Visit to My Urologist

Urology Associates of Delaware - their steady "customer" - me

Just got back from my urologist.  I still have my kidney stone.  

He said that my kidney stone is "right on the border" for laser removal because of its size which is .6 millimeters.  He said if it was .8 millimeters or higher he would send me down to Beebe Hospital immediately for laser removal surgery.  He said if the size of my kidney stone was .2 millimeters we would just wait until it passed of its own accord.  But because I am "right on the border" of the size, he wants to give it another five days.  Then if it hasn't moved, he will perform laser surgery to blast the kidney stone.  In the meantime he has scheduled an EKG just in case I have to have surgery.  My cardiologist's office will contact me.

Me filling out the forms at my urologist's office

My doctor also told me that if I experience any extreme pain again to call him immediately which I will.  God, I hope I don't have to go through that again.  I was experiencing that again this morning until I took my pain killer pills.  They took about a half an hour to kick in but they were effective.  I spent most of today lying in bed, only getting up for a light lunch.  

Bill and I are going out for dinner at the Bay Leaf Restaurant about an hour from now.  A few months ago we began going out on Monday nights to the Bay Leaf which is right up the road in Milton.  It's not a crowded restaurant nor is it noisy.  Of course now I will have to look for a vegetarian entree now that my new BF from Canada (Pat) has introduced me to a healthier way of life.  

Carrot curry soup at Nectar in Lewes, DE

I called work and told them of my situation that I might have a kidney stone attack while at work.  My boss told me that my co-worker has offered to take my shift tomorrow night.  That is a relief.  I would hate to have a kidney stone attack while on the phone making a reservation or running upstairs  to deliver fresh towels to a room that was shortchanged by housekeeping.  

Me waiting for my doctor in my "room"

I'm feeling a bit guilty for writing so much about my health situation but this is what is going on in my life now.  Poor Bill, it is wearing on him as well as someone else, whose name I won't mention (he knows who he is).  I promise, I'll be back to the Old Ron soon enough.  I do so appreciate everyone's concern.  It means a lot to me.  

Poor Bill, one of the people I'm putting through the wringer with my current health problems

Prostate Update

The door to my doctor's office at the VA Outpatient Clinic

Good morning folks!  I'm delaying the next installment of "Roads Not Taken" for one day.  Partly because I was called into work yesterday unexpectedly due to an emergency so I wasn't able to complete my blog post.  I'm also working today and tomorrow.  Another three day work week thus putting be behind in my normal activity.

Also, this morning I had a much anticipated visit with my doctor at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Georgetown.  This is the visit where I would know the results of my labs (blood test) that I took on Monday.  Why is this blood test so important?  It is the first blood test since my prostate surgery on May 2nd in which I had radioactive seeds implanted into my prostate gland to fight my prostate cancer.  To say I was concerned about the results of my blood test and PSA score would be a very big understatement.  Yes, I was VERY CONCERNED.  Life and death matter here folks, life and death.  I had already decided that if my score didn't go down significantly I wasn't going for any further treatment.  The side effects from my brachytherapy surgery are just about all I can handle now.  

My appointment was at 9 a.m.  Right at nine a physician's assistant check's my height (6'3" - I didn't shrink).  My weight (171.2 - I just CAN'T seem to lose that extra 10 pounds of that I picked up somewhere over the past few years or else my clothes weigh a lot more these days), and my blood pressure was 118 over 66 (which he said was good).  Then I snuck in a question "What's my PSA score?"  Before my surgery it was 8.4.  Anything over 4.0 is cause for concern.  He said "The doctor will tell you when he goes over your labs with you."  

My doctor's desk (he was away on a cell phone call)

I took a good look on his face to show if he was showing any signs of my imminent doom.  He was as expressionless as George Zimmerman was when he heard the jury's verdict and was exonerated for his killing of Trayvon Martin....nothing.  Then, just as I was getting up to go into the doctor's office he said "Your PSA is 1.9".  I let out a YELP!  I said "You just made my day!  That is GREAT!"  He looked at me and put his finger to his lips and said "Shhhh! Don't let the doctor know I told you."  

Of course I couldn't hide my glee.  I said "This is better than winning the lottery!"  I saw him smile. When I went into the doctor's office I tried to put on my George Zimmerman Bland Look but I wasn't successful....he knew I knew.  

