INTO THE WILD

Every now and then you make a decision that alters the landscape of you life. Sometimes it changes who you are or defines who you are. Recently I made just one of those types of decisions. After getting my driving privileges back in March, I wanted to ride my motorcycle out west and see the big hole. It's really been a life long dream of mine to spend some serious time out west. Well somebody suggested an RV and just haul the bike. I originally thought that was out of the question due to prices, but then I started researching and low and behold the recession had hit the RV industry too!

Well the next thing you know, Ol' Jed's a millionaire. I'm now the owner of a 2002 Fleetwood Bounder thanks to the persistence of my son and friend. For the techies out there it is 36ft long on a workhorse chasis with an allison transmission and a vortec 8.1L motor and one slideout, with only 21,000 miles. That means it is a "gas" engine as opposed to a "diesel" motor. I like to think she is brand new. Now some people throw caution to the wind and do things without thinking thru the whole plan. I'd like to think I'm not in that crowd but this just might qualify.

After one month of ownership I almost qualify as an expert RV Mechanic advisor. Let's just say I know people who know people that know how to fix things. I've had a brake bulb replaced which just happened to affect the cruise control, replaced blown fuses, repaired a split in a plastic hose, ran a fresh water line to the freezer, hooked up the antenna, digital box converter and dvd player and replaced two hose fittings. Now I'm sure there were some other little things that just escape my mind at the moment. Did I mention satellite tv was installed last week after only one hour on the phone with Direct TV? Now how hard is it?

I am currently on my second (maiden?) voyage at the beach after a great 5 day stay in the mountains at Lake Jocassee. I'm currently at Huntington State Beach Park which is south of Myrtle Beach and north of Litchfield Beach in S.C. We (Reagan and me) arrived about 5 o'clock and I set up the RV while he terrorized his new neighbors. After dinner we found the beach and thankfully only a couple of people were on it as Reagan felt like he had the whole thing to himself. He hasn't figured out the whole wave thing but I swear I've never seen a dog run so much. The only thing that really slowed him down at all was a beached jellyfish.

It's raining today at least in the a.m. which is why I'm writing so early. I think a friend of mine, the only one I have, LOL is stopping by today sometime. I promise (kinda) to update this more frequently now that the great adventure "INTO THE WEST" is beginning. About the only thing lacking on the Magic Bus is the motorcycle lift which should be installed next week. Another degree in engineering was needed to figure that one out.

I love the sound of the ocean waves, or is it the idling of a diesel motorhome I hear?

Nutrition

NUTRITION

I was asked a few weeks ago to speak on nutrition at church. Now I know what you are thinking, “Here we go again another talk about fruits and vegetables”. Well stick with me here because my take on it is a little different. It gave me the opportunity to organize my thoughts and review my life in regards to what worked and what didn’t when it comes to health.

We have a relationship and addiction to food. Most of us even have had or are currently having an affair with food. I am talking about the emotional connection we create with food. Our affair with food is very similar to a sexual affair. We lie to others and ourselves about what we eat and how much we eat. We hide from our spouse or children food that we want to eat for just our self. We feel guilty when we overindulge. We plan and dream about how good something is going to taste. Food is pleasurable and a reward for a myriad of life situations. Our relationship with food can be summarized as lying, hiding, guilt, pleasure, dreaming and fantasizing. This also doesn’t even address the issues of cost, timing or availability, but you get my point. Generally we have become an obese nation of people living to eat.

What will it take to become a nation of folks who just eat to live? First we have to break the emotional connection we have with food. This is why all diets do not work. They do not address this relationship. Reward yourself with anything besides food. Exercise, sports, hunting, shopping, sex are all better choices for rewards than eating. We must realize that it is a matter of life and death and disease. Eating to live is a choice, a lifestyle. Our health is not the responsibility of the medical community or insurance or some government program. WE are responsible for our HEALTH and until we end our affair with food it will be a fleeting goal.

