CVS Is NOT My Friend

It was only Stella and I that got up to start our day a little after 4:30am today. Heidi never moved nor blinked an eye when I turned on the lights. She also didn't wake me up in the middle of the night to go outside, my bladder did that more than I wanted it to. It's a long funny story in a way ... but the back pain is gone this morning. No more spasms so far.

It was a real rest day yesterday where I spent a lot of time flat on my back in bed and it didn't matter if my eyes were open or not. That was the plan and I followed that until mid-afternoon. Otherwise there were a couple of times I had to get outside to feel the warmth of the sunshine and enjoy the view. As you can see the hounds had the same idea and you can see the walker was back in action.

Like I said when I updated yesterday's blog post, the doctor's office called me at 10:10am and told me I could pick up some Cyclobenzaprine by 10:30am. I did a few test walks inside the house with only my cane to see what kind of pain I was feeling in my lower back or hip. Would I be able to walk from the car inside CVS and most likely stand in line to pick up my prescription?

Since I had been applying some a warm towel then rotating it with an ice pack earlier, my lower back was not feeling too bad. But there was a muscle that was connecting to the back of my hip that was sore. It was almost like I could draw a line along that muscle by the way it felt. Sitting in and standing up out of my chair passed the test with only slight pain in the upper thigh ... I felt good enough to drive to the drug store.

Of course in my life and mostly like the lives of millions across the nation, nothing is ever smooth in picking up a doctor's prescription at CVS or any other drug store for that matter. I was 5th in line and from the looks of things, I was in pretty good health even with a cane by my side.

As the male pharm tech typed in my last name and date of birth .. he looked up at me and told me "I have no record of that being called in" .... mmmm perfect. I could feel my Apple Watch vibrating against my wrist with a sudden increase in heart rate. (joke)

Luckily for me the female pharm tech standing a couple of computers away heard my reply that I had been called by the doctor's office telling me it was ready for pickup. She motioned me over, took my last name and date of birth ... bingo !!!!! I was the lucky winner ... it was in their records after all.

My sister bought this for me as a Christmas Gift I think as far back as the early 1990's. I had not used it for years but if it survived the last downsizing when I moved and made the trip all the way out to Arizona, there must have been a reason for it. I plugged that in early yesterday morning and it did what it could to my tighter than tight lower back, plus it added some heat. I had SHORT term relief.

So as the female pharm tech is looking at me and giving me the great news, she said "It will not be ready until noon" we are backed up. Why did I feel that noon timeframe was just plucked of of the air as a very very rough estimate. I calmly ... calmly ... maybe even with a slight smile ... said ... "okay"

I turned and came home.

Since I did not trust or believe what she was telling me, I cruised the isles of CVS looking for the famous ThermaCare heat pads. Their commercials are all over the baseball and football games. I had used something similar in the past but it has been years since I had lower back issues. I picked up a 2-pack and headed home.

After about 15 minutes I could feel that heat protruding through the clothing I was wearing. (Warning stated anyone over 55 years of age HAD TO wear these outside of clothing and not on bare skin) At the 30 minute mark as I laid in bed I was beginning to think this ThermaCare pad might be better than any muscle relaxer. I took a nap for an hour and could feel the muscles in the lower back were much better than early this morning.

In fact as I sat up in bed with my hands behind me, supporting me ... I felt a small pop in my lower back. That's a good sign.

It was past noon by this time and I had not received any text from CVS telling me the meds were ready for pickup. I logged into my account online to check status ... "In process". What happened to the NOON timeframe she gave me. I went back to bed to lay down and plan my next move.

Long story short ....

1:00pm - online "in process"
1:30pm - online "in process"
2:00pm - PHONE CALL with real person in that pharmacy
     - "We are a day and a half behind in filling scripts"
     - I let her know that I'll call and let my doctor know of the status of his request, but as a bonus I am going to blog about this story with your first name, company name, local address and local phone number. Then I will go to Yelp to add my review of your pharmacy and I'll not stop there. I will then go to the Facebook group called Rants and Raves for my town and RANT about your pharmacy ... Unless you want to become famous on social media, don't even tell me I have to wait a day and a *(&(#&$ half to pick up something that was due at 10:49am !!!!!"

Her reply ......

I'll have it ready in 2 minutes.   :)

I was back in the car to pick up the meds, I was back home by 2:45pm with pills in hand. Looking at the long label of information stapled to the small bag, at the top in the upper right corner above the bar code "Promised: 10/11/19. 10:49am"

So you are probably asking yourself why would I pick up the script for a muscle relaxer if the heat pad was working???  I needed some muscle relief in my hip, and the muscle going from the side of my lower back to the back of my hip. I figured relaxed muscles have a better chance to heal rather than tight muscles where blood flow is restricted.

I poured a tall glass of ice water and took the first pill of Cyclobenzaprine 5mg. Then I set the timer for 6 hours to let me know to check how I felt and decide whether to take another. The 6 hour limit was per the script plus take as needed.

Just because my back and hip started feeling better did NOT mean I decided to walk laps around the backyard. Nor did it mean that resting was sitting in a chair. I headed back to bed, laying flat on my back and rested. Baseball and football games did not start until 5pm so I could get a good 1.5 hours of good rest. Once again as I leaned up preparing to swing my legs to the left to get out of bed, another small pop in my lower spine ... more muscles releasing back to their normal position.

I wasn't going to ramble this long and I was going to add today's photos to post this tonight but I now have too much written to add a day of commentary ... so I am going to post this now. Today's plan is more rest flat on my back in bed or flat on my couch watching football. I will NOT be sitting in a chair for too long when I do use a chair.

So far this morning in the short 66 steps I have taken inside the house making coffee and letting the hounds outside ... lower back is good, slight pain in upper thigh and not nearly as strong as I was before this happened a couple of days ago. I am having to use the walker instead of the cane.

It will eventually improve, the recent damage will heal but normal activity in 10-12 weeks post op now seems like it's a year away. I'll not push it but in the past I was just doing what my body was telling me was ok, following doctor's orders.

It was always a possibility that I might have this setback. I was told it does happen sometimes so don't be surprised if it does, no matter how good you are feeling.

Football Saturday in the Wild West today .. plenty of time to rest.

An Interesting 24 Hours

These photos were taken on Thursday but I could almost use them for today as well as things will not change much from what you see here. There they are at 4:39am talking me into feeding them breakfast that early. It didn't work and eventually they walked back to the bedroom and computer room to sleep.

Picking up from where I left you in yesterday morning's post I thought between the hours of 5am to 11am yesterday that I might have returned to normal. I was feeling that good and walking inside the house without support and cane in hand. I had only taken one 5 minute walk outside around the fence line in back and felt good after that walk. Things seemed to be moving back to "normal". I felt very optimistic.

A little past 8:30am I called my surgeon's office as I remembered him telling me numerous times to "call anytime if something comes up" .... well I figured with the minor changes and more pain it was time to call. I don't like muscle relaxers but I was to the point that my lower back muscles were almost in spasm mode a few times standing up out of a chair. I had or have no doubt that back tightness was playing a major role in my hip pain.

I always get the "nurse staff" when I call his office which is understandable since he is a busy surgeon. They took my name, date of birth, number of days post op, what I was feeling, what I was wanting ... "I'll pass this information on to the doctor and he will call you back."

Never heard a word from him or his staff of nurses. The doctor's office just called me at 10:15am this morning to tell me he had called in a script for muscle relaxers to be picked up at CVS. So far this morning after spending time in bed, then in the sun on the patio since this post was published this morning ... it has been my lower back that is stiff and sore, not my hip.

I was feeling pretty good as my friend put the mountain bike on the trainer. I was walking around the garage and out in the driveway as he worked. I had the cane with me but all my walking was on my own and the hip and back felt more normal than sore.

That all changed around 12:30pm ... big time.

I was heading out to the backyard to take my second 5 minute walk of the day with plans of cutting way back on walking. Yet, like I said in yesterday's post ... the hip and lower back feel better with just a short walk. I would have a shocking bit of information hit me not 30' off the patio as I started my first lap.

