A Hemlocks sitrep and report

A  Hemlocks sitrep and report

From an email to my relatives

It never fails.....

I got a blowout, first in years, on the way to the Tennessee Heart place, and the lugs were mostly too tight for me to loosen.  Another car near me on the highway had something similar, so I suspect there was something in/on the superhighway road.  I’ll never know.

Then the gas station manager said he would tow me off if I did not move my car which was in his lot. After begging age and heart problems, he compromised with waiting two hours vice 1/2 hour to tow my vehicle off.

Bottom line, I got a taxi to make it to the doc on time (I had allowed enough time), and all went well there, kind of; and taxi was dirt cheap, and they even put my spare on in their shop, and I am back home right now.  They had a bigger lever to get the lug nuts to rotate. It did not take a air jack/hammer, for example.

I had enough cash on me to pay cash the whole way.  That always helps. I also had a check book, and credit card, just in case.

The whole episode set me back about $100, including the tow, the taxi (two ways), and the tire exchange with the spare for the flat tire. The remaining tires have about 5,000 miles left on them, so I’ll think about what to do tonight. Right now I don’t have a workable spare.

And then the widget that communicates via cell phone to Germany, Oregon, and Cookeville had not arrived, yet. So while they tested my defibrillator, they will mail me the communication widget that should arrive in around three weeks. Basically, the defibrillator is designed in Germany, made in Oregon, and managed out of Tennessee Heart in Cookeville; a heart oasis in the medical desert, in my opinion.  My next appointment with Tennessee Heart is in six months, so I can live with that, so to speak.

There were three fellows, including one engineer, who did the defibrillator stuff.

Then I got to see the doc who sent me to St. Thomas in Nashville saying (to me) that they did not know what to do with me, and hoped St. Thomas could figure it out.  He’s maybe the doc that called Max one night to say I probably would not make it through the night. That was when I had a gall bladder infection, too. Anyway, I got to thank this doc (to his face) for saving my life.  While at St. Thomas in Nashville I got pretty good treatment, too, mostly due to my brother John’s influence I think. Now I did still have to beg for popsicles, which was OK with this Marine.

My defibrillator in my chest muscle is the real thing and not a placebo, or at least my doc said so. Also it has never gone off so far.  And the battery in it should last 8 to 10 years, or around 2022 in my mind.

When I mentioned I think I am kind of a success story about saving old people’s lives, he (the doc) agreed with that statement. Also, he talked me into sticking with one drug vice switching to a cheaper generic version. Actually both versions are generic, but one is cheaper than the other.

So bottom line, it looks like I’ll be around for a little longer.