Monday, November 14, 2011

Stress Tests, Rat Poison and Cardioversion

Today ended, hopefully, the saga that began back in August when my annual physical showed an atrial flutter.  That prompted the stress test that I wrote about.  After the stress test the cardiologist determined I need cardioversion, which is just an electric shock to the heart to get the two chambers back in sync with each other.  The biggest problem is that my blood has to be thin enough for the procedure; otherwise there is a risk of a stroke, especially with the blood in the atrium, which has just been pooling there.  So I went on blood thinner, the main ingredient of which is warfarin.  Warfarin is the active ingredient in rat poison.

Anyway, after six weeks of rat poison therapy, today was the big day.  It was an outpatient procedure.  I checked in, got prepped with the IV and electrodes, they ran some anesthesia which got me to that delightful state just where you are almost asleep but barely conscious and the next thing I knew they were asking me how I felt.  My heart is back in a normal rhythm and hopefully this is the last I will need of cardioversion.

I'm hopeful this will take care of the lack of energy I've felt since summer began.  I attributed my lack of desire for exercise to a number of things:  My dad's death, going to Logan almost every week, not having time to exercise regularly and turning 60, which was the worst because there is nothing I can do if my lack of interest is due to age.  But when I learned that my low energy could be due to the fact that my heart was pumping only 75%-80% of the normal amount of blood, it got me excited that this might change things.  I'm cautiously looking forward to being able to ride the Bear Lake Monster century ride next June.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Veterans Day

Another thing that is unique to November is Veterans Day, or Armistice Day as it was originally called.  Armistice Day was created to celebrate the cessation of hostilities in World War I, the Great War as it was termed before another Great War came along and they had to start numbering the world wars.


At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 a cease fire went into effect between Germany and the Allied forces fighting in France.  Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day after World War II in the United States and to Remembrance Day in the countries of the British Commonwealth, including Canada.  A famous poem written by Canadian physician and lieutenant colonel John McRae in 1915 after he witnessed the death of his friend the day before is called In Flanders Fields.  Flanders, France, was the scene of much of the worst fighting of World War I.  The poem is here:


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.


In many countries, especially those of the British Commonwealth, there is a moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. on November 11.  In the United States a wreath is commonly placed on the Tomb of the Unknowns (or Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) in Arlington National Cemetery.   Also on Veterans Day the mat on which the Tomb Guards walk sentinel duty, 24 hours a day, seven days a week without exception, is replaced, as it is on Memorial Day in May.


The Tomb of the Unknowns received the unknown soldier who had been killed in France in World War I on November 21, 1921.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Forgotten Month

November is the forgotten month.  Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, November exists mainly to torment those of us who don't want to rush the Christmas season and who object to hearing Christmas music beginning November 1.

It's time we stood up for the Pilgrims and turkeys.  This is a downtrodden, discriminated-against group being squeezed on both sides.  Witches and goblins on one end, elves and reindeer on the other, both trying to force the Pilgrims and turkeys from their ancestral homeland, November.  When I was in grade school, our bulletin board reflected the seasons.  October had jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, goblins and witches.  When November came, the yellow and black of Halloween were muted to oranges and browns, reds and dull green, to reflect what November is.  Turkeys, horns of plenty, pumpkins without grinning faces and the Pilgrims, in long dresses, buckle shoes and hats stood watch over our classroom.  Maybe, somewhere, a few teachers still do this, but try finding a Pilgrim among the red and green and glitter in almost any store.

So let's OCCUPY NOVEMBER!  Let's take November back and enjoy it for its own sake, not as a prelude to Santa.  Let's do it for the Pilgrims and turkeys.