Here it's a few minutes before 7am and I let them know that breakfast is being served. Thanks to "the grabber" I could do that job without bending over at all.

This was and is my view as I walk along the fence every lap. Of course the sun changes positions and based on where it is determines which direction I walk around the yard. It's a slow walk and my Activity app that comes with every iPhone and iWatch tells me I am at a pace of walking a mile in 38 minutes. So it's not stressful or setting any Olympic records and that is fine with me.

Breakfast is finished for the hounds and Stella is still trying to adjust to a morning with no 1/2 mile walk around her vet office. That seems like a lifetime ago but between my hip surgery and her growth surgery time has gone really fast since August 25th, her last morning walk.

She loves sleeping in the sunshine.

To clear up some confusion, I did not have the bike mounted so I could ride it this week, tomorrow, or minutes after he left. I mentioned to him on Tuesday when I was in his bike shop that I would start riding indoors when I got back on the bike but that would be a while. It definitely WOULD NOT be before the surgeon giving me his approval and my next appointment isn't until the 22nd of this month.

My friend said he could come over the next day to set it up. I chose that because it was offered by him and for all I knew it might have been the only time he had available to do it. So that is why the bike is ready for me to ride WHEN I AM READY ... and based on yesterday that might not be for another couple of months ... yes, it's that bad.

So where was I ... oh yeah ... I was feeling close to normal while he put the bike on the trainer. We chose the mountain bike because I would be sitting more upright than a road bike and more comfortable. He did something I would not have thought about ... notice he put the back of that trainer in the crease of the concrete floor for more stability. He is taller and bigger than I am but he tested it out and the trainer never moved while he rode harder than I ever will.

By 12:30pm I am starting my second slow walk when I am about to the corner of the fence when I felt a twinge in my upper thigh and for the first time ever, "weakness" in my right leg. I did not hesitate turning around and getting back inside with the cane as my main support. I grabbed two of the ice packs and headed for bed. One for my lower back which was not that sore or tight and one for the upper thigh/groin area.

When I take an afternoon siesta, especially since returning from the hospital ... Stella sleeps right next to the bed. Sometimes I have to ask her to move so I have the room to put my feet on the floor before standing up. EVERY TIME I have stood up from the first day I got home, I ALWAYS stand for a minute or so to let the muscles adjust and let my right leg get use to the weight on it. I have ALWAYS used first the walker and later the cane as I stand from the bed or the chair.

I thought about calling the doctors office again but if I hadn't had a call back yet after almost 4 hours and a lunch break then why bother calling again? Besides, Stella kept a close eye on me everywhere I went yesterday.  :)

I admit I was a little concerned about this latest development. It was the first time I had felt anything like that. I KNEW this wasn't caused by what I did on Tuesday but something I did while my friend was putting the bike on the frame and I was walking around while I talked. That seemed to fit the timeline for this to happen. In fact I was pretty sure what the cause of this new development was. I did something I shouldn't have ... no ... I did NOT try to get on the bike. (it's classified)  :)

The hounds will be happy that Amazon Prime is delivering their dog treats today. They really got use to having more than one per afternoon when the pet sitter was feeding them. So Heidi never lets me forget that although she has had lunch, there is always room for a dog treat.

The ice/heat treatment helped a lot. I felt well enough that I felt into a 2 hour siesta. That was probably from starting me day so early rather than being tired. The sleep app I have shows I sleep pretty soundly between the trips to the bathroom at night.

I had a couple of baseball games to watch later in the afternoon, one after another. Both winner take all and move on games. I knew that sitting in a chair longer than 30 minutes bothered my hip making it tight and sore. I made an effort to watch my watch and make sure I didn't sit for longer than 30 minutes. I have done the same thing this morning writing this post. I get up and walk around.

You will not believe what Stella is wanting me to share with her ... my pieces of fresh cantaloupe. She thinks that all food is hers and if I am eating it then at a minimum I should share it with her. Typical Bloodhound.  :)

When it's the end of the day and you don't hear back from your doctor, that doesn't leave me much choice but to get on the internet and search ... "groin pain after hip replacement surgery"

The list of websites for that exact question was long, pages long but I had my answer on the second website listed, confirmed again by websites number three and four.  Groin Pain After Hip Surgery I was able to do her two exercises to see which problem I had. In fact I did both of those about an hour after I came inside around 12:30pm. I did those with no problem and felt no pain anywhere.

I could tell last night when I got up to walk to the kitchen or bathroom and later the bedroom, I was not feeling as strong and confident as I did before noon. I was using the walker everywhere I went and took no chances trying to walk on my own as a test.

I took my second dose of the day of Xtra Strength Tylenol and Advil. That combo is what I told the surgeon I would take the day I left the hospital and that I would not be taking the Oxycodone he prescribed. He was fine with that and of course warned me not to take them together.

I took the two ice packs again placing them in the same place as I did seven hours earlier. I slept solid until 1:30am when Heidi's metal tags woke me up as she did her full body shake. That is her first step before heading to the back door. I was up and following her down the hallway whether I wanted to or not.

I felt no pain, no soreness and no twinges during that walk to let her out at 1:30am.

I was happy to see in three different articles that the tendon in question will heal with rest. Based on it doesn't hurt constantly and not every time I take a step I don't think it will take three to four weeks to heal BUT I will say that I am not going to do much from now until I walk into the doctor's office on October 22nd. You would be surprised how many steps or miles you walk just inside the house getting up and down during the day ... bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom and computer room ... always over a mile or two.

As we started our day again at 4:30am because Stella's whining was loud enough that it could not be ignored, I felt like I was starting my rehab over as I rolled my walker down the tiled hallway. I had no problem walking, I felt no pain or soreness and that was a good sign ... but I wasn't going to set the walker off to the side and start walking on my own. I am going to take it very easy and walk only when I have to inside the house.

Then it happened again. I took one small step to the side while making coffee and I felt a slight 'twinge' in the upper thigh/groin area. Ever so slight. Not a pain so intense it would put me on the floor but very short in duration and just enough to let me know it was still hanging around. It wasn't the way I wanted to start my day.

I'll repeat the ice/heat treatment today. I'll NOT sit up in bed reading a book like last weekend but will take more time laying flat and I will have at least one siesta.

As I post this ... my lower back is more sore than my hip.

The sun will be bright today in the Wild West and that is a good thing. I'll keep you posted.

The Good The Bad The Ugly

This post is long, with some rambling or a lot of rambling and some photos I found on my Nikon D3200 from September 27. A lot to read here and believe me it's all good, bad or ugly. I did not post last night because late afternoon I received my 34 page medical report from the hospital I had ordered. At the same time the postal clerk handed me my new Apple Watch Series 5, so I had that to set up and pair with my phone since I now have two watches that have me connected 24/7 JUST IN CASE I might have a medical issue living alone and need emergency services with my sister and friends to be notified.

Where do I start?

I think today I will put the description or commentary BEFORE the photo I am speaking of instead of under it. I've asked before but can't remember the answer, which do you like? I have seen it both ways on the different blogs I read.

This morning's sunrise was beautiful with cloudy skies and well after sunrise. After a restless night of sleep, after letting the hounds outside for their morning trip I went back to bed and they followed until 7am. I KNOW why I didn't sleep well and that will be explained under the Good and Bad categories.

So I'll start with the GOOD stuff and end with the UGLY stuff. How's that?

First of all the hounds are doing great during all of this lifestyle change. They have barely changed their routines while I am recouping from surgery. Yes, I have to watch when I open the pantry door which not only contains food but my ballcap hangs on the inside of the door and IF I WERE to put that cap on, that is a signal to Stella that we are taking HER walk. I don't wear that ballcap at all right now. So yes, Stella would like to walk ... I would like to take her walking but that is for another day.

I am getting stronger on a daily basis. The past two days I can feel my hip is much stronger as I move my leg sideways while laying in bed or walking to the left or right of me in the kitchen stepping sideways. No pain of any kind, no soreness later ... but I am still cautious how I make turns in the kitchen and when I walk.

