the latest tom foolery!
Dear Bob Watson,
I hope you all had a great holiday, and that you were able to escape the worst of our endless pandemic.
I thought the aborted attempt to do an Ablation on my heart to address my arrythmia (PVC) would be the end of the worst of it. Well except for that upcoming leg procedure.
But things have changed.
So the process of managing the catheter procedure left me with a hematoma in my right leg, thus resulting in swelling. The cardiologist and my primary care doctor both suggested it should heal over the next few weeks.
But after 10 days, during which time the condition became no better, I visited the second cardiologist, the one who installed the stent, for a follow-up. He checked my leg and ordered an ultrasound test to evaluate what he suspected. It revealed a blood clot, and the doctor said I should consider entering the hospital right away to endure an IV-based blood thinner and the usual extended recovery at home.
At this point, after two hospital visits — during which time I left with mild colds (but evidently not COVID) — I protested. So he recommended a powerful blood thinner added to my current drug cocktail would most probably deal with the problem. He said I should expect the swelling to abate over the next few weeks, and that I should take the extra drug for a total of six months.
He will examine me monthly to make sure I’m healing properly. Meantime, the first cardiologist will be seeing me to set up a portable heart rhythm monitor to make sure the drug he gave me for arrhythmia is doing its job.
As you can see from my attitude about the whole thing, I am getting sick and tired of the doctor visits, the treatments and the medications with endless side effects. I have no doubt that the treatments are appropriate for my various conditions.
But before I visited the first cardiologist for arrhythmia, I had no symptoms of anything wrong. I have none now, except for the moderate stiffness in my swollen right leg.
If this requires any further attention beyond medication, I will definitely be seeking another opinion.
In the meantime, Barbara continues to recover from the corneal transplant in her left eye. Her vision is recovering more slowly than she expected after the surgery on her right eye, but it is improving. She will be visiting the eye surgeon soon to check her progress.
And I continue to struggle with the extra copays for treatment and drugs and higher prices for other things, including our recent server upgrade, auto insurance and rent
If you able to provide a little financial help, as always I appreciate your donations, whatever you can send. And I know it’s not easy.
Here’s how to send a payment: