ONE WEEK LATER

Some of you have expressed interest in my recent Pacemaker/Defibrillator replacement surgery.

I'm going to show you where it is, complete with the scar from the cutting, so if you're queasy you might want to go someplace else right now.

But for those of you who watch medical shows on television (SWMBO) and are still curious, here you go.

That thin red line is where the surgeon opened the skin over my chest a week ago yesterday and tugged and pushed to get the old pacemaker out and the new one inserted.

That bulge isn't swelling as much as it is the actual shape of the pacemaker beneath my skin.

The original leads (wires) that go from the device into my heart have been there since the first installation ten years ago.

They get checked from time to time but so far they're holding up just fine.

I don't think the yellowish color on the left is bruising as much as it is of some of the chemicals that were brushed onto the skin for cleaning.

I was out of the hospital only a couple of hours after the surgery and with an ice-pack on my chest, asleep for about an hour and a half.

After that no more ice and never any pain pills, not even aspirin.

'Course, they gave me quite a cocktail of drugs in the hospital which probably had a day's worth or so of time to wear off.

But, as the old expression goes, "no pain, no strain" and, since this was my fourth pacemaker "surgery", no worries either.

As I say (ad infinitum), "this ain't my first rodeo."

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Light sprinkle dampens windows in Arizona!

(With apologies to residents of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas)

FRIDAY FUNNIES

This is not the best day to be finding humor in our daily lives with Hurricane Harvey bearing down on the Texas coast.

But I'm going to try to bring some cheer, even if for just a short time.

Today (once again), Gentle Readers, we're going to examine the role of the computer in our lives.

So that's it for another week of toil and trouble, Gentle Readers.

Have yourselves a merry little weekend and keep your spirits bright.

(hmmm, that kinda sounds like a song.)

And always remember, even and especially in the face of bad stuff, to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

TBT

I have just finished reading a book titled "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay", by Michael Chabon.

It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.

I used to see it when Judy and I ran our bookstore but only very recently got around to it.

At just over 650 pages, it is a bit of a challenge.

And it's subject matter may challenge some.

It varies between a young Jewish man making an escape from Prague just prior to the beginning of World War Two, magic tricks and escape stunts, comic book art, the unfairness of the business world, romance, homosexuality, life and death.

But I found it a spellbinder.

And mixing in familiar names like Morton Gould, Milton Caniff, Stan Lee, Harry Houdini, Scarne, Orson Welles, Dolores Del Rio and many more brought memories back to me.

I, too, grew up on comic books and magic.

With my mother's help at costumery, I sported a black cape and (cardboard) top hat as a lad to perform shows for a few friends as The Great Taylor.

I had quite a library of books by the aforementioned Scarne, Houdini, Harry Blackstone and others.

But while I did know a few card tricks, unlike the great Scarne I could never master the art of unerringly producing four aces from a deck on command.

In other words, that picture is as fake as it is fuzzy.

GET OVER IT

WOW!

Although I certainly didn't think so yesterday it appears my little visit with the heart surgeon took more than I thought out of me.

(That's sort of a play on words . . . I'm only talking about energy.)

I came home and took a nap that lasted about an hour and a half, then went to bed again at 7:30 last night and didn't get up until 7 this morning.

And I've had a mid-morning snooze, as well.

Now that I've had a little lunch I think I'm about ready for another nap.

It's probably due to all the "dope" they shot into me yesterday.

Valium, lipoderm to ease the pain of the I.V. shot, then who knows what during my actual procedure, one dose of which put me totally to sleep because once the pacemaker was installed they activate it to shock me to make sure it works and I have no memory of that.

 

(the evidence)

So, I guess I'm just sleeping off all the "silly juice" they used on me.

I'll talk to you later cuz right now . . .zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

IT'S OVER!

I am very pleased to report that my pacemaker/defibrillator replacement went well today.

It began at 12:35 and I was out well before 3 p.m. and home by 4 p.m.

It is amazing to me to see the differences in the procedure.

And I am especially grateful to my surgeon, Dr. George Rizk and the team that assisted him.

There's just one problem.

He said this device is good for 7 to 10 years and I'm not sure I can live that long.

Also, I am very happy to hear that DanaBug had her hip surgery today and it went well and the results look good.

Oh, and I hear there was an eclipse.