More Tests Thanks To My Vegas Episode!

I made a trip to my cardiologist Wednesday and he had me go to the lab and give 5 vials of blood and a cup 'o piss for tests. I also got to go home with a Holter Monitoring device.

Today I was in his office from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a bunch more tests. I had a Carotid Ultrasound, an Abdominal Aortic Ultrasound, an Echocardiogram and a Nuclear Stress Test. They might of slipped another one or two tests in while I wasn't paying attention. I did get to scarf down TWO Dixie cups of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream for testing purposes and a package of peanut butter crackers from Dr. DeBauche's private stash because my blood sugar got low.

Monday I'll see him and hear what he thinks is the State of My Union, so to speak.

I made it nine minutes on the stress treadmill and that's up a minute from last year. I called a halt just short of the "having to run" speed....I'm not into running unless it's to catch the ice cream truck.




I've said it before and I'll say it again: I HEART my cardiologist! His name is Dr. Thomas DeBauche, M.D. and his office number is 281-890-8588.

He told me that when his name is Googled MY BLOG article on him comes up. Tickled me to death that he even knew that! He thanked me for my kind words, etc. and I muttered something about being kind of fond of him and how he saved my life.

Now I know good and proper that it wasn't JUST him that saved my life...it was HIM and GOD, but give me credit for knowing they are two separate entities. One being a deity and the One that gave my healer his strength and his incredible talent. I figure God's kind of busy and it's not easy to get in to see him, but Dr. DeBauche has never said he didn't have time to see me.

I like it that I've been going to his office since December 1996 and most of the staff is still the same. It's warm and comforting to been seen naked by people that know your name and that you have a history with. That means a lot to me. I quit a very good doctor one time solely because her staff got changed as much as her lab coats and after awhile it bugged me when they'd say "and have you been here before" every time I darkened the door. I'm on a first name basis with Cheryl, Ruby, Karen, Connie, Kathy & Donna. The newer staff will become familiar in time.

The other greatest part about going to my doctor is that even though he's got an impressive array of credentials and tons of education he made it through with a sense of humor and a delightful wit. He knows how to communicate with his patients and he explains anything that needs explaining. He's not shy about scratching his head and saying he doesn't know if he doesn't know and first and foremost he treats his women patients' conditions every bit as aggressively as he does his males. ALL of his patients love him too...I know because we talk among ourselves in the waiting room!

We are all so glad that he's OUR doctor, located in easy-to-get-to NW Houston and that we don't have to travel to the Medical Center, etc. He's going to build his own building too and that'll be cool for all concerned. He promised me that he won't retire before *I* do. Only in my case it'd be EXPIRE! I like to think he considers me his friend too.



How I Spent My Vegas Vacation
Dogs & Hearts - My Own Story

Goodbye, Earthlink! You're Gonna Miss Me.

I officially canceled my account with Earthlink yesterday and it will be final on March 5, 2008.

"Syd", the man I spoke to said he was sorry to see me go and acted like he really cared when I told him how woefully I was ignored by their "Level 3" tech folks. He said they *should* of made arrangements to send someone out to my house and see what was wrong. Should'a, could'a, would'a....so I move on.

He said for only $2.95 (or some such) a month I could retain 2 of my email addresses. I thought about it a few seconds and then said naaawww. THEN he said that since I'd just gotten the new equipment, they were going to charge me a $39.95 "cancellation fee".

Well as you can imagine that's when the stuff hit the rotors!!

I passed the shuttle in my own orbit!

I said I'd hire an attorney before they saw one thin red dime. I said that was an "absolutely free" modem according to the gal that I spoke to at the time who said it was free EXCEPT for the $19.95 S&H. I paid that I ain't paying no mo! Biggest crock of excrement I've ever heard of!

Then he started backpedaling a bit and said the final say was not heard from yet and perhaps they wouldn't charge me blah, blah, blah. My daughter says he was probably trying a last ditch effort to keep some of my money coming in each month with the email address offer and hoped I'd knuckle under and pay that to avoid the additional fee. I pointed out to him not only the "absolutely free" part, but that I didn't sign anything or agree to any binding contract...I've had a DSL line from them for SEVEN years and before that I was a dial-up customer for several years. I think I've satisfied any and all requirements.

The heck of it is I was their biggest fan. I never missed an opportunity to say how well my DSL worked and how reliable Earthlink was. NOW I say, don't let the door hit you in the modem, Earthlink, I'll urge people to stay away from your domain in droves!

