last week, suddenly my right eye is twitching like crazy. Never had it before but I remembered I am on a new drug to avoid open heart surgery. I wonder if the drug is making me more sensitive to caffeine. So I skipped my Sunday morning coffee with the paper. HUGE sacrifice but less ticing. So I am on decaf for a couple of weeks testing my hypothesis. I so love growing old.
Yesterday, old age caught up with us. Something was wrong with turn signals on the car. My husband froze until the car behind honked. I had to yell at him to move and pull over. I couldn't remember the term "Hazard lights" and he couldn't function at all. I finally convinced him to drive us home. The minute we got there, I remembered how to turn off the hazard lights. Jesus, but we are pathetic old people.
I came downstairs at ten to four and found my husband fixing dinner with a distressed look on his face. I know what happened. He lost track of the time, maybe fell asleep for a few minutes, and woke up in a panic. I just smiled and ate dinner really early. Made a quiche for tomorrow and now am sitting upstairs, eating crackers, because I am hungry. Ah, well. He used to be Mr. Super Efficient and being 73 has slowed him down and he gets upset about it. Nothing we can do. Nobody gets out of this alive.
I don't take a house key to work because my retired husband is always there to let me in. I get home and the door is locked. I figure he took a late nap. I knock and knock and call and knock for nearly 10 minutes. I finally hear him yell "Don't you have a key?" Would I be standing on the porch bruising my knuckles if I had a key? Remind to get a duplicate house key to take to work.
Changed the furnace filter. (Boy, it really needed it!) Put a string of Christmas lights on the balcony railing. Put up the tree and got lights on it. And if I interpreted by echocardiogram correctly, there is no change from my exam last year. So, yay.
Why do doctors always sound so pleased when they announce to a patient they have a really rare problem? My cardiologist sounded delighted to tell me about a membrane that partially blocks blood from getting to my aortic value and is causing the heart murmur I have had my whole life. To back up, I have had a heart murmur for years. I didn't have it as a kid but have had it for at least the last 25 years. Went for my check-up and the healthcare professional mentioned it again. I asked if I should worry about it since she kept mentioning it. So, about a year ago, I got an echocardiogram. Then I got a call from the cardiologist's office. I would have to make a 300 miles round trip to see her since she was pregnant and not traveling. I said, don't bother. Call me when she can come here. So, last week, I finally saw the very young female cardiologist. I told her about the congenital heart defects that run in my maternal line. My first cousin was the youngest child ever to have open heart surgery back in the early sixties when the hole in her heart was repaired. Two first cousins once removed died from heart defects. One was born and promptly died because he had a two-chamber heart back in the days before ultrasound. One died at age 11 on the way to have scheduled heart surgery. I thought I was in the clear. Nope. I have a weird little membrane that is an extremely rare congenital condition (yay?) and it is getting bigger, hence my heart murmur getting whooshier. And I need OPEN HEART SURGERY to correct it. And to think I was worried about my husband's cataract surgery scheduled in January when roads in Montana are usually terrible. Since I am asymptomatic (no chest pains, no shortness of breath, no fainting) I can put it off until next summer. This isn't the kind of thing they can slip a wire up a vein and fix. Nope. Crack open the breastbone, put me on a heart lung machine and open up the ol' ticker to clip the piece out. The actual removal is nothing. It's getting to the piece to remove that is the issue. You can imagine how happy I am about the LONG recovery time after having the sternum split like a chicken. I suppose it beats having to have emergency surgery but I am still not thrilled. Old age is not for sissies.
annoyed
worried
hopeful