I just heard back from the radiologist a few minutes ago. It appears that my x-rays are negative. She said that they look normal. Whew! I am glad that I don't have any spots or tumors. It goes through my mind every now and again. As a kid, I remember climbing up on the asbestoes wrapped pipes at my old church playing hid and seek or some goofey game like that. I would guess that I would have disturbed a lot of fibers doing that and I was not holding my breath as I played. We all spent time in the asbestoes filled Waterloo Community Schools growing up. I am not sure if anyone else had a bedroom inthe basement other than Gibbons and myself, but radon was sure present. Every home in Iowa has some levels unless you have it mitigated. With those variables against you I have wondered if mesotheleoma would pop up 30-40 years from the exposures. Still can, but as for now, I am clear. It is just good to know that.
As for my cough, the doctor believes that I have induced asthma. The triggers could be anything from laughing too hard to cold air. I could get an inhailer, but it really doesn't impact my life. I just cough from time to time. I can live with that.
The pain in my upper chest is probably from a basketball injury that happened to me last late spring. I remeber getting a huge elbow being slammed into my upper chest. It must have torn a muscle or something. It doesn't affect my movements, but I think that my movements affect the healing of this muscle and I feel it from time to time.
In conclussion, The Old Bear is battered but strong. He takes his beating and keeps driving onward. He is not affraid of old age or broken parts. He is a warrior and will keep fighting until he has no fight left. Stay thirsty my friends!
3 comments:
I'm glad to hear things are mostly healthy.
I for one am fully aware of the giant human experiment that's been going on for the last century or more, with 'progress' exposing us to all manner of things that no one has any idea of what the long term effects might be. But even with a not especially encouraging history of cancer in my immediate family, I generally don't fret about whether any of the various things I've been exposed to will kill me some day. They might, but so might some asshole on the highway tonight. In fact, that's probably more likely, or that i'd slip and fall and break my head open.
If it happens it happens.
I don't get much solace from my exposure to the medical profession. If you have something catastrophic, you'll probably get great treatment, but if you have something more mundane or even the early inklings of a possible problem, you'll be extremely lucky not to waste a shit load of time and money get examined and treated. Medicine needs to cop to the fact that they really don't know as much as we give them credit for, and much of what has developed as treatment has come from decades of hit or miss experimentation, often with no idea why something works. They are winging it far more than they'd be willing to admit.
Good perspective. You are probably right about the a-hole on the highway.
I just left one doctor of a new one. However, the new one is a lot older than my old one. This new doctor. I have to say that this new one really has a manner about him that leads you to believe he is working for you.
The thing I like the most is he is not eager to see you and zip the hell out of there in a matter of minutes. He goes over a lot of stuff as he diagnosis you. Shoot, he was in there talking to me about what it is not becuase of this and it is this because of that for about 25 minutes or more. He also is the kind who doesn;t want to thow meds out there for shits and giggles. He was happy that I decided not to go for the inhailer until we looked to see what the x-rays showed. I am not going to pursue the meds right now anyway. I just hope that he doesn't retire soon.
The old doctor was kind of an ass. He didn't do it on purpose, but he made you feel crappy for coming in to get something checked out. It was just his personality to be dickish. Always made me feel like I was wasting his time or that I was a nut case for feeling a certain way. Not my kind of doctor. Besides, his nurse was my old scoutmaster's wife. I felt her judging me everytime I went in. She was privy to my aliments and always wondered why I didn't go visit my old scoutmaster. UG!
Sounds like the right move. Not sure why people become general practitioners if their people skills suck. They should have specialized, that way no one would care if you were a dick.
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