Relatives Online!

My niece sent me a link to her new blog! It's very good too, but I knew it would be because she's related to me! I'm kidding!!
She's very good at what she does and well respected by those that she works with. What more can anyone ask of life that to be a positive force for others?

Check out CJ Social Worker and tell her I sent you!

I'm Baaacccckkkkk!

My router got sick or so I thought. Come to find out it was probably okay, but I bought a new, faster one so what the heck. What went South was my Earthlink DSL connection. I don't know why. THEY didn't know why either. They kept me on hold the LAST time I was ever on hold for Earthlink for THREE HOURS and FIFTEEN minutes. The man said he was going to check on my line. I figured he'd gone to lunch. After a couple of hours I thought maybe he was coming out to the house to check on the line!! Then I got mad. And I plotted my revenge.



The last thing I like is CHANGE. I HATE change. Even GOOD change makes for an adjustment and adjustments are not something I handle well. Although I CAN handle some change if I'm the one that instigates it. So I went shopping for a new ISP. Guess what? If you can't get online you can't shop for shit! (Pardon my language!)

So thanks to my pal "Paul" I was supplied with a list of possibilities via the DSLREPORTS.COM list for my area. I chose Oplink. So far I'm liking it a lot! Thanks so much to Richard for setting up my router so I can use my laptop online again! Yea! The worst part was having to get an AT&T phone line. I've been using Sage Telecom for several years now and really liked them, but you do what you gotta do.

The 2nd worse part is losing my genealogy pages via Earthlink. I may or may not set them up somewhere else. I'll announce if I do bring it all back online.

The 3rd worse part was having to get a new email address. I'm in the process of sending that out to family and friends. On the one hand I'll cut out some of the junk mail, but I don't want to miss any of the "good stuff" from folks that I don't hear from regularly. Sigh. See we're back to that whole CHANGE thing! Ack!

Well it's good to be back online. I feel free again!

How I Spent My Vegas Vacation

If it's February, it's time for the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas by me and my buds.

This year we arrived on Thursday the 7th in the early afternoon and by late night I was writhing in pain on the carpeted floor at the Four Queens!



I passed out three times, but never hit the floor. Luckily some lovely security guards eased me on down. I was severely dehydrated and suffered tremendous leg cramps to prove the point.




I got carted off in an ambulance to a local teaching hospital, pumped full of fluids, tested every which way, repeatedly punctured like an old tire and subjected to the usual dehumanizing tricks of the medical professional parade. I got out Saturday afternoon and promptly hit the slots!




The fancy smancy name for fainting is syncope. That's sounds more like a rock group's name to me. Or perhaps I'm just confusing it with a syncopated rhythm.

The doctors decided that they'd blame it on my gastric bypass surgery. Firstly it's easier to dehydrate with the 'lil tum and in my case I also riled my vagus nerve and lemme tell you, mess with that puppy and you drop like a rock with no warning. None of that closing curtain or I think I'm woozy stuff...one minute you're up and the next you're out cold.




I thought it was extremely ironic that I go to Vegas and my VAGUS nerve is the star of the show! BTW, that's NOT a picture of me, but that's pretty much what I looked like by the time my vacation was over!

I brought home some sort of sneezing, snuffling, coughing my guts out by-product. Sort of my version of a diseased souvenir memento of my Vegas hospital adventure.

And to add insult to injury: can you believe they don't EVEN have slot machines or even Keno in the hospital! I could of spent a lot of time entertaining myself and they could of been raking it in. Although not having seen even one slender piece of paper with any billing details, I imagine they'll rack it up the old fashioned way.



vasovagal syncope

What The News Doesn't Tell You

I get annoyed when I read the comments posted online at the Houston Chronicle because most of them are jerks and assholes. They are always quick to slam law enforcement and too stupid to know that just because the story is in the Chronicle doesn't make it Gospel. They read only one slanted side of every story and base their condemnations of that slanted view. They paint everyone with the same color brush. Right now they are anti-Grand Juries and anyone NOT indicted is, in their views, guilty anyway and just being protected by the 'good ole boy' system. Seems to me that most of the time those guilty are "guilty" of being white males.

Makes my blood pressure rise.

Which is not of itself a bad thing seeing as how since I've lost weight I have the blood pressure of a stone. Yea, me!

I find this little item to be of interest and certainly haven't seen it in the Chronicle....

Spears' Latest Trip To Hospital Cost LAPD $25,000