The Bible says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to honor God with our body. You’re not going to want to read the next questions. But if it makes you change your lifestyle, so be it. Do we honor God when we go through the drive thru? Do we honor God when we go to the all you can eat buffet? Do we honor God when we go to the local tavern and drink a gallon of alcohol? My point is simply we treat our animals BETTER than this priceless gift God has given us called our BODY.

The first rule of life is that we are GIVEN a body for our journey. Love it, hate it, it’s the only body we will ever get here. Cherie-Carter Scott has a great book about this called, “If life is a game, these are the rules,” which addresses this issue in detail. Check it out, you can read it in a week or less.

In closing, the first step to a healthier, nutritious life is ending your affair with food. It’s a choice and a decision to be healthy. One that I wish I had made 30 years earlier.

God Bless,

Art

Passion

PASSION

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about passion. It is defined as,” any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.” It is so remarkable and refreshing when you actually meet someone who has passion for what they are doing and who they are. It is so easy to see it in musicians who love what they are doing or preachers who have the integrity to speak the truth. Having been in the business world for most of my life, I’ve got to admit I rarely saw it in the various careers people chose. I would have to say I saw it most in successful sales people.

If you ask most people who they are, the answer you get most of time refers to what they do and not whom they are. This led me to the belief that what you do, is not who you are. Then one day young wise Matt and I were discussing this and he stated, “If you are following your passion, then you are what you are doing.” Which brings me to how many people are not following their passions? How many people are just going through the motions or punching the time clock mired in mediocrity? If you love what you are doing and doing what you love I commend you. But can you just imagine for a moment if we all were following are passions, how much better this world might be? How much more joy, love and peacefulness would we encounter on a daily basis?

So as we enter the holiday season and start a new year, maybe it’s time to check our hearts. Are you following your passion or stuck in a job that is making you miserable? When will you decide to be happy? When will you choose joy, peace and happiness over despair, drudgery and perceived security? Are you fooling yourself playing the game, “I’ll be happy when……”. Well times up, decide today. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! God Bless, Art

The Last Samurai

I watched The Last Samurai yesterday for maybe the fifth time in the last six years. And it made me stop and wonder, “What is it about this movie, that is so appealing?” One word repeated itself over and over in my mind and that word was Honor. And then I wondered is the appeal so strong because honor is so lacking in America today? Honor is defined in the dictionary as “honesty, fairness or integrity in one’s belief and actions: a man of honor.” Where do we find honor in America today? The most obvious place today is in the military. Sometimes we find it in churches, businesses and hospitals and rarely in government. I think honor has been on the decline since the end of the greatest generation that ever lived. For those that don’t know which generation that is, think World War II.

We watch a movie like, “The Last Samurai” and go wow where are the men like that today? Where can we find men of honor or for that matter a man of honor? Why is it so rare today? I’ll tell you why. Honor is not taught anymore in home or schools. Sometimes it’s mentioned in church. The only place it is being taught daily is in the military. When was the last time we talked to our kids about honesty, integrity, truth or love? Heck forget teaching them, when was the last time we actually practiced those things daily? Oh but I do these things. Really? We lie on our tax returns. Everything is a business deduction even our French poodle security dogs. We’re not honest with our spouse because we want to control their reactions. We only love our kids when they do something right; however right is defined.

What do we honor in America today? We honor a woman’s choice over the right to life of an unborn child. We honor the rights of a criminal over the suffering of a victim. We honor pleasure today over sacrifice for tomorrow. We honor being political correct over honesty. We honor ego and status over the truth. We honor athletes and entertainers over preachers and teachers. We honor sin over righteousness.

Unfortunately, the greatest generation was succeeded by the worst generation, the baby boomers. We traded honor, truth and integrity for free love, free homes and free lunches. We invented a buy now pay later industry in everything. Our generation has created more debt than the next 3 generations will ever repay. It just makes me wonder if a hundred years from now they will be making a movie about America called, “The Last Man of Honor”?


God Bless, Art

Part Four and we are up to date finally!

