Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Dear Fellow Pilgrims. . . . . As you see I have been quite absent from The Dunes and  internet in general.  Not because of caring or interest: you know I LOVE you all dearly !

But, as the old Yanks have a wont to say things:  "I've had the rug pulled from under me". . . Yepper.  Whoooooosssshhhhh!  G O N E !

Since mid-May and Finals. . .which we all passed with Flying Colors!!!  ho ho ho. . . .but I was pushing with all my might. . . to keep my head "out of water". from "going under".

Somewhere between mid-May to mid-July they tell me I have suffered a SILENT HEART ATTACK. . . .and I never knew. . .why? when? how come? ETC.  By mid-July I was suffering mightily with retaining fluids, swollen legs from water retention, etc. . . .Imagine!  Me????  What the hell is going on.
Congestive heart failure was what was going on. . . .I finally found out when I awoke one morning around 4 am with difficulty breathing.  Of course I was alone. . . . Peter was working that night.  I sat and argued withmyself  "Shoild I dial 911?"
Finally the good and prudent and wise part left of me dialed the 911 and the Gent who answered at 4:30. . . "Hold on, bro. . .we'll be right there.  "  And almost before I knew it, THEY were there. . .those wonderfully trained volu.  .nteers had me on oxygen, with an IV drip, and EKG going on. . .and off we raced in The Dawn to the ER. . . .and those wonderful people too knew what to do and soon had me "doing the regular routine" with EKGs, videos, etc. etc. . .and just lay there in total awe ...... this was happening to me!!!

No angels were visible, no harps or bells. . .just quiet gentle peace and the real sense of love. . .being loved was surrounding me . . . .the healing was beginning!
HALLELUIAH!!!

Stabilzed in numbers they began to assess  What had happened. . . ? Well they did a heart catherization. . . .damage to the heart, , ,one blocked place. . .plus some colateral damage to a kidney from the dyes, etc.  Decision to treat this pharmceutically. . . seems to be the vehicle of most good, less damage and trauma. . . .etc.

I am "house bound" with in-house nursing care, and varied and assorted spoiling and pampering. . . .thinking of you all. . . with great affection AND LOVE !!!

    Justin of the Dunes

9 comments:

Gary Kelly said...

My goodness me! At your age? I've had numerous hospitalizations in the past decade - heart attack, cancer, radiation, pneumonia, and soon a second operation on my jaw to replace dead bone and insert teeth. But I've done the three score and ten thing and a bit of patching up here and there is expected. But you? Non smoker, non drinker, sportsman, healthy diet, etc. Who woulda thunk?

But there you were being wheeled around a hospital thinking "aren't these people wonderful? There's so much love here!" So your mind still works the same. When I was being wheeled around I was thinking "where's my laptop? Where's my cell phone?"

Well, I'm not sure how to respond to your news, JustinO. Maybe I'll think of something more appropriate later. It's certainly gonna cause you to rethink you're future. My, my, what an unexpected turn of events.

jimm said...

Gee Justin, when it rains, it pours. I hope you're weened off the pampering and back on your flipflops soon!

Missed ya!
jimm

GreginAdelaide said...

Holy crap!!!!!
Sorta figured you might be too busy with work etc and not surprised that the blog was not on the high priority list, but never figured illness!

Hang in there mate, all the best and I will be thinking of you, as I often do, wishing the best.
Concentrate on getting well as #1 priority.
Good luck!

gp said...

Please take good care and get well Justin- very best wishes on a complete recovery and nothing but good health for decades and decades!

J said...

Wow, what rotten luck Justin. Given your age and the seriousness of your condition I would think the cardiologists and thoracic surgeons would be suggesting a heart transplant. I have no doubt these guys will change your life in short order. You know we are all with you.

Passingship said...

Justin - My grandmother had a heart attack at age 36, one of the knock you down, I'm having a heart attack type, and the doctor told her to keep doing what she was doing, but just go a little easier. She lived to be 94 and would have made it to 100 if she didn't get cancer from the 3 cigarettes a day she smoked.

Jim said...

HOLY MOLY!
Justin, you sure know how to get our attention!
I can't believe this has happened to you, as I am sure it took you a while to get your head around this as well.
Good decision to call 911 and that you got and are getting good care.
As you know both Ron and I have had 'heart events' and are on medications to address this. But we are OLDER than you!
Hey, you will see that life is still possible and that it is waiting for you to jump right back in....as soon as you 'get your legs' again. If two old birds can do it, then a young whipper-snapper like yourself will thrive!
Follow what the medical people say and get well soon.....it takes time.

Unknown said...

Just when we thought it was OK to leave you alone for a bit, you go and do something crazy like that.
Life can be so strange. It certainly keeps us on our toes. I'm so glad you made that call.
I'm sending positive thoughts your way.

GreginAdelaide said...

Well, I know I left a message of support here...and I cannot believe that others did not.
Must have been a Bloogerfailure or something...
I'm not wishing this to be a post, just making a comment, just in case my, and other, messages got lost in the Ethernet.

Get well soon, and get well fully my mate.