Dear Paul and Ron

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Paul Fako 9:58 AM (1 hour ago)
Heard from Sue on Sat that you were in the hosp again since thursday and flyi...
Jerry Pfaffl

10:47 AM (13 minutes ago)

to Paul, bcc: Ron
I was so bad last Wednesday morning it took me 40 minutes to get out of my recliner--I kid you not. I had ignore warning signs of swollen feet at my peril. I couldn't walk and I was totally depleted of energy. I looked like a gray ghost by the time I got to the ER. Went through battery of tests; at first they they thought it was a blood clot but in time they reverted to the obvious: CHF (Congested Heart Failure) / emphysema=the Battle Royal between my pumping heart and fluid going to the lungs; it is the main field of engagement between the two major organs and lungs keep getting ahead lately. However with steroids and a nebulizer I bounced back in a hurry, and of course I'll pay a price for the help later; but when it is a life and death situation the choice is simple, unless you want to to die.That was tempting but I have book to finish. After I managed to walk up and down the corridors at the hospital Saturday and when my color had returned I was able to leave by ten o'clock Sunday morning. I even slept in my new bed, the first time in eight months. Of course I was so beat I could have slept on a bed of nails last night.

This experience was very complicated, with several doctors, multiple tests, an exotic change of meds, some curious sidebar incidents, like a tech telling me her life story, like me being the crank with a 20 yr twit who wanted me to go by the book. ( I was classed as a red sock person, one likely to fall, so I had to wait for help to walk eight feet to the bathroom. At times I got impatient to wait to piss and skipped protocol, which set off an alarm in the bed. The older nurses were loose on this point but this young twit had a cow every time I did it. When I called the main desk for help I started calling myself "Red Socks 429," with 429 being my room number. You get bored and want to play with the aides who are young and more vulnerable.) I put in a request already for the medical record of the four days I was in "lock-up." I need to straighten out exactly what happened and how I should prepare for the next one--or find out how to avoid it.

Sorry to hear you were under the weather. At least you are mobile. Be thankful for that!


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