I went home after the operation and had four days of no arythymias and then they came back with a vengeance. On the 23rd I enter a VT storm and have 49 episodes over three days. My ICD has recorded 91 events since it was implanted at the end of June. I’m thinking I deserve a statute at the Biotronik HQ or at least a plaque. So round two of ablation surgery is scheduled which turns out to last about 12 hours. In recovery Dr. Mehta says no more ablation surgeries and they wheel in the flat screen with a DVD player. I proceed to watch a movie on all the great aspects of an LVAD. A Left Ventricle Assist Device, a pump to pump for your heart, which incidentally is open-heart surgery as well. Joy Joy. And it is battery powered with two wires coming out of your side. These batteries have to be changed every couple hours and I’m thinking Oh boy the energizer bunny here I come. I guess that is plan b if the ablation does not work out.

After a couple of days recovery I’m discharged and a free man. That was October 1 of this past month. They schedule a six-week follow up visit for November 9. Yes this past week. Boy time flies when your having fun. I go to my check up on Monday thinking the last six weeks have been great, no shocks, no episodes, no runs no errors. Just some irregular heartbeats and palpitations. I go in thinking there is just a slight chance I’ll get my driving privileges back and truly be a free man. But Dr. Gulati for some unknown reason thought it would be a good idea to get my device interrogated and see what the activity looks like.

Well about an hour later, Todd from Biotronik’s comes in and does his thing. I’m all proud cause I know there is nothing going to show up and I ask,” So Todd how is it looking?” He says Art you have had 91 episodes in the last 41 days. I’m like get out of here! You got the wrong device, I’ve been fine. He says 67 of them have been in the range of 100-150 beats per minute, which require no therapy by the device. 14 of them have been VT’s, which were paced out, and 10 were SVT’s that were paced out as well. Then he says, “Well now you are up to 184 episodes since the end of June.” I’m thinking I should have that plaque any day now. Is somebody calling Guinness on this stuff? So as my driving privileges are headed out the door I start wondering how they might feel about me riding my motorcycle???

So the official answer is I can’t drive for 6 months from the last time my ICD shocked me. If all goes well I’m thinking March is a good time to get behind the wheel. Until then I guess it’s Oprah and Dr. Phil. I can’t wait to increase my wealth of useless information and bore you all with it. Take Care and God Bless, Art

Part Three

I was discharged the next day with a list of exams, Doctors, Dentists and eye exams to track down for the transplant committee. It amazed me how thorough they check your body out to be a candidate for a transplant. I had to track down my colonoscopy, psa test, eye exam, blood profile, hep b vaccine, neurologist reports and even my dental reports. It felt like every day for two weeks I was going to a different doctor to get something. I know I was giving my taxi drivers a workout collecting all this information.

My dentist turned out to be the only hiccup, as he wanted to do a deep tissue cleaning before signing off. He felt like some of my molars might be susceptible to abscess once my immune system was suppressed. It would be a two-step process with one half of my mouth worked on each visit. The nurse asked me if next Thursday would be good for the first cleaning. Without thinking, I said sure, not realizing that would be my birthday. Yes, I, Lord of the idiots make a dental appointment on my birthday.

Next Thursday, the 27th rolls around and I get a ride to the dentist’s office. I get out of the car, take two steps and get very light headed. I’m thinking “Jeez I’m going to faint real soon if I don’t sit down.” The closer I get to the door reality is starting to slip away. I open the door and sit down at the first chair, thank God nobody was in the waiting room, and immediately pass out (or one might say die). Two shocks later, which I thankfully didn’t feel, I awoke to the TV showing fox news. Coming back to reality is always such a pleasant experience, knowing you didn’t die again and your heart is beating much smoother. I waited about 15 minutes to make sure everything was ok before I checked in. 15 minutes later they called me back and I slowly walked to the chair.

I explained to the assistant I had an episode out in their waiting room and she might want to keep an extra eye on me today. She took my BP, which was normal, gave me oxygen and leaned me back in the chair. As the dentist was numbing my mouth and the shots looked a whole lot more intimidating than they actually were, I asked her to give me some nitrous to settle my anxiety.

At the half way point the dentist stopped for a break. I looked at the assistant and told her I was feeling a little nauseous. She set me up in the chair and I looked at her and said now I’m feeling really nauseous. She handed me the wastebasket and turned off the nitrous, which looking back was all in the right order. As soon as I saw that wastebasket breakfast came up about eight times. I think everything made it into the wastebasket and very little clean up was needed in aisle 8. After a few minutes of pure oxygen I felt better and she leaned the chair back down. The dentist came back in and finished up without any more excitement.

I came home, sat down to relax and kept thinking, “I’m the only idiot on the face of the planet that makes a dental appointment on THEIR birthday and then dies in the waiting room and pukes in the dentist chair.” Note to self-No more dentist appointments on your birthday.

A couple of weeks go by with the usual stuff. On Wednesday September 9th I’m coming back from a breakfast meeting, look over to Scott my designated driver and say,” Scott I think I’m having an arythymias (because by now I pretty good at spotting these things).” As soon as I said it, my ICD delivers a shock and I feel it. Scott looks at me and I look at him and its like ok what do we do now. I told him to just get me home and I’ll call the doctor’s office as I already had a 3 o’clock appointment for there.

I get to the Doctor’s office and they “interrogate” my ICD, which basically means they download the information from it. The guy from Biotronik starts shaking his head as he is reading the printout. I said Mitch what’s up? He looks at me and says since August 18th the last time we interrogated your device you’ve had 24 episodes. I looked at him and asked is that a lot? He just rolled his eyes and took off for the doctor.
Dr. Mehta shortly came in and just shook his head. He said do you know you’ve had 24 episodes since 8/18 and have been shocked three times? I said yea and asked him is that a lot? He rolled his eyes also. He said the next time you get shocked, call us and we are going to do an ablation on you. He said we need to get these arythymias under control. I thought to myself now there’s the understatement of the year. Always the wiseass, but hey if we can’t have fun going through this crap, why go through it.
The next day, September 10th, I have a neurological exam to make sure they are going to put this heart in a body that has some brain control and can pass a field sobriety check. And on the way there I look at my designated driver, Stephen, and say, “I think I’m having an arythymia.” I wait for the shock, but it never comes as the ICD “paces” me out of this episode. I called the doctor’s office thinking ok it didn’t shock me but at this point it just a matter of time. We might as well schedule the ablation and get this thing over with. After a few phone calls they tell me to come to the hospital, do not pass go and a room is waiting for me.

So basically I spend another week in the hospital being observed, scaring nurses and waiting for Dr. Mehta’s schedule to clear up which happens the next Thursday the 17th. Around 10.30 that morning they come to take me down to the “pre-op” area. I call it the holding pattern as we are all either waiting to get in the O.R. or just came out of the O.R. Its also a little cooler down there and they really don’t like the phrase, “I saw the light” nor “just follow the light”. Of course you know who had to say them both, only to be reprimanded. Jeez these people need a little sense of humor down here, I’m thinking.

Around noon its my turn to go to the O.R. As they wheel me out of the holding pattern a nice black female minister asks me if I would like some prayer. I’m thinking do you really have to ask at this point or do you really see the fear of God written all over my face? I grabbed her hand and said Ma’am give it your best shot!! She prayed, I prayed and then off to the operating room.

The operating room is even colder than the holding pattern room. Upon entrance two attractive female ladies introduce themselves and tell me they are part of the anesthesiology team. I’m thinking, “Man God that sure was a fast answer! I must have died even before the operation began!” One lady leans down and asks me if I have my “dream” picked out yet? Jeez if I didn’t have this gown on. I of course tell her yes and it’s a brown-eyed girl on the beach. I am thinking how hard can it be to deliver this dream? Well about that time she puts some device over my face and out go the lights.

Well about seven hours later, I’m waking up at the Y on the racquetball court between Big Show Billy Evans and his son Jay. Where is the beach and the brown eyed girl is the only thing I’m thinking at this point. I’m so disappointed in that anesthesiology team. By the time they get back to the recovery room I’m shaking off the effects of the anesthesia to the disappointment of no brown-eyed girl, only to realize my groin has been hit by a hand grenade. A little bit later Dr. Mehta (an OSU graduate I might add) comes in and explains the whole seven hour ablation surgery in terms I’m sure he thought a seventh grader could understand. Basically he took a catheter up both sides of my groin and fished it into my heart and started ablating (cauterizing) electrical areas that cause arythymias. Naturally to find those areas they have to put your heart into an arythymia, go figure. He said they only had to do this about 7 times so they only had to shock me out of the arythymias 7 times. I’m thinking that’s why the brown-eyed girl never showed up. Who likes a lightning storm? Ok part four in a while. You all take care, and God Bless, Art

Part two

After a week in the Piedmont Hilton, Dr. Patel urged me to go seek additional help at either the Sanger Clinic, Duke Hospital, Chapel Hill or Baptist. Being the bean counter that I am, this would be a no brainer as the world renowned Sanger Clinic was just down the street in Charlotte. Dr. Patel thought that was an excellence choice as they could do more “electrical” things for my heart. So late Thursday afternoon I was whisked to CMC in charlotte to the Sanger Clinic (actually one in the same).
Upon arrival their electrical team, heart failure team and transplant team visited me all within three hours. Hmmm maybe these guys are good I was thinking. Over the next couple of days they ran a few tests on me, including sticking my jugular vein, which was a new experience.

Monday morning Dr. Gulati and his transplant coordinator Katie came into my room about nine a.m. Dr. Gulati started out by saying, “Art, when we consider a patient for transplant the first thing we look at, is how close to a life and death situation the patient is in. Your arythymias are definitely life and death. As a matter of fact you have already died once and fell and hit the concrete once. We believe the best solution for you is a transplant. We could do an ablation but there are literally so many places electricity flows in your heart, I could not guarantee any kind of success with an ablation.”

I felt like a 50-ton hammer had just hit my head. Transplant???? That sounded so much like defeat. It sounded like so much pain. It sounded so wrong. How could I need a transplant at 52? Three months ago I was in the best shape of my life and now you’re telling me I need a transplant? I thought these guys were the guru’s; the best of the best and this is the best idea they can come up with? Surely they have a few more tricks up their sleeves. Devastated.

Katie they went on to explain the whole transplant process, which pretty much flew right over my head. I listened by I really didn’t hear what she was saying. I was still stuck in the devastation stage. Nothing would be done until Cigna approved something, yada yada yada. At three o’clock that afternoon Katie came in and told me Cigna had approved the pre process testing. Being all chipper, I gave her a high five, all the while not having a clue as to what was going to happen or why I would be happy with that.

Fifteen minutes later, nurses with needles show up and want arterial blood (which is quite different than regular old vein blood) and ten vials of vein blood. Next came a chest x ray and later in the evening an ultrasound from my head to my toes. Finally night came and no more testing for that day. I layed in bed and just tried to comprehend everything that had happened that day and then the tears starting flowing out of me like a tremendous rain storm. I felt like such a loser for not taking care of my heart earlier in life. I felt like I let my kids down for putting them through this and not being healthy for them. I felt way too young to have to have a transplant. I felt terrible I had worked so hard for five years to beat this only to realize I should have started 15 years ago. Why was I so young to be going through all this? I cried until I could cry no more. That’s when God told me, Art, I put somebody directly in front of you when this disease began. You not only chose to ignore him, your scoffed at him, scorned his lifestyle and made fun of him. You owe this man an apology. He was absolutely right because my boss at that time exercised everyday, ate healthy, didn’t smoke and drank very little. I chose to ignore all of that.

If there is a message in this blog tonight to you, it is this, “WHO has God placed directly in front of you for a PURPOSE, that you are choosing to ignore?” Do not make the mistake I made 15 some odd years ago that is now costing me my heart and maybe my life. I love you all and God Bless, Art