Third Opinion---Wow!

Ya know, the more I deal with doctors the more I think they are like car mechanics. They are business men first and mechanics second. I think my new heart surgeon may be be more of a doctor first. He just informed me that, based on the latest testing my heart is in pretty good condition, I don't have a real aortic aneurysm, I only have mild regurgitation and I, therefore, do not need heart surgery. Praise the Lord. It makes me wonder what the first opinion would have been in England.

Most people would say I've had a “challenging “ year starting with daily blood pressure medication (which may be unnecessary), then two prostrate surgeries (which seem to be unnecessary now), six chemo treatments ( probably needed much fewer) and then the diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm. So it sure is nice to finally get some good news. And I have his approval to start exercising again. How sweet it is. Now I need to get this chemo out of my system and get the final checkup to confirm that the lymphoma is out of my prostrate. That CT scan occurs on Oct 6.

It's been about a month since my last Blog update and since then the other highlights would be my trip to New York and our mini-family re-union here next door. The trip came up rather suddenly when my friend Rose in Florida suggested I join her for the 35th anniversary of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners at the end of August. It was a very nice 4 day week-end and I got to see a lot of the lay missioners, and priests and sisters that I have met over the years in Africa and New York. Many did not recognize me at first with the lack of hair, eyebrows, beard, etc. The weather was fantastic and I got a lot of exercise in walking between the third headquarters of the lay, the priests and the sisters. What a beautiful location one hour north of NYC on the Hudson River.

It's been about a year since our last Kansas City mini-reunion so we scheduled one the week-end after Labor Day and it was the best one yet. We had 28 adults and 5 kids from the area with the highlight being the attendance of our 3 elderly aunts Mary, Louise and Francis. They are getting up in years (96, 94 and 88) but still staying healthy and very clear mentally, thank God. It was nice to get caught up on the activities of my cousins and their families over the last 12 months. The weather was beautiful and the food and drink was delicious and plentiful.

I finally decided to get a third opinion on my heart surgery because of the first two did not agree on the need to replace the “root” of the aorta. I selected St Luke's Cardiac Consultants and met first with a cardiologist who looked over my previous test results and thought the need for surgery was a little questionable, but probably necessary based on my lack on energy, increased pulse and desire to return to Africa next year. But I needed another series of tests (CTA and Echo) before I could see the best heart surgeon in town. Boy am I glad I got that third opinion.

Dr Borkon wants me to get the chemo out of my system and come back in 3 months for another Echo exam in mid December. He is thinking the increased pulse and lack of energy is related to the chemo and maybe the cancer or BP meds. Last December my pulse was 65 -75 and now it's 90-110 every morning. I started having blood pressure elevation 2 years ago in Africa, so it will be interesting to see if it stays low as I cut back on my medication.

You may recall we've been working hard on leveling the back yard (30 yards of sand and topsoil) to get it ready for croquet season next year. I decided to plant Bermuda seeds instead of the Zoysia sod due to cost and labor constraints and got seed in on Aug 21; a little late, perhaps, depending on how early we get the first freeze and how heavy that freeze is. After 10 days we got good germination and planted a second batch of seeds plus some fertilizer. Boy we got a good bloom of weeds to. We just pulled the weeds and mowed. The Bermuda is looking good. Wish us luck. The rain lately has been wonderful.

We shut the pool down for the winter last week-end. I installed a new timer on the pool pump a few weeks before that and it's working well. The pool chemistry has been staying real good since we converted to the salt water system (mid Aug) and the water is real clear. Now I can run the pool pump 11 hours a day instead of 24 and never add chemicals. I calculated that it is saving us over $100 a month in electricity and chemicals. Not a bad pay-out since we spent less than $200 on the conversion. Well, I guess it's time to start exercising.....