The past three days I have been taking fewer steps for the day but have spent more time walking on my own WITH MY CANE IN MY HAND JUST IN CASE I NEED IT TO BALANCE !! I have made the long walk to my mailbox on Saturday and Monday. Based on the "workout" mode of the Apple iPhone Activity app ... that walk to the mailbox is a total of .26 of a mile. I walk slowly, short steps and am always aware when stepping off the curb or onto the sidewalk.

A few have asked "how do you feed your dogs if you cannot bend over more than 90°?" Even MJ the petsitter asked to see me feed them last Saturday when she stopped by. She too was worried I was breaking the 90° rule. That rule is set to prevent the hip from popping out while it's healing even though my surgeon told me there is only a 2%-3% chance of that happened and when it does it happens within the first 2 weeks after surgery. I am heading for my 4th complete week after surgery already. Time is flying !!

I have claimed "the grabber" as the best too EVER INVENTED !!!! You can see how I grip the food dish after they are finished eating. I use the same technique when sitting the dish down with kibble inside it. The large water bowl is a little trickier but when I lift that bowl there is never any water left in it. The hounds drink two of those bowls per day. To sit the half filled bowl of water down, I bend no more than 90° with my bad leg raised as I lean on the cane in my right hand. Since I am flexible that is not hard to do and is the same technique I use picking up dog poop to bag it and throw it in the trash bin outside.

I have also started reading books again. I need to read just one, finish it and then go to the next but I don't. I read multiple books at different times. I had two great books about IU basketball and IU football arrive this weekend from Amazon. Amazon Prime has been my lifesaver as well as Fry's Market grocery delivery.

I did get good news yesterday when I called the doctors office with some questions. I HAVE PERMISSION TO DRIVE AGAIN and it will be up to me which car I take considering that I don't break the 90° rule for bending over to get in or out of the vehicle. Also the seat cannot be adjusted where my butt is lower than my knees for hip reasons. I have not decided which vehicle I will drive first.
 

Why TWO watches???

With the latest heart issue that was found on my EKG at the hospital, or really the ultrasound photos of my heart they took Saturday night before surgery ... I thought I'd be completely safe. For once. I wanted fall detection protection 24/7 and I would not have that with just one phone during the 2 hours or so it takes to recharge the batter to 100%.

As I said in previous posts, I found out laying in the ER that Saturday morning with the watch on my wrist and my iPhone at home ... I could not supply the nurses and doctors with contact information (phone numbers) or call anyone to let them know what happened because my Series 4 did NOT have the 'cellular' feature. I was trying to save money last January when I bought it and thought I'd have my iPhone with me most of the time so why buy the 'cellular' feature?

I have both now.

Once the hounds are feed in the morning or afternoon, they do the same thing EVERY TIME ... rest and relaxation in the living room.

That does not mean later that Heidi doesn't come into the kitchen to look for any missed kibble that may have been dropped on the floor or maybe a dog treat. MJ had them addicted to treats because she would always give them a treat before she left after feeding them during the time I was in the hospital and at home recovering.

Before I did anything with my new Apple Watch,  I opened the envelop I signed for as certified mail for my medical report from the hospital ... all 34 pages of it. I read every page and every word. A lot of it was duplicate information but was recorded at different times during the day and night. All of the lab reports were there but was way above my education level to tell whether I had good blood or bad blood. They said everything was good.

I read in detail about the broken hip which more of a broken femur near the hip in multiple places as the hip joint stayed in place. I admit I could not finish reading the description of the surgery step by step with the long list of items they installed in my hip and leg. I felt slightly nauseous when I saw the list of items. I did not want to picture how wide that incision was spread so they had room to fit all of those new items inside me.

I moved on to their report on my heart issue "serious Aortic Valve Stenosis".

I read every word, then went back and read it again. I thought back to the questions I asked the MD when he broke the bad news to me, where he never gave me an answer. I NEVER experienced their 8 symptoms for AVS, ever, even after riding hard on those Friday rides that are recorded on the Strava app.

I kept reading and see the word NORMAL over and over ... almost too many times in their write-up. IF everything is so NORMAL than why is it labeled SERIOUS ????

