Hello, Geezer coming back to this forum. Paul B

Next week I have to go in for my 36th surgery. (Some silly back thing on a vertebra). All thankfully for stupid things like torn and broken parts, loose toggle bolts etc. nothing important. I wasn't exactly a computer programmer and had to actually lift heavy things for almost 50 years. We were not designed for that and were only made to run after Woolly Mammoths and trip them as they go by.

So my surgeon called me yesterday to tell me I have to go to a pre surgery physical. The surgery is Tuesday so it was nice of her to give me 3 days to get this done. Do you think you could get a doctor in that time in New York?

Well, I found one who is probably a Quack but it doesn't matter as long as they know how to work a blood pressure machine and fax it to the surgeon in an hour.

So this morning I had to drive an hour because you also have to meet the anesthesiologist before the procedure, and he doesn't live next door. I drove there during rush hour and waited for the Dr. Dugie Howser, who is was least 12 years old comes in and introduces himself.

He asked me if I have an artificial heart valve, asthma, high blood pressure, if I am on Prizapro or have urenema or a fish tank. Then he said, Great! I will see you in 3 days.
This took all of 3 minutes and that includes me scratching my nose.

I mean he could have just called me but then he couldn't bill my insurance for $500.79 for "Consultation. Like really!
 
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So we are having a Christmas party and we invited way to many people hoping that a few of the people would say they had other plans and couldn't come. Nope,,,All of them are coming. I am not sure where we will fit them and I may have to put my reef out on the sidewalk for a few hours.

I hired a girl to help us serve and clean even though it is catered. We did the same thing last year.

Everyone here who lives with in 2 miles from my house is welcome.

(It's also my birthday) Christmas, not today 😁
 
My friends son caught this 10 foot Tuna this week


Tuna.jpg
 
Just what do you do with a 10-foot tuna? Take it to some guy? I'm thinking it's more complicated than cleaning bass and bluegill. Way more.
 
Today is my back surgery, and my 36th surgery where they knocked me out. Operations don't bother me especially because mine were all thankfully for stupid sissy things like bones, ligaments, tendons, rotary cuffs, and ich.

Nothing important. The biggest problem is that they are doing this at 2:30 so I can't eat or drink since last night. I can go without food for a couple of days but now, at 6:30, I normally had 3 cups of coffee already so shortly, I will get a big caffeine headache.

I will ask the anesthesiologist if he could infuse some coffee into the IV line. :)

My wife has to drive me home and it is 45 minutes away. She has trouble driving and I have a "left foot gas pedal" in the car but I never let her drive on the expressway but thats how we have to go.

All our friends are in Florida or baby sitting someplace today :oops:
 
The hospital doesn't allow an Uber to drive you home. You need a real person to get you there and wait for you. Luckily, my closest friend came home early from a Sweet 16 party in his family and drove me. I was in there over 3 hours. First they had to scrape all the ich off my vertebra.

My Wonderful surgeon made 4 incisions in my back, played around in there for over an hour and glued me back up probably with coral glue.

I won't know if it worked for a couple of weeks or months but I have great faith in her.
She is a pain Mgt Dr. and every time my wife or I go to her, we come out dancing.

She is in her 40s and a Supermodel, although that is not why we went to. (but it helped)

I love this doctor as does my wife and would follow her to California if she moved there.

Last night I "slept" with the door opened and felt like someone drove an Oldsmobile on to my bed and parked the right front wheel on my back even though I took Oxycodone and Methocarbambol which put me into GaGa land but didn't do anything for the back pain.

But after 36 surgeries I know the drill and it will get much better by the day.

So I got up at 1:00 am for the pain and "other reasons" 😁
 
So my surgery is over and I won't know if it worked for a couple of weeks or months. I was not supposed to do any exercise or lift anything for a few days.

Of course yesterday, my car was dead. The one year old, five year warranty battery croaked. I couldn't even get the key out of the ignition, thats how dead it was.

Car batteries weigh about 50lbs and they are not just sitting on top of the engine. After you un-bolt them and remove the 10 cables you have to try to snake it out of a spot that they looks like they built the car around it and it was not built to remove, especially right after spine surgery.

Most of my friends are in Florida and the one I have next door was away baby sitting. My neighbor was at a gym somewhere and no one was around so guess who had to remove and install the battery?

Yes, the guy with the screwed up back.

So, now it's in and all is well,,,,except for my back of course. :(
 
Thank you all veterans. Mrs griss and I went to the Dallas Cowboys game (something that’s been on her bucket list for a long time) and their Salute to Service was moving.

Paul, how’s the book about your time in Nam coming along? I’m really interested in it.
 
Glad things went well for your surgery with the supermodel surgeon Paul. Tomorrow November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada, we wear poppies in honor of our veterans here. It's a holiday in some provinces but not the one I'm currently in - Ontario. When I lived in BC it was a paid holiday and even in a small town many people made it out to the cenotaph. It's as good of a reason for a holiday as any, I think. I have an appointment before work for my own upcoming procedure (vasectomy) it's a bit of a silly operation if it could be called that. But with 3 kids and the last one being a bit of a surprise we really don't want to risk it!

Just wanted to share, been enjoying your thread for many months.
 
I seem to have lost my bristle worms. I have not seen one in a couple of months and I usually see them when the lights are off. Also my decorator crab, arrow crab, coral banded shrimp and harlequin shrimp molted and didn't get eaten. I still have all of them and when I had a tank full of big bristle worms, they would have been eaten as soon as they molted.

I have no idea why they are gone and never heard of those worms leaving.
 
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