So folks.....my PSA score is 1.9!!!!!!!!!!

I wish you could have seen how happy Bill was when I got in our car and told him.  He banged his hands on the steering wheel and big smile spread across his face.  This is what it's all about folks.  

A happy day today here at Casa Tipton-Kelly.

Something different - me smiling at my doctor's office (after the good news!)

Falling Apart

Hey folks, it feels like we're falling apart here at Casa Tipton y Kelly.  

As regular followers of this blog know, I am scheduled for seed implants for my prostate cancer on May 2nd.  Tomorrow morning at 9 am  I have an appointment with my urologist and oncologist to set the game plan.  Sounds like fun.  I'll clean the nether regions out before I go in just in case there needs to be more "exploratory" procedures.  To be quite frank about it folks, this is getting real old.  I'll just be glad when everything is over with and I can go about my regular life, albeit with a radioactive crotch.

Now a couple of days ago Bill developed a problem with his bladder.  Not to gross anyone out with too much information but there is incontinence and blood involved.  Bill's been trying to arrange an appointment with the VA to have his problem checked out.  He said this is the first time something like this has ever happened in his life.  He says when he has to pee, HE HAS TO PEE RIGHT AWAY.  Thank God I don't have that problem.  In fact, my plumbing apparatus is working just fine.  Just that little niggling "detail" of a slow growing prostate cancer that I have to deal with.

This morning my good friend Lar had to have an emergency colonoscopy.  Again, not to go into too much detail but he discovered blood in his stools.  I was with him last night on FaceTime as he took the pre-day concoction to flush out his system prior to this morning's exploratory procedure.  All kinds of invasive procedures around here folks.  Well, the good news is that he doesn't have colon cancer.  In fact that is GREAT NEWS.  However, he does have an ulcer which is what he suspected and he now will go on a special diet to treat that condition.  As you can see from my screen shots that I took of Lar drinking his pre-colonoscopy "prep" last night, we had fun.  Hey, you have to laugh. I did thoroughly enjoy being on the other "end" so to speak.

Our other good friend Stuart, is scheduled for knee replacement.  Stuart is the same age as Lar and I, 71 years of age.  Yep, we're at THAT AGE folks where things start falling apart.  Just like an old dependable car, no matter how much you take good care of it, sooner or later little things are going to "go."  Stuart says he has to have knee surgery because he has "bone on bone."  I feel the pain just hearing those words "bone on bone."  Again, thank God I don't have that condition.

Larry, Stuart and me - healthy in 1957

Larry, Stuart and me - slipping 2011

So, I don't know if Bill's condition will prevent us from taking our annual vacation down South. We can't take that trip if he has to stop on the interstate and for an emergency pee.  That won't work on the Interstate. So everything is on hold until Bill can see the doctor tomorrow.  

Fun times around Casa Tipton y Kelly.  The Old Guys are being tested.

Medical Update

Me at the medical center last week for my dermatology appointment

Just back from the doctor this morning.  My heart rate is low, 40.  I understand it should be around 60.  My doctor recommended an EKG.  I had that done and the results showed an uneven heart beat.  My doctor is now arranging an appointment for me with a cardiologist.  This is a first for me.  Both of my younger brothers have heart issues.  My youngest brother is on his second pacemaker.

I hope I'm not going down that path.  I'm not overweight (like both of my brothers) and I get plenty of exercise (walking).  I know that's no guarantee against heart problems but I was probably under the false assumption that I was immune from any heart problems.  Perhaps the clincher was when my doctor asked me this morning if I get dizzy.  Are you kidding?  All the time. In fact a wave of dizziness washed over me even as he was asking me.  He asked me if I wanted to lie down.  I told him I didn't.

Just for a safe measure he sent me to get a blood test.  That was an hour wait sitting next to a gravelly voiced woman who talked non-stop and laughed at everything she said.  She obviously drove up my blood pressure.

Don't cry for me Argentina, I'm still plugging along.  I do what has to be done and appreciate each day as a treasure.  I'm ready for whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt too much.

Me this morning in the lobby of the Medical Arts Building waiting for my doctor and 8 am appointment

Six Pack Abs

Spo, one of my favorite bloggers posted today about his wish to have a flat stomach and posses six pack abs.