I had read online about AVS before receiving the report and found out that it is categorized as "serious" when the valve opening is less than 1cm squared.  My valve is .1cm below that ... at .9cm squared. EVERYTHING ELSE WITH MY HEART IS NORMAL based on what they wrote. The word "Normal" stuck out in their written report.

Yet ... I WILL consult my new MD, then a cardiologist and another for a second opinion here in the months of October and November. My new General Practitioner is so booked up that he cannot see me until November 20th and other reputable GP's the hospital gave me to call are no better.

With the valve opening being so close to 1cm squared I felt much better than I would have to see it lower than .6 if you know what I mean. It also raised the question ... how long can I have this heart procedure or surgery AFTER this hip replacement rehab??

Just a week ago my surgical side leg, ankle and foot were so swollen I could barely put on the New Balance shoe I wore from the hospital. The more I rested sitting in a chair the larger they got. When I would lay in bed I'd elevate the foot but that didn't help much because it was not much higher than my heart. To elevate the foot on a different kitchen chair while sitting, hurt too much in my groin/hip area so I did not do it.

But the last of the good news ... the past few days when I wake up, the leg, foot and ankle are the exact same size as my left. From what I read in the pamphlet they gave me at the hospital and online information I was told the surgical side leg, ankle and foot could be swollen for up to 60 days after surgery.

Due to that estimate and the results I firmly believe the supplement I am taking for faster healing played a major role in getting that surgical side leg, ankle and foot back to normal size 20 days after surgery. I am only relaying my story with this product and IN NO WAY am I prescribing it to you ... but this was what was recommended to me to take.

When you have orders to sit only in a straight back chair, one with a slightly higher seat, those wood kitchen chairs can make your butt really sore after a few days. I went to Amazon and searched for an orthopedic seat pad and found multiple ones to choose from. My first one was just a square pad of memory foam 4" thick and it did the trick. Even this morning it might feel better than this seat cushion I bought over the weekend.

Yet, this is also comfortable and has memory foam but is cut to fit those painful pelvic bones from sitting on hard wood a few weeks, forming exactly to my build. This pad can also be used for an office chair or a CAR SEAT !!!!!

So what is the last GOOD thing that happened ????

For the first time ever I ordered a pizza ONLINE last night, paid for it including the tip for delivery and ... used the coupon I received in the mail with Pappa John's pizza. I have now declared them the best pizza where I live by a long shot ... I'll not name here who was my previous #1. I took advantage of the 5 digit code for discounts and bought more than I should have but I can stretch it out into 2-3 more meals and I never get tired of pizza, cheese sticks or those double chocolate brownies that came with it.  Ha Ha

Yes .... I fell off my healthy way of eating ... but I thought after these past three weeks why not?  LOL

Yesterday was beautiful. I stopped on my walk inside my fence to take this photo. The mountains at this angle look so much different than standing on the patio while taking a photo.

Now .... the BAD stuff.

No doubt the leader of the Bad stuff was ordering my first pizza online. It was quick, simple and of course like any other business they gave me "reward" points and the only way to take advantage of them is to buy another pizza. It was at my door 23 minutes after I hit the purchase button on my computer. 23 minutes to the best pizza I've had since my trip to Mother Bear's back in Bloomington Indiana.

I called my surgeon's office yesterday to ask some questions. Those are always answered by his RN staff but yesterday's answers were a little different. Only because this RN didn't have the answer right off the top of her head. On two occasions she had to ask her supervisor. Maybe a brand new RN ???

Since I feel no pain when I bend over near 90° I was really hoping to get approval to bend normal. If I could I then could pet Heidi which is slightly over the limit when I sit in a chair and try to reach her. She needs some pets and hugs since she has a look of confusion when she stares at my skinned up knee which is healing or when I walk with my cane.

That rule would also give me a clear chance of sitting in either of my vehicles and I could drive. In one car I am just inside the 90° limit when I sit in the drivers seat. But it's enough ... no pain getting in or out of the driver's seat.

