Health

Funk

I’m in a funk.  Plain and simple.

Funk.

It was this lengthy blog post where I overthought everything and went on and on about stuff that you don’t care about.  I don’t really care about.

Cuz I’m in a funk.

July 30, 2020.  It happened for the first time on 7/30/20.  11 times since.  Ask me.  I’ll show you. SVT.  Flutter.  Afib.  Call it whatever you will.  It all sucks.

A lot’s happened in a few years.

  • Afib.
  • Ran my first (and only) marathon.
  • RV rental from hell.
  • Bought our own RV – even after RV rental from hell.
  • Replaced 3 catalytic converters – 2 of them stolen.  Don’t ask.
  • Father passed away.
  • Oh yeah, not the flu, but that other thing. Missing a year in there somewhere.

Energy is lower.  Motivation is lower.  Morale is lower.  Funk.

I have a cardiac ablation this week.  Friday – of all days.  Puzzle complete.  Connect the dots yet?

I hope I never have to give up cycling.  That’ll be funk on steroids.

Places

If you don’t have one, you need to get something that is a solid head leveler.  You know, one of those things that can be your go-to activity that takes you away from it all and can really get your head back on straight.  A head leveler.   Mine is my bike.  There’s nothing like a good bike ride for me.  I’ve had cycling in my life now for over 30 years.  Through all of my ups and downs, I still have my bike.  I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t ride.  And a year ago I wasn’t so sure about it.  Glad I have it.  It take me places.

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I got this bike back in 1999 and absolutely love it.  It’s ironic that I’ve held onto this for so long when I’m the type who’s always in line to get the next best gadget.  It’s like a comfortable pair of jeans really.  It just fits right.

Derailed

It’s been a week now since my surgery ended and I suppose I’ve made a good bit of progress.  And although I’ve been slightly derailed from some of my early season goals, I feel I can easily get back on track.  That track will forever be a different track though, now that I’ve faced a fairly significant life event.  I know I’ll be much more motivated now to complete goals and to live an even more healthy life than I have been.  Let’s face it, there’s always something more healthy we all can do.

I certainly have a changed perspective on various levels.  For instance, I have a clearer grasp on how much pain my body can withstand.  And this experience has certainly made me more focused on my physical health.

I haven’t had a real camera in my hand in almost two weeks and, believe me, I’m chomping at the bit to get back out there.  I promise there will new images soon.  Most of my Facebook Page followers have seen some of these images, but I wanted to put them here as well.

But more importantly, I’m focusing on my recovery and am thinking back on all the nursing staff that got me through it all.  The care that I received from the nursing staff on the Step Down unit at Winchester Medical Center was just top-notch.  What an intensive line of work that can really test one’s patience (ha!).  Most of the time I really felt as if I was the only patient on the unit, they were that good.

So my sincerest gratitude goes out to the following nurses on Step Down unit at Winchester Medical Center:

  • Danielle
  • Stephanie
  • Skylar
  • Joe
  • Annie
  • Julie
  • Dawn
  • Amber
  • Somer

I had never met any of them before and will probably never run into them again, but man it felt good to get the care I needed to get through this.

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A thrombosed popliteal aneurysm caused my lower leg to start “dying.”

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On the road to recovery.