The Jersey Shore star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino has made the seemingly unattainable "six pack abs" the goal of many men.  Who wouldn't want a Six Pack? Heck, most men would just settle for a flat stomach.  


My friend Spo expressed that he would probably never posses a flat stomach.  Well, I'm here to tell my friend Spo and every other man who would like to have a flat stomach that it is indeed possible.  


I have always had a flat stomach.  Back in the Seventies and Eighties, when I used to lift weights.  I even developed the elusive six pack abs.  See below photo of me taken in Provincetown in 1974:

Me on Herring Cove Beach, Provincetown, Mass. 1974

Friends, it is not impossible to have a flat stomach.  If I can do it, anyone can.  Here are a few things to remember if you want to posses a flat stomach:

• Walk a lot
• Do not drink beer
• Walk a lot
• Do not drink liquor
• Walk a lot
• Do not eat ice cream
• Walk a lot
• Do not eat bread
• Walk a lot
• Do not drink whole milk (2% or less)
• Walk a lot
• Use sugar in moderation
• Walk a lot
• Do not drink coffee
• Walk a lot
• Do not eat candy
• 
  

Follow these rules and you WILL have a flat stomach.  Seriously folks, it is that easy.

As proof, I took these pictures of my stomach this morning.  I am now 69 years old.  I have followed the above rules all my life.  While I don't have the defined six pack abs now (I no longer lift weights), I still have a flat stomach.  I'm not bragging, just stating a fact.  Well, maybe I am bragging. 

I wouldn't be truthful if I didn't say that the years have taken their toll. While I still have the same weight as I did when I graduated from high school, 160 pounds, my waist has increased from 31 inches to 32 inches.  My weight has shifted.  Gravity is taking its toll.  

One thing I would emphasize though is that one has to be constantly vigilant about eating habits and exercise.  If I wrote a weight loss book, it would only contain four words:

EAT LESS

MOVE MORE

So there you go friends and readers of this blog, I have just supplied you with the ONLY information you need to have a flat stomach.  

Why not six pack abs?  At my age, it isn't worth the effort because it does take a lot of work.  Lifting weights defines your stomach muscles.  If you're on the prowl and/or going to the beach, it would be worth the effort.  But me?  I'm an old man now.  I am no longer on the prowl and I don't go to the beach.  Even if I did posses six pack abs, no one would see them except me unless I walked around without my shirt off, which I don't.  

However, I will keep my flat stomach.  If for nothing else than my own self esteem.  Plus it doesn't feel too bad either when I attend my high school class reunions.  

Go for it guys!

Good News!

I just came back from the Orthopaedics Associates in Lewes.  I don't have any bones fractured in my wrist! 


This is great news!


My appointment was at 2:20 this afternoon.  It was just over two weeks ago that I fell at the entrance to the American Legion Post 28 building in Millsboro and jammed my right arm.  I should have gone to the emergency room right away but I didn't.  By Tuesday the pain was so great that I decided to go to my doctor.  She ordered an X-ray.  It took all that time for me to see the doctor at the orthopedic unit to go over my X-ray.


At today's appointment, the orthopedic doctor showed me the X-ray.  I did fracture my elbow.  A small fracture.  In fact I can't even feel it now.  I asked him what should I do about it.  He said "Nothing" which is fine by me.


But here was the problem.  My wrist is still hurting big time.  The X-ray that I had taken two weeks ago (today actually) wasn't of my wrist.  It was only of my arm.  I was hurting so much then that it probably covered up the problem I have with my wrist.  

The doctor took an X-ray of my wrist today.  He showed me the X-ray.  He said I have arthritis in my hand.  He said "You've had that quite some time."  He's right.  I've had it since 2000.  I looked at the X-ray past the arthritic thumb and saw a lot of little bones.  Oh God I thought, please don't let any of them be broken.  They weren't!  He said "It looks like you just got a bad sprain.  It will continue to get better.  If it doesn't, give us a call and we'll look at it again."  


What a relief!  Looking at all those intricate and delicate bones in my wrist, I fear to think of what could have happened.  I got lucky.....again.  I've been pretty lucky all my life health wise.  My streak continues.  


Thank you whatever power that is in heaven or wherever.  I promise to be a good boy for here on out. 


Now it's time for a well deserved nap.