Whazz Up ?

Some of you may be wondering how I'm doing and Whazz Up?

Well, I have been busy. I am still suffering from chest pains caused by being split open like a ripe melon with ribs. My heart is still running a little fast but we're working on that.

Like this Goldenrod Spider, I'm hanging out at home most of the time waiting for things happen.



I did manage to finished the big triptych I was working. I have been painting it in my mind since April and have been physically able to paint since early July.

It hurts, but by pacing myself and taking breaks I can do it. It did take a number of days to recover after completing this work. http://theravenshome.blogspot.com/

On Friday the paintings left for their new life in Toronto. No, it was not a sad occasion, if I kept all the paintings I do I wouldn't have any room to move. They are sort of like kids, you have them, you watch them grow, and then they leave. You still love them but you are happy that they have succeeded and have found a place in the world of their own. The only real difference is that you will always worry about the kids, not so much when it comes to paintings.

The proud father of two great successful daughters and the creator of a bunch of paintings that have found good homes.

Cardiologists & Amy without Tattoos

Yes, I have been dogging it a bit. I've been busy painting my buns off for the past 2 weeks. I did however make time to see Heir CardioMan last Wednesday.
He has reverted back to his ol' self and it was a bit like dealing with a 4x4 chunk of pressure treated wood. I can never tell whether I'm improving or not after a visit with Za Doctor. Apparently I'm still alive and have improved since the surgery. Sort of, kind of, maybe, like I said the heart is ticking away.


He took my blood pressure and then asked how it was when I took it at home. The other weird one was that he asked if "they" were monitoring my INR (warfarin blood thinner) or was somebody else. This made me laugh a bit. My GP is monitoring it with me. The other funny one was that he asked why I came to see him rather than the Cardio Surgeon. I explained I was told the visit was an either or situation and he was chosen. Apparently this made him feel special because he wants to see me again in six months. Joy oh bliss, yet another trip into town. I should feel happy that he is giving me such fine care especially after this visit, he actually got my name right.

The highlight of the visit was that I had an ECG by an Amy Winehouse lookalike. She didn't have Amy's tattoos but I was quite amused. The other cool thing was that ECG machines are now the size of 2 slices of bread stacked together and go directly into the laptop computer via the USB port. How Star Trekky is that?

All in all not a bad visit, I still have to check with my GP regarding my high pulse rate, my blood pressure is good but my pump is running at 93 beats. I have to go for an EKG or for those of you back east a Doppler on August 2oth. This test will look at my Dacron Aorta Root repair, the surgeon likes to appreciate his own work.

I don't mean to sound cynical but when I re-read this I thought I should clarify something. I do appreciate the fine work both the cardiologist,the surgeon, the fabulous nurses and staff of Royal Jubilee Hospital. I thank them for keeping me alive. If I can't poke a little fun their way and keep my twisted sense of humour intact I wouldn't be doing my job and that wouldn't be any fun at all, might as well become a ....................... . I'll leave it to you folks to decide, just pick the most boring occupation and insert into the blank.

A Quick Update

Daughter Janna, told me I had to do an update because I have been lax in my duties.

First, I am doing pretty well. The BPV seems to be under control, however the CRIS has kicked up a bit lately. Regarding the BPV, we did the exercises over again, changed my pillow this seems to have worked.

My only problem recently has been a buggered left shoulder. I did something on the weekend and have been paying the price ever since. I was trying to be a gentleman stretching to open the gate on the deck for Merete. Teach me to try and be a gentleman. What was I thinking!


This heat wave has been wiping me out. I used to love the heat, working in the garden, building things and other recreational activities. Right now I can't handle it, my heart rate goes up and I hear the valve clicking away. Quite irritating. The best part today was I went to town and found something for my shoulder at the pharmacy. It's acetaminophen with a muscle relaxant, boy what a pain reliever. Fortunately right now I am just between doses, so I can type. This drug mellows you out and relaxes everything. I had been having some issues with nerve damage in my chest and the cracking of my ribs, this has relieved everything. What a change to be pain free, hopefully I will be able to do more of my exercises without hurting keeping in mind not to over do it as well.(that's for Janna)

"Sorry, I suffer from BPV."

I mentioned in a few postings about weird side effects, trying desperately not to sound too much like my Mother. I love my Mother but she has a genetic predisposition to focus on health issues that may or may not be totally real. After all she does have “fibre myalgia”. In my opinion a manufactured disease that doctors made up when they can't figure out what is wrong with a patient. This condition is usually diagnosed when the patient hasn’t been totally honest with the doctor and the doctor becomes stumped by the weird list of symptoms. Sort of like a bad episode of the TV series House. I have tried my best to suppress this genetic predisposition, not that I haven’t caught myself a few times getting carried away with self diagnosis.

I thought the dizzy spells I have been having since the surgery were caused by this blasted sinus infection. Not so, according to my GP, I suffer from BPV or Benign Positional Vertigo. Quel Surprisssse! According to the Internet, small particles of garbage have come loose in my head. They have lodged themselves in the area of my inner ear that controls my balance. This area looks a bit like a snail shell. The Epley Maneuver is a set on exercises that cure this condition in over 85% of the cases. I have yet to complete the Epley Maneuver, instead I have come up with a few ideas where BPV could come in handy as an excuse for questionable behaviour. Feel free to add to the list.

Perhaps you have had one or two too many glasses of wine. When you stand up you are unsteady with your movement and perhaps slurr a word or two. This could be caused by BPV. Perhaps you are driving and have been distracted by conversation and something shiny on the side of the road. The local constable has pulled you over for driving erratically, this too could be caused by BPV. You bump into someone suggestively that you find attractive, this could be a caused by BPV or Cranial Rectal Insertion Syndrome (another condition that I occasionally suffered from).

The Cranial Rectal Insertion Syndrome is something alas that I will suffer from until I leave this planet for a better place. I’ll let you know how the Epley Maneuver goes, hopefully it will correct my Benign Positional Vertigo.

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/bppv/epley/first.html

Tandem Nightmare & Head Colds

Brother Jim arrived last Wednesday night. My head cold arrived Tuesday night. I finally figured out what was causing my dizzy spells.

Apparently my head is full of crap. (just keep your smart remarks to yourselves). Crap makes me crabby. We actually managed to have a pretty good visit and then on Saturday we drove Jim to the ferry so he could go visit Mom.

I learned a few things on Saturday. Number one, it is impossible for me to be a passenger in a car for more than 40 minutes at a time. Not only is it difficult in my 'tender' condition but my nerves take a beating like you wouldn't believe. The trip to the ferry is one and a half hours each way. So you just imagine the aching basket case I was by the time we got home. To compound this torture, Saanich was invaded by a group of American Tandem Bicyclists.

They were on every road we drove down, coming from every imaginable direction. Using bizarre hand signals that only meant something to them. Some even had small children strapped on the rear bumpers like some kind of trophy to indicate their breeding abilities. It was hideous, Tandem bikes everywhere, with Americans dressed in brightly coloured stretch biking outfits. To make it even worse we got trapped behind some maniac driving a tour bus, that was determined not screw up his schedule and reach Buchart Gardens by his designated time. He roared up behind the Americans, then passed them on hills and blind curves. Finally in Brentwood Bay he turned off, but by then the damage was done. I thought I was going to puke.

There was a glimmer of hope, we thought we had out run the brightly coloured Tandem Americans. But noooooo there were more. Finally I had to close my eyes each time Merete passed a Tandem, just to keep from screaming and puking. We got home safely but I was severely damaged and probably won't ride in the car past Sooke for the rest of the month.

The Sea of Weird Side Effects.

Well for all my friends and family worried about my eyes, the problem seems to have eased off a bit. I will be seeing the doctor about it though.

I am currently working my way through all the possible side effects you could ever want to encounter. You know when they put those disclaimers on medicine that start with, "May cause......." and end up with you thinking, Boy are they ever covering their butts.


That's sort of the land I'm stuck in right now, the Sea of Weird Side Effects. I don't want to sound to much like a hypochondriac but apparently my body has figured out it has gone through some sort severe trauma and it's trying to get the point across to my brain in any manner it can.

I am obviously getting better, because the two of them are talking. It started about a week and a half ago with a little nausea, along with constant back and arm pain on my right side. Then I got the light sensitive eyes, which has eased but has been followed by dizzy spells. It took me forever to figure out what was causing that. The source seems to be my neck, again I'll have to talk to the Doctor. I have been treating them with a longer rest period. So far so good. Lee and Joan's brother in-law gets dizzy spells that puts him in bed and there is nothing they (the doctors) can do about it. I can't stand mine, I can't imagine having to live with these all the time.

All we're going to do is slowly paddle through this weird stuff. It may take a few more weeks but I know I'll get to the shore normal (or as normal as I can get) and start to carry on with my life. In the meantime we'll keep paddling.

Weird Science & Road Trips

Big day yesterday, went on a road trip to Superstore and got to do my feeble old guy routine. I hung off the cart as we gathered mostly Dog food and some other provisions.

When I wasn't holding myself up by giving the cart handle a death grip, I kept wondering where Merete went to. It wasn't all that bad but the reality of shopping and dealing with people again was a bit of an eye opener.

But then I knew it would be, because I've preached this for a little while. You don't really recognise day to day stress on your system until you are aware of every beat of your heart.

Yes, I did feel like a little old man, gripping my cart handle and walking at half my normal speed so I wouldn't run out of steam and fall down. Even more so when we got to the car and Merete told my to get in and leave the bags of groceries alone. Fud.

Here's the weird science part, during the first week after the surgery I had a little episode driving home. Have you ever had those eye drops that dilate your pupils and make them feel like they're getting stretch marks from the bright light outside? That's what happened to me during the first week, it felt like my pupils were stuck on pitch black night mode. I thought I was going to pass out.

For the past few weeks I have been in and out of the house walking around the yard. However, I haven't been out for extended periods, mainly because of that stupid wind we've been having. Yesterday, I was out for some time and after a rest in the afternoon we went down to the shore to visit our friends Lee and Joan. After about an hour and a half I thought my head was going to explode. I thought I had some kind of sun stroke. It happened again within the last hour, we were sitting on the deck and after about half an hour it felt like my pupils were dilated, Merete checked and they were.

Now that's some kind of weird science. Is this a drug reaction or am I going to have only come out at night? I guess I have something else to ask the doctor about next week.