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0403 -
0403 - ..
0404 - Summary/Objective
0405 -
040501 - Follow up
040502 -
040503 -
040504 -
040505 -
040507 - ..
0406 -
0407 -
0408 - Progress
0409 -
040901 - Sent letter to Arlette at Kaiser saying...
040902 -
040903 - 1. Subject: Dreaming
040904 - Date: 2017-04-09 13:47
040909 - ..
040910 - 2. Arlette,
040912 - ..
040913 - 3. Well, guess it took a dream to think of you.
040915 - ..
040916 - 4. Get this. As you know dreams are crazy and disconnected, but
040917 - as best I recall last night I dreamed I was in the Kaiser
040918 - pharmacy on the 2nd floor, as Mil and were a million times.
040919 - However, I was alone except for you. I found a bottle of
040920 - cancer treatment. You suggested getting 2 bottles, because
040921 - there might be a longer delay getting Millie started on the
040922 - next treatment with Doctor Johnson, and so we needed to be
040923 - prepared. Took the bottles to the counter to pay, like in a
040924 - regular store. The pharmacist, however, had to charge the
040925 - bottles, i.e., they were actually empty. After that, we
040926 - checked out, and you said something nice like you always do.
040927 - End of dream, woke up!!
040929 - ..
040930 - 5. I'm sure the dream was longer and more convoluted, but that's
040931 - all I remember. As always, none of this makes sense, except
040932 - all that stuff we did at Kaiser and UCSF had a lasting impact
040933 - somewhere in my brain.
040935 - ..
040936 - 6. How have you been? Still at Kaiser? Still taking care of all
040937 - your cats and probably all your friends cats, like you did for
040938 - Sasha when I went to Connecticut in 2010?
040940 - ..
040941 - 7. Just catching up - I had heart surgery in 2009, which Millie
040942 - helped me through. Then got religion, and started hiking a lot
040943 - - 13K miles past 5 years. This raised HDL 30 to 73 this past
040944 - Feb. Got in good enough shape to reach top of Half Dome at 68
040945 - in 2013. The wheels came off with injuries the next 2 years.
040946 - Actually, fell going up Nevada Falls trying Half Dome in Sep
040947 - 2015. Landed in the hospital for 4 days. Had treatment to
040948 - recover from hematoma wound the next 4 months. Blew out the
040949 - right knee in March. MRI in August showed multiple bone
040950 - fractures in lower right leg. Was still able to train enough
040951 - to get to the top of Half Dome on Sep 14 last year, see
040952 - pictures.
040954 - ..
040955 - 8. Through all this have had the best care possible at the VA.
040956 - Main thing is achalasia, but other maladies occurred. Was
040957 - diagnosed with a stroke from slight increase in versed for
040958 - conscious sedation during EGD dilation procedure on 160617. On
040959 - Aug 2nd, got a 2nd opinion from Stanford Neuroscience who
040960 - maintained there was no stroke. Neurology at VA Medical Center
040961 - in San Francisco immediately concurred. All symptoms recovered
040962 - within a few days, so I was good to go for Half Dome, except
040963 - for dizziness, which had caused the fall the year before in
040964 - 2015.
040966 - ..
040967 - 9. You may have heard of BPPV? Evidently I jarred the brain doing
040968 - stuff on the trampoline in May 2015. After that was aware of
040969 - dizziness from time to time, e.g., rolling over in bed, but it
040970 - resolved quickly, and so no association was made with doing
040971 - tricks on the tramp, and there was no awareness there was a
040972 - treatable condition. Last May, a nurse at the VA called and
040973 - asked me to fill in on a hike, because someone else cancelled.
040974 - On this hike had another fall. Not serious like doing Half
040975 - Dome the prior September, but enough to make inquires with
040976 - Neurology, because something seemed both similar and odd about
040977 - both falls. After Neurology examination, finally got treatment
040978 - with a specialist resolving BPPV. Bethany laid me down and
040979 - shook my head this way and that, but the problem persisted.
040980 - Fortunately, Bethany would not give up, causing other patients
040981 - to wait. Somehow this finally worked. Dizziness just went
040982 - away. What a relief knowing something mysterious "just went
040983 - away."
040985 - ..
040986 - 10. Few weeks later drove to Yosemite at 0100 at night and arrived
040987 - at 0600. Did practice hike, very slow and cautious, about half
040988 - way up the trail past Nevada Falls, where the injury occurred
040989 - the year before. This showed dizziness was resolved enough to
040990 - take another crack at Half Dome. So, in Sep with good fortune
040991 - made it to the top at age 71.
040993 - ..
040994 - 11. Now new injuries (knees, feet) seem to be piling up, so while
040995 - scheduled to do Half Dome in Sep, the jury is still out on
040996 - that. After overcoming major injuries the past 4 years, expect
040997 - this stuff will recover in time.
040999 - ..
041000 - 12. Along with all that, achalasia got worse. Normally EGD
041001 - dilation procedures are done every 6 months, sometimes maybe 4
041002 - month intervals. For several months I was getting them every
041003 - week. Since January we have improved to 6 week intervals, with
041004 - next one scheduled next month.
041006 - ..
041007 - 13. The amazing part of the story is what good friends I have
041008 - become with all the care givers. It is lots of fun working
041009 - with everyone. Have sent flowers to the GI team in Sacramento,
041010 - and letters of commendation to Surgery, Cardiology and
041011 - Neurology in San Francisco. Every day thank the gods not to
041012 - have cancer, so far, like Mil. That is a much greater
041013 - challenge than I have faced, and which Millie endured with
041014 - courage and grace getting great care from Doctor Johnson,
041015 - Doctor Rugo, you and many others.
041017 - ..
041018 - 14. Obviously, all this bubbled up in the dream last night. Just
041019 - hope you are doing well, and that all is well with you and
041020 - yours.
041022 - ..
041023 - 15. Best regards,
041025 - ..
041026 - 16. Rod
041027 -
041029 - ..
041030 - 17. Attachments:
041031 - 20160914_130739.jpg 2.3 MB
041032 - 20160914_141229.jpg 2.8 MB
041033 - 20160914_145047.jpg 2.2 MB
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