There was a great sunset last night. I was happy I was able to catch it ... only because the Monday Night Football game sucked.  Ha Ha

I have 7 more weeks before my first General Practitioner appointment. I have been told by various people he is THE BEST MD in town and this town is full of doctors and medical facilities. He is also the doctor my PT works for as he completes his studies to become an RN.

I've told a couple of friends these past three weeks have been worse than a 'caged animal' since I was getting in really good shape riding the bike. If any readers are runners, cyclists or athletes or ex-athletes .... you know how your body craves your activity once it's in shape. Your mind may tell you 'not today' but your body always seems to override that. That is the only reason I rode my bike that Saturday morning when I wrecked.

But since I cannot pace around the house like a caged animal, these three weeks have been even worse. Although I sat still a lot in Indiana during the winter months, that does not mean I like sitting still. I didn't when I lived back there during good weather and with great weather out here it's even harder!!!

That is the hardest part of all of this ... sitting still, resting and letting my body heal. The worst part is I cannot ride a bike even indoors right now and my brain is screaming for it. But listening to my body, it tells me to cool it, back off and let it heal. I will and I am doing that, but it's hard to do.

For many years before all of this happened I use to tell friends when they were alarmed that I did not have a regular doctor that saw me on an annual basis ... I don't do that because it would lead me to medical problems. Since I am over 65 years old I have always believed from what I have seen ... once medical issues begin at that age ... they don't stop ... it's one thing after another NO MATTER how good your diet was, how active you were or how good of shape you were in.

I've seen older athletes devastated after they turned 65 years old with medical issues, sometimes leading to their unexpected death. NOW ... I am NOT saying I am closer to dying but what I am saying or wondering about is ... have I hopped on the "medical problem train" and it's all downhill after this? My dad use to joke with me as he listed all of his medications and doctor appoints that were then part of his life ... he'd laugh and say "so they call these the Golden Years" ... he was a teacher/basketball coach, never smoked, never drank, was in good shape ... until his first Quad by-pass surgery. His next 30 years was filled with one medical issue after another.

Every night as I sit on that chair with the seat cushion watching ballgames, Stella sleeps right by my foot, sometimes on my foot until I go to bed. She never lets me get too far away.

I found these following photos on the card in my Nikon D3200 this morning. This shows what a beautiful day this past Sunday was in the Wild West. I zoom'd in on the Mule Mountains, Miller Peak and the Huachuca's.

I clicked on the green runner icon on my watch yesterday afternoon to record a 'workout' in my Activity App not just a normal walk. I turned left on the sidewalk and headed for the end of the block like I did Sunday afternoon. A lot of neighbors have dogs, large barking dogs ... all standing at their gate of their backyard fence. We all have concrete block backyard fences with a full size steel gate.

Yesterday that ONE IN A MILLION EVENT happened and it could have been ugly really quick.

As I was approaching a house where I had never seen or heard a dog, I hear a bark telling me that the dog was huge and most likely did not like anyone near his/her house or yard even if they didn't live there. I immediately stopped, slightly scared and my brain running through all of my options at the speed of sound. I wanted to keep looking forward just in case this dog made it to the sidewalk. I did NOT want to turn my back while heading the way I came from.

Nor did I want to walk backwards while looking forward to keep an eye out for the dog. I could stumble over those cracks you see on a sidewalk that is between each section of concrete. LUCKILY I hear this ladies voice calling her dog but that didn't help. As the dog, a big mastiff, walked on the sidewalk toward me ... she was there grabbing the dog's collar. Hard to believe a small Asian woman could control a large dog like that.

Needless to say I will NOT be walking that direction again. It was the same direction Stella and I use to take our daily sunrise walk. I never saw or heard that dog until yesterday.

In today's world of social media, texting, blogging and sharing files ... phone calls are becoming rare and emails even rarer. So like many of you probably, most of our communication is by texting or using Facebook Messenger ... or even email for some.

The danger in all of that electronic communication is "misunderstanding" what the other is saying or meant to say. It seems to happen a lot to me over the years, as far back as 2000 when I started a small online business that turned into a failed large online business 10 years later.

