SAILOR JACK, REPORTING FOR DUTY
25/09/05 10:04 AM
Gracious me. How time has a way of slipping by without taking note of it. My last post was on August 14th, and a lot have transpired during that interval.
To start off with I had cataract surgery on my left eye on August 30th and on my right eye on September 13th. It took some time for me to get adjusted to the bright lights and the sunshine. They really hurt my eyes. I am still having some diffficulty, but I am improving each day. By gosh, it's nice to be able to see the ball scores on television, and that is without my glasses.
I have an eye appointment on October 5th with my optician for an eye exam for new reading glasses. I can see so much better now, that I no longer have to wear glasses when I am driving. How nice.
Shortly before my first eye surgery I had an appoint with my cardiologist for a nuclear stress test on my heart. I had by- pass surgery 4 years ago and have to take a stress test annually. I am not able to take the normal stress test on a treadmill because my left leg is too weak due to lost of muscle when I had the "flesh eating disease" back in '95.
They have to shoot dye into my veins and then after a short while they lay me on a small narrow bed and have me cross my arms over my head. I have to lay still for approximately 20 minutes without moving a muscle as a camera slowing passes over me from left to right taking dozen of pictures of my heart under stress because of the nuclear dye solution they put into my viens.
When the test was over the cardilogist called Frisco Fran and I into his office for consultation of the results of the test. He informed us that the good news was that my heart is in fine shape. No changes from the last test. Then he said in the next breath, "Come here, Mr. Rogers, I want to show you something".
Being the good sailor that I am, I obeyed his order and walked over and glanced down at the pictures that he had.
"See this white spot here?", he inquired.
"Yes, sir", I shot back.
"Well, it doesn't belong there. I don't know what it is, but it's not suppose to be there".
"Oh, Oh", I said. "Frisco, come see".
The doctor told her, "This is not my expertise. I stongly urge you to have it examined to ascertain what it is. Don't waste any time."
He then inquired who my health provider was. I gave him her name and looking through my records he found her phone number. He told us he would call her and tell her that she should arrange for me to get a catscan as soon as possible.
We were in Utica, NY, a 45 minute drive from our home and by the time we arrived there I had a flashing light on our phone indicating we had a phone call. It was my health provider informing me that I had an appointment in Oneida he next morning at 1000 hours.
All I could think about was, "Do I have cancer?". It sort of takes the breath right out of you. It didn't take long for the catscan but the technician informed me that she would fax the results to my health provider as soon the doctor read the results of the test.
That evening my health provider called and informed me that she had good news for me. Whew -- what a relief. She reported to me that I have a "fat pad" near my heart. It is non cancerous and for the time being nothing will be done. We are going to monitor it and have it checked again in 3 months. The size of the "fat pad" is approximate 4 to 5 inches in diameter.
To top all of that, on Saturday, August 20th, Fran and I were involved in an automobile accident. I sustained damage to our car in the amount of approximately $6,000. It was about 1230 hours and we were on our way to a barbeque. The folks we were going to visit, lived in a home that was set back quite aways from the rode. We had been over there only once before and I was traveling approximate 30 mph, in a 45 mph zone, looking for land marks. Another car was behind me and I could tell he was annoyed with me for driving so slow. I mentioned this to Frisco and told me I was going to pull over and let the fellow pass. The spot I picked looked a lot like the place we were hunting for. so I pulled over and turned on my left turn signal and began to turn left on the road that lead to where we thought we were going.
'WATCH OUT!!" screamed Frisco. Too late, I had already committed myself to the turn. I did not see another car behind the one that was following me and he hit me broadside on the driver's side. We were knocked over into an open field and I managed to keep the car under control without any further damage.
Now comes the good part. The other driver comes over and inquires, "Are you folks alright, are you hurt?" I had to climb over the console and exit by the passenger side door as both doors on the driver's side were jammed shut. We assured him that neither of us were hurt and we inquired he was. He also was not injured in any way.
Frisco looked at his license plate and asked if he was a judge. "Yes". he answered. "a County Judge".
'Oh, boy", I said to myself, "fine mess you got yourself into."
We exchanged the names of our insurance companies and the good judge called the Sheriff's Department. In a short time a woman Deputy Sheriff arrived. We explained what had happened, and she informed me that no traffic ticket would be issued.
To make a long story short, we arrived at the picnic a little later than we expected. The place we were going to was less than a quarter of a mile down the road from where the accident occurred.
Our car was laid up for two weeks getting repaired. We have her back now, and she looks as good as new. No hassle from the insurace company, and hopefully our premiums won't go up.
Well, now you have an idea as to what has transpired in the life of Sailor Jack for the past six weeks. The only reason I am sticking around, is that I can't help but wonder what in hell is going to happen next.
In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers are with all of you. The Man upstairs is still with me. Tomorrow I'll bring you up to date on our progress with the Town of Lenox World War II Veterans Memorial. Until then, Keep the Faith -- Sailor Jack