Those misunderstandings by both people leads to arguments, something I never like and don't have time for. But I just had a face to face argument with my neighbor last week so I HAVE self analyzed to find out if it is just me that caused that argument or past misunderstandings in electronic communication.

After I read my medical report yesterday, I was happy about the heart news. I KNOW ... GOD DO I KNOW ... until I have a professional cardiologist OR TWO look at my ultra sound of my heart, the EKG and the written report NOTHING can be determined UNTIL THAT TIME and ONLY FROM A CARDIOLOGIST !!!!

My friend did NOT understand that or thought I didn't know that ... she wanted to voice her UNprofessional opinion about it while I was in the middle of texting to her and the other two friends in our group discussion. We have talked in our 4 person group since iMessage was invented. So we all are familiar with texting and sometimes words might not be clear enough.

I was just relaying the information I blogged about here ... the .9cm compared to the 1cm, the word NORMAL scattered throughout the report ... I had not finished typing because I was typing on my phone instead of my computer keyboard, where I can type as fast as any madman.

She cut me off and went off on her own, to lecture to me how I was making my own decisions where a cardiologist should be making them. I had to ask her ... "do you think I am that stupid, really????"

Nothing I hate worse then having to type one key at a time on a small phone keyboard then being interrupted before I can even finish.  This person is notorious for doing exactly that and "hold on let me explain" has been used many times by me and others.

But it didn't stop there ... in fact that texting argument moved into my UGLY section of this post.

These last 4 photos were taken a few days ago with the infamous Canon G9 X Mark II camera that has the large black spot on the sensor ... at least sometimes it does. I only had to edit that black mark out of one photo out of the four photos taken.

I tried to stop typing in this texting argument. Mainly because I wasn't and won't argue while texting or emailing. Two ... I was tired of typing on my phone and the voice texting makes things even worse with inaccurate translation from your mouth to the iMessage screen. BUT SHE KEPT RAMBLING... she was mad and was going to make sure I knew it. Friends huh ????

She finally stopped her madness when she realized I wasn't replying and I might not be reading them. As far as I was concern she had just embarrassed herself in front of me and our two other long times friends, friends as far back as our college days.

What did she finally decide and texted me so I would know ... I was at fault for the conversation turned ugly ME ... all because I was NOT going to let a cardiologist make a decision ... I NEVER SAID ANYTHING CLOSE TO THAT. That I was the guilty one in all of that mess.

So ... to let her cool off for a while I have blocked her on iMessage, phone calls, deleted and blocked her on Facebook ... basically I don't have time for that crap right now. Basically most things said over the recent years have been nothing but confrontational from the Cubs to IU sports.

Thinking back to that medical report, it was UGLY when I saw the itemized list of things inserted into my total hip replacement. I cannot even post that list here without being sick to my stomach. Luckily they sent me two CD of files and my x-rays but with them being in a Microsoft Windows format I will have to research how I can see them on my Apple iMac ... because recently Apple has basically shut off all Window files with their OS and iOS updates.

I can't wait for one reason to see my first cardiologist ... which is it ... NORMAL or SERIOUS??? Also which of the 4 options are you going to do to fix it?

I asked and was told to take the prescribed Bayer Aspirin Low Dosage 81mg for 6 weeks after my surgery. The original prescribed small bottle ran out last week so I bought my own large bottle. WHY DIDN'T THE MD OR THE SURGEON TELL ME HOW LONG TO TAKE THIS BLOOD THINNER ?????

Why did I have to call the doctor's office 3 weeks later to find out I MUST take that Aspirin for 6 WEEKS after surgery. To me that is just unacceptable when the MD cannot tell you that or at least write it out in the discharge papers where they listed the pills they had prescribed !!!!

No worries ... the ranting is over.

It's a beautiful day this morning, it's already late morning since the post took so long to write but I wanted to fill you in since I didn't write a post last night. I'll probably wait until tomorrow night to  post something again so I can get back on schedule of writing about what we did that day.

All things really are good and I consider myself very fortunate to be in the shape I am in now with a bright future ahead. I just didn't plan on being interrupted as I enjoyed life.

The hounds are loving the Wild West ... they like the sunshine!!